How to Teach Your Dog Place
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Teaching Place
Does your dog beg at the kitchen table?
Rush the door when the doorbell rings?
Knock over your kid’s board game?
Annoy you during the best part of movie night?
Have to be in the middle of everything with your new baby?
Does your dog get nervous when people arrive?
Roam the house while you're trying to work?
Place is one of the best skills you can teach your dog. It quickly becomes a fan favorite! You’ll wish you had done this long ago.
Be sure to read our articles on
The Importance of Duration Work
How To Teach Place
On Day One — This is a one hour exercise for me when I’m training a new adult dog. For puppies, I begin with 20-30 minutes.
Place sets the tone in a very easy, non-confrontational way. But to break this down for client homework — here’s what you should know.
This is an exercise in duration. It is an exercise in a calm state of mind, complete relaxation, and no anticipation of what's coming next or how long they might be there. It’s an exercise in patience on your part — we’re teaching the dog to learn new things, to change the rules, to listen to leadership, and start respecting us differently.
The hardest work is week one. It will take more of your time. But once your dog learns place, he can “work” on place while you attend to other activities of your own. It’s a form of passive training overall, but great for calming dogs down and including them in the family activities without being in the way, etc. We use it to teach dogs to relax around things that might make them uncomfortable or overly excited: strangers, other dogs, the doorbell, etc.
This exercise begins easily. It's conflict-free. But it gives us a way to start teaching a command (Place), the no marker (no), the yes marker (good), and the release word (Okay).
You’ll try to believe it’s not possible. You won’t want to push your dog’s boundaries. You won’t want to push the clock. But you’re doing to need to.
What you Need:
A non-slip mat, dog bed, or raised object like our preferred Karunda Beds. He’s going to be there for a while, so make it comfortable. And Karunda Beds are very durable. I’ve had one well over 12 years now!
Also check out Veehoo dog cots: Link Here
A Leash & Collar (See our suggested products menu on the home page). You will be premature trying NOT to use your leash as we advance this training in the next 4-5 weeks. But you will get to off leash Place in time!
Up to an Hour to Keep an eye on your dog
How to Begin Teaching Place:
Every dog can do this! 30 minutes in week one is your goal in your obedience program.
Day 1:
Holding the leash attached to the dog, walk him onto the mat.
As his feet step on the mat say “Place” and as he feet step off say your release word step“Ok”
If your dog is reluctant to step on the mat, encourage them to do so. Treats are usually not necessary for this exercise.
Make an immediate U-turn to the mat. And back on Place, relase Ok. We’ll call this the Parade Across.
Practice 4-5 reps
Then put the dog on “place”
Wait for the Error: wait at the end of your leash until he chooses to sit or down OR until he steps off
If he steps off say “no, place” and guide him back on
If he sits or lays down, mark the action “good!” and then release him to come off
Repeat Wait for the error for 4 to 5 reps
Finish with 4-5 reps of the Parade Across.
Then give your praise and affection.
Do this complete exercise 2-3 times on Day 1.
Day 2:
Begin again — Parade Across. Do NOT Skip this step no matter how advanced you think your dog is.
Today we start working the clock with a 15 minute timer for this training activity.
Create Success:
Put the dog on place and wait approximately 1 minute & then release. We're aiming for some success here!
Then do 2-3 Parade Across!
Then place for 2-3 minutes.
Release for praise and affection.
Back to Place for 1 minute. Release!
Then do place for 2-3 minutes.
And so on until your 15-minute time is completed.
Finish With Parade Across — easy wins!
Praise and affection when complete.
Repeat this exercise again sometime later in the day.
Day 3:
Begin again. Do NOT forgo the Parade Across part each day! It's important that they understand the release word.
Create Success for 1-2 minutes. Very short duration intervals. (5 minute timer)
Back on Place and then You'll Wait for the Error for 15 minutes. No matter how many times the dog breaks command, put them back on the mat with a verbal “no, place”. No other words. No eye contact. Just calm, neutral energy from you.
At the end of 15 minutes, say your release word and have a big moment of praise and affection.
Parade Across
Create Success for 1-2 minutes at a time (5 minute timer)
Praise and Affection.
If you feel your dog is completely failing at any duration at all -- be sure you do a few successful easy wins to help the dog understanding waiting on the release word.
Repeat this exercise at least twice throughout the day.
Day 4: (you will need extra time today)
By now your dog should be getting it. If not, you need to call me! Today is the day to advance for what I call the breakthrough.
Put your dog on the mat (place) -- with the leash still (it will be premature to not use a leash at this point! Set the timer for 20 minutes, with you standing at the end of the leash. If the dog breaks command, it's "no, place" and put them back, use spatial pressure if possible. No other words. No eye contact. Just calm, neutral energy from you.
