Training Question

[RedyreRottweilers]

Just keep in mind this is a 13 week old large breed puppy who is STARVING when it's time to eat.

[Stacey]

For now I will just keep the "stay" training separate from feeding time.  Later on when he is a little older and secure in the fact that he IS going to eat I will try again with the wait to eat training.  I agree with Red in that he may just be too young to be expected to do this.  Thanks for everyones suggestions... .what is the best way to teach "stay"??

[DixieSugarBear]

Maybe his bark is just a very nice "oh goody dinner, thanks mom".

[Stacey]

LOL...I like that!!  I think you are right!!

[newflvr]

Chester used to do that to....bark like mad while I was preparing his and Cowboy's bowls.  Cowboy always lays quietly until he hears the spoon hit the counter...then Katie bar the door!  Somehow that made an impression on Chester and they both lay quietly in the kitchen until I'm ready to put ther bowls down.  Cowboy is a great trainer

[Stacey]

That is EXACTLY like Tonka!!  From the minute I pick up his food bowl he is barking (roooo-roooo hahah....I love his bark!) and then when I go to put the bowl back in the feeder he sits for me....but if I take any longer than a second to put his bowl down he starts barking at me  !!  In all honesty (and I know this is probably bad!) but I think it is cute and endearing...BU T I was just confused as to whether or not to let it continue.  I know that it is caused by the fact that I was trying to teach him something he is seemingly not ready or willing to learn LOL but it was worth a shot and I will just have to put the "wait to eat" on the back burner for a little while.

[pndlake]

You know there are lots of great ways to teach stay just like there are lots of training ways that are all acceptable and work.  I will tell you the way I like to do it.  I put them in a sit position and then first back off a step and face the dog with both hands, palms facing the dog along with the verbal command "stay".  If the dog at first does it for a very short time, great.  I reward with praising and love.

  I personally do not use treats for the basic obedience commands and stay is one of them - I use great loud praise sounds especially goooooooood dog.  I use treats for more complicated commands that are above and beyond the call of obedience commands.

Each time the dog is successful with Stay I back step a little further always using the command "Stay" along with the hand signal.  After a lot of practice you can drop the verbal command if you want to and just use the hand signal for the dog to stay in any position you put him in. 

I like hand signals only because I hate to hear people shouting and screaming at their dogs. 

Just my uncomplicated way.

[RedyreRottweilers]

Here is how I do it.



I NEVER repeat stay commands.

If the dog does not learn to REMEMBER to stay, the command is useless.

I begin teaching the sit/stay by asking the puppy to sit in heel position. After giving a clear verbal STAY command, and showing the puppy the palm of my hand, fingers together, pointing down, I then hold enough upward pressure on the leash so that the puppy will not move, and pivot directly in front of the puppy so I'm standing toe to toe with her. Keep the gentle pressure upwards. Count to 5, pivot back, release the collar pressure, and at the same time, release and praise the puppy.

Practice in this manner until you can do this, on a loose leash, and count to 30 and the puppy is not moving. DO NOT repeat the word stay. If you have to put her back, once she IS back, you can say GOOD sit, DO NOT SAY STAY AGAIN.

You can reward good responses with gentle low key verbal praise, and food rewards.

Once you can count to 30 while standing in front of the puppy, and the puppy is consistently NOT moving when you move in front, or back to heel position, you can move out to the end of your 6 foot lead. Remember that when you start adding distance, you may end up having to position the dog back again. NO repeating stay. Say GOOD sit, instead.

When you can stand at the end of the leash and count to SIXTY without the pup moving, and when you can go back to heel position by passing around behind her, and you are not getting any movement, you can start introducing distraction.

Distraction can be defined as anything that will get your dog's attention, and cause them to break their stay.

Yep, you WANT them to break. Each time they do, put them back, and praise them for staying. You want to distract a dog into moving a couple of times, and then moderate the distraction slightly so the dog can be successful, release and praise, and then move on to something else.

Don't overdo distraction. The dog has to have the distraction to learn more about the stay concept, but you must not overwhelm her. She needs to be successful often enough so that you keep her interest.

Stay is a precision exercise that takes TIME and PRACTICE for the dog to get reliable, along with creative distractions.

[Stacey]

Thank you!!  I am going to begin working on this tomorrow with Tonka.  He has sit and is doing well with heeling.  I have also taught him to sit in the heel position whenever I stop (when he is on the leash.)  I was a little mystified about how to teach  "stay".  Thank you for the lesson and I will let you know how it goes!

[RedyreRottweilers]

Sometimes when you start moving away from the pup when teaching stays, the pup just insists on following you.

This exercise can help most dogs learn about stay, and sometimes in the very beginning stages, it can help a puppy learn to stay when you move away.

Here is how....

Standing in front of the pup, with the puppy sitting, gently grasp the muzzle with your right hand, while holding the leash in your other hand. Put enough gentle steady pressure on the leash so that the puppy can feel it, and sort of (very gently) push with your hand on the muzzle, and use a steady gentle pull on the leash until you feel the puppy resisting away from the tug of the leash. It needs only be enough pressure to keep the puppy gently resisting it. Then gently and slowly release the pressure on the leash. Then gradually apply it again. If the puppy make a mistake, and gets up, gently put her back, and do the little muzzle hold, leash pull again until she is resisting.

This is a frequent game/test I play with my dogs who are learning stay, and also with those who already know it.

[Newf Lover]

Hope the training is going well with Tonka.  Keep working with him and one day he will be a well behaved and mindful dog.  He could even do this.....

[Stacey]

LOL....now that is discipline!!   

[GS lover]

What an absolutely GORGEOUS dog!!! And well trained too!

[brandon]

Drake has some really big feet 

[Newf Lover]

That is our favorite trick with Drake.  He is so good about that one.  We usually use chicken jerky and we put down about 5 or 6 pieces and make him "LEAVE IT".  This kind of trick really helps when we eat dinner at the coffee table and he is lurking around for freebies.  He isn't drooling because I gave him the "NO DROOL" command.    J/k, I wish there was such a thing.  Those mini burgers are perfect special treats for him, we don't feed him that kind of stuff very much, but it made for a good pic.  He does have pretty big paws, but I think the little burgers make them look that bigger.   An optical illusion maybe?