Placement training is a game changer in the relationship between you and your puppy or adult dog. Placement training solves numerous household behaviour issues such as barking at the door, jumping on company, getting on furniture, counter surfing, chewing, chasing the cat and much more.
It is also a great tool for building the leadership relationship of trust and respect between you and your dog. Creating leadership is about controlling a dog’s resources. Placement training controls two resources for the dog; space and time.
You decide where your dog will put his body and how much time he will spend there. Placement training is one of the exercises to teach your dog. The first thing to consider is what to use as a placement bed.
When choosing a bed for your dog you want it to be elevated so that the dog must step up onto the bed and step off of the bed. When you use a mat or blanket, a lot of the time the dog will lay half on the blanket/mat and half on the floor. Because dogs see the world in black and white terms (yes or not – not maybe), you may think you have placed your dog but in the dogs mind they have chosen how to lay. With a placement cot the dog does not have the ability to sneak off of lay half on and half on because it is elevated.
The important piece to placement training is that you tell the dog when to get on the placement cot and when to come off. The dog does not come and go on his own while learning placement. This is, however, temporary while you are training. It is also encouraged to use a backtie where the dog is tied to a sofa leg, table etc so that the leash helps the dog learn exactly what placement is and does not allow the dog to get off the cot.
Rules for the placement cot. The dog can sit or laydown on the cot. The dog also can get up, turn around and laydown. The only thing the dog is not allowed to do is stand on the cot, because standing leads to walking off.
The quicker you are with your timing to correct your dog when they stand, the quicker your dog will learn placement. It’s also important for you to be consistent with your expectations with placement in order for your dog to be consistent.