Training the place command allows you to isolate your dog in the domestic environment.

Isolation sounds more severe than intended. By isolation I refer to the trained behaviour of being able to ask your dog to sit in a specific spot and stay there until released.

 I use the place command to control lots of undesirable behaviours like jumping, growling or barking at visitors entering the house. I also use the place command as a counter conditioner for dogs who jump on the sofa.

 
I use a clicker to mark the correct behaviour (see the clicker-training section for details).
I tend to use either a dog bed or a piece of vet-bed to train this behaviour but an old towel or rug will work as well as anything.

• Place the bed in a position close to your armchair to start with.
• Have the dog placed at the front of the bed and hold a treat at the back of the bed. Click and treat when the dog walks into the bed.
• Repeat 6 or 8 times then wait until the dog sits in the bed before you click and treat. You may have to raise the treat above his head to get him to sit.
• Perform this in short, exciting sessions throughout the day. Little and often is the key phrase.
• Next stage is to remove the treat from the back of the bed and simply point to the bed. Click and treat when the dog enters the bed and sits down.
•  Try and get 8 or 10 successive entries into the bed. Remember to treat intermittently. Click after the dog sits for one second. Next time wait for 8 seconds before you click and treat. Next time wait for 3 seconds and so on. (See the section on intermittent reinforcement for details)
• When the dog will enter the bed with the point command 10 times in a row, add the “go to your place” command after you point to the bed.
• Repeat this for 10 or 12 times then remove the point and simply issue the “go to your place” voice cue. Make a big fuss of him when he enters the bed to the voice cue for the first time and give him an extra treat.

When you have him consistently entering the bed on the “place” command, you want to start sending him to his place from a distance.

• Start by standing a few paces from his bed and gradually increase your distance. Ideally you want to be able to stand at the entrance to your home and issue the “place” command. This allows you to send him to his place when visitors enter the house.

From this point it’s a matter of training him to respond positively to the place command under distraction. Someone bouncing a ball in the hallway is a great start. When he can ignore the ball and go to his place consistently, you can add other distractions like someone knocking on the door and entering the house.

The place command can be used to control many domestic situations and it is a great tool to take the “sting” out of stressful situations like another dog visiting or when a tradesman is working in the house and walking back and forth to get tools etc.

I have an old wooden barrel in my back yard. I have an “on the barrel” command. I use this command to isolate my dog if I need to wash his feet, clean a wound, administer medicines or simply groom and examine him. The barrel is a happy place where he always receives tasty treats and cuddles. This is the same principal as the place command. It is a mechanism to de-stress the dog and isolate him from potentially dangerous or annoying situations.

The place command is a great asset to have in your training armory. It can also be used as a foundation for the away, stay and recall command because you can issue the place command and walk to the other end of the house and call the dog to you.

Another use of the place command is to use the doorbell as a trigger for the dog to go to his place. I use this counter conditioning method for dogs that misbehave when visitors enter the house.