Dog Training Tip For Teaching Your Dog To Stay
Pony was my first puppy. She came into my life nearly three years ago as a seven week old bundle of live wires. I was completely responsible for her training as well as her well being. Puppies want to please, so training can be easier than it at first sounds. All dogs train at their own pace, just as all kids learn at their own speeds. And some dogs will train better at some commands than others. Here is the best dog training tip I can give for dogs that are completely ignoring one command: change the command.
Case Example: My Dog Won't Stay
Pony will ignore the command to stay, otherwise she's a really good girl. She watches people's faces and intently tries to please. As a rambunctious and fearless puppy, she needed to learn to stay for her own safety. She'd learned to sit, stay, and her name. She learned to "settle down" and mentally got the hang of housetraining before her bladder muscles did. She'd shown every sign that she could benefit from this dog training tip.
I happened to read this dog training tip in Your Dog magazine. (Sadly, I was smart enough to come up with this dog training tip on my own). Since Pony ignored the word "stay", try a different word, like "wait." So, I did. And I didn't keep repeating it like a broken record, which I did with "Stay." Pony thought I was just babbling then, and learned to ignore the word "Stay".
But with "Wait," she paid attention. Perhaps it was the strong "t" sound at the word's end which let her know to pay attention. I also deepen my voice when I say "Wait," which I did not always do with "Stay." Other words you might want to use are "Stop" or "Pause" if your dog has learned to ignore "Stay".
This dog training tip is not just limited to teaching the dog to wait, stay, stop or pause. You can take the principle of it and make it fit into your own life. For example, if you have a dog that is teased a lot by kids constantly screaming commands, you might want to teach your dog commands in another language. This way you have more control over your dog. However, the disadvantage is that others cannot give commands to the dog. But if you have a guard dog, this might be exactly what you want.
