how do i train my dog to stay?

Question

he's a border collie and very stubborn

Answer 1

this is one of the hardest commands to teach. (i train my own dogs, and whoever wants to pay me to train theres, and some really stubborn ones have come my way.) 'stay' takes a lot of patience, and more practice than most other commands.
take an extra long training lead (theyre usually 25 ft long) and find a big open spot, like a big yard or a park, without a whole lot of distractions. training dogs should be a happy thing for your dogs. dont ever try to scold them or gett impatient - it confuses them, and makes them less likely to do it. so use a happy voice, and lots of treats. (the dogs own food would actually make a nice healthy treat - take it out of his daily rations and hell think it a great thing for you to feed him bites from your hand).
take things slow, just a few steps away from him at a time, and never have a taught lead. start with a sit command and walk a few steps away until he gets the hang of it each time. repeat 'stay' over and over as you move away.
hell get it eventually, but it takes a terribly long time.

Answer 2

Wow having difficulty's don't worry I got the solution.
See my dog was the same way. I train an train it to do tricks and stay especially but he will not. So here is the (secret) doggy treat the dog for accomplishing its task of staying. If it does not do reward it. That how I did it. Just say "stay" and wait a few minutes if he stays reward it repeat process for 1-4 weeks. It may not work at first, but it will realize it sooner or later.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

First, how old is he? You can't expect as much from a puppy as an adult.

When you're training, you start off by giving the stay command while standing right in front of him. He's only expected to stay for a very short time. You increase both your distance from him and the length of time he's expected to stay incrementally - don't move too fast. He has to be steady and reliable at 1 minute (for example) before you expect him to stay longer. Consistency and lots of praise will get him doing it. Border collies are not a stubborn breed but, like all smart breeds, get bored quickly so be sure you vary your training and keep it fun.

Answer 4

I have a very stubborn Rottweiler pup so I totally feel your pain! LOL The way I did it for him was to start off in the house with the leash on him. He's got almost 80lbs so I have a prong collar on him (I dont know how you feel about those, but personally, they're a great training tool.) I had him sit on the floor next to the couch while I was watching TV and told him to sit/stay or down/stay and had treats nearby. When he went to get up I'd give him a quick tug on the leash and said "NO, STAY" and kept repeating that. Keep it interesting for the dog, though. Take him outside afterwards and play ball with him and have him sit/stay with you for about 30 seconds, praise him, throw ball....make it fun. Then you can take him out on a training leash...preferably where there's not too many distractions and work with him from there. It worked for me...hopefull it will work for you too. Good luck!

Answer 5

I actually find stays very easy to train, because there are soooo many good opportunities to practice them in daily life.

Dinner time: my dogs have to wait until I say "Okay" before they can eat. While not exactly the same as a formal stay, it is still most certainly a self-control exercise that involves them staying put until I say otherwise. If they don't stay, the consequences are very clear and simple -- I don't yell, I don't say "No!", I simply pick up the bowl. No wait, no food. Easy peasy.

Going for a walk: dogs have to sit and wait until I say "Okay" until they can go out the door. I have a "magic door" that does not open until there are doggie butts on the ground. While the door is opening, if doggie butts do not stay on the ground, the door closes again. That silly old door just doesn't stay open if there are not butts on the ground.

Going out the back door to the yard would be the same thing. No wait, no door open. Bummer!

If you use a crate, it should have a "magic door" too. Dog should never leave the crate until you say "Okay" (or whatever release word you choose... some people use "Free"). If dog tries to leave early, simply close the door. If you find yourself slamming your dog in the face or wrestling him back into the crate, you probably had late timing and should have been closing the door much faster... watch his body language carefully to see if he's relaxed and waiting or leaning forward and eager to rush out. Door only opens for relaxed, patient dog. (For young active dog, "relaxed and patient" might occur for about 1 second, so yes, you can take what you can get to start with).

Getting to have leash put on, same thing.... dog should sit patiently for the collar and leash to be put on, or else the collar and leash simply do not get put on. Wait 15 seconds (or until calm) and try again.

Any time ever that there's something your dog would want, asking for a self-control behavior is a mini-practice for a stay. It doesn't have to be fancy or formal, it just has to be that your dog wants something and learns that he has to wait patiently to get it.

If you practice all of this regularly, you should find that stay training becomes dramatically easier

Answer 6

Really? Border Collies are renowned for their intelligence it wouldn't be a problem. It's just that they're very energetic. The first step is teaching him to sit. Afterwards, just show him the treat tell him to sit down. After he does, say "Stay" firmly while he's sitting down. Then back off a few steps, if he follows say "No" firmly. Then tell him to sit again. Just keep doing that till he gets the hang of it.

