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He's too young to learn the "stay". Puppies at this age are very movey, very bouncey, and it's a bit far-fetched to expect them to sit still while they're babies. Better that at this time all you do is have fun--play, play, play, make 'training' commands play, don't correct the dog for sitting wrong or jumping around, etc. I usually start properly training a dog anywhere from six months to one year depending on the size--bigger dogs need to start earlier because they'll be more dangerous if uncontrollable. Remember, at four months, the puppy is barely more than a baby.

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I got my last pup when he was 8 weeks old.

 

By the time he was 10 weeks old he learned: sit, down, rollover, high five, shake, how to fetch a ball and we were working on stay. I believe that you should start working on commands and tricks when you get them. Staying for more than a second or 2 probably won't happen but you can work on it. You just need to make training fun. These dogs need to have their brains worked.

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Ok that answers why it is not working. He can sit, roll over, shake and will walk without pulling on the lease. Close to heel! I will stop trying the stay for now and try the wait to go out the door or try the wait for food. I have the book by Pat Miller, but I guess I am getting ahead of myself.He is also good at coming when called. This is my first border collie, (had a black lab who has past away)and he seems to be very smart.I tried to post a picture in the general board but it did not work.

Thanks, Pat

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Your pup is very much old enough to learn stay. It is usually the way you go about it. I am a certified pet trainer and we start training pups at 10 wks. old. Like someone else stated... we brought Phoenix home at 7 wks. and by 10 wks, he would sit, down, wait stay (and come most of the time). Now that he is 7 mos old, he is rebelling on the recall outside, but everything else is solid. I made it fun for him to do, and only worked with him a very few minutes at a time, because I didn't want to make it too serious.

Start with your pup on leash, and have him/her sit right in front of you (facing each other), signal a stay with your flat palm toward their face,( don't use the word STAY, with hand signal until you get a good 3 out of 5 tries down solid), then say the word stay...) count 1-2 and release,praise/treat...once they are consistent with a very short count and you right there! increase it by 2-3 seconds up to about 20 seconds for a beginner puppy, etc, etc. The biggest mistake made is the person moving away from the dog before they get the duration of the stay. When teaching stay, you are working for 3 goals we call the 3 D's... duration... distance...and distractions, in that order. They can still be a puppy and learn! Never lose patience, if you don't feel like training, just play.. same if your dog dosen't feel like training today.. and always end each training session on the upside, with something you KNOW, your doggy does well, than just say... that'll do.. and go play.

JoeAnne Mirra, Sitka, Phoenix and crew

PS...Pat Miller is awesome. I just attended a seminar she conducted.

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