How to teach your dog to stay

Step by step

1. Teach a clear position first (sit, down or stand) AND a distinct release word; Garrett: the dog must understand what to do and when it is over; duration is the gap between them and grows as a by-product. ^1,2,3,4
2. Start with one second: ask for position, after one second give the treat while the dog is still in position, then say the release word and encourage the dog up. ^5,7,8
3. Grow duration in tiny steps, mixing easy and hard repetitions ('bungee' stays; 1 s -> 3 s -> 10 s, but unpredictable). Zak George: 3-5 s stays building to ~30 s over the first week.^{4,8 4,6,7,8}
4. Add distractions only after about 30 s duration: start tiny (clap), relax duration when a new 'D' is added; Garrett uses mini-challenges rather than PhD-level jumps.^{7 4,5,7}
5. Add distance last (one source says distance has distraction built in): one step back, return to the dog to reward, then release; never release from afar.^{5,7 5,6,7}
6. Combine the Ds slowly; leave the room last; when you change location lower the other two Ds. ^5,7,8
7. Release from standing next to the dog or at a consistent point; stimulus control on the release word (other words don't mean 'get up'). ^1,2

When to move to the next step

• Move up only after success; if dog breaks, go back to an easier D (go back to a shorter interval you know they can handle)⁵
• Zak George: avoid more than one break in a row⁶

Difficulty by age

Difficulty is on a 1-5 scale, estimated for 50 breed and mixed-breed size profiles. Breed adjustments are generalisations capped at ±1 level, because breed explains only about 9% of behavioural variation; your individual dog matters more.⁹

What changes at this age

• Puppy: Seconds only; adds +difficulty; Garrett says puppies at ~3 months can handle challenges if criteria are kept easy.⁴
• Adolescent: Expect backslide; shorter durations.¹⁰
• Adult: Same.
• Senior: Same; comfortable position/surface.

Common mistakes

• Growing time linearly every rep^1,8
• Raising two Ds at once^5,8
• Releasing from a distance so the release word becomes 'come to me'⁷
• Looming/intimidation to hold the dog (one source states mild intimidation shifts dogs to fight/flight/freeze)¹

Troubleshooting

• Dog keeps breaking: criteria too hard; drop to 1 s^7,8
• Dog releases self on handler movement: practise handler movement as a separate D^1,4

Where the sources disagree

Support is the share of the weighted sources that took a stance on the question.

Known gaps in the evidence

• No peer-reviewed evidence on stay protocols

Related skills

• Sit
• Down (lie down)
• Place / mat