The reason I posted this is because, in my observation and opinion, many dog trainers are making the Place a virtual prison for dogs. The dogs are forced on there and kept on there. They crush the motivation with negative reinforcement and punishment. They say they are teaching "impulse control". No, they are not. They are teaching helplessness. The dogs are put there until they give up.
Not even one correction was used in the making of this dog's Place command. This dog wants to be there, and the next step will be helping the dog to understand that they don't have to keep getting up there. In other words, there are times to get up there (and something very good is going to happen), and other times when there are other fun things to do, so the dog has a clear break and knows the difference.
The Place command has a wide variety of uses in dog training, and that includes with working dogs. Since I train all dogs as if they are working dogs, everything is about motivation, getting dogs to clearly understand and want to do the things we are asking of them. The Place, therefore, isn't a prison.
What you are seeing here is the second formal lesson this dog had on this command. The first introduction was a long time ago, just getting the dog to understand that his bed was a temporary place to go or to rest. The owners then explained recently that they are going to have a baby, so they wanted some ideas on making that easier. So, lesson number two. The video you are seeing is them practicing lesson number two. They had several needs for this command, so that is why I came back and showed them this. They will use it in a variety of ways, not just when the baby is being fed or when the diaper is being changed. Like I said, there are many other uses.
Can your dog do this, and can you teach it without negative reinforcement and punishment?
Plan accordingly.
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