Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:19 pm Post subject: Training a lab to stay
I have a 11 week old puppy and i'am trying to teach him to stay however this is proving difficulty. In the kitchen he has a blanket so that if he does want to go in to keep me and my family company when we are cooking then he can but as long as he stays on the blanket as it can be dangerous if he wonders about what with cookers and frying pans sparking he goes to the blanket and sits on it when I ask him to however he won't stay there what is the key to getting a dog to stay?
Well an 11 week old pup is going to find it VERY hard to STAY in the manner you want it to, for the length of time you want it to. Start with pup next to you/in front and say STAY or SIT probably with a hand signal too. If pup stays still for TWO SECONDS - praise gently and reward. Don't move anywhere or do anything else. Repeat a few times on the trot, several times in the day.
Once pup is doing that without problem - count 5secs and repeat lots. Sometimes make the stay time shorter. Once that is solid increase to 10 secs and practice lots. You are still next to pup at this point. Increase the time and then you can start increasing the distance away from pup while it stays. Start with a small step backwards and return to reward straight away. Do lots of this and then make it a bigger step backwards from pup (if pup is facing you), make sure each progression step is solid before increasing the difficulty.
If you want pup to be in kitchen while you cook but don't want it wandering then perhaps use a crate or puppy pen to keep it in one place - don't expect them to stay on a bed. I could ask my almost 4 year old to stay for probably up to about 5mins on her bed in kitchen now as she has learnt that me in kitchen cooking is boring - if I'm chopping things or grating cheese then she is a useful hoover though!
A 2 min stay is one of the tasks to complete for the Gold KC Good Citizen Award - it is a challenge! Don't expect too much from your little one too soon! My 18month old rescue boy has been practising stays since coming home at the end of July - he's up to staying reliably for about 2mins now
Teaching a dog to stay requires lots of patience and Laura has given you some good advice .
Harvey is a baby and he will have the attention span of a baby ( 30sec ?)
Dont expect more than that and then you wont be disapointed it is perfectly normal at this stage
The first two years I think are always the hardest and the most work but also leave us with some lovely memories
So by all means set ground rules ( discouraging mouthing and chewing of things you dont want chewed ect.) but also expect it to take time and your endless patience
Finding a good trainer can open many enjoyable avenues for you and Harvey and is something that you may find useful as he grows. Finally expect at somepoint that he will go through the adolescence Kevin stage and then you will definitely have to keep your patience ( talking from someone who is coping with an 11 month adolescent now ) again this is all perfectly normal .
As well as the excellent advise above, I'd say the key to a good STAY is never allowing the dog to move until you have released it.
Of course at this age, I'd only be looking at a STAY of a second or two, then rewarding the pup and using my release word (I use "OK"). From those first few seconds, you can then build up the time and distance very gradually.
Try to never set the pup up to fail though, as if he finds he can break the STAY and nothing much happens, then chances are, he'll break it time and time again. If he does move, quietly but firmly put him back and repeat the command, going back to him in much less time this time, so you can reward and release him for being good.
I have a 17 week old pup and she can manage a 5 second stay but nothing more. I started to use the word as soon as we got her before I fed her her. She will now stay and wait for her meals for about 5 seconds, which we have built up to, and then I release her with "ok".
I am just starting to use "stay" for other situations e.g. waiting behind the baby gate while I open it.
Thanks everyone for the great advice I'am totally new to this so its great to get some advice. I was cooking in the kitchen today and he was sitting on his mat nicely he will occasionally wonder off but I think he knows that's his place in the kitchen think its because its the only place he will get treats in the kitchen! Having a puppy IS hard work but it all becomes worth it when me and Harvey are lying at the fire and he is snuggled up to me I'am working really hard right now in trying to nip these bad habits in the bud mouthing, chewing etc I make sure I firmly tell him off for doing these things but at the same time whenever he is doing something good for example playing nicely with his toys I give him lots of praise. I'am going to puppy training classes in January which I think will help me need loads of work on lead training so I hope that going to the classes will help with that.
many books point out that dogs find stay one of the hardest commands to master.
your pup is still very young though. lots of practise and praise, be careful that you praise and reward the stay, i always return to my dog when she is staying, otherwise you are rewarding her coming to you.
the method i use is a clear command of stay together with raising my right hand, leaning slightly towards the dog is also advocated in some books.
keep things fun though, it is normal for the little critter to want to be with you.
I have been working on the stay command and I'am so happy to say that he is getting so much better I got him to sit on his mat and I walked backwards to the end of my hall and he stayed sitting until I reached the end of the room and called his name at first we done it with treats then later I thought i'd try it without any I honestly thought he wouldn't do it but he did! so impressed. I also agree that instead of calling him after he has stayed go back to him when he is still sitting then reward so I have been trying that and also getting him to come to me that way he is learning two things recall and stay I will admit though it has been such hard work but I love my pup so much I feel like we have such a strong bond already we are even making a breakthrough in house training which has been a struggle but he is now getting to know to do the toilet outside however I still need to work on this hopefully the next step would be for him to be able to go to the door as right now sometimes he sneaks off to the back of the room sniffing and I have to say ' no Harvey outside' then he will go to the door.
I use 2 different commands so as not to confuse the issue with Bella. I use "wait" to wait for food and when I'm going to use the recall command. I use Stay when I don't want her to move until I get back to her.
I was having a problem using stay for both things and I was advised to do this by a member on here. I have found her much better since I changed to using 2 separate commands. I have also got to the point where I can move out of her sight using Stay and she will stay until I get back. If I disappear from view using Wait, she comes looking for me after about 20 seconds
Once she is older and they are firmly entrenched, I will start using recall with the Stay command as well.
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it is perfectly normal at this stage 
but also leave us with some lovely memories 
I'am working really hard right now in trying to nip these bad habits in the bud mouthing, chewing etc I make sure I firmly tell him off for doing these things but at the same time whenever he is doing something good for example playing nicely with his toys I give him lots of praise. I'am going to puppy training classes in January which I think will help me need loads of work on lead training so I hope that going to the classes will help with that.
