Days 1 & 2
- Start with the dog sitting in heel position.
- Adjust the collar so that it is high and snug, at the top of their neck, with the active ring coming straight up between their ears.
- Since upward pressure means sit now, by maintaining slight pressure, we are giving our dogs a continuous sit cue. We are physically telling them “sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, etc” and Sit/Stay is just that – a long sit!
- Put all of the leash in the left hand and fold up the excess leash so that it is not hitting the dog in the face.
- Place the palm of your right hand in front of the dog’s face and give the command “Stay.”
- Remove your hand after you’ve given the signal to stay. We do NOT need to hold our hand out for the duration of the stay.
- Step off with your right foot, and stand directly in front of your dog, facing them. Maintain light pressure on the leash during this process.
- After a few seconds, return to heel position.
- Replace the leash in your right hand, to walking position.
- Praise your dog.
- Do an “Exercise Finish”
- Repeat, adding duration to the stay until your dog can sit in front of you for 60 consecutive seconds.
What if my dog breaks position?
If your dog stands, leaves, pivots, or lays down, use the sit correction to replace the dog back into a sit (strong upward pressure). Do not repeat the command to sit, or stay. The upward leash pressure of the sit correction will do that for you. If at all possible, keep the dog in the same spot, facing the same direction as when you started the stay.
What is an Exercise Finish?
One/three forward heeling step(s) with your dog. We use this often to “wrap up” an exercise and signal to the dog that we will be working on something new. Remember to step off with your left foot for heeling. I consider it to be the period at the end of the sentence.
Days 3 & 4
- Start with the dog sitting in heel position.
- Place the palm of your left hand in front of the dog face and give the command “Stay.”
- Remove your hand after you’ve given the signal to stay. We do NOT need to hold our hand out for the duration of the stay.
- Step off with your right foot, move 3 ft away from them and stand facing your dog.
- Keep the leash in your right hand and move it to your belly button. Position your left hand just under your right hand, ready to help replace your dog into a sit if they break position.
- After a few seconds, walk counterclockwise around your dog to return to heel position.
- Make sure to handle the leash in such a way that it does not hit your dog in the face while you are walking around them.
- Do an “Exercise Finish”
- Repeat, adding duration to the stay until your dog can sit in front of you for 60 consecutive seconds.
What if my dog breaks position?
If your dog stands, leaves, pivots, or lays down, use the sit correction to replace the dog back into a sit. You will have to slide your hand down the leash and step forward towards your dog to do this since you are now 3 feet from them. Make sure they are sitting in the same location and direction of the original stay after the correction. Do not repeat the command to sit, or stay.
Below you can see an example of Ryan sliding his left hand down the leash for a fake sit correction (she is holding the sit correctly and he doesn’t put any pressure on the leash). Had she actually moved, the leash pressure would be list re-issuing the sit command to her.
The following video shows how to deal with a sit correction when the dog break position as you return to heel position.
Days 5 & 6
Follow same instructions as previous days, but go 6 feet away from your dog instead of 3 feet. Remember that we are slowly increasing criteria for the sit, so now that we’ve added distance, we will shorted our stay back up to just a few seconds and work to increase to a full minute again.
If your dog break position at 6ft, you will still use your left hand to slide down the leash and reset your dog in the sit. You will need to move several steps towards your dog to keep them from getting too far out of position.
Once your dog can hold a sit/stay for a full minute, begin the active stay test.
Active Stay Test
To complete the active stay test, start with your dog in a 6ft sit/stay. Place the hand holding the leash at collar level of your dog so that the leash is parallel to the floor. Apply steady, gentle pressure to the dog through the leash. We are expecting the dog to resist the temptation to move and hold the sit. We do NOT want enough pressure that it forces the dog to move, or that they have to work too hard to maintain the sit.
Below is a video of Murphy demonstrating how to correct your dog back into a sit after a failed active stay test attempt.