Breaking the STAY command

[Diva'sOwner]

We've been working with this new trainer for several weeks. The trainer insists that whenever the dog breaks a command that the dog knows, you must silently correct the dog with a sharp, quick yank on the leash. My dog wears a prong collar during training and, as you can imagine, any yanking correction that I give her really gets her attention. Currently, we are working on the long sit stay. During this time (for about 15minutes) the dog cannot relax into a down position. Each time she decides to lay down, I have to march over to her and silently put her back up into a regular sit. There are other times when she will get bored with one of these long sit stays and she will then wander away. When this happens, I march over to her, silently "bounce" her back to the spot that she left *while tugging on the leash*, and then I give her only the hand command for stay. Does this sound right to you all? To some of you at least? I know that if I just tell Diva "no" when she starts to get up that she will quickly sit back down and the problem would be solved without a harsh corection. My questions is this: is the silent correction really the way to go? (Incidentally, she is overall very good with the stay. I can usually walk several yards away and she won't break it. There are just sometimes when she will stray or relax into a down.)

[Michael C.]

I always gave a verbal, then the correction with the prong, then praise. Everybody has different methods and opinions on how to correct your dog. I feel that the praise is the most important. Without it, your dog will never quite understand what it is he/she is supposed to do.

Mike

[WorkinDogz]

Well, the "say nothing" approach is the one I use too. If the dog breaks a position; I say nothing, firmly take a hold of the collar and place him/her back on the exact spot the inital command was given at; and repeat the command in a more "corrective tone" rather than command.

HOWEVER---it is my feeling that your dog isn't READY for the length of time you're asking her to stay. Breaking a position should be the EXCEPTION to their performance rather than a "typical" thing.

The stay is NOT stable; and your trainer is moving TOO FAST if the dog isn't retaining the position more often than she's accomplishing it.

I'd cut the time to a MINUTE (not 15!) and reinforce with positive motivation for a stay FREQUENTLY.

IMHO...a dog should only be corrected for a DISOBEDIENCE..not a mistake! I'm not entirely sure your dog KNOWS what you expect. If she did; your corrections would be FEW AND FAR BETWEEN.

[Pat Miller]

I have to agree with WorkinDogz. Your dog is not ready for an extebded sit stay. The dog should be absolutely foolproof to any distraction at 1 min, 3min, and 5 min before attempting to extend past the 5 minutes. At 5 min you should be able to leave the area and have the dog rock steady with any distraction. Only then attempt longer times, increasing 2-3 minutes at a time, but ensure enough time is spent on each increment to have the dog steady. It does take a little longer but is well worth the effort.