about the stay topic. i agree i won't ask my dog to do something at distance that i can't train or do close by. I use body blocks and gentle touches and positive reinforcement. depending on our progress the only corrections are a soft ah or ignoring undesired behavior.
so i start sitting next to my dog after she knows a down for example. and make sure the dog rolls onto one back hip (most have a preferred side so just watch them in normal rest and you'll know which), this is a more relaxed position than the sphinx like spring-load down which is very easy to jump up from. if they don't roll when you cue down a soft nudge the right direction on a back leg will help.
i def would use a clicker so you can mark the exact moments for the dog that YES that is what gets the treat. so very close start extending a 5 second stay if the dog wiggles paws etc gentle ah or just touch to the bottom or shoulders to regain attention. if dog stills click/treat u don't need to wait 5 seconds because u just succeeded in stilling/staying ur dog. you want to preempt standing so a soft touch to top of body before he starts to get up works best. remember always to click and treat very fast ideally while still in down position--so the down stay is rewarded not the release.
what you want to work up to is maybe a progressive doggie stays down but wiggles and paws, then you ignore anything but your stay that you requested. still and quiet gets click/treat. this training is best done after exercise when the dog is satisfied but not exhausted and hungry. low distractions are the key so start in a bedroom or the kitchen where people aren't coming through and no birds/dogs/squirrels.
after a success release the dog by extending a treat so they have to stand and take a step to get it and saying your release word like "free." then maybe a couple of tricks the dog likes to do like sit or circle or a tug toy, fetch the ball. I like tuggies because I have hold and control and I can play then ask for a give and restart training. then let's ask for a down again and reward and stay again. only as fast as your dog and you can succeed advance to you standing right by where you can give your "ah" or touch or body block. by block i mean just step toward and prevent his leaving hopefully with a touch or not standing.
if things fall apart you went too fast in asking for more time. there is nothing wrong with holding a lure in your fist if he pops right back up to teach if you wait the treat fist opens. teaching patience and self control are the basics you must help him learn. luring is legal.
you were correctly extending the time but maybe too fast since boredom and frustration wiggles set in. where are you and what are you going when the wiggle start? make sessions only 1-3 minutes 3-6 times a day instead of one 8-10 min session. I'm betting if you leash your dog (but just as a prevention from running off) and get to the point where you can stand close but move a step or two about a bit that it may be more interesting. hold the treat where he can see it and knows that it will be his if he does the correct thing.
another trick is to use treats that are so good the dog will do just about anything for them. I used baked chicken or roast cut into pea size bits. (cheese, liver, hot dogs??) I put a piece in my mouth and let the dog see it and know i have it. then i get great interest in my face and me. as i progress i may close my lips and hide the treat---hmm do I have it or not? I use hand and voice signals for a stay at first because the dog will read the hand signals better than it hears the voice, the hand held out is a bit of a natural body block too.
I usually have a treat and clicker in my hand behind my back or the treat in my mouth or on the counter out of sight. your hands should be still unless giving a hand signal or luring - not rummaging for treats or clicker. you want the dog looking & listening to YOU not ur hands unless they are performing a deliberate task. you want him cueing to your commands and thinking about them not brain turn-off at the rattle of plastic or bait bag.
I do have occasion on training class to tether my dog, such as walking agility or rally course so tethering in the right situation can work. just never ever unattended and i usually use a bungee attachment so if she breaks it doesn't pull really hard. i would not use a long tether either so that the dog might build a lot of speed before hitting the end. ouch! :dogblink:
i used it most recently in teaching differential retrieve by name to get an object with great success. i have one dog trained to help me around the house and another puppy in training. the problem was if i drop something the older dog knows to go get it and bring it, but the puppy would get it first or pester the older dog until she dropped it. puppy then wouldn't bring it because the older dog returned to me and puppy worried the other dog might get the item. so i had two dogs trained to retrieve and give but neither could b/c of this quirk.
i tethered the puppy by my feet and asked the older dog to down stay. I took a very low interest toy and placed it 6 feet away and reinforced the stay. I have two clickers, digital for big dog and regular for puppy. I squatted by puppy asked for stay and cued the other dog "name go get the wrench" which she already knew. while she was doing that i click/treated puppy for the stay 1x per second very fast. I had to be more interesting and more rewarding than whatever else was going on. she broke stay 1 time and couldn't get the toy. so i cued come, down, stay again and tried again. After 3 successes i unclipped her, asked the other dog to stay, and cue puppy "go get the wrench." without the tether i couldn't get the down stay for puppy but using it once worked fine.
i also used the tether once after i had shoulder surgery and a huge cast/sling on. i looked weird and the puppy would just jump on me. it hurt and i had no defense so i asked my husband to tether her and i approached and sat within reach of her nose but not paws or jumping. when she quit lunging and calmed click treat, sniffing treats, a little closer to smell but i could lean away. after 10 minutes she was fine with this whole cast thing without another peep.
so i don't advocate a lot of tether training and do encourage neck care and supervision. it does seem in some cases should you need to leave your dog to walk a course, or for the CGC that it would be good practice for him to feel secure and not lunge/bark/go berserk and do a nice down stay knowing he'll be rewarded on your return.
in general as a stay tool i don't think a tether is the most effective though. just an opinion, the touch and click works very fast. good luck :dogtongue2:
