Teaching an untrained dog the "Stay" command

I've known little Leo for nearly 8 months... but I've never done any training with him... and he's never really been trained before at all.  This is the thing with small well behaved dogs... because of their 'cuteness' it's so easy for them to go through life and never really learn any obedience skills.  Why would they need them?  They're so cute!

In this video I show you an effective technique for teaching an untrained dog to stay.   I've seen many dog trainers teach the 'stay' command differently.... there's many ways up the mountain.  Find one that makes sense to you, and use it.

I also think it's worth mentioning that many trainers feel that asking a dog to stay for 30 seconds off the bat is way too challenging for the dog.  When the dog is hyper or unfocussed, then I completely agree.  However, when a dog is calm, focussed, and he respects you (this is different than 'loves you') then something different happens... he wants to work for you and please you.  The challenge for trainers is simply identifying a set of conditions or rules (the simpler the better) and using them to shape a behaviour.

I've encouraged Leo's mom to continue practicing this exercise... Leo will soon show mastery over this behaviour... then it's time to introduce the English command 'stay' and a hand signal (stop sign).

Always praise joyfully and generously after your dog has worked for you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-tmHdx4Y28&feature=channel_video_title]