Target Training Your Dog using a Place Board.
Have you ever wondered how to communicate what you want to your dog?
You know you want to train an exercise, but you just can’t find a way to tell the dog what it is you want them to do in order for them to succeed?
For example, you want to practice sit-stay, so you ask your dog to sit but as soon as you take a step away, they creep forward to follow you? No! this isn't what you wanted at all! But how an earth can you tell the dog that doesn’t speak your language, what you want?!
This is where The Place Board comes in as a piece of dog target training equipment!
Place board training is a form of target training. Target training is used throughout many disciplines where complex interactions between animals and humans are required.
Using a place board as a target training mat in your practice cuts out confusion by allowing us to break down behaviours such as ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ in dog obedience as well as more complex exercises found in gundog and agility work, into smaller steps making it easier to communicate what we want to our dogs.
Breaking behaviours down into steps allows dogs to rehearse doing the right behaviour, meaning it becomes reinforced. As your training progresses by adding new challenges or not using the board, the dog remembers the successful repetitions in your foundational training meaning that they're more likely to succeed when called upon to perform that particular behaviour in future.
Anglian Dog Works have designed a progressive, achievable training programme to teach your to your dog how to use a Place Board as a target, our signature T.A.R.G.E.T method; ready to get started? Click here to check out our guides.
About the author:
Hi 👋 I’m Emma, accredited as a professional dog trainer by the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT). I help owners of energetic dogs achieve the dog-owning life they envisioned by providing robust obedience & agility training for dogs in Balsham, near Cambridge.
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not include personalised advice and is for information purposes only. If you need individual advice or other enquiries please click here to get in contact or if you're not local to Anglian Dog Works, you can find a trainer in your area by going to the IMDT website: https://www.imdt.uk.com/find-a-qualified-imdt-trainer
Please share your questions and progress:
We would love to see how you get on with your dog’s introduction to place boards. For tips from our trainer and to share success post your pictures and videos in the Anglian Dog Works Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/angliandogworks