(upbeat beachy music)
- [Narrator] If your dog already knows sit and down,
you can improve his skills by adding a stay.
When teaching stay, you'll be working on the three D's:
distance, duration, and distraction.
You could work on these three things independently,
or during the same session.
When you first start working on stay, begin inside your home
in a small room with minimal distractions.
As the days progress, you'll increase
the distraction factor.
When you're ready to graduate to the outside,
start in an enclosed, safe area.
You may also wanna keep your dog on a leash at all times,
for extra control.
First try getting your dog to sit and wait for five seconds.
After each successful sit, calmly say yes,
and reward him with a yummy treat.
Now mix things up, and try different ways to increase
your dog's ability to stay in the sit position,
while increasing distractions.
Sit while you take one step back, and return,
say yes, and reward.
Sit while you take two steps back, and return.
Say yes, and reward.
Now try stepping to the left or right.
Say yes, and reward.
Next, increase the amount of time you ask for sit
to about eight seconds.
Say yes, and reward.
Then, increase the amount of distance.
Try sit while you take two steps back, or two steps
to the right, and return.
Say yes, and reward.
Now try sit while you turn your back, step away, and return.
Say yes, and reward.
If you find that any of the previous steps are too much
for your dog, simply break them down into smaller steps.
For example, if sitting for five seconds is too long,
try three seconds.
^After you have success for three seconds at least twice,
^try five seconds again.
When working on distance, start with just a step.
If that's too much, and your dog is already popping up,
try just lifting your foot off the ground.
Work your way up to several feet.
Remember, start small, and work your way up.
Over the next several days, slowly increase
the distance, duration, and distractions.
Here are some ideas to keep you going.
Practice at the front door, at your car,
or in the park.
Try hopping as you move away, or clapping your hands,
bouncing a ball, or even carrying a grocery bag.
Remember to praise.
I can't emphasize this enough.
Let your dog know you're having fun.
In just a short time, you should be able
to walk 20 steps away from your dog, while clapping
your hands, and walking toward a door.
Or maybe even better.