Mixed emotions bout this, Skipper did very well in his graduation final. The graduation was intertwined with CGC testing and Skipp did not pass.

During test Skipper heeled just right, faced all the distrations that was thrown at him without throwing him off, stood for exam perfectly still, just did great till the sit stay/down stay. Skipper just would not stay put while I walked the twenty feet, he started following me as soon as I walked away. Every attempt was the same thing. That led to the Not Pass of CGC.

I would welcome any suggetions as to getting Skipper past this sticking point other then duct tape or super glue, Skipper does a retest in couple months.

Thanks, Skipper's Upright

When proofing stays we do a lot of short leavings and coming back. Both short in duration and short in distance. Sometimes just walking in a circle around them. It's mainly to help them generalize the concept that our leaving != their leaving.

Also, simple practice, with a unmistakable "I'm the boss" order to "STAY."

Oops - jargon alert... "!=" means "does not equal.

Skipper had a reasonable sit/stay down/stay up untill couple three weeks ago and has regressed. The instructer is puzzled about this as well. Could be a seperation thing or an too attached to me thing. Just need to get him back on track

Am I right in thinking that it's just you & Skipper at your house? If that's the case, your bond may be so strong that he is hesitant to let you get too far away from him. It's probably just going to take a lot of extra work to get him to understand that you're not really leaving him behind. Since Skipper aced the rest of his test, he will no doubt eventually conquer this part too. Good Luck!

jimnconnie, you are right, it is just me and Skipper. At home it's like I have a Skipper magnet attached to me, but when I have company he will follow them as well, He loves company

Look at it this way, at least he came to you! My departed Waylon would run to his breeder Russ during sits and downs- ignoring me fully! It got to the point that I would tell Russ to hide in the clubhouse during CD trials.

Congrats to Skipper on passing his obedience class! Sounds like you're doing great work with him. Sorry about the CGG, but lots of dogs don't pass the first time. Hopefully you can nail it next round. You know the answer. Practice, practice, practice. If he won't stay when practicing in your house, you could try putting him on leash and loop the handle of the leash under a furniture leg so he cannot follow you. Several repetitions of giving the command and walking away with him on leash may jog his memory on what "stay" means. I have an adolesent dog who occassionally "forgets" what down/stay or sit/stay means though he has learned it. I work him with the leash again, first indoors then the backyard. Once he "remembers" he'll work off-leash again. Off my property, I usually carry a 20 foot training line a couple times a week. We stop at a vacant lot and practice downs, stays and comes from a distance. It seems to help a lot. I hope to CGC test him in a couple months.

Desta is another story. Just got her last week. She is 3 years plus a month old. Not even a clue what "sit" means. Treating her just like a young puppy, starting training from scratch. I'm shaking my head over how anyone can have a dog that long and not even teach it the sit command. Oh well...she's smart and will learn fast.

Congratulations to you again! Look forward to hearing news about passing CGC next time Skipper tests!

WOOF! Eli, here.

He's probably adhereing to the CUR guidelines. I bet he knows exactly what you want him to do but just doesn't care to do it. That's a terrier for you.

WOOF!

Eli

Thanks for all the great advice, I think I will reboot Skipper this weekend and retrain him with the basic sit/down stays and leave the recalls alone. The recalls may have confused him. He knows these commands. Just need to get him regrouped on them.

Maybe your right Eli, maybe Skipper just wants to play with this uprights mind and get more treats.