Growing up I have always used the cues ‘Stay’ or ‘Wait’ to indicate to my dogs to remain in position. But why? Why do we feel it necessary to add in the word ‘Stay’? If you’ve asked your poochy to ‘Sit’ surely you expect them to remain there until you give a further cue, such as ‘Come’ or ‘Heel’?
So why do we say ‘Stay’? I believe it’s more reinforcing for me than my dogs. I feel better repeating ‘Stay’ to ensure my dogs do not move – it doesn’t make any difference in the dog’s mind, because you’ve already asked them to ‘Sit’? If you’ve asked someone to take a seat, you don’t then keep telling them ‘Stay’.
If anything, does it not make more sense to the dog if we repeat ‘Sit’ instead of ‘Stay’ because that’s the position they’re in?
Either way, these added cues are redundant. Now a days, I just train for duration. When I begin training a stationary position, I will reward after increasing periods of time. For example, initially they will get a treat straight away. Then I may delay the treat for a few seconds. Then gradually delay the treat for longer and longer, until I have a few minutes under my belt, as I can’t think of any situation where I would need my pet dogs to remain stationary for much longer.
I do however teach a ‘Release’ cue. This means when I cue a stationary behaviour, when I say ‘Release’ this tells my dogs you can now relax and move freely. For example, if I ask my dogs to ‘Sit’ before I answer the door, when it’s appropriate, I will cue ‘Release’ so they know they can now go and say hello.
I have recorded a free training video on how to train a ‘Release’ cue available here. Please feel free to Share x
