#193 Beyond the Extended Hand: Rethinking How We Teach Dogs to Stay

Ever wonder why your dog's perfect "stay" in training sessions completely falls apart when you actually need it? The answer lies in how we train versus how we use this crucial command in real life. Most of us practice with an extended hand while repeatedly saying "stay, stay, stay" – a luxury we simply don't have when our hands are full of groceries or we're opening doors.

Chapters

• 0:03 Real-Life Stay Training Basics
• 0:49 Practical Stay Training Exercise
• 1:34 Prioritizing Distractions Over Distance
• 2:18 Adding Duration and Release Techniques
• 3:31 Course Access Announcement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

If you're working on your dog's stay cue and it's just not going so well in real life, here's a reminder we have to train it like we're going to use it. So, for example, if you train stay while you hold your hand out and keep repeating stay, stay, stay, that's not going to translate to real life. In real life your hands are going to be busy. You'll be grabbing the groceries, opening a door, answering your phone. You won't have the luxury of an extended hand and repeated cues to remind your dog to stay, cues to remind your dog to stay. So let's tweak that training so your dog can stay while real life is happening. Try this Ask your dog to stay and then move something from one counter to another, right there in front of your dog, and then treat them for maintaining the stay. Then open a drawer and give your dog a treat. Then open a drawer and give your dog a treat. Then close their drawer and give your dog a treat and then release them from the stay. My release word is free. Keeping your session short and sweet and having them mimic real life is the key to a successful stay. And just keep increasing distance and duration with each training session and before you know it, you'll have a stay cue that you can use in real life.

Speaker 1: 1:34

Another common issue with stay training we humans seem to think distance is more important than distractions. But I think distractions are way more important than distance. I mean, how often will we need our dog to stay 30 foot away, versus how often will we need them to stay while we sweep up broken glass right there in front of them? Or why we put on our winter coats while they stay right beside us? I always start training for distractions first, duration second and distance third. And as you add distance, don't immediately turn your back and walk away. Remember, dogs pay more attention to our body language than our words. So the moment your shoulders face in the other direction and you start walking off, your dog will assume he gets to go with you. So instead, at first, shuffle sideways, spin in a circle, swing your arms a bit, make movement less exciting. Just increase body movements with each training session and before you know it, you'll be able to turn and walk away while your dog maintains his stay. And as you add duration, set a timer on your phone. Start with just 30 seconds and once that's a solid stay, bump it to a minute, then a minute and a half. That way you can just focus on training the dog and rewarding him for staying and let the timer keep track of time for you.

Speaker 1: 3:16

And when you release them from the stay, don't make it a party. Don't give them a treat. Getting to go free should be reward enough and we want all of the good stuff to happen during the stay. The stay should be the fun part. The stay should be when they get the treats and the praise and your attention. Make the release just a boring little free. And if your dog breaks their stay, no drama. You don't need to march them back to the exact blade of grass they were sitting on. Just block their path, reset them with a sit, stay and try again.

Speaker 1: 3:58

Stay training isn't about punishing mistakes. It's about quickly resetting and reinforcing the right thing. And remember, stay isn't about being still. It's about your dog being confident and calm and settled, no matter what's going on around them. So make it real, make it rewarding real, make it rewarding and at first, keep it short and sweet. And hey, subscribers, as a little thank you, I'm giving you free access to our online stay training course. Just listen to the next episode, available exclusively to subscribers for your special coupon code, so you can join the course at no cost.