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			How to Train a Dog: Stay by Cris Waller Article Rating = 4.13 (97 votes)

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Category: Animals & Pets : Dogs If you haven't read it already, please read my article "The Basics" for an intro to training. Step 1 Get a supply of small, tasty treats. Go into a quiet room. Have your dog sit. Hold a treat in your hand, and let the dog know you have it. As the dog reaches for it, close your hand. The instant the dog pulls his head even a bit away, praise and let him have the treat. Timing is important here! Repeat until the dog does not go for the treat, but instead instantly pulls back. Step 2 Repeat Step 1, but wait for a second or two after the dog pulls back before giving the treat and praise. Make sure you treat/praise while the dog is sitting! If he gets up, walk a couple of steps away and try again. Repeat until the dog is sitting for 5 seconds. Stay right by your dog while doing this! The commonest reason that people have trouble teaching stay is that they try to leave their dogs too quickly. If the dog won't stay when you are next to him, he certainly won't stay when you walk away! Making sure your dog is always successful in this step before you move on will make later learning much more successful. Step 3 Continue step 2, but now tell your dog "stay" as you show the treat, and give a release word like "OK" when you give the dog the treat. Work until your dog will sit with you right in front of him for 30 seconds. If your dog gets up, quietly say something like "uh-uh" and try again. You want the dog to learn that "uh-uh" means that he won't get a reward. After the dog makes a mistake, scale back your criterion a bit. For example, if he got up after 15 seconds, go back to sitting for 10 seconds for the next few tries, then try 15 again. If the dog makes more than 1 or 2 mistakes in a row, you are hurrying too fast. Move back to what the dog can do successfully and build from there. Step 4 Repeat step 3, but begin to move away from your dog just a little bit- for example, take 1 step backward then return. Then take a step to one side, then the other. Repeat until you can walk in a tiny circle around your dog. Again, if the dog gets up, say "uh-uh" and try again. Remember not to hurry. Step 5 Repeat step 4, but start walking up to 5 steps away from the dog. Continue until your dog will stay for 30 seconds while you walk no more than 5 steps away. Step 6 Start doing stays in areas with some distraction and in new areas. When first practicing in a new area, go back to very short stays right in front of you, and only do more when your dog is always successful. Repeat until your dog will stay in a new area for 30 seconds with you 5 steps away. Step 7 Very slowly lengthen the distance you go when you walk away to 30 feet, and the time to 1 minute. Remember not to hurry! Step 8 You can train a down-stay in the same way, starting at step 1. It should go much faster, now that the dog knows something about staying. Congratulations- you have a dog who can stay! About the author... Submitted By Cris Waller Description Dog person Web Page http://members.tripod.com/antique_fcr Other Articles in this Category How to Train a Dog: Come by Cris Waller How to Train a Dog: Down by Cris Waller How to Train a Dog: The Basics by Cris Waller How to Keep Your Dog From Digging In Your OutdoorFlower Pots by Roseanne Smith How to Train a Dog: Walking Nicely by Cris Waller How to Train a Dog: Sit by Cris Waller How to Train a Dog: Housebreaking by Cris Waller Choosing a Dog... Where to Find a Dog (and where *not* to!) by crisw How to Figure Out the Cost of Keeping a Dog for a Year by crisw Choosing a Dog... How To Find a Reputable Breeder by crisw Choosing a Dog... Picking a Breed by crisw How to Deter Neighborhood Dogs from Using Your Yard as a Bathroom by ckeeta Choosing a Dog... Puppy or Adult? by crisw Choosing a Dog... Purebred or Mixed-Breed? by crisw Choosing a Dog... Indoor or Outdoor? by crisw How to Decrease the Size of Skin Cysts on Your Dog by Brenda Schultheis Other Sites Storkin.com - Baby and Pregnancy Tips and Discussion iPhone Games at TouchArcade.com iPhone Apps at AppShopper.com Health Articles Menopause Symptoms HIV/AIDS Symptoms West Nile Symptoms Diabetes Symptoms Pregnancy Symptoms Read other Articles - click here.