Dog Ownership 101 - May/June 2016

training session several times until your dog
can successfully complete the exercise. You
will need to put him in the place that you want
him to stay, count to 30, and pivot back to your
dog’s right side. Then count to five, praise him,
then release. Until you know the signs of when
your dog is going to move, you will be too late
in reinforcing the stay. If he moves before
you reinforce, don’t say anything to your dog.
Instead, put your dog back in the place that
you want him to stay, count to 10, return
back to the heel starting position then count
to 5, then release him. Here are some steps
to follow to test your dog’s understanding of
Stay, while extending the time and distance of
the Stay command. You should start in Heel
position, and use your left hand to hold the
leash placed against your belt buckle.
HOW TO PERFORM A SIT-STAY TEST
7 Then say and signal ‘Stay’ while
stepping 3 feet in front of your dog.
There should be no tension on the leash. This
is called the Sit-Stay test. If your dog decides
to move with you, you must reinforce the Stay
with your right hand. For testing your dog on
how to sit and stay, you should try the test
three times. You need to get physical resistance
from your dog. Tension needs to match your
dog’s size and his weight; you can not apply
the same tension to your Terrier as you do to
your Golden Retriever. To apply the tension,
you need to use a downward rotation on your
left wrist. You need to maintain the tension
for a few seconds, then slowly release. While
training your dog on the Sit-Stay exercise, you
need to look for physical resistance. Your goal
is to have the dog stay for one minute, so you
need to put him in the position, release the
tension in the leash, start in Heel position.
PRACTICE THIS EXERCISE WEEKLY
8 The leash should now be on the live
ring, then go 3 feet in front of the
dog. If she moves before your minute is up,
you need to reinforce the stay. Move about
six feet in front of her, to the end of the
leash. Practicing Sit-Stay on a regular basis is
incredibly important, but don’t bore yourself
and your dog with the same routines. Once
your dog has an understanding of what you
want them to accomplish, doing the exercise a
time or two per week will be just fine. Starting
with the Sit-Stay test to remind your dog what
it is you want them to do is perfect. When
you know she can be trusted on the leash,
try taking her off of it for a while in a secure
area. Practice running with her around 3 feet
in front of you, and then start adding some
distance.
Now you are ready to get started. Remember
to be patient with your dog. Just like humans,
dogs have a wide range of intelligence levels.
Praise your dog for success and discourage
failure without being too overbearing. Know
when to call it a day as well! With patience and
practice your dog will be able to learn to sit
and stay on your command successfully. Best
of luck!
DOG ownership 101 | MAY / JUNE 2016
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