A question I've seen asked more than once goes along the lines of 'when do you use 'stay' versus 'wait'?' For the most part, my answer is 'I don't use either'! When I very first attended a dog training class in the late 90s the trainer I met told me that 'sit should mean sit until they're told to do something else'. Apart from switching 'told' for 'asked', this is a philosophy I've followed ever since. It doesn't just apply to 'sit' either - it could be a down, go to mat or anything else that involves duration.
This also influences how I teach these behaviours in the first place; my focus is not on the staying, but rather the release.
Below is a great example of this - I hadn't even realised I'd captured this! I was videoing some teaching I was doing, and this was in between Peak doing demos. I give a single sit cue right at the start - then I talk to the attendees, waiving my hands around and even move to adjust the equipment. And he just sits there! My release cue (bowl) is barely audible, but that's when he moved.
Such a good boy 😍 In fact, in all the breaks he was so good - I hadn't really been concious of that until I edited the video to get the demo clips!
Now - there is a caveat that I need to add. I always adapt my training to the dog I'm working with. Ripley has never really had 'wait' ot 'stay' in his vocabulary - he just hasn't needed them. Peak on the other hand... For some reason Peak likes a 'wait' cue 🤷♀️ That said, it's rare for me to add it to another behaviour. Rather, it's become a standalone cue. More often than not he's in a stand, but I can use it when opening a door or his crate if needed. It will also stop him moving once I've recalled him. It's quite conversational really, like a lot of my training - 'right, can you wait there please'.
Just a different view on things for you to think about - the very start of this process is included in my course 'Get Your Dog's Attention (And Keep It!)' if you fancy finding out more!