Long down stays - Page 1

30 minutes???  That is way too much to ask from a pup.  My male was almost 2 and it took a while to work up to that.

Cole

My three month old can sit, down, stay maybe 30 seconds, come, is learning all with hand signals, knows to sit before the door will open, and is now on autopilot in a sit stay for his dinner until I release him.  None was taught with compulsion and he is wagging his tail and happy through all of it. I never do this with him except for about 3 minutes before each feeding. I swear he is the smartest pup I've EVER seen.

He does some of these in the neighborhood but not well, at all and I don't expect him to :). A trainer with our Search and Rescue group said teach as much as you can as a game and it will help open up pathways in the mind that wouldn't normally develop as well.

I'm not being a braggert about myself but I'm amazed at his willingness to learn. Of course I only have three dogs, one of which is a lapdog with only the basics. And I'm at home alot, which gives me more time and less pressure for training than most.

As you have already heard from this group, a 30 minute down stay is impractical.  Further, it is harmful to the dog's enthusiasm for work: you want to keep all training upbeat and fast and fun.  Even five continuous minutes of heeling, much less staying, is a killer for a young dog in training for anything competitive.

It does not seem from the group's reply, however, that anyone actually recalls that this very thing -- the ability to do a 30 minute down-stay at 6 months old -- was once a breeding goal of The Monks of New Skete.  They did accomplish it, but the results presumably took their dogs away from driven, energetic working dogs.  Perhaps they held onto intelligence and took out the drive?  In any case, some of their dogs have been useful in calmer pursuits such as guide dog work.  I noticed that their dogs got bigger during that era -- perhaps selecting for oversized 6 month olds helped them get pups that liked to lie down for a long time!  In any case, we don't see those dogs attacking A-frames and helpers.