I am going to start giving you a tip each week: Here is a great tip on teaching your dog to STAY:

One thing that I tell people though is this. When you are teaching your dog to Stay and Come, remember that they are two totally separate behaviors. When you are training your dog to STAY remember to walk to your dog and reward him where he is STAYING. Many people make the mistake of calling their dog to them before rewarding him. If you think about it from your dog's point of view, he really has no reason to STAY, because the reward is for coming to the trainer. That is the COME behavior. So the tip is when you are happy with your dog STAYING, walk to your dog and reward him. This way he understands all he has to do is STAY in one place.

I agree. Just keep in mind that the reward should be a small treat along with some praise (maybe a hug or a scratch on the head). This is important because once the treat is removed from the command, you should have a replacement for the treat. A good hardy head scratch is usually a good compromise for a dog. You don't want to leave them hanging.

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Happy K-9 Dog Care: Your All-in-one Resource Guide
SitStayFetch: Effective Dog Training

Thank you for the tips. I am starting the process of training my puppy. And since we are on the subject, what do you think of Petco's Obedience Class? Or do you have any others in mind that are better?

You know, I think you really need to check things out for yourself. Go to my website and play the videos. They are all totally free. See what you think, and then if you want to pay for it, explore other opportunities.

I just had a question. You said something about the treat being removed from the command. Can you explain that?

[Piti Longstalking]

Originally Posted by JoelSilverman

I just had a question. You said something about the treat being removed from the command. Can you explain that?

Nansetty is referring to phasing food lures out. Once the dog reliably responds to the lure and the behavior is robust, a verbal cue is added to the hand cue. Once the dog responds reliably to the verbal cue, the food lure are phased out in exchange for life rewards. Nansetty suggested a head scratch. Depending on the dog, this can be a wonderful life reward.

Originally Posted by JoelSilverman

When you are teaching your dog to Stay and Come, remember that they are two totally separate behaviors. When you are training your dog to STAY remember to walk to your dog and reward him where he is STAYING. Many people make the mistake of calling their dog to them before rewarding him.

This is true, otherwise, your dog will be confused.

Logically, you can't continue to give your dog a treat every time you want him to sit. Once he has learned the command, you will discontinue the treat. If you were to give the dog a treat every single time you want him to sit, he will become overweight.

You can teach a dog to do just about anything as long as there is a treat involved. Just always be sure to involve a verbal command with the treat, this way they will always associate the command with the action.

Initially, the process consists of Command, Action, Treat (with a head scratch).
Once he has the hang of it, it becomes Command, Action, NO treat (head scratch).

Hope this helps!

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Happy K-9 Dog Care: Your All-in-one Resource Guide
Having trouble training your dog? Don't get rid of the dog just yet.
SitStayFetch: Effective Dog Training

I understand, what I started in this post was for teaching the "STAY" not the "SIT". I was wondering why you would use a lure to train your dog to "STAY"?

Joel, I understand and completely agree with what you originally posted, but you never gave any tips on how one actually gets the dog to stay in the first place.

I've heard a lot of different methods. Just wondering how you personally go about getting the dog to stay in the beginning.

I would also like to know. I had no problem teaching "SIT" "COME" but they stay is rather difficult, especially for one of my dogs and I see from your comments that I am luring them.

I was using the example as if someone already trained it. You can actually check out this link on how I train it!

Training your dog to STAY

In response to my opinion on either PETCO or PETSMART training classes.... I have made it a point in these forums to not give an opinion good or bad about any product or services that anyone provides. I just don't think that is appropriate for me, and I don't think the people running this forum would appreciate it either. I hope you understand. But I am here to help you in any way I can!

As far as the training the Stay, I have a whole ONLINE DOG TRAINING are on my site, and it has the STAY behavior, and it is all free.

I completely understand. However, I thought the point of this site was get the advice and opinions of those who have previously experienced products/services.

I think the point of many forums, certainly this one, is to help people get information. The information I can provide you is training information. If you have any questions, just ask and I will be more than happy to help you.

Vetgroomer and I are waiting for a response.

OK.. For the STAY.. I teach people to train their dogs to SIT and say the word STAY as soon as the dog SITS. But I don't spend a lot of time on the STAY. I do it for control. Just to get the dog to STAY there until I release the dog.

After the SIT is trained, and I want to train the STAY I get the dog on something elevated. To me that is everything, because it is a defined place. Two things I think about are TIME and DISTANCE. I start building each one very slowly. I use hand cues and verbal cues.

If the dog breaks the SIT and JUMPS off, I just bring him back up there and have him SIT. I let him figure out on his own, but I always do the same thing when he breaks and jumps off.

Unless I am misunderstanding I am thinking as a Lure as being a treat. Correct me if I am wrong. What I was saying is that I don't use a treat. I just use a hand or verbal cue. This is how I start it....

[Piti Longstalking]

Originally Posted by JoelSilverman

Unless I am misunderstanding I am thinking as a Lure as being a treat. Correct me if I am wrong.

Think of a lure as a magnet. The lure is used to get a position. The lure may be a food reward = treat, but it can also be a preferred toy. If you use the lure correctly, it will serve as both the hand cue and reinforcer for the desired behavior. You really wouldn't use a lure for stay, however, and I think that's where the confusion is.

Thankyou Joel, that makes sense.