Dog Training - Teach Your Dog to Stay

By Andrew Strachan

You would be surprised to see how much a dog can make you dance to his tune. It can be an exasperating task running after your dog, chasing tennis balls, fetching treats, and fuming and fretting when you can no more handle this chaos, your dog however enjoys it. It therefore becomes necessary to assert your alpha status to tell him YOU are in command. In order to train your dog and teach him basic etiquettes, you first need to teach your dog to stay so that he remains stationary allowing you to take control of the situation. Before you move on to the "stay" command, you must first train your dog to "sit" with the help of verbal signals and gestures. Many trainers use the technique of snapping fingers and flipping their extended finger at the same time at an angle to the ground so as to grab his attention. This works well for trainers who are averse to use clickers for directing dogs.

When it comes to training pups, teen or mature dogs in the "sit", you may consider a common technique wherein you need to thrust a hand in the dog's direction palm first and fingers raised and simultaneously give out the voice command 'stay'. One this you must remember here is that your voice should be distinct and just loud enough to be heard despite other noises and distractions and must not sound harsh. Similarly, hand movements must be precise and should be such that the dog can associate them to that particular command/behavior only. Having done this, you need to confirm if the dog is following your instructions. So, take a step back and repeat the hand movements to execute a sit and stay command when the dog follows. Some dogs may not bother to respond or may not have yet understood the correlation of the command and the behavior. For such dogs, you need to lure them with a treat or toy and move it over his head, a little on the side of his eyes in such a way that he has to force his chin in the upward direction to see it. While some dogs may be tempted to rotate around and you may have to repeat this step several times until you get the desired behavior. And don't forget to praise your dog lavishly for correct behavior before you go on to repeat the command.

Once you are able to keep him in one place, you need to ensure that your dog continues to remain stationary even when you are away. So, take a step back, then another, then four steps more, and so on. You will realize that the further you go, lesser the control, as the dog will be tempted to follow you, the alpha.

Alternatively, you can use a leash or rope to control his movements. Just tie it to a tree or a post a little away from the dog, and hold the leash before you give the stay command. Face the dog and when he stands and takes a step forward, gently tug on the leash as you give the verbal command along with hand gesture. Make sure that you don't pull too hard; after all you are only trying to train him!!!

For dogs that tend to relax and stretch while exercising especially when you are a few feet away, you may need to train an 'up'-'sit' combination before you proceed to the next fundamental step "stay".

Techniques used in training sessions and the time required will vary according to the breed of the dog however, all of them will eventually learn these fundamental behaviors at some point of time. Once your dog understands the "stay" command and remains stationary for some time, give the "come" command in a particular tone and hand gesture. Increase the duration of the "stay" gradually and pamper him with treats and praises as he learns these important behaviors.

Article By Andrew Strachan. Find lots more information about training your dog to stay and different types of dogs at types-of-dogs.com Lots of help and advice too.