Well I have to tell ya! My little Levi is brilliant!! Brilliant I say!!! He has Sitz down..no sweat. He has learned Platz in a matter of days...Foos, is coming along splendid!

However...I can not get this dog to stay for nuthin! If I move..he moves. If I go upstairs..he goes upstairs. If I sneeeze, he watches. Now, I love his devotion and I am the first to realize this is his loyalty all over the place. Still, how the heck am I going to teach him how to Stay? He get's downright bent out of shape if I move away from him and try and get him to stay where he is...I love it...but I don't, lol

Awsome, your dog is smart, and well bonded to you. Can I assume this is a young dog? I was panicked about the same issue when my dog was young. A wise trainer told me to work "time before distance". Work the stay incrementally with the dog right near you increasing it by only seconds at a time and then release. Once you are up to 5 minutes (I just used 5 min as an example) start to work on moving away from your dog for the stay. Go back to expecting only short stays and increase the distance a tiny bit at a time. I found that the distance thing came with maturity for my dog as he gained confidence in being away from me. We had a great obeidience routine very early on as a pup, but the out of sight and far away long stays took a bit longer. Be patient, move slowly and make sure you set up it up so the dog knows what is being asked and what the reward for a job well done will be. WARNING: do not ask the dog to do a stay you know he will not/cannot do ie: like tell him to stay while you go upstairs right now. Careful that he does not learn he can ignore your commands! Set Levi up for success...baby steps, it will come.

Cheers,
Jennifer

Yes he is still very young, in my opinion at least. He is just 5 1/2 months old. Which, if you ask me, the fact that he will sitz,platz and foos relatively well is amazing! To teach a stay however, wouldn't I have to move at least some distance away in order for him to actually be doing a stay? If I were to stay right there with the dog, wouldn't it just be a sitz or a down?? I mean, how will I get him to understand that he is staying rather than one of the other commands? Also, thanks for the reply Jennifer, this thread didn't generate too much response. I'm guessing probably because it's such a no brainer, lol. Still, there are those of us who are still seriously on a learning curve!!

The stay like most other commands is done in small increments of distance and time. I always have started on a leash and created a short distance between myself and the dog. When I can work my way to the end of a 6ft. leash I begin to walk around the dog and then come back to the starting position. If your dog is food driven or toy driven makes no difference in the reward. Just make sure your reward is timely for success and no reward for failure. This is just motivational training and requires no compulsion (at least in the beginning). Don't get frustrated and don't be suprised if it takes a little time.

okay so when he gets up and walks towards me, which he almost always does, I will tell him no and take him back to the spot that I told him to stay and then I will put him back in a down stay and start all over again, however, each time he follows me. Is this the right thing to be doing? Just simple repitition trying to make him understand I want him to stay put?

Wow, that picture sure turned out big!! Although I am happy that i was able to figure out how to get a picture in by myself I am perplexed as to why it is so gigantic!! LOL!

But my goodness isn't he GORGEOUS!!

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okay so when he gets up and walks towards me, which he almost always does, I will tell him no and take him back to the spot that I told him to stay and then I will put him back in a down stay and start all over again, however, each time he follows me. Is this the right thing to be doing? Just simple repitition trying to make him understand I want him to stay put?

You are moving too fast for the dog and not setting him up to succeed. You will reward the stay command for moving an inch away from the dog for a total of 3 seconds if that is what it takes to be successful. You may have to start with "sit" and then "good sit" when he sits. Then "stay", then just move your feet once on the spot even, and if he does not break, then "good stay" release/reward. Once he can do this 10 out 10 times a couple of days in a row, take one real step away or to the side instead of your fake one, once he can do that consistantly you can take the next baby step...Don't be afraid to go back to the first exersise to reward the stay! Be creative in making him successful!

Corrections come after a dog knows what is expected of him and if he can already perfom the task IMO. You are not there yet.
Maybe you should get an obeidience DVD/book or trainer to help with this if it is not making sense to you, or you are unsure of the timing or how to procede. I am not an obedience trainer, maybe i am in over my head giving advice here.

Cheers,

Jennifer

Yes this is exactly corrct. Small increments is what you want. If a step is to much even body language saying your going to move will work if that's what you have to do. But marking the behavior in good timing is essential in letting the dog know they are correct. That means using a ball or toy if he loves toys or food. Verbal praise I always give at the same time or even a split second before I throw them the ball or give the food. You have to know that they understand the command for sure before you ever think about corrections.