You’re well on your way to advancing your puppy’s skillset! Once your puppy has learned to go to their “Place” the next challenge: staying put!
The Puppy Academy Student: Lola
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance that you’ve either already trained your puppy the “Place” and “Down” commands, or read our last blog! If you haven’t, head over to our “Puppy Training 101: How to Teach Your Puppy Confidence for the Real World!” blog to learn how to introduce your puppy to real-world situations plus these basic obedience commands!
The goal behind teaching your puppy “Stay” is to encourage your puppy to settle down on command. It can be easier for puppies to begin to learn the “Stay” command on an object that has a natural boundary like a dog bed or pet cot (which we use to teach the “Place” command), then transition to the floor, around the home, and eventually our in public. But it starts with slow increments, learning their initial basic obedience commands “Sit”, “Down”, and “Place”, then slowly increasing the duration your puppy stays in their spot. Now your puppy is ready for the next lesson and this one will definitely challenge their natural drive! And that’s the whole point!
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Teach “Stay” When Your Puppy is in “Sit” or “Down” Position
Let’s dive into teaching your puppy to “Stay!” For this command, you’ll also be utilizing your puppy’s “Place” which could be their pet cot, their bed, or blanket to name a few examples. Think of something that has a natural boundary to it, and being a bit elevated from the ground can help. Ask your puppy to go to their “Place” then follow up by asking them to “Sit” on their place. Once your puppy has completed these commands mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and reward them with food.
At this point, you’ll be introducing a hand signal (a flat hand held out in front of your puppy) and the new command, “Stay.” Again, mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and reward your puppy with food. Finally, release your puppy with “Break!” In the beginning, this routine will happen quickly and you’ll repeat it approximately five times in your training session before building in duration.
When it comes to training your puppy to stay while in the “Down” position, you’ll follow the same steps we mentioned above, with the exception you’ll ask for “Down” instead of “Sit”!
Troubleshoot Tips
Of course, reading through the steps of training your puppy “Stay” and the actual execution are two different things! Puppy training comes with its share of hiccups so don’t panic if your puppy seems like they aren’t getting it! There are a few troubleshooting tips that can help you solve common issues with teaching your puppy “Stay”.
First, control the environment as best you can! Before you start your training session, clear the area of distractions, and let your family know not to walk through, and pull your pup’s attention away from you.
Secondly, remember to keep your puppy on a leash when training. There’s a chance, especially with an excitable puppy, that they may want to wander mid training session! Having them on a leash will allow you to easily guide them back to their Place, or spot you'd like them to Stay.
Lastly, if your puppy does try to make a move to get up from “Stay”, take a step in towards them while you’re holding their leash. The act of you stepping closer to them can get them to settle back down into “Sit” or “Down” and refocus on you and what you’re asking of them
Tips for Teaching Advanced “Stay”
@aussiemoirarose
The “Stay” command might not seem too difficult in the short term, but the challenge really comes in when you start to work on extending the duration of your puppy’s stay. To do this, while your puppy is either sitting or laying down on their place, introduce the “Stay” command only this time, walk a few steps away from your puppy to create distance as well as work in more duration. When you do this, take slow, robotic steps away from your puppy, with your flat palm hand signal up extended in front of them, as you say “Stay”. This will help to control your puppy’s energy and their desire to follow you. Think of this as the complete opposite from commands that use higher energy like “Come” where your movements are excited and fun to motivate them to come to you!
If your puppy does stay on their place as you move away from them, step back toward your puppy, mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and reward your puppy with food! Finally, release your puppy with “Break”. Practicing this routine anywhere from three to five times during a training session will help increase the duration your puppy stays on their place. And don’t worry if your puppy doesn’t immediately stay while you create distance. You may only be able to take one or two steps away from your puppy at first -- that's normal! If this happens, just reset them on their Place, and start over again. Practice makes perfect!
Note: When you move away from your puppy’s Place and start to teach “Stay” on the floor, don’t be surprised if this is a bit harder for your puppy! It can take a few days or even weeks to reteach your puppy to stay on a new surface and work through distractions!
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Teaching Impulse Control with Door Thresholds
@arizonagoldendoodles
Open doors are like an exciting invitation to run and explore for a puppy! A calm door threshold teaches your puppy not to dash through, rather they need to pause and check-in with you prior to entering, or exiting a door. This is a valuable skill as it helps prevent your puppy from running into a potentially dangerous situation (i.e. busy road) and sets your walks up to be easier. Door threshold training is all about safety for your puppy and controlling your puppy’s natural impulse!
When you begin door threshold training, you’ll employ the “Stay” command we've been teaching! Have your pup “Sit” as you approach the doorway, and say "Stay" to help them hold the command. body blocking technique we covered in the troubleshooting section. If your puppy isn’t as good at “Stay” yet and urges to run through a threshold, you can position your body between them and the open doorway. Using this technique in this training scenario creates a physical barrier that motivates your puppy to stop and check-in with you. By doing so, you’re starting to build a learned behavior in your puppy to look at you for what’s going to happen next. Don't forget to have your puppy on their leash and harness while practicing this!
Once you establish eye contact with your puppy, remember to mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and then continue through the doorway with you leading first, or walking out together. Don’t let your puppy pull out first! Eventually, your puppy will develop the muscle memory and learned behavior to pause and check-in with you each time before proceeding. One thing you’ll note here is there is no “Break!” marker before proceeding. Why? Saying the word “Break” in this situation builds anticipation and drive in your puppy. Door threshold training is all about calm and control so eliminating “Break” here will help maintain that energy.
From this point on, you have the tools to work on settling your pup’s drive and energy! As you continue to practice, your puppy will start to build on their focus, duration, and eventually, even start to naturally check in with you more as a learned behavior! These are all great foundations to build on with the rest of their basic obedience commands coming up in our puppy training 101 blogs. Plus, they’ll get your puppy ready to practice these routines out in the real world and take on more advanced puppy training exercises!
Check out these blogs related to puppy training and more!
Puppy Training 101: How to Teach Your Puppy Confidence for the Real World!
Puppy Training 101: Giving Your Puppy Commands, the Right Way!