I've been practising 'stay' with Molly, following the kikopup tutorial on you tube. If you haven't seen it, the trainer builds up distractions by waving her arms, moving around, talking and eventually throwing things. I haven't tried throwing things yet, but during this last week I've started windmilling my arms and hopping from foot to foot and Molly's stay has improved - she has easily achieved the 2 minutes we're aiming for. At the class I attend, during the 'stay' everyone stands absolutely still and silent and I'm starting to think this actually makes it more difficult for the dogs. When I'm like that Molly is watching me closely for any little movement that might be a sign that the exercise is over. So at this week's class I moved a bit (didn't want to upset other people as we're pretty packed in space-wise, so just swayed gently from foot to foot and moved my arms a bit) and Molly stayed put for 2 minutes until released. Maybe some things we think of as 'distractions' are actually helpful to the dog in clarifying what the real signal to move is?
I have noticed this, too. I think maybe having a bit of movement also makes us a bit more interesting to watch, whereas if we're doing absolutely nothing, we're boring and the environment is a lot more interesting, making them more likely to break their sit. Of course, this could become a bit of a crutch if you're ever going to want to work on the sit when you're out of sight, so I think it's important to proof against both movement and stillness.
Really interesting point...being still after the "sit stay" cue may be interpreted as "wanting something else" by the dog...who then offers another behaviour...whereas we don't actually cue our dogs generally speaking, by leaping around like a looney and windmilling our arms around (I am referring to myself here!) .Benson finds these antics mildly amusing, and is happy to sit quietly and watch, whereas if I stand still.. you can see him thinking..."do you want me to do something else instead?" The out of sight is what I am working on now...now that is a tricky one!
For me, the benefit in moving is you are proofing the stay, making it more reliable. If you always stand absolutely still, a tiny movement can cause the dog to break (because you haven't proofed against that) and you may not even know you have made that movement. If the dog knows he has to watch you do a Ministry of Funny Walks around the field - and that does not mean get up - the stay becomes more reliable to any inadvertent movement you (or someone else around you) might make.
