Looking for a training aid to help improve recall, sit-stay, retrieves, and much more? Level up with 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 on earth can you tell the dog that doesn’t speak your language, what you want?!
Targets are a shared language
This is where The Place Board comes in! Focus your training with a target which improves understanding and reduces frustration.
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 the 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.
How they work
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Because the platforms are raised and have a textured top, they feel a very different place for the dog to be than the surrounding area during training. In our foundation training you can teach your dog this is a positive place that they want to hang out on; you can then use the board in your training as a way to clearly communicate to the dog the desired behaviour.
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This type of target training has been made popular in dog training by professionals such as by field trial champion Ian Openshaw when he demonstrated the merit of using boards as gundog training equipment in place board training for spaniels at the CLA Game Fair.
- The boards can teach the dog where they need to be in relation to the handler. For example: To teach a dog that recall means come right back to the handler and avoid a dog that returns but dances just out of reach, you can put a place board by your feet paired with calling your dog back to you. Now they are running back to a target right in front of you.
- The texture of the mat on top provides a tactile contrast to the surrounding surface so there will be a perceptible difference to the dog having all four paws in the right place versus offering the wrong position. For example: when practising sit & stay we can teach the dog that when they place all four paws on the boards is when they earn a reward, whereas if they step off or creep forward, they will not earn a treat so the dog will be less likely to offer incorrect behaviour in the future.
Finally see rock-solid steadiness, reliable recalls and retrieving to hand
Adding a training platform to your tool kit you’ll see a dog that is excited, motivated, and eager to learn increasingly complex drills. Truly a game-changer; making it easy to own a well-trained working dog.
Don't just take our word for it, check out what our customers in the UK and overseas say in their reviews.
The design and build team includes a professional dog trainer who is a member with distinction of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT). With extensive first-hand experience of using place boards for dog training in classes and training their own dogs the specifications of Anglian Dog Works’ place boards are well thought out and you can be assured of a quality product.
Get the Guide to Place Board Training
© Anglian Dog Works, 2021 - current year
- Dimensions: 60 cm x 40 cm x 10cm (L x W x H) which comfortably seats all breeds
- Material: Treated Timber & Recycled Artificial Grass (Non-Slip)
- Weight: ~5 kg
- Suitable for the indoors and outdoors
Please note: Whilst all the boards are made to the same specifications and high standards, due to our heartfelt environmental obligation with regard to recycling materials, the appearance of the surface of the place boards may slightly differ from the listing photos as well as contain small amounts of sand from their previous life as sports pitches.
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Note: due to the space available, personalisation is limited to 12 characters.
Yes, 2 or more and automatically receive a MULTI-BUY DISCOUNT saving you 5% off each item when you “view cart & checkout”.
Please note: Place Boards weigh around 5kg each. Shipping conditions are set by price, because as the order value increases, so does the weight.
Yes, absolutely! If you would like more than 12 boards, which exceeds the conditions set out in our shipping policy this can be arranged by emailing us directly for special delivery.
If you have any further questions or to get in touch to request special delivery, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@angliandogworks.com.
It is Anglian Dog Works’ ethos to make environmentally conscious and responsible choices when we choose materials; in line with our business’ values, these place boards are mostly constructed with renewable or recycled materials.
The tops are made of sturdy OSB board and the dog training place boards dimensions measure the industry standard: Metric, 61cm x 38cm/ Imperial, 24” x 15”, the place board size comfortably seats all breeds. The platforms are constructed with timber; the wood is treated making it suitable for outdoor use. The board is covered in non-slip artificial grass.
Professional venues and events lift nearly new artificial grass often after a single use or a set number of years for insurance purposes. Due to the difficulty in separating the material into raw components, after use artificial grass is usually destined for landfill. Collaborating with a local tradesperson Anglian Dog Works have been able to develop a unique reconditioning process so that instead the artificial grass starts a new life as the recycled surface on the boards.
Please note: Whilst all the boards are made to the same specifications and high standards, due to our heartfelt environmental obligation with regard to recycling materials, the appearance of the surface of the place boards may slightly differ from the listing photos as well as contain small amounts of sand from their previous life as sports pitches.