E-Collar Training for Beginners | Dog Stay Command
July 19, 2022 Category: Trainer Tips
Breaking down E-collar conditioning 1 fundamental concept at a time! The 3 most important things for your dog to understand before utilizing a remote training collar are:
1.) Come to me
2.) Go away from me
3.) Go stationary
In the 2 previous blog posts, we discussed the concepts: come to me and go away from me. Now, let’s round out the trifecta with the concept of going stationary.
The idea of going stationary is something that most dog owners are familiar with. A simple sit stay is a great example of this concept. Teaching your dog to hold a position can serve you in so many ways such as:
- Being able to easily maneuver around your dog while in a tight space. This can be useful in your home when moving a hot pan to the sink or opening the oven.
- The ability to open your front door without your dog rushing out into the street.
- Stopping your off leash dog when they are unknowingly ending up in harm’s way.
The words that you use are less important than the concept of freezing in the position whether that be a sit, down, place, or stand it truly doesn’t matter! The biggest part is that any motion stops and you then have the ability to guide your dog.
We will demonstrate this concept by using the Stay command. Before starting to train make sure you grab some treats and put your dog on a leash. Start this training without use of the e-collar. We must first establish the new behavior long before we ask our dog to perform it when static stimulation is applied from the E-collar.
- With your dog on a leash give the Sit command. If your dog doesn’t already know the Sit behavior take some time to condition that before continuing.
- When your dog sits, give them a treat and say stay. Stand straight up and wait 1 second then give your dog a treat as a reward for performing the command.
- If your dog gets up from the Sit, use light leash pressure upwards and command Sit to put them back in the Sit position.
- Once your dog is holding the Sit, you can start to take 1 step back while holding onto the leash, wait a few seconds then go to the dog and treat reward them.
- Continue taking steps away from your dog backwards, making sure to hold the leash as that is our steering wheel so to speak, to guide the dog back to sit, should they break the command early. You can step side to side to begin to proof the Stay command.
- Continue to increase the distance and duration of your stay behavior.
- Once your dog is proving that they understand to stay in that position you can start to add distractions and test their skill in a more advanced setting.
When your dog is able to hold the position you are then ready to layer over the e-collar static stimulation. Layering over your e-collar to the Stay command is done just like we did with the Come and Place command. At this point, if you have not found your dog’s working level, revisit the last blog to do so before layering the e-collar over place. Put your e-collar and leash on your dog and go back to asking for Sit and Stay. If you dog breaks the sit behavior apply light static stimulation using the Nick or Continuous button on your handheld transmitter. Use your leash, body, treats, or words to guide/assist your dog back into the position if needed. Once your dog sits again you can release stimulation and give them a treat. Do not increase distance, duration, or distraction until your dog is demonstrating that they are able to understand the stay command when static stimulation is applied.
Stay is not only used to keep your dog in a sit, it can also be used to keep them in a stand, down, place and many more behaviors! Getting a reliable stay is so crucial to the safety of your dog both on and off the leash. It also will give you time to assess a situation and guide your dog to the best decision.
This completes our series on the three concepts to train your dog before using a remote training collar! Through mastering all 3 things you will enhance your training journey and truly be working towards having a top-notch dog.