At the end of 20 minutes -- release for praise and affection. And then do a couple of Parade Across and A Place for just a minute or two, release again, praise and affection.
Begin again -- put your dog on the mat for a minimum of 20 minutes.
IMPORTANT — If your dog is still pushing the limits, of trying to come off the mat before released -- stick with it beyond 15 minutes. In fact, you will stick with it "UNTIL". Until the dog stops challenging you. Until they understand this may be a long while. Until there is no anticipation of getting off that mat. Push for this breakthrough of accountability from them and consistency from you. When they do settle down -- leave them there at least 10-15 minutes longer if you're just sitting nearby reading, watching TV, etc. You’ll try to believe it’s not possible. You won’t want to push your dog’s boundaries. You won’t want to push the clock. But you’re doing to need to.
Day 5:
Repeat Day 4. The change today is you start to drop the leash and move to sit across the room, still in the line of sight. You get up each time the dog breaks command. Mark no the moment you see the dog (or hear) step off the mat, pick up the leash and silently march back to place, drop the leash and go back to your seat. No other words. No eye contact. Nada.
Day 6:
Repeat Day 4 with a 30-minute timer.
Day 7:
Repeat Day 6.
Advancing The Place Command (over the next few weeks)
Exit the room, leaving him on place. Initially, just disappear out of sight for a split second, return and release. Build your way to time out of the room leaving him on place.
Eliminate the leash.
Exit the house!
Create Distractions of the kids playing
Ring the doorbell. Use your kids or neighbors to help set up the scenario. Doorbell rings, you take the dog to place, walk away, greet your guest & he has to stay on place
In time, you may choose to release him to greet your guest if he has good manners.
Otherwise he holds his place command to observe and be present, but not interactive with the visitors. (See our blog articles about creating positive associations with strangers arriving)
Sending to Place From Across The Room:
Once your dog understands what he needs to do, start practicing send to place. Instead of escorting him all the way onto the object, you top short of the place mat, point to the place and he needs to take the last few steps on his own. Over several days, you stop further and further way as you point and sent to the place.
Notes:
Place can move through your house – sometimes in the bedroom, living room, patio. You can even have more than 1 mat. Once taught, he will start to understand Place is the object you are guiding him too.
You can take place with you to the coffee shop, the ballgame, grandma’s house and know that your dog will understand he needs to stay put.
You can expect your dog to be able to hold place for a couple of hours on a comfy mat! Conference calls, visitors, dinner, etc.
Don’t issue any other command. Don’t tell him to sit or down on the place. On the place command he gets to choose his position and change his position to get comfortable as needed. If you put him in a down command – he needs to hold that command.
He doesn’t get to bark or whine on the place… and certainly not growl at guests. If you have an issue with growling, we should look at other goals for behavior modification.
If you are working with multiple dogs – teach each one independently, have a separate mat for each dog, and once they understand it, work them together.
We often place on park benches, retaining walls, big tree stumps, etc. on our walks. We make the real world our agility course and help the dog build confidence and trust in us – by using skills he understands.
When working with multiple dogs in a pack introduction scenario– you may need to tether them to immovable objects for safety. Learning to relax around another dog (or another stressor) is extremely important to state of mind work.
For Advanced Fun With The Place Command:
Try getting your dog to place on ottomans or footstools, upside down buckets, rocks, squares of sand on the beach, etc. Make them taller, smaller, wobbly, etc. The more you improve the more confidence your dog will have.
Remember always to create success! Reward and Praise for a job well done! Dogs get discouraged if the fail too many times. So when trying something challenging, be supportive, motivational, and create success. Back up a few levels of skill if necessary to get some easy wins.
The Coach’s Corner:
Place is one of the first commands we teach to all clients coming into our board and train program. And one of the first skills for all new clients.. For many dogs, they have never had to just be still and do it on their own restraint vs being crated. Sure, they would lay down somewhere on their terms, but to be required to lay down on someone else’s terms for an extended period of time is foreign to many dogs.
Some get really nervous. Some are very reluctant to lay down and rest. Our goal is to get them to settle down, relax, and rest. Our goal is to teach them to go relax their state of mind on command.
We then use place as a daily means of duration work to just be present without being active/busy or stressed out by everything else. It becomes a very safe comfortable spot, and many dogs will go to place on their own when they need to chill out a bit. It is fantastic for state of mind work during training, at home, or in new situations.
Read: Waiting On The BreakThrough
Read: Dealing with Your Dog’s Resistance To Change
Want to Order A Great Karunda Bed — https://dogbed.us/26561
They make great elevated cots for dogs! My dog’s love them & use them every day. I have had one for about seven years!!!
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