GO TO YOUR PLACE
Article taken from “Good Dog/Bad Dog”
by Mordecai Siegal / Matthew Margolis


Unlike humans, a dog does not feel insulted if you put him in his place.  As a matter of fact, it is a blessing for him to know where to be in order to stay out from underfoot.  Even dogs can get frustrated by trying to please an indecisive and inconsistent person.
	Although Go to Your Place is useful for people who live in a full-size house, it is manna from heaven for the city apartment-dweller.  The average apartment has a bedroom, living room, and kitchen.  When the apartment dweller is trying to prepare dinner for a small dinner party, the dog is usually driven mad trying to keep out of the way.  If he settles at your feet in the kitchen, he is scolded and told to go into the living room.  Once he settles in the living room, he has to dodge the dustmop and avoid being sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.  By this time he has been yelled at seventeen times and he’s just about ready to steal several caviar canapés (dogs love caviar), which will evoke a shrill hysterical scream from the belabored epicure.  The dog is then locked in the bathroom for the evening until a guest uses it and passes out in fright.  In the meantime, the dog is suffering from boredom and claustrophobia with a pinch of paranoia thrown in for good measure.  Of course, the hosts are nervous and on edge and ready to give the dog to the first farmer who says he can use him to bite cows.  Thus ends another potentially happy relationship between dog and owner.  It’s too bad, because all this can so easily be avoided with the command Go to Your Place.

DEFINITION OF GO TO YOUR PLACE

At your command the dog stops whatever he is doing and leaves wherever he is, goes to a designated place, and stays there for an indefinite time.

BEANEATH THE SURFACE OF THE TRAINING

The dog should have an out-of-the-way area designated as his little corner of the world.  The area should be carefully selected so that once he’s placed there, he is never in anyone’s way or in danger of being forced to move.  It is especially considerate of the owner to make sure that this area is not too removed from the activities of the family.  Dogs get pleasure from merely watching the evening’s entertainment.  An added benefit of this command is that the dog will not beg for food after you have sat down to dinner.
	One of the ways to enhance the training is to place your dog’s toys, playthings, and bones in his designated area.  He will feel quite at home and much more secure.  Give him a small piece of carpet or an old cushion in order to make his area cozy and comfortable.  Once all this is established, the dog will be in a much better frame of mind.  It is very important for his well-being.
	It is helpful to understand that the dog will always go to his place on command if it is not made to seem like a punishment.  Even though your motive is to get the dog out of mischief, always give the command in an upbeat way so that he does not feel that something bad is connected with going to his place.  It is not to be equated with “Go to your room,” an expression that many a parent has used on an errant child.

PROCEDURE AND TECHNIQUE FOR
GO TO YOUR PLACE

The first step in teaching this command is to select a permanent spot that will be used exclusively by the dog and be the one place he can go and never be in the way.

Starting at five feet.   In teaching the lesson, use the standard six-foot leash and training collar.  Because this is an action command, always use his name first.  Start out five feet away from the designated place and say, “Juno, go to your place.” Then commence to walk the dog to the spot.  Once you get him there, give the command Sit.  Praise him.  Then give him the command Down, and finally Rest.  Praise him.  Leave him there as you walk six feet away.  Do not leave his vision.  He will probably stay, provided you’re in the room.  Assuming the dog has learned Come When Called, call him to you.  Repeat this procedure fifteen times.
	The command Go to Your Place should be given in a pleasant and gentle tone of voice.  Even though learning is hard work for a dog, make him feel that this is a pleasant command, one he will enjoy.  However, do not lose the firm, authoritative sound that you have developed.  Just add a happy quality to it.
	Once the dog willingly accompanies you to his place from five feet, try it at ten feet.  Again, get his attention with “Juno, go to your place.”  Walk him to the spot.  Place him in Sit.  Place him in Down and then Rest.  Walk six feet away, and after a few seconds call him.  Repeat the whole thing several times.  Don’t be surprised if he starts leading you to his place once he’s been doing it a few times.  This is a happy experience for him.  He gets a lot of praise and affection for doing it properly.  Do not, however, become too lax during the training period.  If he starts sniffing something on the way to his place, exercise proper leash control.  Direct him to the exact location of his place.  Nothing must stand in the way once you have given the command.

Other rooms.   The next step is to teach him this command from other rooms.  Using the six-foot leash, repeat the procedure, but this time from another room at a greater distance.  Try it several times from every room in your apartment or house.  You will actually be teaching him the path to his place from every part of your quarters, and it will be permanently printed in his brain.  The toughest room for him will probably be the bedroom, because it is usually the farthest.  But once he learns that, he will know the command perfectly.  Once the dog knows this command on-leash, it is guaranteed that he’ll be able to do it off-leash.

A word of caution.  Do not give this command indiscriminately.  Do not make it a family joke or something with which to impress friends and neighbors.  Only use the command as it’s needed.  If he has to go to his place every five minutes it’s going to make him crazy.  Let him enjoy going to his place.  Let him consider it his little haven when things get difficult.  He will soon be going there without the command.  He’ll probably pick that area to stay for most of the day.  That will be his little indoor doghouse, a home within a home.



07/2008