How to Teach Your Dog to “Stay” Easily
Teaching your dog to stay stationary and not perform any form of action is a difficult task for an animal to understand. Because you are not asking for your dog to actually ‘do’ something, such as ’sit’ and ‘lie down’, they have to comprehend how to remain still and hold its current position.
How to teach your dog to stay
Start by combining ’stay’ with another command that your dog already has familiarity with, like the ’sit’ action. Once your dog sits, don’t immediately rush to praise him, but tell him to ’stay’ using the same tone you use for other commands. After holding that position for a few seconds reward your dog with praise and a treat. Before praising your dog use a release word, such as trainers use, which may be ‘Okay, good boy/girl!’, or ‘Good, well done!’
You can help him stay in position by staying close to him and make sure there are no distractions that could get his attention. By using your body language you can ensure he will stay still.
If your dog should break the stay, then go through the process of sitting and staying again. A few seconds at the start of training will suffice and then gradually build up the amount of time your dog remains in the stay position. Always reward with praise, and eventually your dog will understand exactly what you expect of him.
Gradually move further away from your dog and ensure that each ’stay’ lasts a few seconds longer than the last. After mastering the ’sit and stay’ command, you will be able to then slowly introduce the ’stay and down’ command, which will mean your dog will lay down when you require him to.
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