If you have already taught Border Collie how to come, sit and drop then it is time to teach your dog the ‘stay’ command. This is a very useful command that all dogs should understand as it teaches your dog patience and it could get your dog out of trouble one day.

Here is an easy method to help you teach your Border Collie to stay....

Teach your Dog to Stay in Six Easy Steps

Once your Border Collie understands the concept of training and already sits, drops, and comes to you on command, you are ready for the ‘stay’ command.

All you need are some dog treats to reward good behaviour, a positive attitude, and a lot if patience.

Step 1. Decide on a hand gesture to use with the word command ‘stay’. For example, use your right hand with an open palm. Your dog will learn a lot quicker if you combine a word command with a hand signal.

Step 2. Ask your dog to sit then tell it to stay using the word and the hand gesture you have chosen. Do not move away from your dog at this stage and reward it for staying. Do this a few times.

Step 3. Next, use your word and hand command and tell your dog ‘stay’. Take a step backwards, pause for 2 seconds, and step forward again. Reward your dog if it stays. If it moves, try again. Do not reward it until it stays. Practice this step a few more times so your dog understands.

Step 4. Now your Border Collie puppy is staying when you step away from it, gradually increase the time and distance of the stays. Always return to your dog and reward the behaviour to reinforce it. If it looks like your dog is going to move as you increase the time and distance, reinforce the stay with the stay command.

Step 5. If your dog keeps getting up as you increase the time and distance, go back to the beginning and start to build the stay time and distance up again.

Step 6. Keep working with your Border Collie puppy until it can stay for up to 2 minutes. This is a long time for a puppy. As your puppy matures, increase the amount of time your dog will stay. Your puppy should be staying nicely within a week.

Border Collie Training Tips

Training can be frustrating if you do not get the results you want. Remember, you need patience and consistency. If your puppy is not doing what you want then you need to look at why and what you can do to help your dog to understand you. Dogs want to please their pack leaders so if they do not understand us, it is usually because we are not being clear.

If you are having trouble training your Border Collie to stay, change to teaching the sit or drop position again. Reward the behaviour and try the stay again in your next training session.

It is really important to finish every training session on a positive note. If you are not having success with your training, ask your dog to do something you know it can do easily and reward the behaviour and finish the session.

Keep your training fun and the sessions short. Never punish your puppy if it does not understand you. If you do, it will just make training all that much harder.