# Teaching "stay untill called" questions



## slefferd (Jan 11, 2011)

Im teaching my 12 week GSD to sit, and stay untill called with "come" he does really well and will stay for about 30-45 seconds, but at that point he gets ancy, of tired of "staying" and starts protesting by barking. 

Now, my theory is that I will keep him at sit for about 30 seconds at a time, gradually increasing time untill i reach my desired time limit. Am I correctly teaching this? or is their an easier way?


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

What you are teaching is "wait" not "stay". Stay should only end when you come to your dog and touch release them. When you take an OB class they will have you do both commands. Wait = release word. Stay = touch to release

Your pup is only 12wks, 30-45 seconds is like a lifetime to him. Very good that he is lasting that long. Work with that time limit and try leaving the room, being out of sight, distractions, giving the command from a distance, etc.. then worry about building on the time.


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## slefferd (Jan 11, 2011)

ahhh! thanks for the insight! Yeah, he is to start proffessional OB classes this week, and I dont want to confuse him between wait and stay, Ill start doing wait.......Thanks!


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

5=10 seconds for a pup that young is fine. You can also make them wait for say 3 seconds, release, and treat, then 8 seconds, release, and treat, and then 5 seconds, release, and treat. Mix it up making him wait longer, then shorter so he stays engaged and doesn't get discouraged by being made to wait longer and longer


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I agree- 3 seconds is all I'd expect at 12 wks. He's just a baby!! Sounds like you're doing a great job with him already


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm not sure how they will make you do it in OB class but generally Stay means if the dog is sitting the dog stays sitting it is not to lay down or stand until you come and release him.

Wait means the dog may lay, sit, or stand as long as the dog does not move out of that general spot where it was told to wait. Usually the dog will stay in position unless the wait is for an extended period of time.

Good luck in your OB class! Is it a puppy level class? You sound like you'll be way ahead of them


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

12 weeks is very early to working on stay for such a long period of time. Don't push too hard! You've got to keep obedience fun in order to have a good obedience dog later on down the road! 

For me, I don't really teach stay as a separate command. I always teach my dogs to hold position until released or given another command- like come, down, etc. Although in truth I almost NEVER call my dog out of their position. Calling a dog out of position too many times usually means that you get a dog who is likely to break position to come to you for their reward. I always go back to my dog and release them. Are you using a release command? That's an important thing to start incorporating into your training if you haven't already. 

Sounds like you'll be ahead of the general puppy class, so it'll be an excellent opportunity to work under distractions!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Congratulations on getting your pup to sit that long! Bet you couldn't get a human toddler to sit still for 30 or 45 seconds!


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

Zoeys mom said:


> 5=10 seconds for a pup that young is fine. You can also make them wait for say 3 seconds, release, and treat, then 8 seconds, release, and treat, and then 5 seconds, release, and treat. Mix it up making him wait longer, then shorter so he stays engaged and doesn't get discouraged by being made to wait longer and longer


This is good advice. Right now, I can get my pup to sit. When I give the stay command, I take a 5 or 6 steps back and he stays for about 20 seconds. Am I doing this right?

If I back up too much, he follows. Also, if I tell him to stay and I open the pantry door, he shoots in my pantry closet. How do I stop that?


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## rvadog (Dec 9, 2010)

sagelfn said:


> What you are teaching is "wait" not "stay". Stay should only end when you come to your dog and touch release them. When you take an OB class they will have you do both commands. Wait = release word. Stay = touch to release



Semantics. Stay is whatever you want it to be. For you it is "stay until I touch your collar". For me stay is "stay until you receive another command". Itis a personal decision how you teach this and just because he calls him out of a stay doesn't mean it's not a stay.

OP,

DDD

Duration, Distance, Distractions

You should train in that order and when you increase one of the above you reduce the other two. For example he may be able to stay for 30 seconds with you right in front of you. If you decide to walk ten steps away (distance) then reduce them amount of time he stays (duration) down to 15 seconds.

If you want to open the pantry (distractions) then have her stay right beside you for 5 seconds.

Increase slower than you think you have to. Always set him up for success. You want to set it up so the dog never breaks a stay.


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## slefferd (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for the input everyone!
I like the DDD input


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

And just to be fair, if you are asking your pup to stay....and then slowly creeping backwards...sorta crouched over.....staring at him...waiting for him to break....You're just asking for a game of chase!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

maybe he's not ready for a 30 to 45 second stay. when i started teaching my pup to stay i first started by having my pup sit in front of me. then
i would take one step back. one step lead to 2 steps and so on. then i would have him sit on one side off an open door. i would stand on the other side for a few seconds. i use have my dog sit one side of the car and i would walk to the other side. i slowly started adding distance and
time to the stay. we practiced with me in sight and out of sight. then i started adding distractions such as having ppeople call him, offer him
food, pull on his leash while calling him, had people walk up to him with their dogs what ever i could think of as a distraction i used. i especially used distractions that i thought he would encounter in everyday situations.

so, i'm thinking maybe with your dog you should shorten his stay times
and your distance from him. once he holds the shorter times and distances with no edgyness than increase the time and distance. go slow.
you're pup is only 12 weeks old. don't forget you can train indoors
as well. train several times a day i always trained in short sessions.
each sessions last 5 to 10 minutes. between 5:30 am and noon
my dog had 6 to 8 sessions in, between noon and 6 PM the same, between 6 pm and midnight 4 to 6 sessions.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when i was teaching my dog to stay i did use stay as a seperate command. i would tell my dog "Loki sit, stay". i also gave the hand signal for stay when i was saying it. at some point i could say "sit" and
walk away and my dog would stay without the "stay command. the same happened with down. i call that a" 2 for" or cross over training.



JKlatsky said:


> For me, I don't really teach stay as a separate command.


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## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> when i was teaching my dog to stay i did use stay as a seperate command. i would tell my dog "Loki sit, stay". i also gave the hand signal for stay when i was saying it. at some point i could say "sit" and
> walk away and my dog would stay without the "stay command. the same happened with down. i call that a" 2 for" or cross over training.


 I think this is the way to go. Formal obediance shouldn't require a 'Stay' command. Once you give the sit or down, the dog should do so untill he is issued a new command or is released. The Stay is just a means to an end.


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