How To Use A Dog Bed As A Training Tool

Dogs are territorial by nature, therefore having their own special dog bed and play to lay is important to their well being. You can use their dog bed as a training tool and teach them to lay down and stay on their bed on cue.

TRAINING A PUPPY: #1 rule in training a puppy. Do not allow the puppy to do anything as a puppy that you do not want them to do as an adult. Ex: If you do not want your adult dog to sleep on your couch, bed, furniture, etc., then never allow the puppy on the furniture (not even in your arms). Get down on the floor with the dog to pet and play or in his own bed on the floor. It isn't fair to your dog to allow him on the couch to play when he is a cute puppy and then expect him to understand as an adult that he is no longer allowed on the furniture. Provide your puppy/dog with his own bed and praise him when he chooses to lie on it.

USE THE DOG BED AS A TRAINING TOOL: You can train your dog/puppy to go to his bed and lay down on command. There are times when you may want your dog to be out of the way or stopping an undesirable behavior such as; bothering company or begging at the dinner table. This would be a good time to have him lay on his bed and stay. Start with a command you will always use such as "on your bed". Guide the dog to the bed either with patting the bed for encouragement or using a leash and lead the dog to the bed. Reward the dog with praise or a treat when they get on the bed. Tell him to "lay down" and "stay" (behaviors your dog would ideally know). Work on the length of time you ask the dog to stay in the bed. If they are new at the stay command then do not make the session very long in the beginning. Gradually increase the time you ask the dog to stay on his bed. When you release the dog then give lots of praise and a treat again. You always want to be the one to release the dog with a command such as "alright" instead of your dog deciding when he will get up. If your dog gets up before you release him with a command then calmly bring the dog back to the bed and repeat the commands to get "on your bed", "lay down" and "stay".

Be patient. You may need to repeat this process several times before they understand. Always use lots of praise and treats. You do not want going to his bed to be a negative experience because you want him to feel comfortable using his dog bed at all times. Keep in mind that puppies are like children, they can have short attention spans. If you are training a puppy to go to his bed on command then keep the sessions short and fun. Do not expect the puppy to stay for a long period of time. When the puppy gets older, then you can expect longer sessions on their bed such as throughout the meal time. Make sure you release the dog with an "alright" command as soon as you are ready to let them up and let them know what a good dog they were for laying down and staying when told.

Ex: If you are training your dog to stay out of the way during the meal time. Tell the dog to get "on your bed and stay" at the beginning of the meal. When you are finished with the meal and getting up from the table then release the dog right away and give lots of praise. Even if the dog is relaxed and doesn't seem like they want to get up, you should release them with a command so they know the command for laying down and staying is over and they can then choose to get off the bed if they want.