Training your puppy to stay

Training your puppy to stay will prove extremely useful for all sorts of daily situations.

 

If you want to open a door without your dog running through, you will want to put him into a 'stay'. If you want to leave your dog for a short period when he is off the leash while you talk to someone or deal with something, you will want to put him into a 'stay'.

There are probably hundreds of occasions you can think of when the stay command will be useful in everyday life.

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On this page:

Why train a dog to stay

Training your puppy to stay

Increase the distance and add distractions

What if my dog breaks from a stay?

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Why train a dog to stay?

Some people say that training your puppy to stay is pointless because a dog should remain in whatever position he is placed until released.

For example, if you have asked him to lie down, he should stay in the down position until you tell him to get up.

But for most people, it will be useful to let your dog know that he is expected to remain in the one place for a time.

A stay command lets him know it's OK to settle down and to stop worrying about where you are or when you are coming back.

Training your puppy to stay

Before we get started on training your puppy to stay, make sure you have your treat or reward ready and your clicker with you if you are using one (or your marker word). You can find out about rewards at Puppy Training Tips and about clickers and marker words at Clicker Puppy Training.

Read through these steps before you start as it takes a little practice to get the timing right.

Step 1

Stand in front of your puppy and place him in the position you would like him to remain in. This is usually a sit or a down/drop but, when training a puppy to stay, you should practise with all three positions (sit, down/drop and stand). See Training a Dog to Sit, How to Train a Dog to Lie Down and Training a Dog to Stand.

Wait only 1 or 2 seconds, then, if the puppy is still in the same position, click/mark and reward. You shouldn't have too much trouble training your puppy to get this far if you have followed the principles for fading the lure in the sit, down/drop and stand commands.

Once this is working, try again, this time waiting for 3 to 5 seconds before you click/mark and reward.

Gradually increase the time you wait before you click/mark and reward but it's a good idea not to go above about 30 seconds in the early stages.

Keep practising this in short bursts of only a couple of minutes.

Step 2 - Adding the verbal cue

Now place your dog in the required position and say Stay in a firm voice as you leave the puppy. Repeat as above.

Don't increase the timing or the distance you stand from your dog just yet.

Click/mark and reward if he maintains the position.

Step 3 - Adding a hand signal

Place your dog in the required position and say Stay as you place the flat of your palm in front of the dog's face.

Then move to stand in front of the dog again.

Wait only a few seconds then click/mark and reward.

Once again, gradually increase the time you wait until you've got about 30 seconds working well. Then keep practising.

When training your puppy to stay, it's important to mix up how long you ask the puppy to stay for. So release and reward after 20 seconds, then 15, then 30, then 10 and so on, so your puppy is never quite sure how long the stay will last for. This will keep him focused.

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Increase the distance and add distractions

Now you can increase the distance you stand away from the puppy.

Give your verbal cue Stay and the hand signal and try standing 2 paces away from your puppy for up to 30 seconds.

Gradually increase the distance and the time (but not both at the same time).

As a general rule, don't ask your puppy to sit or stand for much more than a minute or two as they are not very comfortable positions.

If you want your puppy to stay in one place for several minutes, leave him in the down/drop position. It is much more comfortable for him and he will be less likely to move.

Distractions

Once your puppy is reliably staying in position for a minute or two at a distance of several paces, you can try adding some distractions. Try turning to the side and breaking eye contact with your dog to start with. Remember to give lots of praise if he maintains position.

Then you could try bending down to tie a shoelace, walking around in a small circle or chatting to a friend or family member.

Remember, as you're training your puppy to stay, to add these distractions only one at a time and don't combine them with increased distance or timing.

Eventually, you can even try going out of sight (into another room, behind a tree or move indoors if you are outside). If your puppy reliably stays in position under these circumstances, you'll know you've really mastered the stay command!

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What if my dog breaks from a stay?

Don't yell at your dog if he breaks a stay. Simply use your disapproving voice, call him to you (praise him for coming to you) and put him back into position calmly.

Then give your verbal cue and hand signal again and start the exercise again. He will soon learn that breaking a stay simply means he has to go back and do it all over again and that he gets no reward.

Think about why he broke the stay. Did you move to a greater distance or increase the time? If so, you might need to move back to where you last had a successful stay and try a smaller increment this time.

Don't chase after your dog if he breaks a stay and runs off. Remember to use the recall techniques explained in Training a Puppy to come when called. Calmly put him back into position and start the exercise again.

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