E-collar Training for Beginners | Place Command
June 24, 2022 Category: Trainer Tips
3 concepts stand between you and conquering the remote training collar! Let’s master these concepts 1 at a time!
1.) Come to me
2.) Go away from me
3.) Go stationary
Notice here that I am saying the word concept and not naming a certain behavior. This is because the behavior you choose is not nearly as important as your dog knowing the concept of the behavior. Whether you say “come” or “let’s go” the recall concept is the same, the word is not important and each dog’s criteria for the named behavior differs greatly! But the general idea remains the same. In a previous blog and video, we detailed the “come to me” behavior. Now let’s take a closer look at the idea of sending your dog away from you.
There are countless reasons to get your dog skilled in the art of moving away from you. Here are just a few to consider:
1.) Keep your dog out of harm’s way! Your dog might not see a potentially dangerous situation or have the intuition to move. With your command you can keep your dog out of harm’s way.
2.) Free up space when you are trying to move around your dog. Take, for example, if you are carrying a heavy object and your dog is under your feet. This can put both you and your dog at risk!
3.) Move your dog away from a door to allow guests to enter your home. Your guests will thank you for not getting rushed by your dog!
Let’s demonstrate this concept by using the “place” command. Place can be any surface that your dog is instructed to go to and stay there until released. When you are first training the “place” command it is best to use a raised bed or platform to make the distinction of place easier for your dog. Train the place behavior and make sure your dog is able to complete the behavior without your assistance before adding on the e-collar stimulation. To train “place”, here are 6 steps to get you started:
1.) Put your dog on a leash and bring your dog within in a foot of the place board. Use food to lure your dog onto the board.
2.) Once your dog has all 4 feet on the board mark and reward!
3.) Release your dog from the board and repeat!
4.) Once your dog is readily hopping onto the board you are ready to name the behavior.
5.) We are going to call this behavior “place”. Say the word “place”, wait 2 seconds, then lure your dog onto the board. You are intentionally putting a pause between your cue “place” and luring your dog on the board so that you dog starts to learn the word.
6.) Gradually fade your lure onto the board until your dog is getting onto place with only the word!
Make sure you are marking the moment when you dog has all 4 paws on the board!
As your dog begins to comprehend the behavior more you can start to add duration by having your dog go onto place and delaying your reward and release. Going stationary is another concept that we will dive into in our next blog!
When your dog is successfully going to place from right next to the board you can take 1 step further away and send your dog to place from the increased distance. It is important to go slow and not increase your distance too quickly! With time and patience, you should be able to send your dog away from you to their place board from all around the house.
Layering over your e-collar to the “place” command is done just like we did with the come command. At this point, if you have not found your dog’s working level, revisit the last blog (Teach our Dog Recall) to do so before layering the e-collar over “place”. Put your e-collar and leash on your dog and go back to asking for “place” from right next to the place board. With your e-collar set to your dog’s work level say your command, wait 2 seconds and if your dog has not completed the behavior press the continuous button or tap the nick button. Once your dog has completed the behavior release the stimulation and reward your dog. Do not increase distance until your dog is demonstrating that they are able to understand the “place” command when stimulation is applied.
In my professional opinion, this concept can be the hardest to teach to your dog. We, as owners, spend countless hours teaching our dog to stay close so the concept of moving away from us is foreign to most dogs. Take your time to lay the ground work and foundation before advancing. Going slow will pay off big in the end! Stay tuned for the next blog which will round out the trifecta of the 3 most important concepts to teach your dog on the remote training collar! For more tips and advice on training check out www.dogtra.com.
