Stay / Wait
Teaching Bryn to hold her current position until released — the backbone of impulse control and safety.
Adolescent Note
Stay directly opposes an adolescent dog's desire to be in motion and investigate everything. Expect regression. Shorten the criteria dramatically (back to 5-second stays if needed) and rebuild with high-value rewards. Adolescent dogs benefit enormously from stay practice — it's mental exercise disguised as stillness.
Training Stages
Build the concept of holding position, starting with fractions of a second.
- Ask Bryn to sit or down.
- Instead of immediately marking, pause for 1 second. Then mark and treat.
- Gradually increase the pause: 1 sec → 2 → 3 → 5 → 10 → 15 → 30.
- Add a release cue ("okay!" or "free!") delivered with energy and a tossed treat so she learns the difference between staying and being released.
Advance When
Bryn holds a sit or down for 30 seconds with you standing right next to her, 8 out of 10 times.
Watch Out
Increasing duration too fast. If she breaks, you asked for too much. Cut the time in half and rebuild.
Always increasing — mix in easy short stays so she doesn't learn that it just gets harder and harder.
Tips
Treat WHILE she's in position, not after she gets up. This teaches that staying pays, not that getting up pays.
Use a calm, quiet voice for stay. Save the excitement for the release.
Teach Bryn that stay means stay even when you move away.
- With Bryn in a stay, take one step back. Return immediately, mark and treat.
- Gradually increase: 1 step → 2 steps → 5 steps → across the room.
- Return to her to deliver the treat. Don't call her to you — that trains recall, not stay.
- Mix in shorter distances regularly. Don't always go farther.
Advance When
Bryn holds a stay while you walk 10–15 feet away and return, 8 out of 10 times.
Watch Out
Walking away backward while staring at her — this creates pressure. Walk away casually.
Going too far too fast. If she breaks at 6 feet, practice at 4 feet for a while.
Tips
If she breaks, calmly reset her to the original position. No scolding. Just try again with less distance.
Vary your path: walk left, right, behind her, in a circle. Predictable patterns don't generalize.
Proof the stay against real-world interruptions.
- Start with mild distractions: drop a treat nearby, toss a toy, bounce a ball.
- Have someone walk past at a distance. Gradually decrease the distance.
- Practice at the front door: stay while the door opens (start with tiny cracks).
- Practice outdoors in a low-distraction area, on leash.
Advance When
Bryn holds a stay while you open the front door, drop a treat on the floor, or have someone walk nearby.
Watch Out
Adding distractions before duration and distance are solid. The 3 Ds must be built separately, then combined slowly.
Testing with the hardest distraction first (another dog, a squirrel). Build up to it.
Tips
A stay at the front door is one of the most useful real-life applications. Worth heavy investment.
When adding a new distraction, reduce duration and distance back to easy levels.
Proofing — The 3 Ds
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Duration
Build methodically: 5 sec → 15 sec → 30 sec → 1 min → 2 min → 5 min.
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Distance
1 ft → 5 ft → 10 ft → across the room → out of sight (briefly).
🐿️
Distraction
Quiet room → mild distractions (treat on floor) → moderate (doorbell, person walking) → challenging (outdoors, other dogs visible).
Generalization
Practice stay in every room, at the front door, in the yard, on walks. Use both sit-stay and down-stay — they're separate skills to the dog. Practice with different family members asking for the stay.
Troubleshooting
Bryn breaks the stay the moment you turn your back
She's learned that facing away = release. Practice: turn 45°, return and treat. Turn 90°, return and treat. Build up to fully turning around before walking away.
Bryn creeps forward during the stay
She's anticipating the release or the return treat. Mark and treat for stillness. If she creeps, reset without frustration and reduce the difficulty.
Related Skills
Sit
The simplest position cue and often the first skill a dog learns — a building block for impulse control and polite greetings.
Down (Lie Down)
Teaching Bryn to lie down on cue — a calm, stable position that's the foundation for settle and place work.
Place / Settle
Teaching Bryn to go to a designated spot and relax there — an essential life skill for calm household behavior and public outings.
Leave It
Teaching Bryn to disengage from something tempting on cue — a critical safety skill and impulse control builder.