"Stay" is one of the essential basic commands that must be repeatedly practiced before the dog can follow it. To stop him before he does something bad, for example, rushing to the street when you open the door, when guests arrive, or when you carry a pot of boiling water from the stove, he needs to learn to "stay" and remain in a sitting position.
Take some snacks, and keep your dog on a leash, before you begin. Start the training in a distraction-free environment and gradually introduce distractions. Begin with a short "stay" and gradually increase its length and the distance between you and your dog. Repeat short-stay training daily.
- Leash your dog while commanding him to sit. Take some time to correct him if he has still not mastered sitting before moving on. Please refer to the "sit" training lesson for more information.
- Reward your dog for sitting and tell him to "stay." Stand in front of him and wait 15 seconds, then give him a treat for carrying out the command.
- If your dog stands up, gently pull him up with the leash while commanding him to "Sit" to return to the Sit position.
- Repeat this exercise; once your dog successfully stays for 15 seconds, you can start taking one step backward while holding the leash, wait 30 seconds, then approach him and give him a treat.
- Keep moving away from your dog while keeping hold of the leash, which serves as your steering wheel and can direct him back to sit if they ignore the command too soon. To confirm the "stay" command, you can begin side by side.
Increase the travel distance and stay time over time.
When he demonstrates that he understands what "stay" means and is in that position, you can start to introduce distractions and test his abilities in a more challenging setting.
Be aware that even the most intelligent dogs cannot comprehend you at all. If you sometimes think your dog is very "understanding," it's only because he remembers the way you praise him.
Instead, if you find yourself leaving and your dog follows (this phenomenon is likely to happen), you should immediately repeat the training while letting the dog know that you are extremely disappointed with his performance at the moment through your expression and body language. Eventually, if you keep doing this, he will be able to comprehend your request for him to "stay."
