I thought I'd really cracked it this week. I've been using either a 'whipit' type toy or a tuggy toy as a reward and Molly has sat and waited for me to return in all sorts of situations. Yesterday I took her to a forest we don't often visit and we did lots of stay exercises within 30 yards of people having a picnic. I only did one long one (by long I mean one minute) but lots of short ones where I even skipped around her waving my arms (must have looked a ninny!) and her bottom remained firmly rooted to the ground every time. BUT today we went to our gundog training class and would she stay? No way. We worked in an enclosed lane and I was asked to walk Molly halfway up, leave her there, walk to the end and drop the dummy, then walk back and send her for it. Each time she stayed until I started to walk back when she broke and went for the dummy. I suppose I haven't practised exactly that (lack of generalisation again?) I've practised Molly walking with me to drop the dummy, then walking back with me and then sitting and waiting to be sent for it . My trainer was horrified that I've been using tuggy games as a reward, but as I don't envisage ever actually taking Molly on a shoot and she doesn't chew the dummy and delivers it to hand, I'm not sure whether to stop - she seems to value a game more than food. Any suggestions? Is it just more practice? (She's a year old.)
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' Hi Joy, as you guessed, it sounds as though you simply introduced too many different factors to the stay at one time, different location, different people present (trainer) other dogs? And a different twist to your steadiness exercise. Was the dog able to get to the dummy when she broke?
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' Take a step back in your training. Start practicing with a closer distance between Molly and the dummy - maybe just a couple of feet to begin with, then slowly increase the distance. Your 'sit / stay' command is pretty solid, so this shouldn't take long. Yes, gun dog trainers are often horrified by the tugging games, I know. But I don't think it matters.. except you might find her tugging at her dummy when she returns to hand. It's up to you. We sometimes play tuggy games with Poppy - but NEVER with her dummies, and she doesn't seem to have a problem differentiating.
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' Pippa - Yes, the first time she got the dummy and brought it to me, but the trainer said if she broke again I should get to the dummy first and pick it up so that she couldn't get it - he didn't want her to have the reward of the retrieve if she wouldn't stay. So we kept trying and I did as he said and grabbed the dummy, but then after a few goes she just got fed up and started rolling around and trying to play so we stopped. (She did later do other retrieves properly - one she hadn't seen put down and one thrown into cover - but of course neither involved stay. Karen - thanks. OK I'll do that. I never play tug with the dummy and she always hands it to me.
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' Do you clicker train ? I trained 'stay' following the kikopup video on you tube. There are two. On the longer version she uses a whipit for distraction. I actually used the short version first. It's 'Sit Stay the easiest, fastest and most reliable '' If you don't use a clicker you could still train it this way. It also shows how to train a release command.
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' Is this the one you mean Jen? It's very good. Here is an article that might help too: The two minute sit
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' Thanks Pippa. Yes that's the one. ;D I really must learn how to do links. :
Re: Still struggling with 'stay' I used a clicker to train retrieve and delivery to hand and it worked really well so I'll have a look at the links you mention - thank you.
