How to teach your dog the “place” command indoors and outdoors
“Place” is one of those basic commands that you should definitely teach your dog. This command has two variations: domestic, when the dog lies down on his bed or in a carrier, and normative, when he needs to lie down next to the thing that the owner points to. How to train a puppy in two ways at once?
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Household, or home, variant of the “place” command
Many owners wonder how to teach a puppy the “place” command. The easiest way is to teach this command to a grown pet for 5-7 months: at this age, the dog usually already has the patience to stay in one place. But you can start with a younger puppy, up to 4-5 months. The main thing is not to demand too much from him. The baby was able to stay in place for a whole 5 seconds? You have to praise him – he really did a great job!
How to teach your dog the “place” command at home:
Step 1. Take a treat, say “Spot!”, and then choose one of three options:
Lure your pet to the couch with a treat and give him a treat.
Throw a treat on the couch so that the dog sees and runs after it. Then repeat the command, pointing to the place with your hand.
Go to the bed with the dog, put a treat, but do not let it eat. Then step back a few steps, holding the dog by the harness or collar, and, making sure that the dog is eager for a treat, let him go, repeating the command and pointing to the place with his hand.
It is imperative to praise the pet when he is on the couch, say again: “Place!” – and give to eat a well-deserved reward.
Step 2. Repeat this several times.
Step 3. Give the following treats only when the dog is not sitting but lying on the bed. To do this, lower the delicacy to the very floor and, if necessary, help the pet lie down a little, gently guiding it with your hand down.
Step 4. The next step is to lure the pet into place, but without food. To do this, you can pretend that the treat was put, but in fact leave it in your hand. When the dog is on its bed, you need to come up and reward it with a treat. The purpose of this exercise is to make the pet go into place simply by command and hand gesture.
Step 5. In order for the dog to learn to linger in its place, you need to take more treats and command: “Place!”. When she lies on the mat, repeat the command, constantly treating her and gradually increasing the intervals between rewards. The more food the dog eats on the spot, the more he will love this team.
Step 6. Learn to leave. When the pet, on command, lay down in place and received its yummy, you need to take a few steps back. If the dog remains lying down, it is worth reinforcing its zeal with a treat. If you get off – gently return the hand with a treat to its place, repeat the command and give the treat on the bed itself.
It is important that the pet’s place be a kind of safety island and evoke only pleasant associations – with delicacy, praise. You can’t punish a dog when it lies in its place, even if it ran away there, being naughty.
Normative variant of the “place” command
This option is more often used in the training of service dogs, but it can also be taught to a pet. For example, to use this command outside the usual house, on the street. However, before starting to learn this command, it is important to make sure that the tailed friend already knows the basic commands, such as “down” and “come”.
Step 0. You need to start classes in a quiet, calm place so that the dog is not distracted by people, cars, other animals, etc. You must also prepare in advance the object with which the pet will train. It is best to take something familiar to the dog, such as a bag.
Step 1. Fasten a long leash to the collar, put the selected thing near the dog and command: “Lie down!”.
Step 2. Repeat the command, step back a few steps, wait a couple of seconds and call the dog to you, praising and rewarding with a treat.
Step 3. Give the command “Place!” and point to the thing. Before that, you can show it to the dog and put a treat there. Then you should move towards the thing, repeating the command. The main thing is not to pull on the leash. The dog should go by itself, without unnecessary coercion.
Step 4. If the thing had a treat, you need to let the dog eat it. Then command “Lie down!” So that the pet lies as close to the object as possible, and then encourage it again.
Step 5. Take a couple of steps back, wait a few seconds and call the dog to you. Or let go with the “walk” command. If the dog gets up or leaves without any command, you need to return it back, repeating: “Place, place.”
Step 6. All steps must be completed several times until the dog begins to confidently execute commands, and only then move on to the next level.
Step 7. Command “Place!”, But literally take a step towards the subject. The dog should come up to him and lie down. Good girl! After that, you should encourage your tailed friend – he deserves it. Then you need to start moving away – a couple of steps, a couple more, until the distance to the object is 10-15 meters. In this case, the leash will no longer be needed.
It is important to start training any team from the basics. You will need to show patience – and after a while the pet will gladly begin to learn any tricks.
See also:
How to teach your dog the command “Come!”
How to teach your dog the fetch command
Step-by-step instructions for teaching a puppy commands
