While not as common as the come or stay command, the place command can be a very useful tool in your dog training arsenal. Place is a unique command that tells your dog that they should go to a specific place and stay there until they are told to do something else.
This is an especially useful command if your dog is over excited about visitors, often tries to bolt out the door when you open it, barks at the door if she sees or hears a person or animal outside, or is underfoot while cooking or cleaning.
Many owners choose the dog’s favorite bed or favorite place in the house as their dog’s place, so the dog will actually be comfortable and happy when they are given this command. Here are just a few of the reasons that this command is so important:
It can stop your dog from jumping on guests
Some dogs are just too excited about visitors and will bark and jump on them. While this is a behavior that you will want to work on by itself, you can also eliminate this behavior by giving your dog the place command.
He will go to his bed and sit or lay down until he has calmed down enough to come and greet the visitors politely.
This is also a great solution if you have a person coming over who does not like or is afraid of dogs.
It can help anxious dogs self-soothe
When you tell your dog to go to their place when they are experiencing anxiety, they will immediately remove themselves from the situation that is causing them anxiety and will be able to soothe themselves. This is a great way to teach an anxious dog how to self-soothe, which will, over time, make your dog much less anxious and much happier around your house.
It can help get him out from under you
If your dog is anything like mine, he likes to be right at your side while you are cooking. He knows that you will eventually drop something that he can quickly grab and eat, before you are able to bend down and pick it up. And while some of us might not mind if our dogs get the occasional unplanned snack when we drop something, an especially eager dog can get in the way from time to time, which can be especially dangerous while cooking. Instead, he will go to his dog bed (or whatever “place” you have selected) and stay there until he is called.
This can make your dog easier to brush or inspect
If you’ve ever needed to look inside your dog’s ears or check his teeth, you might it difficult while your dog is trying to wiggle out of your grasp. You can always use the place command to tell your dog to go to his place and because he is already trained to stay there, he will be much easier to brush or inspect, if you should need to.
You can teach your dog multiple places
Your dog can actually have more than one place, and most dogs can easily learn a new place, once they know the command. This means that you can make just about anything a place. This is a useful trick when you are at the dog park or traveling with your dog. You will always be able to give them a command that they will follow that can get them out of harm’s way or even just out from under foot.
