Remain Standing 🛑

🐾 Now we build the actual standing stay

We are finally starting to build the standing stay.

At this point, the small details really matter. Be precise and only move on once the current step is working cleanly.

We begin exactly like before:

➡️ Walk backwards with the dog
➡️ Lure with food in your hand
➡️ Stop
➡️ Close the hand into a fist
➡️ Give the Stand cue if needed

Now we start creating the first bit of distance.

✋ Move the hand away clearly

The dog is standing with the closed hand in front of the nose.

Then:

➡️ Move the hand away confidently
➡️ Wait briefly
➡️ Bring the hand back to the dog
➡️ Wait again
➡️ Then reward

It sounds simple, but the way you do it makes a big difference.

🦶 Pay attention to your foot position

Stand in a staggered stance.

Ideally:

✅ your weight stays on the leg closest to the dog
✅ the other leg remains loose and ready to move

This prepares the dog for the later picture of the Stand from Motion.

We do not want the dog to learn that the Stand only happens when you are standing still in a basic position.

⏱️ Do not reward too quickly

A common mistake is rushing the hand back toward the dog and rewarding immediately.

Instead:

Hand away → wait → hand back → wait → reward

You can also use your marker word for:

“Stay where you are, the reward is coming to you.”

Avoid using a marker that tells the dog he is allowed to leave the position.

🎥 If the dog follows the hand

If your dog tries to move after the hand, film yourself.

Often the problem is that the hand was moved away too slowly or hesitantly.

Remember: in the previous step, the dog was supposed to follow the hand.

Now we need to make the new rule very clear:

➡️ Hand away quickly
➡️ Hand back quickly
➡️ Wait
➡️ Reward

💡 The clearer you are in this first distance step, the easier the standing stay will become later.