Puppy training tips

[Xmasha]

Stirling has been doing fab at puppy training. Will do walk to heel, decent recall., find it, middle etc. hes in a group where they are all pretty good, so the trainer wants to put them through the KC Bronze . However, as part of that they have to sit and stay for 1 minute, this was going great until last session. since then he will stay for 10 seconds and then come bounding over. He just wants to be next me to me all the time. Any tips to help ? Thanks

 

[Clodagh]

Practice, practice, practice! Don’t push him too far. Watch him like a hawk and as soon as he’s going to move step back to him (don’t go more than a step away) and reinforce stay, reward, release.
You want him to be rewarded with his bum on the floor. Also I never call mine to me when training stay, I always return, reward, release.
It has taken a long time with Red (not a puppy but untrained nervous adult) but I can now go out of sight.

 

[Xmasha]

Practice, practice, practice! Don’t push him too far. Watch him like a hawk and as soon as he’s going to move step back to him (don’t go more than a step away) and reinforce stay, reward, release.
You want him to be rewarded with his bum on the floor. Also I never call mine to me when training stay, I always return, reward, release.
It has taken a long time with Red (not a puppy but untrained nervous adult) but I can now go out of sight.

brilliant . I’ve been calling him too me . That’s where I’ve gone wrong ! Thank you

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I agree with the practice. We used to put Jake and Brig in a sit and go out of sight round the corner, didn’t take them long to click on, but they were the easiest dogs ever, more Labrador like than spaniel.

 

[MurphysMinder]

As above practice, practice. I practice stays with mine when I am cooking, just very short ones to start with. Always go back to reward, and as said don't call him out of a stay. I use different commands, stay for a stay (there's a surprise) and wait when I am leaving for a recall. You will soon crack it I am sure, just takes perseverance.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

At our club it was always hammered home to us to use 'stay' for stay and 'wait' for stay till recalled and never to recall out of a stay.

 

[TPO]

Yip, second or third, returning to him in a stay.

I mixed up recalling out of a stay and returning to my pup (or when he was a pup).

He did out of sight stays really well. My non traditional practice was telling him "safe space" and he'd just up the hay bales, then "stay" while I went to the field to bring the horses in. His healthy respect for them kept him rooted to his safe space in the bales until I released him ("that'll do").

I do a lot of returning to him and walking past him before returning etc just so he isn't anticipating.

I did a lot just messing about in the house when he was wee too and that helped.

 

[Morwenna]

I’m also having issues with the sit stay at the moment so I’ve gone back to basics. I’m working on duration first then will add the distance. I find very short training sessions help. Do a really easy one first, then push a bit then an easy one to finish. I always go back to my dog, stand at her side and then click and treat so she doesn’t start to break as I step back to her. Let the dog get up and move around in between sits (I have a release cue so am reinforcing this) and then do something fun.

 

[Xmasha]

Yip, second or third, returning to him in a stay.

I mixed up recalling out of a stay and returning to my pup (or when he was a pup).

He did out of sight stays really well. My non traditional practice was telling him "safe space" and he'd just up the hay bales, then "stay" while I went to the field to bring the horses in. His healthy respect for them kept him rooted to his safe space in the bales until I released him ("that'll do").

That’s what I’ve done for sure. Mixed the stay / wait / recall up

that’s impressive training !Would love to get Stirling to stay like that

 

[Clodagh]

That’s what I’ve done for sure. Mixed the stay / wait / recall up

that’s impressive training !Would love to get Stirling to stay like that

My trainer still points out that when under pressure I say all three at the same time. With hand signals

 

[Moobli]

At our club it was always hammered home to us to use 'stay' for stay and 'wait' for stay till recalled and never to recall out of a stay.

That was how we learned to train it many years ago at the regular obedience club too.
Just as an aside where did all those obedience clubs go? The norm now seems to be a six or eight week puppy course costing a sizeable amount of money and that’s the end of it. When I first got dogs 30 years ago, you paid a small yearly membership fee and then weekly when you turned up. There were three classes on each Friday night. Puppy, intermediate and competition level and you moved through the levels depending on your commitment and what plans you had for your dog. It was a great social thing too.
Ahh the nostalgia.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Yes, you started with a pup at obedience classes and worked through, if you did well you got on the demo team and maybe even on to compete. I think this sort of class is very much in the minority now, same with ringcraft training.

 

[CorvusCorax]

We train three positions, sit you always return to the dog, down you recall from 30 paces, stand can be both. The position is in the command until told otherwise, with no 'stay', that would be an extra command, the recall command is the signal to move. We rarely train the recall as part of the pattern/in the same sessions, there is a lot of returning to the dog and rewarding. If I personally want to train the recall, I train the positions in isolation with return/reward and then in another session do a short recall to a sit in front from a few paces away or mark and reward for speed by throwing food or a ball between my legs and allowing the dog to run through.
When training anything, mix up your timings for things like recall and reward.
Humans are creatures of habit and routine and our dogs soon learn this, they can count if you do the same things at the same time, all the time, the dog will adapt its behaviour/will pre-empt.

And socially, a lot of the 'place' command, stay on a bed or a rug etc until told other wise with intermittent reward to reinforce it, getting up means you get put back on it.

It is definitely as important to teach the dog to be away from you as it is to be with you!

 

[Xmasha]

Thank you all for the tips . We practiced and it worked ! He passed his bronze tonight . So proud of him

 

[MurphysMinder]

Congratulations .

 

[Moobli]

Well done guys

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

Excellent news he’s a very handsome chap