Stand/Stay

[elisabeth_00117]

Stark is doing great in all areas of his obedience, I am really impressed with how things are coming along. It helps that we train everyday and go to classes weekly.

I have one question though, how do you get a 5 month old puppy to stand/stay???

I get can get him to stand and his stays are great when it comes to sit and down but every time I walk away he tends to either sit or lay down from the stand stay.

I renforce with a command (verbal and visual) and sometimes even go over and tell him "up" but after a few seconds he sits or lays down again.

In class we are just working on building up time for our sit/stay and down/stays and our next level we will be working on stand/stays but I would like to get a head start as Stark is doing great in all other avenues.

Any ideas???

[Castlemaid]

Elizabeth,

Stark sounds like a star obedience pupil!!!! Very impressed that he does as much at such a young age.

My advice, especially if you would like to give Schutzhund a try, is to NOT expect too much from Stark at such a young age. I know he has the potential, and he is happy to work with you, and for you, but too much obedience at too young an age can hinder their drive development - they become too dependent on your presence and are unsure about working at a distance from you.

Have fun with him, enjoy him, let him be a crazy pup! If he will do a stand-stay for a second, that is great!!! Work at his level, time enough to push the boundries when he gets older.

I don't even start "formal" OB with my pups until they are five or six months or so. All I expect from them is a sit, and I shape focus and walking by my side by rewarding when they offer me the behaviour that I want.

There is nothing wrong with starting OB early and having a well-behaved, responsive pup, but developing a SchH pup is a bit different. If you slack off the OB training a bit, Stark won't fall behind, he is already well advanced.

[elisabeth_00117]

Thanks for that post.

We just started our formal OB training this month, our last class was just some puppy socialization and basic manners (come when called, sit, down, don't jump up, etc.).

He really is an amazing little guy. I am SUPER impressed with what he is able to do at this point and time.

So I shouldn't worry about the stand/stay then, okay.. good! Haha..

His recalls and stays (other than a stand stay) are really impressive - I will try to get some video tonight when we are at the park. He just wants to learn! He loves it!

He just figured out what a ball is in the past few weeks which is really fun. He will actually chase the ball now instead of giving me that, "what is that thing? you want me to what?" look.. Haha.

He will even bring the stick or ball to me now (he drops it about 1-2 feet away but doesn't run off with it!) when I call him.

Thanks so much for your reply, I really am trying to do my best. He is such an amazing pup that it doesn't take much of my energy to do so.

We have along ways to go, but we have time and I have patience and love so we will get there.

[ShatteringGlass]

When you tell him to stay, how far away do you leave him? Try staying close, even just feeding him from your hand and tell him "stay, good stay". I don't walk more than 2 feet away from Shane when we do a stand stay and I dont even turn my back to him. And I dont ask him to hold it for more than 10 or 15 seconds. You need to build up distance and time very slowley, set him up for success. Moving to far away when he's clearly not ready (which he is showing you by sitting or laying down), can really make things double the work later on, as he might loose confidence because he is not performing up to your expectations.

Remember, he's just a pup, enjoy him and take your time!

[elisabeth_00117]

Originally Posted By: ShatteringGlassWhen you tell him to stay, how far away do you leave him? Try staying close, even just feeding him from your hand and tell him "stay, good stay". I don't walk more than 2 feet away from Shane when we do a stand stay and I dont even turn my back to him. And I dont ask him to hold it for more than 10 or 15 seconds. You need to build up distance and time very slowley, set him up for success. Moving to far away when he's clearly not ready (which he is showing you by sitting or laying down), can really make things double the work later on, as he might loose confidence because he is not performing up to your expectations.

Remember, he's just a pup, enjoy him and take your time!

I am only about a foot away, as soon as I let my hand go he sits. I think he thinks I expect him to sit.. haha.

We just started learning the stand/stay (I started on my own, not in our classes yet) mostly to see if he could do it, so I may be just jumping ahead.

I think I will wait on that. Work it a little at a time then worry about the time and distance later.

Thanks guys!

[Cassidy's Mom]

I had trouble with the stand/stay with Halo too, she'd sit almost immediately. Staying close and feeding continually for a few seconds and then releasing her helped, gradually working up to more time. Deliver treats low enough that he doesn't have to lift his head up to get them, (but not so low that he goes into a down) which would tend to tip his back end into a sit. I kept the hand that wasn't delivering treats in the "stay" signal until I released her.

I didn't EVEN get two feet away at first! He needs to get the idea before you start moving away from him, and what really helped was a suggestion by a substitute trainer we had one night to just move your feet around before actually getting any distance between you. She would step back and then immediately forward with ONE foot, leaving the other foot in place and vice versa, then a quick step back and forward with each foot, and the same thing to the side, etc.

What's funny is both my dogs have a pretty good stand stay in the "wait". If they're ahead of us at the park we can tell them to wait and they stand there until we catch up and release them to continue, or I can be walking along with a dog at my side, give the wait command and take a few steps forward and then release the dog to come up next to me again. But if I say "stay" without putting them in a sit or down first and walk away they'll usually pick a position to get comfy in, lol!

It's not something I've worked on much, I did it because we covered it in class. I don't really care about a formal stand/stay as long as they'll stop and wait, and have solid sit and down stays.

[Samba]

The pup is young for understanding much stay behavior. When you do start it, stay close to your dogger until they really get it. People tend to move away too soon. When your dog understands sit stay well, the concept of stay is easier to convey in other positions. I haven't really thought about working stationery exercises like that with my pup. We save that until later when mental concentration is longer. No need be belabor stay with a youngster.