# Puppy crawls towards me when asked to stay, how to correct this?



## HelloWorld314 (Apr 10, 2017)

We are only working on "stay" at home currently because she is far from being able to do that with distraction. One big issue I can't seem to work around is that she would not stay at exactly the same location I ask her to stay on, she would gradually try to crawl towards me. When I try to correct this, she would lie on the ground showing her belly and just allowing me to drag her to the original position with her collar. I don't pet her at all and just grab her collar to drag her to her original position, but she still seems to totally enjoy that and would make contact with my hands with her body!

She would also stand up for no reasons to stare at me even when I am paying attention, and I would go push her down. However, I feel like she is doing this on purpose so that I have to pay more attention to her and touch her if that makes any sense because she does not struggle when I push her down, she seems to be enjoying the correction lol... 

However, if I push really hard or grab the collar in a really forceful way, she would let out a big scream or just act really scared like I am bullying her. How do I appropriately discipline her? She is 6 months old.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

I am certainly not an expert on this, but I think maybe you are trying a bit too hard. Think of it in term of a baby trying to crawl or walk, they make lot of mistakes before they get it right. Your pup is still a baby, she may not even understand what you want at this point. I would be patient and just have fun with her, the bond between you and her is too important to damage at this age. Try using little treats or toys to motivate her and lots of praise. That's my 2 cents.


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## HelloWorld314 (Apr 10, 2017)

newlie said:


> I am certainly not an expert on this, but I think maybe you are trying a bit too hard. Think of it in term of a baby trying to crawl or walk, they make lot of mistakes before they get it right. Your pup is still a baby, she may not even understand what you want at this point. I would be patient and just have fun with her, the bond between you and her is too important to damage at this age. Try using little treats or toys to motivate her and lots of praise. That's my 2 cents.


Hey thanks for the reply, my obedience trainer told me I should expect puppy to be able to stay for 5 min by 6 months, so I was really worried that she is behind the schedule. I used treats before, but I realized the end result was the dog constantly staring at me and I don't want that in a stay, I want her to be able to relax. 

And yes the bond is much more important, that is why I want to avoid using corrections that are too hard and make her yelp/look scared.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

In IPO, the dog is required to do a down-stay at the side of the field while another dog completes its routine. Its owner is out of sight, hiding in one of the blinds.

I teach this by tying the dog to something solid. At first, I start with a very brief time, say 30 seconds, with me facing the dog to reinforce the command with eye contact. If the dog breaks the down, I tell it 'no' go to its side, and repeat the down command. I make sure I end on a positive note, even if the dog just managed a short time in the down. Then LOTS of praise, rewards, playtime.

Corrections are pretty much verbal only. I lure the dog into the down with food, at first, until it understands the command. When first teaching the 'down,' I stand beside the dog. That way, I can give a reward more quickly by dropping the food in front of the dog while it's still in the down position.

Each dog needs to be treated as an individual. If your dog won't do 5 minutes, that's okay. Start small, and reward success, then gradually increase the time. Tethering the dog sets them up for success by eliminating the dog's ability to creep forward. It also means the dog doesn't get its reward until you return to its side, so it eliminates the dog fixating on you, and wanting to come to you. Oh, and the dog MUST hold the 'down' until you release it, using whatever word you choose. You set that up by teaching the down when the dog is at your side, as explained above.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

Sounds like you're moving too fast and the dog isn't ready. Start with the down command. As mentioned above reward with food between the dogs front paws while she is in the down. Once she fully understands down and will down consistently then add a stay command. So down the dog give the stay command step directly around in front of the dog and if the dog doesn't move reward between paws. Gradually increase time. Add distance after the dog can hold the down reliably with you one or two steps in front of the dog. Eye contact is OK at first. That can be faded out pretty easily once the dog gets what you want.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

And don't forget to make it fun for the pup.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

5 or 6 minutes is really a long time for a six month old! 
But you have to work up to it in tiny increments, and up the difficulty one variable at a time. 

That means that you work on staying and on distance separately. 

