“Calmness in the Home” – Placement Training & Creating a Calm Home

Placement tra43467014_1873708202677272_5003745661296836608_nining is a game changer in the relationship between you and your puppy or adult dog. Imagine being able to take your dog ANYWHERE and they are calm and patient – not barking at the door, jumping on company, getting on furniture, counter surfing, chewing, chasing the cat and more.

Placement training is 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.

For myself personally, I find it sad when I hear of dogs being put outside or kenneled when company arrives.  Dogs are social creatures and want to be with the family but because of their bad behaviours they learn that when company comes over I am removed which can cause dogs to become anti-social.  Teaching this simple exercise of controlling space enables the dog to be with the family while respecting strangers and space.  You decide where your dog will put his body and how much time he will spend there.

When I go camping with my dogs, instead of leaving them locked up in my trailer all night alone, I am able to bring them over to my friends tiny cabin where the dogs hang out on the doormat napping while I am able to play cards and enjoy my friends.  My dogs don’t wander around the house getting themselves into trouble and wait patiently until it’s time to go home.

When teaching your dog placement, you first have to consider what to use as a placement bed.placement 2

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. The end goal is to have a dog who is loose in the house and is calm and respectful.