Help! How to teach 'wait'

Hi there,
Im trying to teach my puppy to 'wait' - either for food or for me to walk through a door before following. She is not getting it and seems to get frustrated when i do not give her the treat.
Has anyone got any suggestions please they would be much appreciated!
Many thanks
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To teach him how to leave something, like a bit of food, you need to teach him the command first.
Hold the treat in your hand so that he cannot get to it. At this point he will try to get to the treat by sniffing, nudging and pawing at your hand. Tell him to ‘leave’, As soon as he backs away, click, and give him the cue ‘take it’ and reward him with the food. You can extend this exercise by having an open palm and then gradually extending to having the treat on the floor. Make sure that at no point your dog can snatch the treat, so have your hand on the ready to pick the treat up again if he goes for it.

To teach him not to go through doors til you say, i usually have the dog infront of the door. open it a tad and when he moves, i shut the door again. Very gradually open the door a bit more, but be careful not to shut the door on the dogs nose. Each time tell him to wait, and close the door when he tries to go. They soon get the idea that they have to wait until you say its ok.

Thank you i will try those techniques
much appreciated
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My understanding is that you just want to teach 'wait' rather than 'leave'?

I would not try to conflate the two as they are different exercises

When teaching 'wait' you need to take into account the age of your puppy. Youngsters have a very limited concentration span and, not only is it unfair to expect them to maintain focus for more than a few seconds, but if they break their waits then all you have taught them is that they can do this. Always set your puppy up for success - don't be too ambitious and let her fail through no fault of her own

Have you puppy sitting beside you. Give her the command 'wait' and at the same time give her a clear and distinctive 'wait' signal (my signal is my index finger in front of the dog's face). Do not move away at this stage. Count to three and, if she hasn't moved, reward and praise her. Build up the time that she is sitting waiting beside you very gradually. Once she is solid with that then try moving the foot/leg that is not closest to her. Again, praise and reward if she stays still when your leg moves. practice this several times.

Only when she is solid with that and you are perfectly sure that she understands the command then pivot directly in front of her, remind her that she is waiting, pivot back beside her, praise and reward. The reward must always be given before you allow your dog to move, otherwise you will be rewarding the movement rather than the wait. You also need a 'release' word so that she knows the exercise is finished and she is free to move - never forget to give your release word

When she is waiting nicely as you move in front of her take one step in front, come back and reward. Gradually build up the distance - one step, two steps, three steps, etc. Do not go too far. Always increase the time of the wait before you increase the distance. If your dog breaks then it will be because you have moved too far away or because you have left her too long.

If you go very slowly you will find that you have a dog whose wait is as solid as a rock. If you try to rush it then her waits will be unpredictable.

If you wish to teach 'leave' this may be of help to you: http://www.dogweb.co.uk/talkdogs/sho...8&postcount=13

This might sound daft, but I always train my dogs on their walks rather than an exercise. For me it means they always get a refresher course as they get walked at least 3 times a day.

For me "wait" would be taught when crossing roads etc. For example I'd walk the pup to the kerb on lead use the command "wait" and when s/he was still I'd reward and the use the release command to cross the road. I find eventually the release command is enough of a reward for the dog meaning you no longer have to carry treats around with you

Try what SB says and try it on walks too, sometimes the interuption of training on a walk can work wonders especially if you've got something tasty in your pocket!

Thank you both.

I wanted the 'wait' for food so that she sits and waits until i put her food down and give the ok before starting to scoff it. I dont want to teach her to 'leave' food yet.

I will definitely try those techniques. I have also been trying to used the index finger infront of her fact as the gesture for 'wait'. Yes the 'wait' was also for the crossing of roads. What sort of words do you use as release? Is it the same release word(s) always no matter what command they are obeying or different for different? Would 'go on' be ok for a release words?

I think we will definitely not have mastered 'wait' before Tuesday's class lol. Never mind. Well i am getting a clicker for definite so i hope that will help her. Also been out and bought loads more little training treaties as i find that cheese or chicken etc tends to sweat in my hot hands (yuck) so not so nice!! Also she likes then enough to work for them so hopefully wont make a difference.

Thanks again for the advise - i will let you know how we get on after Tuesday's class!
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Yes, always use the same release word no matter which exercise you are doing. The dog will learn that that particular word means that the exercise is finished. I use 'OK' as my release, but it does not matter at all which word you chose so long as you are consistent. Dogs don't understand English - they just learn to associate a behaviour with a sound, so you can say 'bacon', 'london', 'go on', whatever you like