Do You Know??
 

Bailey had class #2 of his puppy training today at petsmar. He is doing great, so good in fact that she gave us a couple other commands that aren't due to be taught until next week......One of which was to basically draw an imaginary line in front of you and he has to stay behind it.........It is used alot to keep the dog from running to the door. Does anyone know the word used, he did it a couple of times in class, but I want to practise it at home as well......anyone??.....Thanks in advance. :)

I would think "stay" or "wait" would be just fine. They taught us "wait" to mean "stay until I give you the command to come to me." And they taught us "stay" to mean "stay until I come back and get you."

But as classes went on, other instructors said they don't think dogs really understand the distinction between the two commands. Now I just use "stay" for everything.

I am working with Cali on staying and I use the word stay. I have her staying for 6 seconds so far!

WTG..Cali, that is great!...You must be working hard......For this command they don't have to stay in one spot just cannot go past the invisable line.......Alaska, I think you are right about the distinction between two commands, Maybe I will use "back" , he is aweful when the door bell rings, I can hardly get the door open, I always have to pick him up..........Thank you so much for your help you two.......:thumbup:

I would use a down stay. The problem with the doorbell is that dogs get really distracted. Loki can do a really good 20 foot down-stay in class or at the park or something (that means I walk out 20 feet and then back to him and he stays) but even trying it at home where it's easy would not work if the doorbell rang. I'd then have to get his attention back from the doorbell. He's only 1 1/2 and we're still working on his attention span!

However, Loki does not run out the door. He's only done it once in his whole life and that's because it was the pizza man and he smelled food!! And he followed the pizza back inside! What we do is make him sit before letting him go outside, and also he never goes outside without a leash. So he has to sit and get his leash on before he is allowed outside. He picked this up pretty quick since we do it 10 times a day! What they will probably tell you in class is to have your dog sit before you give it what it wants (food, attention, throwing the ball) This is like saying "please" By making Loki sit to attach his leash every time, he knows that he's not allowed to go outside without that routine.

Also, there are rooms that I don't let Loki in (like the bathroom) Of course when he was a puppy I just closed the door. But I also taught Loki "out" to mean "get out of that room/closet" so every time he goes in there, I say "out" I get an "oh mom i just wanna sniff in here" look from Loki, but he complies. So he pretty much stays out of there, since he knows I'm just going to ask him to get out anyway. Don't know if that helps at all, but it works for us.

Thank You Erin!.....You have some wonderful tips, and well worth trying. By using a lot of your tecniques I can be sure that Bailey is safe when the door opens...Thanks Again..

I think the instructors are wrong. A dog can very well distinguish the difference between wait and stay. All of my dogs know the difference between the two wether I use just vocal commands or only use hand signals.
I think the down stay is an excellent idea, most dogs tend to do better with a down stay when there are alot of distractions going on, jmho. It's great that you and Bailey are doing so well in puppy class and advancing so soon!!!:clapsmile

MyTrixie, Thank you for you words of wisdom......I appreciate any advice when it comes to training. I really want Bailey to be a well behaved boy, for his safety and for the comfort of those around him.......I remember the hand signals for everything, and we get all of the notes to bring home so we can practice.....But because this is really supposed to be for next week I didn't get the papers.............Did you train your pup?....if not where did you take him for classes?......Hope you dont mind all the questions......Thanks bunches!...:)

You trying to pick a fight?! :mad:

Kidding! The instructors I've had have been wrong more than once, so I'll bow to your success. I just know that I taught wait and stay, then tested it. I told him to stay and then gave him the come command. He came. And vice versa. I told him to wait and didn't give him the come command. He stayed. I just don't see the point in the distinction.

Nope not trying to pick a fight:D , I just hate it when people don't give dogs enough credit for their intelligence. Alot of people, even some trainers don't think of dogs as being smart or being able to distinguish certain things and it just makes me a bit angry that they are this way. The biggest difference between wait and stay is that for stay it is for a long period of time and can be out of sight, wait is for a short period of time and you are always in sight with your dog. I have always used the command wait when I stack my dogs and the judge would look them over.

Lilannie
I have trained all of my dogs myself and no I don't take them to puppy classes but of course I did teach puppy and adult classes. I loved teaching them but now I am moving on to something different, agility!! I will start training in summer and I am so excited and I am sure my dogs will all love it as well!!:D :D

MyTrixie.....That sounds so wonderfully terrific!....Good luck with the agility and keep us informed as to how you do.......I can't even train the male humans in my house to lift the seat.....:eek: ....LOL.....and again, I would like to thank you for the tips, I appreciate every little bit that I can get........:thumbup: