I love my dog Remy but sometimes he’s just constantly in my personal bubble.

Oh, you’re tying your shoes? Let me get as close to you as possible and “help.” Oh, you’re carrying in groceries? Let me “assist” you.

Remy is finally mature enough where he’s pretty well behaved all day but then in the evenings he still gets these naughty spells where he likes to paw at me, nudge me with his nose (we call that the dolphin punch) and play bite.

Basically, he still acts like a giant puppy.

I tell him “no” when he paws at me or “off,” and I do my best to ignore him. But he’s stubborn.

So one thing we’ve started doing for a few minutes in the evenings is using treats to reward him for staying on his bed or “place.”

This post is sponsored by Carlson Pet Products.

The company is giving away a free Portable Pup Bed to one reader of That Mutt. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. Click here. *The giveaway has ended.

Reasons to teach your dog the place command

The “place” command is a way to teach your dog to stay on a mat, platform, dog bed, rug or other “place.”

You can use a different command if you’d like. We started with “go to your bed” and now we just say “bed” because it’s shorter. A lot of trainers use the word “place” so that’s the word I’m using in this post for simplicity.

The “place” command is handy for when you need your dog to remain in one spot. For example, when you have guests at the door, you could tell your dog “place” and he would know to go to his bed or mat. Or maybe you’re just working on something and you need your dog to leave you alone for 5 minutes.

The portable pup bed from Carlson

Unfortunately, Remy has always been a bit obsessed with trying to shred, destroy and EAT dog beds. He does the same with sheets, towels and blankets.

This was challenging when we were trying to teach him “place” because he would just start ripping up his bed or blanket.

So, a good solution in our case was to use the portable pup bed from Carlson Pet Products. Their beds are cot style made of steel, canvas and nylon. They’re not chew proof, but Remy is not interested in shredding his cot.

In fact, when I unfold his cot, he knows to go into “working mode.”

He gets super focused on staying in his “place.” We normally keep the cot folded up in the corner of the room, and when we get it out, he knows what to do! Thank you, Carlson!

How to teach your dog the place command

First, choose the dog bed, rug or other “place” you want to use. I think a dog bed is the most convenient. Then grab a handful of tiny treats. You can use whatever you have on hand like bits of cheese or meat. I break them up small.

Two options:

The first option is to sit or stand with your treats near your dog’s bed and wait for him to go to his “place” on his own. Then you would drop him little treats whenever he’s on his bed. At first, you can drop a few treats on the bed to lure him if needed. When he stays on the bed voluntarily, you would drop him little treats every few seconds. Eventually, add the word “place.”

The other option is to simply guide him to his “place” with treats and tell him to stay. It’s easier if you sit very close to him at first. Don’t add distance unless he already understands “stay.”

Here’s a clip of Remy from Instagram when I was first teaching him “place.”

A post shared by Lindsay Stordahl (@thatmuttcom) on Nov 15, 2017 at 1:11pm PST

In both cases, I like to use a release word “break!” so Remy knows he can get up. I’ll let him be free for a few minutes and then I’ll say “place” again and he’s expected to return to his bed.

More tips on how to teach your dog the place command:

• Make it very simple at first. Start with just a few seconds. Keep it fun!
• Limit distractions at first like other pets in the room
• If your dog wants to follow you to get the treats, stand right next to his bed and deliver tiny rewards. Take just one step away. Then move back and give another treat. Progress very slowly.
• This is a harder concept for dogs than we realize. Be patient and don’t expect him to get it the first day.

Details on the dog cots from Carlson

The Carlson Portable Pup Bed is a cot style bed designed for use at home, in the yard or for easy travel such as for picnics or camping. It folds up in a second and comes with a travel bag.

The cots come in large or small and in multiple colors. We have the large, which is 48” long, 26” wide and 9” tall. It’s sturdy and designed to hold up to 95 pounds. The small is 26” long, 26” wide and 9” tall.

We use our cot primarily for training Remy. It’s normally folded up in the corner of our living room until we want to work on “place.” But sometimes I’ll also set it out on our balcony for our senior dog Ace to lounge on. I throw his blanket over it, and we call it Ace’s “lawn chair.” You can see it’s big enough for a 70-pound Lab mix.

The cot’s nylon material is waterproof, and we’ve left it outside many times. It’s been rained on and left in the San Diego sun for days, and the color has not faded. We haven’t had to wash ours, but Carlson said you can easily wipe it with a damp cloth and soap.

You can browse Carlson’s dog beds HERE.

Giveaway – Win a portable pup bed from Carlson Pet Products

Carslon Pet Products is giving away a FREE portable dog cot to one reader of That Mutt.

*The giveaway has ended. Congrats to Sandy S.!

To enter:

Just leave a comment below so I know your dog wants to be entered in the drawing. Why are you interested in a dog cot from Carlson?

I’ll choose a winner at random on Friday Nov. 24. I’ll notify the winner by email and announce it here. Must have a U.S. mailing address to win.

Does your dog know a “place” or “go to your bed” command?

Let me know in the comments!

Please share this post with anyone who might be interested in Carlson’s dog beds.

-Lindsay

Related posts:

How to teach your dog to go to her bed

Is it mean to use crates for puppies?

Stop your dog from destroying your stuff – pet gates