Common Stay Mistakes
Having a solid stay can be really helpful. Think of all the things your dog isn't doing if she's in a stay - jumping on people, stealing food off the counter, running out an open door, or otherwise causing trouble! Plus it just looks really impressive!
Teaching stay can be a little trickier than people think, though. Here are the 3 most common mistakes I see owners make when teaching their dog to stay.
NOT HAVING A CLEAR RELEASE
This is super important. If you don't tell your dog when they're allowed to move, how will they know? They'll decide for themselves when the stay is over, which is obviously not what we're going for.
But having a release cue isn't enough - it should be clear and simple to understand. Don't pick something like "Okay" or "Good" for your release word. More than likely, you say these more than you realize and at some point you'll release your dog without meaning to. The release should be short and not something you regularly say. I use “All done” to release my dogs.
GOING TOO QUICKLY
Many people attempt to teach stay by seeing how far they can back away from their dog before the dog moves. This is setting the dog up to fail. You want to start by taking baby steps in training, and to be honest, distance isn't necessarily what you should start with. First build up to a 1-minute stay with you near by. Then add in distractions and then distance.
My general rule of thumb is if your dog breaks the stay 3 times, you’re going too fast for them. You’re either asking them to stay too long, you’re too far away, or you’re adding in too many distractions.
REWARDING THE RELEASE, NOT THE STAY
Nearly every person I see teaching stay gives the dog a treat once the stay is over. What is this teaching the dog? That the best part of stay is the release. I don't want your dog to be excitedly waiting for the release so they can be treated. I want them to be disappointed when the stay is over because the treats have stopped. You should be treating your dog DURING the stay, not after.