AdvancedFoundations
Proofing Stay Against Distractions
A stay isn't real until it survives a squirrel. Build it with distance, duration, and distraction — one at a time.
5 min readSeptember 7, 2026
The three Ds
A stay is built from three ingredients: Duration (how long), Distance (how far), and Distraction (what's happening). The mistake most handlers make is raising all three at once. Raise one, hold the other two easy.
The order
- Duration first. Stand right next to the dog and build a thirty-second stay before you ever take a step.
- Distance second. One step away, return, pay. Two steps, return, pay. Always return to the dog to reward — never call them out of a stay to pay, or you reward the break.
- Distraction last. A rolling ball, a dropped treat, another dog walking past. Add one at a time, at a distance, and close the gap only when the stay holds.
When it breaks
If the stay breaks, you raised a D too fast. Back up to where the dog was winning and rebuild. A break is information, not a failure — it tells you the dog's threshold.
Train for the environment you'll work in. Distractions are a skill, added gradually.