# Is 11 weeks too young to teach stay?



## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

No, it's not too early. "Staying" for even just 3 seconds is a good start. 

You will be amazed by what a 11-wk-old pup can do


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## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

We taught Jasper 'wait' around that age. Just make it fun and he should be fine!


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## SnorPuddel (Jul 8, 2010)

It is NEVER too early to start training, especially positive training


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## ArmyWife (Jun 8, 2011)

At 11 weeks I could get Bravo to stay - but not for long! He'd get distracted by anything and everything. Ive been working with his boundaries and pushing the time he'll stay seated - but at fifteen weeks he's still flighty.

It can never hurt to begin the base of certain behaviors early; just remember that he is a baby, and does have limits. Don't expect too much too soon. He'll definitely stay - just not for a large amount of time!


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

It's never too young! Just be aware of his abilities and set your expectations accordingly, rather than letting him fail over and over. A 3 second stay is a big achievement at that age!


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## Hektor (Apr 16, 2011)

I like teaching my dogs the stay command when oppening the front door of the house, before they go outside for play and potty at the garden. It's a very good oportunity to teach the puppy to hold himself, to sit and stay (wait) before the door opens wide enough and run outside!
If they don't stay-wait, the door closes and we have another try. I like seeing them waiting until I say them "go!!!"
In that way you have the puppy focused on the door and he waits until the door opens, so there is no other distruction.
My first dog is 3 years old and my spoo is 4 months old and she is doing well.


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## Marlow's Mum (Apr 20, 2011)

I'm teaching my 11 week old Spoo a "default" stay. Which basically means that when I say "sit" it means "sit until I tell you otherwise'. and same with "down" kikopup on youtube has a great video of this:


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## Arcticfox (Dec 12, 2011)

My puppy class trainer suggested that instead of training a stay right now, just make sure to add a release work to all your positional commands like sit and down. We use "All done" which means they can get up and run around or whatever until the next command. If they get up before you say your release word, you give a verbal correction (AHAH), remove the treat, put them right back into a sit/down/whatever they were in, and repeat, until you are ready to say the release word. Start with releasing right away, and work up to a second or two, etc. I don't remember the exact reasoning behind this, but it made sense at the time  And this isn't to replace stay or wait.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

I would say yes, just make the stays very short (3-5 seconds) and make it fun!! I started teaching Trev "stay" by telling him to "stay here" whenever I walked out of the door to do something that didn't include him. At that point, I didn't require him to sit still in one position, he just had to stay on his side of the door. Once he understood that, then we moved to staying still. He caught on very quickly, whether that was from our previous work on staying inside when told or because he's very smart I don't know...I'm just relaying what I did, and it seemed to work. Some ppl might say that I would be confusing him by including "stay" in both commands, but I have not had a problem. Then again, I also teach my dogs "down" (lie down) and "get down" (get off the furniture) and they understand both perfectly. Maybe I just have a pack of Einsteins... Actually, it probably has something to do with tone and body language. (But I like to think they're just really smart.  )


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Arcticfox said:


> My puppy class trainer suggested that instead of training a stay right now, just make sure to add a release work to all your positional commands like sit and down. We use "All done" which means they can get up and run around or whatever until the next command. If they get up before you say your release word, you give a verbal correction (AHAH), remove the treat, put them right back into a sit/down/whatever they were in, and repeat, until you are ready to say the release word. Start with releasing right away, and work up to a second or two, etc. I don't remember the exact reasoning behind this, but it made sense at the time  And this isn't to replace stay or wait.


A lot of trainers subscribe to this ... the thinking is that the dog should hold the position (whatever position) until you tell him otherwise. I have never trained this way, as it requires you be scrupulous about always, always, always remembering to release, and I'm a sloppy trainer :smile:.


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

I have come around to the "teach a release cue before you teach anything else" school of thought, which does include not using a separate word for "stay." 

I know I've heard it recommended here before, but Susan Garrett's Crate Games DVD is a treat for giving a dog a great foundation for self control, clear understanding of release word, and value for their crate, all valuable things for any dog to have.

Good luck!

--Q


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## mdwcarolina (Dec 9, 2011)

Ahh, all these treats! I know positive reinforcement is the key, but OMG all I can think of is SOFT STOOLS! DIARRHEA! I know what you're gonna say ... judicious use of treats, careful selection of treats ... but d'ya know what I'm saying? Really focused Training Days are soft stool days!! Right? Or am I missing something?


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## Arcticfox (Dec 12, 2011)

mdwcarolina said:


> Ahh, all these treats! I know positive reinforcement is the key, but OMG all I can think of is SOFT STOOLS! DIARRHEA! I know what you're gonna say ... judicious use of treats, careful selection of treats ... but d'ya know what I'm saying? Really focused Training Days are soft stool days!! Right? Or am I missing something?


I use kibble as treats. And have no problems in that area. Her daily ration goes into a baggie, I can put a little bit into a bowl to get her used to regular meal times about 2 - 3 times a day and the rest is used for training. I throw in a few other treats like dried liver and cookies but they're borken down into teeny tiny pieces and mixed in with the kibble so she gets a nice yummy surprise every once in a while rather than as a regular reward. I highly recommend using their regular food for training, with other treats used as jackpot rewards for a spectacular performance, or randomly strewn in to keep them guessing.


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## mdwcarolina (Dec 9, 2011)

Good stuff, Arcticfox, I will take that and use it. I have used very small tidbit treats, but I think you're right, I need to mix in the regular kibble. My spoo baby is still young (11 weeks, not THAT young I guess!) so I have to be careful, and even the occasional puppy chew might be responsible for soft stools.

For the past few days we have been on a diet of white rice and chicken baby food, her stools got so soft. I don't THINK this was due to treats ... I have an inground pool covered with a monstergear type canvas, that allows some chemical-treated (though heck, the chemicals should be worn out by now) water to seep through if a dog (like Ziva, yep, who thinks that finding puddles anywhere, anytime, is a great sport) romps on it, and yes she laps at that water. So I thought it could be that, or the worms she loves to dig up, or the occasional baby mouse that the cat brought to the back door that she gets one mouthing or so before I find and remove it from her...


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