Wait dog hand signal
Just remember that you don't have to use the same words or use the cues in the same way as your trainer suggested. You are not the only one who is confused with the difference between 'wait' and 'stay'. I don't think I gave a treat for release with 'stay', but it's been a long time. There are different ways to train, but for 'stay' I would return to the dog before releasing. But the difference between 'wait' and 'stay' is you can release from a distance with 'wait' and it's usually not as long of a waiting period. I agree to stick with 'stay' for now, I just went the other way and started with 'wait' because I needed 'wait' for what he was doing then and everyday. My hand signal for 'wait' is my finger held up like '1 second' or just the word "wait". My release word is "ok" or "ok go", the same for everything. I kind of just trained 'wait' in everyday life, like waiting for his food to be lifted down, waiting before crossing the street, wait if I have to untangle his leash, that type of thing. Usually my dog will take a year or more to understand these subtleties, although they learn much faster if there's already a resident dog who understands them. These are subtle differences and don't expect your dog to get them at first in fact these understandings really don't come until much later and are understood much more from experience than from specific training.
![wait dog hand signal wait dog hand signal](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/70/e4/8b/70e48be77999f310f1999f40ad8c234f.png)
But I would never say Stay and go out and leave the house because Stay means stay right here until you are released, no matter what.
![wait dog hand signal wait dog hand signal](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ac/1f/b7/ac1fb7aa9d61d60b3802349319fa9b86.jpg)
With Wait there is not always a release, for instance if I say Wait and go out and close the door. Or if someone is coming in the door, or I am going out, and they are not to go out. I can use Wait so they don't get into or out of a car until I release them and same with the door or gate. Wait is just the word, and the dog knows that the release will come soon. Even then I will check back to see if the dog is still there. And I never ever put a dog into a stay if I cannot keep an eye out to make sure the stay is not broken until the dog is fully mature and I am completely confident in the solidity of the stay. the hand signal and the way I say the word Stay conveys that it is more serious and will probably last longer. I use a hand signal for stay but not for wait.
![wait dog hand signal wait dog hand signal](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/02/7e/31/027e310119e1d890fc8cb981ecd76029.jpg)
Here's what I do but it's not the only way to do it: I always use the same release word for the dogs for everything. Once that is solid you can do wait in much the same way. I would work on Stay since that is what you are working on already. I suggest working on only one of those at a time.