Help your puppy learn to love going to their Place with these fun and engaging routines!
@lemon_the_toller
The “Place” command helps your puppy learn what to do and how to exist in real-world situations. We like to refer to Place as teaching your puppy how to be calm on command. What that looks like is basically going to a designated spot or “place” and hanging out there on command until they are released. The “Place” command motivates your puppy to learn to be calm while life is happening around them. You can learn more about training your puppy “Place” in our previous blog! For some puppies, knowing “Place” alone isn’t enough for them to settle on command. In this blog, we take the foundational “Place” command and build onto it with Place Patterning routines that make following through with the “Place” command a fun experience for your puppy that they can do anywhere!
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Introduction to Place Patterning
Place Patterning teaches your puppy to successfully follow through with the “Place” command by introducing a fun routine that has your puppy go to or “target” two different places that have a physical boundary. They can be two pet cots or pet beds, for example, that your puppy will go in between and will eventually include their “House”, too. Since puppies don’t generalize what “Place” is, they need to be shown different types of targets for them to get it, which place patterning helps them to do.
During the Place Patterning routine, you will be utilizing the “Come” command which we covered in our last blog to get your puppy to go to their different targets. Once your puppy is on their “Place”, you incorporate more obedience commands such as “Sit” and “Down” and reward your puppy with food for following through the routine, with the goal of making going to their “Place” something fun!
Teaching Place Patterning
@_tank_the_golden
To start Place Patterning, use a food lure and, say their name and the command “Come”. Lure them onto the dog bed or pet cot as you say “Place”. Once your puppy is in their designated “Place”, you’ll ask them to “Sit” and then “Down” on their place. If they follow through with the entire routine, mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and reward your puppy with some food. This reinforces your puppy’s focus on you, plus helps to get your puppy to settle down on command. We recommend first practicing with your pup on their harness and leash so you can use the leash guidance to help if needed! Check out our previous blog for more details on leash guidance!
Here comes the second part of this routine! Essentially, you’re repeating these same steps to get your puppy to go to the next “Place” target. Say your puppy’s name to gain their attention and the command “Come”. Use the lease to help guide if needed. Once your puppy is on the next “Place” target, mark the correct behavior with “Good” and reward them for completing the Place Pattern routine!
Pro-tip: Mix up the speed at which you move from one Place target to the next to really make Place Patterning feel like a game for your puppy and keep them engaged throughout it! Practice with your puppy a few times until they start to get it!
Note for weaning your puppy off of food rewards: If your puppy has been working on these commands already, it’s a good opportunity to start weaning your puppy off of getting rewarded every time they perform the correct command! To do this, ask them to perform the command a few times before rewarding them. Start building in more and more routines before the reward is given. This only really works if your puppy has a strong grasp of the commands, so you’ll want to continue giving them a food reward each time then gradually phase them out.
How to Advance this Routine
@bellathomo_bordercolli
Adding distractions, time duration, and distance (we’ll cover the 3D’s in detail in an upcoming blog post!) helps create real-world challenges your puppy will encounter when you ask them to do a command. If you think your puppy is ready for more, you can start to practice place patterning in different rooms of the house or out in the yard that have new distractions for them to workaround! Increasing the distance between the Place targets you’re using, and also the distance between you and your puppy can bring it up a few levels too! To begin adding more duration to how long your puppy hangs out one Place before going to the other, follow this routine by adding in the command “Stay”:
To start, lure your puppy onto “Place”, ask for a “Sit” then “Down”. Mark the correct behavior with “Good” then follow up by giving them the command “Stay” with your flat palm hand signal up. This is where you can build in distance by taking a few steps back from your puppy with your hand signal still up. Say your puppy’s name and the command “Come (you may need to guide your puppy with their leash) and lure your puppy onto the next “Place” target. Now, ask for a “Sit” then a “Down”, mark the behaviors with “Good” and reward your puppy!
Pro Tip: In our last blog where we covered teaching your puppy to stay, we noted that you want to take robotic steps away from your puppy, keeping your voice neutral. Apply that here but when you ask your puppy to “Come” switch gears and get excited to motivate your puppy to come to you and their “Place”.
Applying “House” in Place Patterning
If you have a puppy who doesn’t love going into their crate, combining “House” (our command for “crate”) into your puppy’s place patterning routine makes this a fun game for them! It helps build a positive association to their crate and creates an enjoyable experience with it!
Essentially, you’ll just be substituting one of the place targets you’re using for their crate in this routine.
For this combination, lure your puppy into their “House” (crate) with some food and mark the behavior with “Good”. Now, say your puppy’s name and the command “Come”, and lure your puppy to their “Place”. Ask your puppy for a “Sit” or “Down” while they are on their Place. Now, say your puppy’s name and “Come”, and lure your puppy to their “House”. Mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and reward your puppy while they are in their crate.
Pro-tip: If your puppy isn’t super motivated to go into their crate, you can toss in a few pieces of food inside for extra guidance to get them to step inside. Some puppies may bolt out the second they get the food so you can gently either step in front of the crate or use the crate door to create a physical boundary and prompt them to wait a few moments before exiting.
By adding in Place Patterning into your puppy’s training regimen, you’re bringing in a training game that will motivate your puppy to listen and follow-through, and learn their obedience commands even faster. Your puppy will listen best when they are engaged physically and mentally, and these behaviors will become their new learned behaviors if provided with consistent guidance from you and regular practice!
Check out these blogs related to puppy training and more!
Puppy Training 101: How to Teach Your Puppy to Start Responding to Come!
