old school stay proofing?

[Ucdcrush]

I was watching this video on Youtube, and at :39 seconds, is a still photo of what I'm guessing is how they proofed the stay, they appear to be pulling to get the dogs to move out of down/stays.

YouTube - NZ Police Dog Section 1960s - 1970s

YouTube - NZ Police Dog Section 1960s - 1970s

I have done something like this before in "stay" training, but did not spend much time on it and I would only do gentle tugs, nothing like the pressure these guys seem to be putting on the dogs.

Anyone familiar with using that method? I'm assuming since this is old school, they would be corrected if they decided to give in to the pressure and break the stay.

I can see that making the dog want to STAY by fighting off physical (and mental) pressure should help keep the dog in a "stay" situation where they'd be tempted to bolt, e.g. a cat running across the yard.

(This is of course assuming I'm interpreting the photo correctly..).

[Cassidy's Mom]

It looks like they're using oppositional reflex to proof the stay. I don't know if that's "old school" per se, I've done it with Keefer. Some of the men in the picture appear to be putting more pressure on the leash than others.

[Elaine]

I wouldn't call it old school as I would call it a very good way to proof your stays. I still do this in training for all the stay exercises and see no reason not to do this.

[Lin]

We do this where I train. I don't tend to do it seriously because my girl Emma is very sensitive to collar pressure. A year ago she was still learning to tolerate a leash period. But we put them in sit stays, and tug on the leash, swing the leash like a jumprope in both directions etc to proof the stays. They are corrected if they break, but its a quick verbal correction and then you put the dog back into position, repeat the stay command, and start over. When they stay, you treat or praise.

[Zisso]

I do it too, especially with Zisso and he is great at taking the collar pressure. However I cannot do it with Nadia because she will move every time. She also happens to have an awesome stay without the pressure, off leash-I can walk as far away as I want and she will be where I left her. With Z, he WILL break his down stay at some point....but he won't budge if I tug on the leash when he is in the down stay.

[Chris Wild]

This isn't "old school" as the term is usually used with it's negative connotation. It's just a very old, tried and true manner of proofing stays. I use this, as do a lot of people. It works quite well as a proofing exercise and really helps the dog understand the concept of the stay. When the dog really resists being pulled (or pushed which is also often used too), the dog is showing he really understands and is determined to hold position. I've never pulled as hard as those guys look to be pulling in that video, and never seen anyone else pull that hard, but there is absolutely nothing wrong or mean about it. It's a very useful exercise for proofing stays.

[Rerun]

Do it here and yes it works well. Like Emma, Dante is pretty sensitive to pressure, but Micah will hold his ground.

[AgileGSD]

I've used this to teach early stages of stay to dogs, in a closer and less intense way. Good for teaching dogs that stay means to resist moving.

[Caledon]

I've used that too. I've actually tried to to see if she could help me get up from a very low chair. Yup - held her stay and gave me a little boost. lol.