Advancing the Stay

[tx_cowgirl]

Okay so I know I've been bragging about tiny accomplishments with Zekers lately, but I just had to share.

Sooo, I've done a little bit of work with an advanced stay with him. As a pup he had a stay down relatively well--it just kind of clicked with him. But, that was before his tennis ball obession. I used body-blocking for the first time to teach a stay with him, and it went perfectly. That was about three months ago. Now, my tennis ball obsessed boy will hold a stay when I throw a tennis ball in any direction. A few times it has even rolled right under him, resting underneath his belly, and he's stayed put! :dogtongue2: Also, until recently, "Aaah" meant nothing to him. Once a tennis ball was thrown, the entire world dissipated except for that tennis ball. He was in the zone and there was no turning back. So trying to stop him and get him back in a stay was impossible. A marathon runner is not fast enough to body block him if he's going after a tennis ball. He's a speedster. And I wasn't going to use corrections...even if I wanted to, they wouldn't do any good with him.

But with lots of patience and work, he now understands that "aaah"/"ah-ah" means you have to stop whatever you're doing and wait for Mom to give the okay. So now, if he happens to break his stay, a gentle "Ahh" will get him back in place and waiting as patiently as possible. "Watch me" wasn't getting anywhere...but now we're kind of shaping a watch. When in a stay, he's started looking to me for the okay rather than keeping his eyes locked on the tennis ball barely listening. So we're kind of working that into a watch.

YIPPEE!

 

[fickla]

yay!! It's a ton of work to get a reliable stay, especially when the world disappears when the fav toy comes out Congratulations!

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Surprisingly enough, I can put both him and Mudflap in a sit/down-stay and walk any distance away and he'll stay put. He tends to always think in terms of whatever Mud's doing, if they're together. Mudflap's stay is great no matter what the situation, so she's a great role model for Zekers. ^^

 

[yvonne]

Okay so I know I've been bragging about tiny accomplishments with Zekers lately, but I just had to share.

Sooo, I've done a little bit of work with an advanced stay with him. As a pup he had a stay down relatively well--it just kind of clicked with him. But, that was before his tennis ball obession. I used body-blocking for the first time to teach a stay with him, and it went perfectly. That was about three months ago. Now, my tennis ball obsessed boy will hold a stay when I throw a tennis ball in any direction. A few times it has even rolled right under him, resting underneath his belly, and he's stayed put! :dogtongue2: Also, until recently, "Aaah" meant nothing to him. Once a tennis ball was thrown, the entire world dissipated except for that tennis ball. He was in the zone and there was no turning back. So trying to stop him and get him back in a stay was impossible. A marathon runner is not fast enough to body block him if he's going after a tennis ball. He's a speedster. And I wasn't going to use corrections...even if I wanted to, they wouldn't do any good with him.

But with lots of patience and work, he now understands that "aaah"/"ah-ah" means you have to stop whatever you're doing and wait for Mom to give the okay. So now, if he happens to break his stay, a gentle "Ahh" will get him back in place and waiting as patiently as possible. "Watch me" wasn't getting anywhere...but now we're kind of shaping a watch. When in a stay, he's started looking to me for the okay rather than keeping his eyes locked on the tennis ball barely listening. So we're kind of working that into a watch.

YIPPEE!

I am so pleased for you. You must be made up :doglaugh: Well done x

 

[snooks]

Yay! well done. always a pleasure to see that thought process flitting through doggie brains and coming out right. ahh i have to stay.

 

[bellapup]

I'm sorry if this is a silly question...but how exactly does body blocking work...and would it work if your dog starts to chase rabbits and won't stop even if you call?

I've never had Bella keep running, but there've been times I've been a little worried that she might get a little carried away...

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Possibly. If you were physically capable of doing it, yes. If she was already full-blown and you weren't close enough/fast enough to stop her, then no. For that situation I would just work on her recall more, but you're welcome to give the body-blocking ago. You could also try redirecting her chase. For instance, if she has a favorite ball or something, throw it past her so her attention is redirected to it. If she has a good retreive, then she'll be obliged to return to you. Just try to throw the ball somewhere where it directly passes her line of vision so she literally has to see it.

But here's links to body-blocking. It could definitely work, but there may be times when you aren't physically able to block her.
ABRI Videos and Podcasts Scroll down to "Teaching Stay With Treats and Body Blocks" parts 1&2, by Patricia McConnell.

 

[snooks]

Purrrrrfect example. Just the one I had in mind. Maybe for a full blown charge maybe not--if u are far enough ahead better so as not just to step into the path of a projectile but rather make the projectile think first.