Step 4 - Building Stay Difficulty

Prerequisite Skills:

• Marker Word

• Stay cue

• Step 1, Step 2 (15 sec min), Step 3 (5 steps out of view min)

Gear:

• Treat pouch with treats

Set Up:

• Environmental Selection: Select/Set-Up an environment where your dog is able to stay focused.

• When teaching a new skill or a new part to an existing skill it's important to reset the environment to make learning the new thing easy on your dog.

• Use your criteria setting skills to understand how to increase or decrease how difficult/distracting your dog finds the environment so that your dog is able to successfully stay focused on you

Reminder: Anytime you work on something new make everything else easier. Keep the duration, movement away, or distraction to a minimum to focus on the current criteria. Continue to practice the full loop of cue, criteria, release

Phase 1: Sitting Down

Teach your dog to Stay while you sit down

Step	Reward Criteria
1	Build distance required to reach a sitting spot
2	Sit 1/4 of the way down
3	Sit 1/2 of the way down
4	Fully sit down for a fraction of a second
5	Fully sit down for 1 second
*	Build duration in your seated position
*	Repeat in various seating options
*	Incorporate durations and various levels of difficulties

Phase 2: Food & Toys

Teach your dog to Stay with food and toy distractions

Step	Criteria
1	Gently place a treat or toy on the ground
2	Decrease distance until it's directly next to the dog
3	Drop a treat or toy on the ground
4	Decrease distance until it's directly next to the dog
5	Toss/Roll a treat or toy on the ground
6	Decrease distance and increase intensity of toss to generalize the behavior

Reminder: Utilize the Criteria Setting skills you've practiced prior to this stage to break down the difficulty and duration to determine how often/when to reward so that your dog is successful

Phase 3: Answering the Door

Teach your dog to Stay while answering the door

Step	Criteria
1	Work through approximations of door knocking
2	Work through approximations of the door bell
3	Work through approximations of opening and closing the door
4	Work through approximation of walking out the door
5	Work through approximatios of conversations at the door

Phase 4: Generalize to Daily Activities

Teach your dog to Stay through normal daily activities

#	Examples
1	Meals (Prep and Eating)
2	Cleaning
3	Games
4	Showers/Bathroom Time
5	Folding Laundry
6	Visitors entering/staying
*	Get Creative! This doesn't have to be 100% of the time, for 100% of the activity and it shouldn't feel like a punishment. It's a challenge that can be rewarded by both food and inclusion