Your pup is solid in a down stay for 10 seconds! Very good, that is your starting point. 10 solid seconds with you standing by. Then 10 solid seconds with you a couple of steps away. Then 10 solid seconds with you four steps away. Then 10 solid seconds with you by your dog with distractions. Then work up to 12, 13, 14 seconds. etc. 

Don't grab your dog and drag it if she moves - she does not understand the exercise yet, so you are being unfair - no wonder she gives you calming signals. 

If she consistently gets up and moves, that is because you are moving ahead too fast - not because she is behind anything. So go back to what she knows, and start again.

Always try to predict how long she will be able to hold her down, and release her before she breaks. There will be some trial and error, and your puppy won't be perfect, be easy on her. She is still a baby, and training is supposed to build the bond between owner and pup, so don't look at it you forcing your will on her, but as you and your pup, dancing waltz - one leads, the other follows, in sync. If the one leading starts throwing in all sorts of new dance steps that the partner has never seen before, well, it's not pretty and not so much fun anymore. 

Slow down, it is not a race. Do you compare your dog to others, you, nor your pup has anything to prove to anyone. Set goals, move towards them baby step at a time.


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

For me first I trained sit, down, and here. Then I worked on sit and stay and then lay down and stay. I now have commands that mean stay that way until released. It can take awhile to teach the pup. I like sit for teaching stay better than lie down but either one works. If she gets up or moves have her come back to the spot and give her the command/return her to the spot again and again until she understands stay means stay there. It will probably feel very repetitive. 

Don't feel bad that she can't stay for 5 minutes either, she is still only a pup. Just keep working on it and slowly increase the time each time.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Aww OP ... as I am want to say ... you need to slow your roll. Too much, to soon and too fast. And you've overlooked a basic principle. You can't fairly correct a puppy/dog for failing to obey a command, that they don't fully understand. 

The goods news is you realized ... what your doing is not working??? So maybe do something different?? That is ... out think your puppy. 

We just had a thread on the "Stay" thing and I still train it. Others don't these days, as with a Sit or a Down or a Place Command ... Stay is implied. No doubt that's true but I still train "Stay" for practical reasons but that's another topic. 

I don't use treats myself, I found them like you to be a distraction. But that was wayyyy back in the day. But most likely, like you, I overused treats??? These days ... I suppose, I now consider "treats" as a tool and like any tool ... improperly used ... "treats" to can be abused. 

Moving on ... I think also, training "Down" first ... is a better way to go?? If the puppy is in a "Down" ... which would need to be trained first, if you say "Stay" it will have more meaning?? Oh not suppose to move??? Soooo I'll do what I know ... "down."

I would also suggest that with "Sit/Stay and Down" you add hand signals! I discovered that to be effective by accident with my Boxer. 
You can better see the wheels spinning with those guys. 

I'd repeated whatever command, for the umpteenth time and I used a hand signal also. Struddell stared at me like what is dad babbling about??? But she also recognized the hand signal and "Bam" ... instant compliance! Sit Stay Down ... was a piece of cake from that day forward. 

But ... now we've just added another command ... "Down" to the list ... which is not exactly helpful?? 

But fear not ... "Youtube" is your friend, Bethany Wilson, training puppies in Down.:





And of course she has a website and lots of puppy videos.:





That and yes ... a new approach to training your puppy should help ... welcome aboard.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Hey ... looking at that clip ... it seems to me that Sit then Down works better from a bio mechanical standpoint as it were ... who knew.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Castlemaid said:


> 5 or 6 minutes is really a long time for a six month old!
> But you have to work up to it in tiny increments, and up the difficulty one variable at a time.
> 
> That means that you work on staying and on distance separately.
> ...


^All of this! Halo had the best stay of any dog in any of her classes. This is how I trained it (copied and pasted from one of my old posts from 2013): 

_Only work on one of the "D"s at a time - Distance, Duration, and Distraction. Only after she's mastered each part do you try to include one of the others. For example, she can hold a stay if you walk 4 steps away OR she can hold a stay for 15 seconds with you right there rewarding her every few seconds. You don't immediately jump to 15 seconds with you 4 steps away, and NEVER in a distracting environment! 

