# Wait ... or / & ... Stay



## loyalablue (Sep 4, 2013)

I'm torn what to do and I really could do with your input. I've come across the two variations and it's confused me on what to actual teach.

What do you teach? Do you teach both Stay & Wait or Do you just teach one?

Also when it comes to Stay.. I'm not sure whether to use Stay or Sit-Stay
* Sit-Stay meaning sit until I release you.
* Sit and saying Stay meaning when I say stay remain in that position.

However, what I can't grasp is.. If I'm not the only person that's going to be asking for stay. For example; If I'm not home and somebody else, or he is staying somewhere overnight; or my friend or whatever reason somebody else
commands him to sit but doesn't know what or that they need to release him... Doesn't that mess up the behaviour? I.E. I command and go by Sit-Stay at my house, but when the dog is at my parents when I'm not there and somebody asks him to sit, gives them a treat and walks away...???

Anyway, one of my reasons for asking this question regarding using Stay and Wait was because I am very aware that I don't want to mix up commands and using two commands that basically mean the same thing.

I want to use 'Wait' on a daily basis, and I want 'Wait' to mean -'don't cross this threshold'- It won't necessary have a release but more is coming; as in don't cross this threshold until I give you your next cue sort of thing. Such as going out the front door; out the car boot; waiting at road curbs before cross. down the stairs or up the stairs etc. So, if I walk out of a room or I go up the stairs and tell them to wait, I don't care if they move (they can lay down, or sit, or sniff something) just as long as they don't follow me though the doorway or come up the stairs, I could then do what I'm doing and return or recall him through. 

Regarding 'Stay' command.. I took that to be "don't move at all, stay there until I come back to you" as obedience.

Can I and Should I teach both?


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

It's up to you what commands you want to teach your dog, and you can teach a wait as you've described it in your post.

What I do, is I teach that sit/down/stand means stay in that position until released. Telling them to "stay" is unnecessary, because if they are sitting, they are already staying. It does mean you have to release them each time you've asked for a sit, so if you don't think other people will be consistent with this, you can use "stay" as well, and "sit" will then mean put your bum on the ground, but get up whenever you want.

"Wait" can mean "freeze in your current position". This is what I've got, but I don't like to use it for doors and the car etc. For places where I expect them to wait every single time, and there will never be a time when they can just barge through/out, I teach the wait as the default, with no verbal cue needed. Meaning the cue to wait is that we're at the door or the car door is opening. This is so easy to teach, you just wait for them to sit at the door, put your door on the handle. Dog jumps up, you take your hand off. Dog sits again, you put your hand back and start to open the door. Any time the dog gets up, you close the door and take your hand off the door handle until the dog offers the sit again (no verbal cue to sit). Babysteps until you can open the door all the way with the dog sitting nicely, then release the dog. If you do this every time, it will only take a few reps before the dog gets it.

To make sit/stay and wait training easier, I recommend "its yer choice" which you can find on youtube (teaches impulse control), and crate games. You can find examples of crate games on youtube, but to work through the steps properly, you would need to get the DVD.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

It's entirely up to you. 

I teach both. 

Wait means, hold still/hold that thought/give me a second. Wait is allowed to be broken by them, I just ask they keep their position for a few seconds, whether it be in the car before the door is all the way open and I'm ready for them, while a door is opening, or while I'm clipping a backpack around them and don't want them wiggling. 

Stay means hold whatever position you are in and don't move until I say. Standing, sitting, downing, they should not move. I don't allow feet to move or weight to be shifted. 

Sit and down mean to just do it, I'm not expecting them to hold it out for any real length of time or I'd ask for a stay or wait.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

After I taught Kris to sit, I make her sit outside the door and not come in when I open the door until I say OK. I do not say anything, just look out at her and if she is not sitting I do not open the door. When I open the door, she stays sitting till I say OK or I just close the door again. The same with going out. 

When I ask her to sit (or down or stand) I use STAY and she is not to move until I either return to her and release her, or just release her. I use Wait if I am out walking with her off leash and she starts to get too far ahead, I say Wait and expect her to not go on till I catch up with her rather than keep calling her back. In that instance she can move around, sit, sniff, whatever she wants as long as she does not move forward.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

I use both Stay and Wait.

I use Stay in a more formal setting, always in conjunction with Sit or Down. The context is: Remain where you are, do not move until I say so.

I use Wait mostly on walks, when I want Snowball to... well, wait for me. For instance, before going down the stairs I will ask for him to Wait so he doesn't pull me down the stairs in his excitement. Or at the park, I'll ask him to Wait if he's a ways in front of me and he will wait for me to catch up to him (or come back to me) before going further.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

stay for us is don't move from position,,, wait for us is about time so they can do anything they want body position wise...

for the sit and down positions the younger ones I will use stay for learning purposes but as they get older it sorta melts together that they don't move from a specific position until released so I don't find myself using stay. unless it is a new application that they don't know.

as far as other people giving commands... ( I would make it a rule to them , that they can not correct him if he doesn't listen to them since they may be different then you and he wont respond) that would mess him up and confuse him, having other people handling him correcting him wrongly..


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

For us, "wait" is basically a short stay. It gets released in the same manner as a stay. One way we use it is when we're walking and come to a cross walk. I tell him to "wait" before we cross, and once I've determined it's safe, he gets an "ok!" to keep going.


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## Jmc1985 (Nov 27, 2012)

I use stay if I'm going away and then coming back to my dog and wait if they're to stay in place until I call them to me or direct where they need to go.


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## BlackHaus (Nov 11, 2013)

I use "wait" frequently and informally. Whether it's to pause before jumping out of the car, to allow me to pass through a doorway without tripping over anyone, if someone gets too far ahead during a hike, etc. I don't care what the dog does as long as they pause until I give the ok to continue.

"Stay" I kind of phased out in lieu of just using "sit" or "down" as a "keep that position until told otherwise" since I like to keep things simple. Sometimes if I really want to drive the point home I'll add a "stay", but not often.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

This is what I teach my dog. "Wait" command is for staying at crosswalks only. "Stay" means stay where you're at and this is used anytime. I also taught my dog to "stop" on walks when we are in motion and I would use that if I needed him to stop if I dropped something or needed to tie my shoes. "Stop" means no more forward motion and he usually comes back to me on his own or sits down.


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