Imagine clean floors in your home - no more muddy paw prints!
Imagine clean floors during the muddy season! They are attainable!
This month is dedicated to keeping your floors clean during mud season (AKA Springtime.) Whether you’re working with a new puppy or teaching your old dog new tricks, the STAY command is super helpful to have in your bag of tricks.
Last week, we talked about teaching your dog to sit. In case you missed it, you can read it here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/mud.
Often when we teach our dogs to sit, they pop right back out of it. If you find this is happening to you, try rewarding them with a calmer voice. When we use excited energy to train our dogs, it often causes them to match our excitement. This leads to unwanted excited behaviour, like jumping up.
There’s many different ways to teach the STAY command. Hopefully you’ll find the way that I teach it works well for you.
Woof! There it is! Once you’ve mastered the SIT, you’re ready to teach STAY.
Here are 3 tips to help you with STAY!
1 Teach STAY in your house first - you can try it in the backyard once you’ve cemented in the command in a low distraction area
2. Keep your dog on a leash - this is more for the trainer than for the dog
3. Keep your movements confident and calm - dogs respond to our energy and body language
Practice inside on a leash before moving your STAY to a high distraction area.
You’re in a quiet kitchen or living room with low distractions. Your brand new kitten is not leaping over your dog’s head and three children are not doing cartwheels past his face. Make sense? Let’s get to it. Today’s imaginary dog is named Wasabi.
Ask your dog to sit and reward them for doing so. If they break the sit, ask for it again and reward them.
Stand on your dog’s left side, holding the leash with your left hand. There should be no tension on the leash.
Use your right hand to make a STOP SIGNAL in front of your dog’s face and say, “Wasabi, stay.”
4. Take one small step away from your dog. If they follow you, just start again from step #1 - don’t worry about it, making mistakes is part of learning. If they stay, step immediately back into position beside them and say “Good stay.” You can also feed them or pet them at that moment.
5. I would give them a break after just one stay, especially if they are a puppy. Release them with “Okay” or “Break” or whatever you normally use and enjoy a little play session.
6. After the short break. Set up and try #1 to #5 again. If your dog is excelling at the stay, try taking a slightly larger step away from your dog.
Practice sit, stay, and break for about five minutes a day. You can add in other commands that your dog knows as well. Have lots and lots of fun!!!
Take short play breaks with your dog. Obedience work should be FUN, not a chore.
Over time, you should practice moving two steps away from your dog, walking in front of your dog, dropping the leash and walking across the room, and even walking in a circle around them. This gradually adds distractions and distance and will ensure an awesome sit-stay.
The next time you come home with a muddy dog, ask for the sit and the stay. Wipe their feet calmly. If you act silly, your dog will also become silly and playful. Keep this ritual calm. When you’re done drying your dog, use the release command to tell her it’s okay to leave the front hall/mat/mud room area now.
Enjoy your clean floors!
Your dog can learn to sit nicely to have his feet wiped.
If you need any help with dog training right now, reach out to us at Beyond Dog Training for an online session. We have clients in the UK and the USA - dogs we have never met in person have learned everything from how to play fetch to how to behave in an office setting.
Online training with Beyond Dog Training is only a click away. Click the TAKE ACTION button to learn more.
We hope you are all enjoying your extra time at home with your dogs. Stay healthy, Dog Leaders.
Alyssa
Photos by: Jeremy Beck (imagine floor,) Erik Mclean (Boston Terrier sitting,) Jamie Street (muddy Spaniel,) Allie Smith (bulldog sitting,) Nadine Shaabana (stop hand,) Sarah Brown (dog with ball,)
Florencia Viadana (terrier sitting in front hall,) Ayla Verschueren (dog with computer.)