One of the most useful behaviors we can teach our dogs is to lay calmly on a bed or mat. Once they understand the behavior, it is an excellent tool to use during mealtimes, for patio dining, at public parks, and much more. While this behavior can be as simple or complex as you wish, the baseline goal will be the same—to teach your dog that their bed is a wonderful place to be.
To begin, choose a bed, mat, or blanket that is large enough that your dog can comfortably lay on, but can be easily taken with to spaces outside of your home. Once you have chosen your mat (or similar item), prepare yourself with a large handful of treats in a quiet space in your home. Place the mat on the ground and the moment your dog comes over to explore, praise them and begin to place treat after treat on the blanket. You want them to learn that initiating contact with the mat results in a wonderful succession of treats appearing on the mat. Once you are ready to have them get off, say “ok!” and gently encourage them to move off the mat. Once they are off the mat, wait patiently for them to come back to it. When they do, praise them, begin placing treat after treat on the ground, and continue to the pattern.
After 2-5 rounds of this, pick up their mat and put it away. In the early stages of this training, you’ll want to only bring the mat out during training sessions. What you should anticipate is that your dog will steadily becoming increasingly enthusiastic about being on their mat, which is exactly what we want! Over time, you can also begin to praise and offer extra reinforcement for sitting or lying on the mat. Just a few minutes of this work a few times a week should result in a dog who enthusiastically chooses to spend time on their mat, rather than off it. Ultimately, you’ll want to take your dog, treats, and mat to a variety of quiet spaces outside of your home so they understand that spending time on their mat is possible anywhere you take them. Work slowly, so that they are less likely to leave their mat before you release them off of it.
Of all the training approaches we can take, one of the most beneficial is to teach our dogs what to do, rather than telling them “no” all of the time. Think of what a lovely replacement behavior your mat behavior is for many undesirable behaviors! Rather than having to tell your dog “no”, “off”, or “leave it” constantly during meal times, you’ll endeavor to instead reward them for making the choice to stay on their mat. Rather than having to hold your dog back in frustration as a server approaches you while patio dining, you can work towards rewarding them for staying on their mat in the same scenario. Rather than becoming frustrated at your dog barking at you for attention while you are trying to relax and read a book, you can offer them occasional food rewards for laying calmly on their mat on the ground next to your chair. The possibilities are endless. Offering supportive direction to dogs is one of the greatest gifts we can offer them, and a massively impactful tool for relationship building.