Teaching Your Puppy Sit, Down, and Stay
Quick answer
All three build on the same lure-and-reward mechanic and a natural progression — sit first, then down (built from sit), then stay (built by adding duration and distance gradually to either).
Sit
- Hold a treat close to your puppy's nose, then move it slowly up and back over their head.
- As their head tilts up to follow it, their rear naturally lowers into a sit.
- Mark the instant their rear touches the ground, then reward.
- Repeat until reliable, then add the cue word just before the motion.
Down
- From a sit, hold a treat at your puppy's nose, then lower it straight to the floor.
- As your puppy follows the treat down, their body should lower with it — reward the moment their elbows touch the ground.
- If they pop back up instead of lying down, you're likely moving the treat too fast — slow down.
Stay
"Stay" isn't a new position — it's duration and distance added to sit or down.
- Ask for a sit or down your puppy is already reliable at.
- Wait one second, then mark and reward while your puppy is still in position.
- Gradually increase the wait time, in small increments — a few seconds at a time, not minutes right away.
- Once duration is solid, add small amounts of distance (a half-step back) before returning to reward.
- Build duration and distance separately, not both at once — if you increase both simultaneously, you're likely to see the behavior fall apart.
A Note on Attention Span
These are short, achievable sessions — a young puppy building real reliability on "stay" over multiple weeks, with duration measured in single-digit seconds at first, is completely normal progress, not a sign anything's wrong.
Building Stay Duration
| Stage | Duration | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–3 seconds | None |
| 2 | 5–10 seconds | None |
| 3 | 5–10 seconds | Half-step |
| 4 | 10–20 seconds | 1–2 steps |
| 5 | Building gradually from there | Building gradually from there |
Want duration paced to your puppy?
Get a pace for building duration that matches your puppy's actual progress.
What to Do Today
Practice sit with the lure method for a few reps. If sit is solid, try down. If both are solid, add 2–3 seconds of stay duration before releasing.
Common Mistakes
- Moving the treat too fast during the down lure — causes puppies to pop back up.
- Increasing duration and distance for stay at the same time.
- Expecting long stays before short ones are solid.
- Releasing your puppy from a stay by calling them — this can confuse stay with come; use a separate release word.
When Professional Help May Be Appropriate
If your puppy seems physically uncomfortable getting into a down position (reluctant, stiff, or seems to avoid it specifically), that's worth a vet check before continuing to push the behavior, in case there's a physical cause rather than a training gap.