5 Tips to Help your Dogs Place Stay
So, what are you actually supposed to do when your dog breaks their place stay?
Hey, guys! This is Al the Dog Trainer. Welcome to Al’s Dog Training Tips. Today, we’re breaking down what you should do when your dog steps off the bed or when you’re teaching them how to stay in a place.
1. One strategy I use most often is to bring one individual piece of food to the dog at a time. I keep my treat pouch filled with yummy food that the dog really enjoys and I hand them one piece at a time while they’re staying in their place.
But what do you do when the dog isn’t on the bed and isn’t getting the reward?
2. The moment your dog steps off the bed and can see the food, immediately close your hand. When they step off, they’ll likely come towards your hand, and when that happens, keep your hand closed. Don’t raise your hand over your head or higher, as this could encourage the dog to jump.
3. If you’re also using a leash, you don’t have to, but if you are, make sure the leash is completely loose when your dog is on the bed. A common mistake I see is when the dog is staying on the bed, but there’s tension on the leash. You don’t want any tension while your dog is maintaining their stay with all four paws on the bed.
4. Another tip is to stay no more than a step or two away from the dog. You’re really only a few feet away, and you want to try to stay at this distance for 5 to 10 seconds to see if your dog can hold the position. Try to bring the rewards often enough that your dog can predict them, but challenge them by stretching it to 5 or 10 seconds before moving further away.
When your dog starts to come off the place, move towards them with your body. You can also use the leash here. Once your dog settles back onto the bed, that’s when you can start moving back those two or three steps.
Now, I want to address some questions I think might come up. If you haven’t trained this yet, each time you put your dog back onto the bed, you should reward them. This shows the dog that the bed is where they need to be in order to get the reward. If you’ve had a couple of sessions and your dog is starting to get the hang of it, that’s when you can stop rewarding every single time. If they come off, use the tips I mentioned, but when you put them back on, don’t reward them right away. Wait a few seconds to see if they can maintain the stay.
5. Here’s another tip: don’t say the place or stay command during the first few sessions. It will actually help you get ahead faster if you avoid using the command in the beginning. Once your dog starts understanding the process, then you can add the commands so that they understand the true meaning of what you’re asking them to do.
Finally, make sure to end the session with a “free” or “break” command.
That’s it, guys! I hope these tips were helpful. Thanks so much for watching, and have a great day!
