Training Your Dog to Stay

You don’t have to train her all the time,” my wife scolded, frowning at me as she tickled our new English cocker’s floppy ears. It was summer, school was out, and my teacher instincts – a decade of schooling 7th graders in the English language — zeroed in on our ball of fur.

- Phil Goes

“Stay,” I repeated, and the squirming pup settled down. “Just need to establish some ground rules,” I announced, perhaps a little too smugly. But then I remembered my first year of teaching, when I thought 13-year-olds would actually file in, sit down, and be ready to learn on their own. I wasn’t going to make that mistake with the pup.

If little Junie B was going hunting that fall, she was going to understand the basics. I wasn’t asking a lot, but I needed her to come when called and stay put when asked. It wouldn’t matter where we were or what we were doing. It might be while she sat in the passenger seat watching me pump gas, or we might be at a busy boat launch. Most situations are potentially dangerous for an uncontrolled dog.

I tried the textbook trick of pairing bits of hotdog with sit and stay commands. We had momentary success – until the novelty wore off. I tried picking her up and moving her back and could tell for a fact she did not appreciate any of that. Maybe 75 percent of the time she would stay; but, other times, she came bounding up to see what I had in store next. In the schoolhouse, 75 percent is a passing grade. However, I want more for my students and you better believe the same holds true for my hunting dogs.

While sitting at the dinner table one evening, I noticed that my older dog was sitting obediently a few feet away, not on the hardwood floor of the dining room but on the edge of the carpet of the adjoining living room. The carpet was no doubt more comfortable for the aging animal, and all canines have sensitive feet. I thought there might be something to that.