Stay

By Spot · Week 4 – Stay: The Hardest Thing They’ve Asked of Me

Sit? Easy. Down? Fine. Drop it? Sorted. But “stay”? Asking a dog with my energy to simply… do nothing? For several seconds? This was going to take everything I had. 🐾

The Objective

According to Brain Training for Dogs, “stay” means I remain still until released. The course lists all the situations where it’s useful — guests at the door, keeping me safe near an open door, stopping me before I do something I’ll regret.

All very sensible. All deeply boring for a dog who’d rather be moving. But we pressed on.

How We Trained It

Dad started in a quiet room. He asked me to sit, then said “stay” and held his hand up like he was stopping traffic. He counted to three in his head, and if I held it, I got a treat.

Then — and this is the important part — he released me with “done!” That’s my cue that I’m free to move again. No “done,” no moving. (I tested this rule thoroughly. The rule held.)

The first few reps were rough. Three seconds feels like a very long time when there are smells to investigate. But the treats kept coming, and slowly it clicked.

Building Duration (Slowly)

Once three seconds was solid, Dad started counting to five. Then ten. The course recommends mixing short stays with longer ones so I don’t get overwhelmed — and honestly, that helped. Just when I thought every stay was going to be a marathon, he’d throw in an easy one. Kept me guessing. Kept me in the game. 🧠

There was one trick that made a real difference: how the treat gets delivered. Early on, Dad held the reward up high, and I kept popping up to grab it — breaking the stay every time. The course explains exactly why: deliver the treat low and fast, straight to the mouth, and the dog has no reason to move. He switched to that, and suddenly I was holding my stays like a proper gentleman.

Adding Difficulty

Once I had the basics, Dad turned up the challenge:

• Distance — he took a few steps back, hand up, and I had to hold.
• Distractions — he bounced a ball, walked around me. Rude, frankly, but I held.
• The dinner test — he asked me to stay while preparing my meal, then released me to eat as the reward. This one was hard. But food is the best motivator, so it was also the most useful.
• Out of sight — he stepped into the next room and came back. I stayed. (Mostly.) 🐾

We also practiced “stay” in the down position, not just sitting — because the course points out you’ll want it in different positions for real life, like vet visits.

Why This Matters for Me

A reactive dog who can hold a “stay” has a built-in pause button. When the world gets overwhelming, “stay” gives me a job to focus on instead of reacting. It’s not the whole solution — but it’s a piece of the calm I’m working toward.

Four days on this one, short sessions throughout the day. By the end, I could hold a stay through a bouncing ball. I’m as surprised as you are. 💪

Next up: Recall. Coming when called — which Dad says is one of the most important things any dog can learn. We’ll see. 🧠🐾

Want to follow my full journey? The course we’re using is Brain Training for Dogs by Adrienne Farricelli — honest updates, every step of the way.

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