How Do I Teach My Dog to Come & Stay?

Teaching a dog to come and stay by your side can be initially performed with very little effort. Through the use of some treats, a little patience, and just a few minutes per day you will have your dog obeying your commands without any trouble whatsoever.

However, the first step to successfully training your dog to come and stay is to understand that those two commands are not the same thing. In fact, as Daniel explains:

"Those are two different, distinct requests from a dog. And, I wouldn't put the two together, as a matter of fact. So, a lot of people make the mistake of teaching the recall with the stay, at the same time. I wouldn't do that. Personally, I like to teach a dog to do a down-stay and then build either distance or time elapsed - the two stressors that a dog goes through - in that particular exercise. And, I will always return to the dog and then reward the dog for getting up from the down-stay. But, I will never - or almost never teach a dog that's learning the down stay to do a recall afterward." 

Because what happens is you're setting the dog up for failure by inciting them or instigating some sort of preemptive behavior on their behalf. Dogs are very much creatures of habit. If you develop a routine the dog can anticipate to receive a reward, they will take advantage of that opportunity. 

So, once you understand that it's important to teach the dog to stay before they learn to come, then it's time to break down the steps necessary for getting your dog started on this training. As Daniel explains further:

"So, more often than not you'll say 'down-stay,' you'll walk 10 paces away, you'll turn back around - expecting to see the dog in a down-stay and then call them to you. And, the dog will already be at your feet or have crawled forward a little bit to cheat. Or, they'll anticipate before you can even say 'here,' they're already running towards you. And, that's wrong, right? That's breaking a down stay. So, work on the down-stay and the recall separately."

In The Beacon Dog Academy training course, Daniel shows real steps for teaching both the down-stay and the 'come' commands. In The Beacon Dog Academy course, Daniel doesn't try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to dog training. He shows everyone his own easy steps for getting your pup to come to sit by you - using only his leadership and the primal power of food.