# how to train sit/down stay?



## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Have you done any classes with him? I mean, 'somewhat down and stay' is a bit vague...If I were you, I would take him to an Obedience class: fun for the both of you!


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## MelMcGarry (May 2, 2010)

I agree with Inge. The obedience classes are fun!


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

Are you showing your dog the treat? have the treats in your pocket tell him to sit if he sits remove treat from pocket if still in sit reward him if he moves put treat back in pocket. 
Is he doing sit and down good without food use pats and praise as a reward.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Timing is everything when you are training a dog, especially when you are training "stay". You need to have him down and say stay and then mark the behavior. I use the word "YES". As you are saying "YES", you need to be giving him the treat *before he starts to get up.* Then you need to give him the release command (I use "okay"). All of this needs to be done quickly so that you get the commands and treats in before him moves. Over time you can increase the time between the "stay" command and the release. If he starts breaking the stay, it means you are moving too quickly in the training for him and he's not understanding what you want from him. If he is super food motivated like my youngest dog, you may need to use a toy as a reward instead. Same method, but


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm going to skip over Jacks, because his stays are still a work in progress despite 3 years of training. I suspect I did not teach the initial steps with him EARLY enough or the right way. >.<

With Danny - who was absolutely solid with his stays by the time he was a year old we did them a little differently. 

1. No treats. The theory is that if you keep your dog as relaxed as possible and don't get him thinking that every time you are close by he will get a treat, then you will have a dog who is able to sit and lie quietly. 

2. Take it slow. Danny was on a long line until he was a year old, but I didn't move to the full length of the leash until he had gone months without breaking. And there was plenty of proofing in the meantime, including our instructor throwing tennis balls behind him and such. 

3. Early and often. With Jacks he didn't actually work on stays until he was a little older and starting to have clingywort issues about me being too far away from him. That was when he was 6 or 7 months old. With Danny, we were working on stays in puppy class. And there were stays every single class he went to, every week, etc. And we practiced them every day. 

*** Anyway.

Teaching sit/down stay the first steps - 

1. You do them in heel position with one hand on the leash to correct and one hand on the dog's rump (sit stay) or shoulders (down stay). 

2. You keep them very short so the dog is always successful.

3. As the dog gets the idea of staying in position until you say "OK" and release them, you merely hover your hand over the rump or shoulders. And then you start to straighten up. If the dog is sitting you still hold the leash. If the dog is lying down, you step on the leash. 

When you can do a 30 second stay at the dog's side with you standing up straight and making no corrections, only then do you move to the front of the dog. 

If your dog is staying for 30 seconds with you in front, only then do you ask the dog to stay 40 seconds and build it up to a minute. 

If your dog is staying for a solid minute, then you can take a couple steps back. 

The idea is you do not want to rush anything.

When you release a dog, I would always release when you are at the dog's side and saying the release word + a touch on the shoulders. The reason why you do this is because if you ever have to put your dog in a stay somewhere, you want him to understand that Stay means he is not to move until you are within reach and say the release word. 

I use the above with our collie and golden when I'm out in our front yard with them and I see a car coming down the street. Both dogs know their border and are trained, but they both have very strong social and chase instincts. If they are beyond my reach, I will tell them both to stay while I jog out to retrieve them.

The above is also the reason why I use "wait" instead of "stay" as a command word if I plan to call a dog to come to me. Wait means the dog can anticipate me calling them to come. Stay means do not move until I'm next to them and touch them on the shoulders.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

When I was first teaching Gabby she was ONLY going down if I had the treat in my hand taking it to the ground. I was told I was 'lureing' her. Made sense. 

Now I give her the down command, she has to allow me to stand up, stay in position to get her treat. I am slowly extending that. Last night when I was working her, she was laying down all over the place. I was surprised first I had that behavior but I guess she is understanding it to a degree now. 

Down is a hard command for a dog, it is the ultimate in submission. 

I am also teaching Gabby to back and lay down. My obedience trainer showed me that trick. The "backing" part is our challenge. She thinks I want her to hop on her back legs backwards... uh not really Gabby. LOL


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