Wait vs Stay | A Critical Distinction in Dog Training and Dog Sports

What is the difference between a WaitWaiting on cue and situationally is extremely important for disc dog freestyle training. The competition field might not see too much waiting going on as everything is supposed to be happening in flow,... More and a Stay? GiveThe Give is a retrieve to the hand. A cued Give is a foundational skill that is not super useful in the actual performance of disc dog freestyle, and has huge applications for... More it some thought before moving on… I’ll wait and fill some time with some background.

Do You Have an Answer?

If you’ve been to camps over the last 4 or 5 years, you’ve most likely heard me ask this important question. You have also probably seen the looks of confusion on people’s faces when confronted with the question, or perhaps experienced some befuddlement yourself.

Having an answer, a logical and distinctive answer, to this question is a must for dog trainers and dog sport aficionados. That said, few trainers have that answer and it becomes a difference without distinction.

So do you have an answer? If you do, and it differs from the one I’m going to lay out here in a moment, go ahead and drop it in the comment section below. This is a question that I’m quite interested in.

The difference between a Wait and a Stay (duration behavior) is that a Stay releases to, and only to, the release word, while the Wait releases to a conditioned response.

Loot has a solid wait. A Wait is the most important behavior for successful vaulting. Without a wait getting started in sync and in time is nearly impossible. Loot is waiting for the presentation of the vaulting platform, a conditioned response, before releasing to the vault.

Why It Matters

Conflating the Wait and Stay creates many performance issues making this distinction absolutely critical when it comes to dog sport. Conflating these two behaviors leads to unreliable Stays and delayed releases from Waits.

In addition to these critical performance problems, conflating the Wait and Stay creates a great deal of pressure on the dog, handler, and team and sets up unnecessary errors that get in the way of efficient, successful training and handling.

When is it OK to go? Do I stay here or move with you as I have been taught? Am I in it for the duration or am I looking for the opportunity to do the thing?

I believe that the confusion between Wait and Stay is responsible for many nagging problems in dog sport and dog training:

In Agility:

Start Line Stay
2 On 2 Off Contacts
Table

In Disc:

Vaults and Overs
Unstable FrontFront is a stable position directly in front of the handler. Front is an traditional obedience skill. Usually your dog sits in this position, but standing is often acceptable as well, especially in... More PositionIn the Play+ philosophy, "Position" is the final stage within the "Next" phase of a Cycle of Play. It acts as a pivotal link between the "Next" phase and a new "Now" phase. More
Stalls and Dog Catches
MultiplesRapid fire catches in succession, multiple sequences demonstrate dog and handler’s ability to speedily execute the throw and catch concept. Many times these sequences feature the dog in front of the handler catching... More