Training Problem Finder: Two Questions, One Plan
Tell us your dog's stage and what you're working on. You'll get the cognitive reason the problem happens, a practice routine you can run today, and the guides and games that actually apply.
1Which stage is your dog in?
2What are you working on?
Your plan
Puppy stay: buy duration one second at a time
Stay is three separate skills — duration, distance, and distraction — and puppies can only hold one variable at a time. Most failures come from raising two at once.
Lead dimension: Memory
Routine: One-variable stay ladder
2 short sessions a day, 90 seconds each
- Ask for a sit, count one second, mark and pay while the puppy is still sitting.
- Build to ten seconds with you standing directly in front — do not move your feet yet.
- Reset duration to two seconds, then add one step back. Rebuild.
- Reset again before adding any distraction, starting with a mild one such as a dropped toy.
- Always release with a clear word so the puppy learns stays have an end.
Know when to progress: Ten seconds at one step of distance with zero breaks, three sessions running, before you add a distraction.
Read next
Games that support this routine
Train the dog in front of you
These routines assume a typical profile. Dognition's assessment shows where your dog actually sits across the five cognitive dimensions, so you can pick the method that lands first time.
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