Teaching your Dog “Place”
Teach your dog they have a place and to go and relax is the final behavior. Take this anywhere you go or just hang out at home using it.
To start and help your dog understand this behavior and that the mat is part of the exercise, make sure the dog sees you lay the mat down and pick up the mat at the end of the session. The mat only comes out when you are working on this behavior to start.
Start in a low distraction area, have 20 treats and the mat up, but have ready to be put down to start training.
Let your dog see you put the mat on the floor and stand near it. Start by clicking and tossing treats on the floor. Encourage movement to get you and your dog in the game. As your dog is moving, begin to click for movement near the mat and toss the treat near the mat as well.
Vary where the treats are tossed by keeping them near the mat, clicking and treating movement towards, contact or interaction with the mat.
Mark/Click and treat movements:
- Head turns to the mat
- Moving to the mat
- Sniffing the mat
- Going to the mat
- Getting on the mat – 5 treats on the mat at this stage
If your dog is not moving, move yourself around the mat, clicking and treating any movement around the mat.
After 19 treats, take the last one and end the training session by tossing the treat away from the mat, pick up the mat and praise and play with your dog for a minute.
Mat Work
Warm up from the first session with 5 treats, reinforce your dog moving to the mat.
Next, raise the training criteria and focus on the dog touching the mat with their paw. Watch for the paws to touch the mat, mark/click the instant the paw touches and toss the treat away from the mat.
Click as your dog turns back and touches the mat with a paw, tossing away each time to reset.
When your dog comes back and places a paw on the mat reliably, it’s time to raise the training criteria again.
Wait for two or more paws on the mat, click and toss the treat away from the mat
Continue adding paws until all four are placed on the mat, click and toss the treat away
Next, change where you are standing, move around the mat, stand away from the mat, sit in a chair next to the mat when all four paws are on the mat wait for a second then click, toss the
treat away to reset
Adding “Mat” Cue
Warm up: Start with a warm-up by clicking and treating the dog moving to the mat. Toss the treat to the dog away from the mat.
Next, begin introducing a verbal cue as the dog is moving to the mat. Click and treat the correct behavior.
Say the cue “mat” or “place” just as the dog is standing on the mat.
When the dog steps on the mat, click and toss the treat onto the mat.
Repeat 5 – 8 times.
Continue to teach the dog the cue by moving a few steps away from the mat and look at the mat. Repeat this several repetitions, until the dog is moving a few steps to the mat and standing on it.
Say the cue “mat” or “place” just as the dog is standing on the mat.
When the dog steps on the mat, click and toss the treat onto the mat.
Repeat 5 – 8 times.
Gradually move farther from the mat (no more than a few steps at a time), give the cue, and click when the dog moves to the mat and stands on it. Toss the treat away from the mat to reset.
Once your dog is going to the mat successfully ask for another behavior your dog knows, such as a sit or down. Toss the treat to reset from that behavior.
Recent Comments