Behind the Scenes! Proofing the Stay with Finished Guide Dogs (Patreon)

In this video my co-worker and I work on proofing the stay for finished guide dogs that are ready to be placed in the coming month. We are also just having fun being silly but we throw a lot at them because the "real world" will throw much more at these pups.

Distractions used include another dog both in a stay, heeling, and playing (loose). A puppy in someone's arms, a puppy loose, and a puppy doing obedience, a flirt pole with "squirrel" on the end, as well as co-workers walking through the training facility. 

The criteria for the dogs in the stay is simply that they remain in the down-stay. They can look away, sniff the air, etc. as long as they maintain their down. 

Things to notice: 

With the flirt pole we start far away and then increase the difficulty incrementally by getting closer to the dogs (but slowing the movement down)

CoolWhip breaks her stay to sniff the puppies butt. My response is to say her name to interrupt the behavior, ask her for what I want (a sit) and then verbally reinforce. Note that a dog in a sit is MUCH more likely to break their stay than one in a down, so I highly recommend you down your dogs for long stays. 

Co-worker goes back and forth treating the dogs when the most difficult distractions are present.