Which command for your dog is most useful?

Well, I guess that varies with every client and dog but I can tell you what previous clients thank me for most often when I run across them in the grocery or a restaurant.

It’s the PLACE command.

For those of you not really familiar with the place command (you’re probably not one of my clients if you don’t know what it is), it’s where we teach to dog to get on a dog bed and stay put until we release it. It sounds amazing and most clients are just astonished when their dogs pick it up after ten minutes or so. The applications for this command are enormous and I’m constantly amazed when people tell me how they utilize this command with their dogs. Some have the dog stand on it whenever they open the front door for deliveries or guests, others use it at their kids soccer games to keep the dog in one place while the watch the game…. just tons of uses really.

Teaching the command isn’t so easy though. Most of the books and videos that are out there make it seem as though you can teach a dog using just a rug, blanket, or towel, and you can, but it’s not simple to do. The dogs have a hard time differentiating the “rug” from the carpet underneath it. Professional trainers use a special tool (bed) that has textural differences, color differences, and height differences so that dogs can more easily learn where they are supposed to keep their feet when learning the command.

I’ve tried all sorts of beds and there is only one type that I consider a true Place bed. We keep them in stock here at Fidelio for clients that need one fast, and using one of them just makes learning the command much quicker for the dogs.

So, if you need your dog to stay in one place for more than two seconds, place command is the one for you! Give us a ring and we’ll get you fixed up.

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogblog.com