Answer 7

Lucky you - Border collies are quick to learn and fun to teach. Teach the "Rule Outs" game - that is, you will be presenting a choice to your dog, and at first you're going to make it easy for him to make the right choice. Get some cookies in your hand and then ask your dog to "Sit". Hold a cookie in your closed hand and let him sniff it all over and even try to mush your hand to get it out. Keep your hand closed over the cookie. The very instant your dog backs off (removing his nose from your hand even for a second!) say "Yes!", and give him the cookie. Repeat. Resist the temptation to say anything else to him.
So your dog will start to "get" the game. You'll notice that he will watch you get the cookie, and then he'll wait for your "Yes!". Your next step is to hold the cookie in your open hand...and naturally your dog will totally try to get the cookie. But being forewarned, you will know to instantly close your hand over that cookie and wait once again for him to back off. "Yes!" and cookie!!! Good boy!
Repeat this. Remember that he needs to be sitting until you say "yes" which releases him to get that cookie. Now, when he sees the cookie in your open hand he will wait for that release. If he doesn't, simply close your hand and wait.
Next step : cookie on your knee, keep your hand ready should your dog decide to self-release.
Then : cookie on the floor. It may be easier to block the self-releasing dog with your foot in this case - hand is OK too, whichever's faster.
During all this time the dog is always presented with a choice which you make harder. Play this game several times a day and remember to keep your sessions short! Once your dog understands "I can't go anywhere until my Mom says "Yes!"" then you can start to say "stay" or whatever you'd like. Humans often make the mistake of naming a behavior before the dog is actually doing it well!
hope this helps!

Answer 8

So..
I recommend this dog training course: http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=572
. It has fantastic videos on dog training. It explains good, gentle, simple and effective techniques to stop stop unwanted behaviours of your dog. I recommend it.
Bye Bye

Answer 9

Stays, sounds pretty easy....but can be very difficult to train. The best way to train a stay is slowly. Most people make the mistake of moving head too fast.

You start on leash. If your dog will down, train the down stay first. It's harder for them to move when the are down. Put your down in a down in heel position. Say stay and give the hand signal. (flat palm infront of nose). Stand up and count....start with 5. Release. Always release your dog from a stay, otherwise it is not a stay. Practice this a few times....increasing the count. When you get up to about a 25-30 count. Next you add the pivot. Same thing but you pivot right infront of your dog and start counting...pivot back to heel and release. When you get up to about 25-30 start taking steps back....repeat the count thing until you get to the end of a 6 foot leash. Always RETURN to your dog to release him. It sounds slow and painful....because it is.....your goal should be a reliable stay. Same method is used for the sit and stand stays (yes, it is possible to train a reliable stand stay....LOL)

Anytime your dog breaks....put him back and start over.

After you are able to get to the end of your leash by doing the pivot and walking backward....with success. You start leaving your dog from heel position (on your left) the key to this is leading off with your right foot....the dog is less apt to break....plus it is another command (sort of) other than the verbal and hand.

Keep your distance close at first and always on leash so you are able to correct. Once you think you dog 'got it' you start proofing....balls, etc.....you maybe in for a surprise. But don't give up......stays seems real easy......but they can be the most difficult to train. Most of the time it is a handler issue....rushing it.

Remember....with a stay you always release the dog...ok, free, whatever you break command is. Never, ever call your dog out of a stay....you ALWAYS return to your dog for the release......otherwise you are training your dog to break the stay. Stay means you keep your butt right there until I come to you.

Train the wait command if you want him to pause or hold a postion until you call him out of it. The stay and wait are not interchangable commands.

Border collies are good at everything, he'll pick this up fast. Depending on you.

PS......1 minute sit stays.....3 minute down stay..... novice show ring times. Don't go for 30 min stays.....if a dog needs to be in a stay for that longer than 3- 5 mins he or she should be removed from the area. When I train I break it from 30 secs to 3 min sit stays....and 1 to 5 min down stays....nothing longer ever.....and I build up slowly.

PS (AGAIN) If you can get your hands on "Beyond Basic Dog Training The Workbook" pages 119 to 121 gives you a check list on how to train a dog step by step for the sit and down stays. This is a very valuable tool to have when training the stays. I refer to this workbook all the time when I train. Well worth tracking it down.

The stay in motion is a real treat to train......we'll do that one next lesson....LOL!

Answer 10

Get a treat, demand it to stay..if it moves demand again, just keep demanding until it stays and treat him.