How to Train Your Dog to “Stay” and “Wait

There are going to be times in your dog’s life when it is going to be useful for them to stay in one place while you do something else – such as open a door or put down their dinner. There are also times when it is necessary for them to wait so you can keep them safe – such as not jumping out of a car into traffic.

Find out how to teach both the stay and the wait exercises in our step by step article

What Is The ‘Stay’ and the ‘Wait’?

While ‘stay’ and ‘wait’ are very similar, there is a difference in how you end each exercise.

• The ‘stay’ means ‘hold that place and that position until I come back to you and release you’.
• The ‘wait’ means ‘hold that place and that position until I ask you to do something else’.

The ‘wait’ is generally more useful in day-to-day life as a life skill, while the ‘stay’ is often a more advanced exercise that may involve your dog being at a distance from you, or else staying in one place for a longer duration.

Some people train both exercises – while other people only train one. What you choose is entirely up to you. Both exercises are trained in the same way – they will just have a different cue word and how you end them will be different – so it depends on whether you return to your dog before they are released from staying in the one place (stay) or you ask them to do something else (wait). The wait is usually done for a short period of time, whereas the stay can be longer.

Why Teach Your Dog To ‘Stay’ and to ‘Wait’?

There are many times in your life with your dog that you are going to need them to stay in the one place while you do something else. This ranges from basic manners to staying safe. These can include:

• Not jumping on you while you put their food or water bowl down
• Waiting to be let out of the door into the garden or out on a walk
• Waiting to jump out of the car while you make sure they have the ir lead on and you have them under control
• Waiting at the side of the road to let traffic go past
• In dog sports such as agility where you need your dog to wait at the start while you get ahead of them before starting the round.

What Equipment Do I Need to Train My Dog To ‘Stay’ or ‘Wait’?

To start with you should train in a quiet secure place in your home or garden, with a non-slippery floor and no distractions, and all you will need is some tasty dog treats in your treat bag to reward your dog.

Once you start to practise this in different environments, you will need your dog’s usual harness and lead to keep them safe.

Before you start

Decide what position you want your dog to learn to stay in. This is usually done in either a sit or a down – so you can choose whichever position your dog is the most comfortable in.

If your dog is equally good in both sit and down, start with a down. It takes more effort to get up and move from a down, and so there may be less temptation to break the wait or stay while they are learning.

As the stay and the wait are the same except for how they finish, we will start with the stay.

Step-by-Step Guide to Training a Dog To Stay and Wait

1. There are two parts to a stay. Duration and distance. First you should teach your dog to hold a position for a longer time, and once they can do that, you can move on to teaching them that they can do it while you move away from them.
2. Duration: Do a few downs as you usually do, rewarding with your marker and a treat when your dog lies down.
3. Then ask your dog to lie down and wait for 5 seconds before using your marker word and rewarding. As you reward, say a release cue – such as “OK” to indicate the exercise is over.
4. Practise this a lot – building up the time between your dog lying down and the marker/reward
5. Don’t try to do too much too soon. Some dogs find this easy and others find it far harder as they begin to worry that you want something else. Always try to pre-empt your dog moving – and finish the exercise before they do.
6. Vary the time that you wait – sometimes reward after 2 seconds, sometimes after 10 seconds etc. Be unpredictable (dogs can count!) so your dog doesn’t pre-empt you finishing the exercise.
7. Once you are confident that your dog will stay in the down position, add the cue word to link the word to the behaviour (“stay”).
8. Practise this in different environments in the house, the garden and on walks (with low level distractions). Do not do this when interacting with or meeting other dogs as it prevents natural body language and communication and can make your dog feel anxious or vulnerable (and you can put them in the position where they either have to endure feeling stressed or break the stay).
9. Distance: Now that your dog can hold the down for longer periods, you can start to build in some distance between you. Do not under-estimate how difficult this can be for some dogs, as all your training so far has been about your dog being with you and following you.
10. Go back to the Step 2 and do a few easy downs with your dog beside you.
11. When your dog lies down, move one foot away, shift your weight onto it before moving straight back to your dog. Reward your dog and give the release cue. Make all your movements slow so your dog doesn’t think that you’re going somewhere and that they should follow.
12. Slowly you can build up the distance that you move away but only half a step at a time – and in different directions. Stay focussed on your dog and always move back, reward and finish the exercise before they move or even start to look like they might.
13. H olding your hand up palm towards them (like a ‘stop’ signal) can be helpful for your dog as it gives a physical signal not to follow.
14. When you are confident that they will stay when you move away from them, use your cue word (“stay”) as you step away.
15. Only work on either duration or distance when you are increasing the difficulty level – not both.
16. This is not an exercise that you train quickly – it can take weeks or even months to get a reliable stay especially if you are training a puppy or adolescent. They are easily distracted, can’t hold their concentration for long, and may be less confident so have a strong need to be close to you. Introduce little bits into your day-to-day routine (examples below) for practise until it becomes a regular part of your life together.

Teaching Puppies to Stay

This is often a difficult exercise for young puppies as they are easily distracted, have little to no restraint, and often lack confidence. Puppies instinctively need to be close to their caregiver and so separation can be stressful for them. As long as they have learnt a reliable down or sit, they can still learn the building blocks of stay/wait by working on short duration but not distance until they are older and have more confidence.

The 'Wait' Cue: Key Distinctions

A wait is the same as a stay except it tends to be for a short duration, and instead of you going back to your dog, the wait ends when you ask them to do something else. That might be to come to you, or it might be giving them permission to do something they want to do (get to their food bowl, jump out of the car, start an agility round etc). While it is of shorter duration, it often requires a bit more self-control from the dog!

It’s taught the same way but using a ‘wait’ cue instead of a ‘stay cue’ and ending the exercise with a cue to do something else (“come” - or a release to get their food etc).

Real life ‘wait’ practise

In real life, there are going to be plenty of opportunities to train and practise this:

• When you are feeding your dog you can ask them to wait while you put their food bowl down before releasing them with the food as their reward. After you have prepared their food, ask them to sit or lie down and then ask them to wait. Quietly put down the bowl. If they move, stand up, ask for the sit/down. To start with, release them as soon as the bowl is on the floor. Once they get the hang of it, wait a couple of seconds. D on’t ask them to wait for long as this is about good manners - and it’s easy to create frustration.
• When you are out in the car, ask them to wait while you open the back of the car and put their lead on. Then you can release them to jump out and start your walk – which will be the reward. Practice this at home somewhere safe first – and do NOT rely on it in dangerous situations, near busy roads, or in unsafe places.
• When you are going out of the house for a walk, ask your dog to sit and wait while you open the door. This gives you a chance to check what is outside before they charge out of the door.
• Ask your dog to wait at the side of the road before crossing. This gives you a chance to check for traffic, bikes etc

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