Training Dog To Go To Mat
Put the mat down near your dog.
Training dog to go to mat. The goal of mat training is to teach your dog to go to her mat on cue. As the owner it also gives you a place to send the dog if you want it out from under your feet or away while you eat dinner. By providing a mat you give your dog an easily recognisable area where it can go if it is feeling uncomfortable or wants a rest. Giving your dog an area in which it can settle will be a useful training tool.
If you have never used shaping to train a dog before don t let this term intimidate you. It entails a step by step approach that will make it easy for your dog to achieve success. How to train your dog to go to his mat on cue. The mat is a great way to train a dog to be calm and quiet in his crate.
If you are using clicker training you may click when your dog gets on the mat to indicate to her that going on the mat is a good thing. Step 2 3 feet away from the mat and toss a treat onto the mat. A mat can be many things. Of course this takes time and requires you to complete several steps before achieving the end goal.
When your dog goes after it and steps onto the mat click and treat c t. Teaching go to your mat. 3 get your dog to sit on the mat. You can c t 2 3 more times when he is on the mat.
She should then settle on her mat for any length of time no matter what distractions are happening around her until she hears the release cue. A mat or a defined place for a dog to go to is a versatile and useful behavior to teach a dog. You may need to reinforce the need for your dog to get onto to the mat several times by putting a treat on the mat once your dog gets off the mat. A great technique for training your dog to go to his mat is shaping.
When you need to build self control send the dog to mat and incrementally add greater levels of distraction to help the dog build steadiness and control. You and your dog might enjoy the frisco fleece bed and mat because it provides cushion but is lightweight enough to pick up and move it wherever you want your dog to settle. Shaping simply means using successive approximations of the final behavior to train your dog. Taking turns is an important lesson for dogs too.
First thing s first grab your dog s favorite dog training treats and a suitable mat. A dog bed a dog mat a bath mat a towel a blanket a pillow whatever makes the most sense for the dog and the handler. What is dog mat training. Excellent reasons to use a mat in dog training.
Then without saying anything to your dog put it on the floor near you.