Stays: What does distance mean?

There are two types of distance in stay work.

Type 1: Distance between you and your dog

This type seems pretty obvious, right? This term can also mean where your body is in relation to the dog. So, standing in front, standing to the side and standing in back are all important. Be sure to practice distance from your dog at each spot!

The distance between you and your dog needs to be built up slowly. The amount of distractions in an environment can impact how well your dog does with distance stays.

Type 2: Distance between your dog and distractions

It is important when training stays to remember that low distraction environments are easier to train in than high distraction environments.

But, we can help our dogs learn to work in a high distraction environment by increasing the value of the reward and increasing the distance between ourselves and the distractions.

For instance, if I am working on stays near a busy playground, I will first pick a safe spot far away from the playground. Then, over time, I will slowly decrease the distance between the dog and the playground. It is far better to proceed too slowly than to go too quickly.

If the stay becomes difficult for your dog (they are not paying attention or break the stay a few times), then move 5 feet away from the distraction and try again. If you are still not getting a good 1-2 second stay, then increase distance more.

Breaking stays are a sign of:

• Too much distraction
• Length of stay is too long
• Distance between you and the dog is too far
• Not enough reward
• Not enough practice

If you constantly have to put the dog back in a stay, then try changing one or more of the above to lower criteria (shorter length, distance, fewer distractions) and using a higher value treat.

Stay - Part 1

A very brief overview!

Stays have three major components: distance, duration and distraction.

Distance: This is the amount of space between you and your dog.

Duration: This is the amount of time that a dog holds its stay.

Distraction: This is what is going on in around the dog while it is doing its stay.

For beginning stays, we only change one component at a time. So, if we are standing close to our dog, we can ask for a longer stay or we can add a distraction, but not both at the same time. If we are standing away from our dog, we should have the duration and the distractions as low as possible.

For more advanced dogs, we can change more components at a time.

When working on stays, we need to be able to reward in position. This means into the dog’s mouth when the dog is doing a sit-stay or between the dog’s front feet when doing a down-stay.

If you are using a clicker, remember that a click marks he end of the behavior, so your dog will/can break the stay. Training a release word (OK), which is different than your clicker/marker word (YES), is useful.

Some do’s and don’t’s:

Do reward in position.

Don’t drill too many stays at once (or boredom will set in).

Do treat before the dog has broken the stay. In fact, it is better to treat long before you think your dog will break its stay than to keep re-cueing the stay.

Do work with one beginner dog at a time.

Don’t try to lump stay behavior. In other words, take your time! A five second stay is great at first, but don’t try to jump from there to a 2 minute stay! Or, one foot away from your dog does not translate to 20 feet.

Give that dog a job!

This is my version of this technique.

Many dogs need jobs. And, as owners, we do not want to have our dogs invent their own jobs, since dog-defined jobs like car or bike chasing, fence running, cat herding, barking or other problem behaviors can hinder the human-canine bond. Some of these dog-defined jobs can be quite dangerous for the dog, too!

So, we need to give our dog a job. Or, in some cases, we give them more than one. One way to give a dog a job is to feed him each meal out of interactive toys, such as Kong products, Premier products or Buster Cubes, to name a few. This is an easy way for owners to slow down eating and to give their dog a mental job.

Another way to give a dog a job is to work on obedience behaviors. This includes behaviors such as sit, down, stand, stay and heeling (or loose leash walking), but should also include fun tricks. Even 5 minutes a day of training will improve a dog’s confidence, improve the human-canine relationship and mentally stimulate the dog.

A third way to give a dog a job is to institute a Nothing in Life is Free Program (or Work to Earn). Now, many people think that asking a dog to sit before giving a cookie is NILIF. Well, NILIF is more than that and requires a bit more from both the dog and the owner than sitting for a cookie. It is a way to establish rules around the house (house manners). It is a way to establish benign leadership without the use of force, pain or fear. It is also a great way to give a dog a job.

So, what does NILIF look like?

You are sitting in your chair watching TV. Your dog comes up to you and wants some attention. You could just reach out and pat him. Or, you could make him earn the attention by asking for a sit first. That is working (sitting) to earn attention.

You are preparing all the dogs' dinners. They are racing and running around. You could just feed them. Or, you could wait until they are quiet and in their crates before you feed them. That is working (quiet, calm behavior) to earn food.

You are throwing the frisbee. The dogs are very excited. You could just throw the frisbee again. Or, you could make them sit and lie down before you throw the frisbee again. That is working (sit and lie down) to earn play.

You are getting ready for bed. Your dog wants to sleep on the bed. You could just allow him up there. Or, you could ask him to sit before he jumps up. And, if he misbehaves on the bed (growl/snark at the other dog or the cat or the spouse) then you could not allow him on the bed at all. Good behavior earns a place on the bed. Bad behavior means you sleep on the floor. The same goes for the couch.

You are getting ready to go for a walk. The dogs start barking and getting excited. You could just clip the leash on and go. Or, you could make them sit and stay (while being quiet) before you clip the leash on. This is working (sit and stay while being quiet) to earn walks.

You are getting ready to let them go outside. You could just let them go outside. Or, you could ask them to sit and stay while you open the door and then release each one to go outside. Release each one at a different time. This is working to earn being outside.

You decide to give them a treat. You could just open the treat container and ask them to sit for a treat. Or, you could ask them to sit and stay BEFORE you get the treat out and then give them a treat. This is working to earn treats.

Do you see how Nothing in Life is Free (Work to Earn) is MUCH different than holding a treat in your hand and asking for a sit? It fundamentally changes the way your dog sees you - you control all resources and you decide what the dog needs to do to get them. You can not allow herding breeds to be in control or they will control everything - so, we have to be in control and this is how we do it without pain or fear.

When a dog is showing behavioral issues, then I immediately start a ?Nothing In Life is Free/Work to Earn program, obedience training, and physical and mental exercise. Once those steps are implemented, I work on the problem behavior itself, if extra training is still needed.