I start facing the dog and back away rather than having them in heel position next to me and stepping away with my back to them. A couple of reasons - if the puppy is even thinking about breaking I can see it and stop it by leaning towards them (moving my body forward, into the dog's space, can make them move back, and is often enough by itself to cause her to relax back into the sit or down before getting all the way up) and using a negative marker ("ah ah"). It's much better to prevent a break than to have to put her back in place after the fact. Walking away from her with your back turned may encourage her to get up and follow you, so I work up to that - personally I think it's more challenging for a puppy who has the instinct to follow you around to grasp the stay concept under those circumstances, so that's more advanced. I WANT my puppies to follow me when I walk away from them. For an older dog that's less of an issue. 

First I take a step back with one foot and immediately step forward again, praise and treat. Take a step back with the other foot, step forward again, praise and treat. This was referred to as the "bungee" method when I first learned it because you snap back towards the dog like a bungee each time you step away. If she will hold the stay, do a few more reps, rewarding each time you return to her, and then release her. Keep the sessions pretty short. If she's still having fun, do another short session. Once she's like a rock with you just stepping back with one foot (this can be in the very first training session), take 2 steps back and immediately return to her, praise and treat. If that's no problem, take one step to the side, return, praise and treat, then the other side, then 2 steps, etc. By this time she she's probably starting to figure out that all she has to do is just sit or lay there and you keep giving her treats! 

Gradually work up to taking more and more steps away, still facing her at this point, and taking more steps to the side. Then try walking 1/4 of the way around her, then halfway around her, then all the way around her, from both directions. Each time you return to her and praise/reward. Release her at the end of the session, but do not mark or reward the release. End the session before she seems bored or if she appears to be getting frustrated. It's better to do a couple of very short training sessions a day with a young puppy than one long one. 

When you can walk all the way around her in both directions and back away from her the length of the room, try stepping away from her with your back turned. She may break - if she does calmly put her back in place and make it easier by just moving a foot around with your back turned, and then both feet before attempting to step away. Always return, praise and reward. Try it with her next to you in heel position rather than facing you. When you can walk away from her the length of the room with your back to her and she won't budge, try ducking out of sight for just a second before returning to her. Gradually, VERY gradually, work up to a few seconds out of sight. 

When you start adding duration, decrease the distance. Stand close and reward often, then release. Work up to longer time before the release but don't be predictable - you don't want her to anticipate and self release. Do 10 seconds one time, then 20 seconds, then 5 seconds, etc. Combine them by taking a couple of steps away, waiting 5 seconds, then return, praise and reward, etc. Gradually work on distance and duration together. When you start working in more distracting environments, decrease both the distance and duration and gradually work your way back up to where you were at home with no distractions. Practice this for 5 or 10 minutes a couple of times a day, and I guarantee she WILL get it! You can also add other stuff later, once she's solid - clap your hands, jump up and down, sing loudly, knock on the wall, run in a circle around her. 

This is the method I used to train Halo. She was a few days shy of 6 months old when she completed the Puppy 2 class, and on the last night she totally nailed the 2 minute sit/stay and 3 minute down/stay, in a room full of other puppies, leash dropped on the floor while I walked around the room. She started her next class at 7 months old and was dubbed the "Stay Star" by one of the other people in the class, and in the class that followed I had people tell me that Halo was making all the other dogs look bad, lol._


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## Evohog (Jul 18, 2017)

I started training a one year old rescue that didn't know any commands. He's doing great on sit and down (from the side) but the moment I take a step he crawls towards me. I correct with "no", stepping towards him at the same time.
He doesn't take treats so I can't lure him with that.
Am I just being impatient because his sit and down went so quick? I started working on stepping back 3 days ago, 15 minute sessions. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

don't stare at the dog .

Typical obedience class scenario. Instructor asks dogs to be put into down stay . Dog is downed , handler walks away , often looking back because the are not secure the dog will hold position. The dog then isn't sure either . When handler gets to the end and turns around they will stand in an unnatural stiff , arms crossed , and staring at the dog .
The dog gets squirmy , feels the pressure , feels he missed something and "guy" is getting all stern and then the dog does something.


don't recall from a down stay or a sit stay (in the beginning) . The release requires you to go and connect with the dog.

no pop up from the down position , correct and hold , then after a few moments give some command and break from that , not from the static position.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

First I'd say take a deep breath and calm down ?

