# Practice stay in a down



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

I'm having trouble increasing Fred's performance in stay (in a down).

She usually stays down until about 5 minutes when I am around and treating frequently (every 30 sec). After about 5 minutes she usually get's up by herself. I place her back into her down, and end the session with a 'free' command after about 2 minutes.
She can only stay in a down for about 30 seconds when I am not around, or when I am not actively enforcing her behavior. She get's up to either try and find me, or she get's up and start whining for more treats.
Eventually I'd like to be able to have her in a down stay while I make dinner or when we eat without having to treat her all the time. I take her to work and eventually (when she is older) I'd like her to stay in a down when I'm in a meeting.

I've tied her leash to the couch a few times, but she get's a bit frustrated when I do this. Doesn't seem to improve her down stay. Am I expecting too much at 9,5 months?


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

That's great that you're reinforcing the command after she gets up, but I would do your best to catch her before she breaks. If 5 minutes seems to be her limit, then release her at 4 and a half and continue to work up. You're already working on two different variables: time and whether she can or can't see you. I'd also suggest working on distractions like saying words other than "free" and different actions like jumping, turning around, and tossing toys.

At that age my dog definitely needed to be tethered if I was going out of her sight line for several minutes and I still remember the loud and pitiful howling she let out when I tied her to a tree and walked away to hide some quail for the first time; she quickly forgot the trauma when she found that first bird. Fred still has yet to develop her full emotional maturity and the trust that you'll always return, but it sounds like you're on the right track.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

einspänner said:


> That's great that you're reinforcing the command after she gets up, but I would do your best to catch her before she breaks. If 5 minutes seems to be her limit, then release her at 4 and a half and continue to work up. You're already working on two different variables: time and whether she can or can't see you. I'd also suggest working on distractions like saying words other than "free" and different actions like jumping, turning around, and tossing toys.
> 
> At that age my dog definitely needed to be tethered if I was going out of her sight line for several minutes and I still remember the loud and pitiful howling she let out when I tied her to a tree and walked away to hide some quail for the first time; she quickly forgot the trauma when she found that first bird. Fred still has yet to develop her full emotional maturity and the trust that you'll always return, but it sounds like you're on the right track.


Thanks for your reply! Great advice to focus on distractions. I have never tried adding a ball to the training and I expect that is going to be a very challenging distraction. It'll improve her impuls, and no doubt this will help increase her time. 
I'm also going to spend a little extra time on teaching her to relax a bit while being tied up and me going out of sight for a few minutes, after a good exercise.


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