Shetland Sheepdogs are intelligent dogs and are fairly easy to train. The hardest part of the sit and stay for a Sheltie is the stay. Whether they can’t bear the thought of you leaving them behind or because they want to chase anything that moves – it’s a challenge. But, teaching them a stay can really help you make sure they won’t bolt out your front door after a cat (or in countless other situations). It also helps teach self-control, which can then make behaviors like “leave it” easier to teach. The following is a great way to teach stay that makes it easier on your Sheltie and results in a solid behavior.
Duration & Distance
To make stay training easier for your Shetland Sheepdog you are going to break it up into the following three parts – Duration, Distance, and Distractions. First, you are going to work on just Duration and then just Distance. Finally, you will add Distractions once a solid stay has been taught.
At this point, do not use the cue Stay. You don’t want to use your cue until your Sheltie knows what you want.
Start by building up duration – how long your Shetland Sheepdog can sit in one position. Do this in small increments by asking your dog to sit, counting to 1 second, and then rewarding. Then count to two seconds and reward. At this point, release your dog by saying your release cue (common ones are Okay, Free, Break, Release, but you can use anything) and tossing a treat for your dog to get. Then you can start over, gradually building up duration.
Ideally, your Shetland Sheepdog will never break his stay using this method. If he does, just put him back in a sit, count a second or two depending on where you are in your training and then reward.
In the beginning, do short training sessions in a quiet room with little to no distractions.
Next is distance. Do the same thing with distance by taking steps away from your Sheltie (instead of counting) and returning to reward. Again, no cue for stay. Don’t forget to use your release cue every time you end the stay.
Adding the Cue
Once you can count to around 10-15 seconds and take at least 5 steps away from your Sheltie without him getting up, you can start adding the cue. To do this, say Stay (or whatever cue you wish) while your dog is in the middle of an exercise, then return and reward.
Don’t forget to use your release cue every time you end the stay.
Distractions
Once the cue has been added, it’s time to start adding in distractions that your Shetland Sheepdog will have to ignore while continuing to stay. The younger your Sheltie is, the more slowly you will probably have to add distractions. What is a hard distraction for one dog may be easy for another, so think about what gets your dog excited. Anything that excites your Sheltie will make him want to break his stay. Start with something he doesn’t find that interesting. Maybe another family member walking by, the TV on, or a toy (not being thrown, just holding it). Basically, anything that is a bit of a distraction, but not your dog’s favorite thing, as that will be too hard.
Build up slowly to:
- Tossing a toy.
- Tossing a treat.
- Kids – walking, laughing, running etc.
- Other dogs – walking by, doing stays next to them, etc.
- Other animals – cats, squirrels, etc.
- People – greeting, walking by, etc.
- New places – pet stores, parks, etc. Long lines are great for practicing stays in public places.
- Cars – this can be hard for dogs that like to chase, for some dogs it’s no big deal.
If your dog breaks his stay 3 times in a row when you add a new distraction, he is not ready for that one. Remove it and try something that’s in-between his last successful distraction and the one he failed. So, for example let’s say your Sheltie was fine with you holding a ball but when you threw it, he failed. Next time you might try dropping or placing it on the ground, rolling it slowly, or tossing it gently so it goes a foot or two. The goal is to make your Shetland Sheepdog successful every time. Follow these simple steps, and you will have a rock-solid stay.