From your description of the situation I'd say that your dog doesn't yet understand what you want. It almost sounds like he's attempting to maintain his position relative to you, because that's his understanding of what you want. So I'd recommend switching positions so that he's in front of you practicing the sit and down commands. Once he's got that you can start working on stay again. My guess is he won't be as confused about it now. But again, calm yourself, and take it slow. Make it fun! Before my current puppy I never trained anything with treats. But you have to praise profusely, particularly with new behaviors, so your dog understands what it is you want.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Evohog said:


> I started training a one year old rescue that didn't know any commands. He's doing great on sit and down (from the side) but the moment I take a step he crawls towards me. I correct with "no", stepping towards him at the same time.
> He doesn't take treats so I can't lure him with that.
> Am I just being impatient because his sit and down went so quick? I started working on stepping back 3 days ago, 15 minute sessions. Any advice would be appreciated.


You can try it on something slightly elevated or a mat to give a defined edge or a kind of mental barrier, and concentrate on the release. Don't add distance just yet, concentrate on the release being very clear. Build up time first, before distance.


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## Evohog (Jul 18, 2017)

tim_s_adams said:


> First I'd say take a deep breath and calm down ?
> 
> From your description of the situation I'd say that your dog doesn't yet understand what you want. It almost sounds like he's attempting to maintain his position relative to you, because that's his understanding of what you want. So I'd recommend switching positions so that he's in front of you practicing the sit and down commands. Once he's got that you can start working on stay again. My guess is he won't be as confused about it now. But again, calm yourself, and take it slow. Make it fun! Before my current puppy I never trained anything with treats. But you have to praise profusely, particularly with new behaviors, so your dog understands what it is you want.


Oh trust me, I am calm :smile2:
And I praise. So much that I'm hoarse :grin2:

Guess I'll just need more time.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I use a platform for sit and down with Stays. They must stay down in the platform until released. I started Down next to me at mealtimes for up to 30 minutes, so I was right next to him. When I moved him to the Sit box I started right in front of him. To gain distance, take a step back. If you walk away, it is a signal to heel or move your direction, if you face him and back up, it means stay. Eventually he will know Down and stay and won't creep. If he does, you can use a backtie to hold the position. This different than using a backtie for IPO so don't confuse the two.

I use a plastic platform that is about 16"x20" so he doesn't fall off in a down position.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It sounds to me that you have a pup who loves you (to the extent that dogs love), and wants to be with you, but that wants to do what you want her to. And she can't bear when she knows you are upset with her. And she knows. 

For some, knowing that something we did caused the person we want to be happy with us to be upset, we wouldn't do that again, or we would try to do it better. But for others, we get all flustered, and we end up doing even worse. She knows you're upset and she is showing you her belly trying to appease you. And you are grabbing her by the collar and dragging her to where you want her to be. We're not speaking the same language. 

If I have a dog showing me its belly, that I take huge steps backwards -- not in the moment, but in training. I know that I am being a bully and I need to approach this dog differently. 

Personally, I would take a 3-6month break from the STAY command, and then I would start at the VERY beginning. On lead, just pivot in front, and after 30 seconds and a reminder pivot back. Do that for a few days, and praise when she did not move her position at all. Then move about 3 steps in front of her after a stay command, stay on lead, and keep it light and fun. Do it a couple of times, praise the good, and re-try once or twice if she did not do it right. Then let it go and try again another day. 

Quinnie seemed to have a bit of a block on STAYS. I had her to six class sessions (1 per week for six weeks). Stays were abysmal. She went on vacation while I was working with Moofie or some other dog. And when I took her to another set of classes, a light bulb went off, and she got the stay. 

Her stays are phenomenal now. I really cannot tell you how, it just happened. I can tell you what I did not do. I didn't push it. I gave her some time. I did not try too hard. Literally, it was like, "Oh, you want me to stay right here, I can do that!" And bingo. it just happened.

Sorry.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

You can also try a position box.
Positions box 001 by Jeremy Friedman, on Flickr


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