Students new to obedience training at NorthWest K9 are often surprised to learn that one of the first
unwanted behaviors to be extinguished is the owner's habit of adding the word "Stay" to standard obedience commands such as
"Sit," "Down," or "Stand." When the dog is properly taught and trained, there is no need to use the additional
command "Stay" to reinforce compliance with a commanded behavior.
If one of your obedience training goals is reliable responsiveness to your command, then adding the
ubiquitous "stay" word after a primary obedience command is ultimately self-defeating. When translated into
Dogspeak, that "Stay" afterthought pretty much means, "And this time
I really mean it!" Which also communicates to your dog that most of the time you don't
"really mean it" when you issue a single obedience command such as "Sit," "Down," or "Stand."
If you are convinced that your dog needs a "Stay" command, then you are admitting that your dog
will maintain a formal sit -- keeping its bottom planted on the ground -- only when given the two
commands "Sit" and "Stay" sequentially. It follows,
then, that you fully expect that if you were to give only the single command, "Sit" -- without a "Stay" reminder --
then your dog would merely bump its behind on the ground and then immediately pop right back up at will.
So how come you didn't teach your dog the "Bump" command, instead of the "Sit" command?
After all, if you are truly convinced
that your dog will only keep its hiney on the ground when you use that magic word "Stay", then whether
it was intentional or not, you have succeeded in teaching your dog that the word "Sit" doesn't really mean sit at
all. But rather, "Briefly touch your rear to the ground and then stand up again when you darn well feel like it."
This sounds more like a behavior that is best initiated with the command "Bump."
And it sure doesn't sound like much of a reliable sit, does it?
Why not just teach the dog from the get-go that "Sit" means just that -- park your furry little posterior on
the ground when I say "Sit" -- and maintain that behavior until I issue a different command (heel, come,
down, break, etc.).
If you want your dog to think about performing an arbitrary, maybe-I-will, maybe-I-won't, unpredictable sit, then
go ahead and tack that "Stay" addendum onto your basic obedience commands. If on the other hand you want to
create crisply responsive, reliable obedience with clear and unambiguous command language, then don't start using
the "Stay" command in conjunction with your other primary obedience commands. And if you've
already developed the "Stay" habit, then now is the time to extinguish it.
With a combination of properly timed command, reinforcers, and release, you will effectively teach your dog the
exact behavior you expect when you issue
a discrete, single command. The end result will be a dog that reliably produces the behavior, and maintains
the behavior, without you having to put yourself in the weakened position of having to "ask twice."
With clear and consistent training and handling, explicit command begets explicit behavior. Your dog will
respect your mastery of unambiguous command presence, and you'll be proud of your dog's newly reliable obedience.
You'll find information about custom private training opportunities for you and your dog in our
Client Training department. We also offer limited enrollment
educational and training seminars for owners and dogs of any breed. Please visit our Seminars department for
the current calendar of classes.
