Gunfield Vizslas & WHWT
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My mat training is a simple concept it teaches the dog that the place that it rests is on it’s Mat.
The prpose of this training is to assist the dog understanding when it is allowed to sit on things such as furniture and when it is not .
The first thing to do is to start out with a mat do you not go for anything too large you will need to carry it around with you it is more a token than a physical bed 2ft square is fine.
Every time you put your puppy down to sleep your puppy should be asked to lay on this Mat use a precise commands for this such as “ on your Mat” ensure the mat is placed on top of a comfy surface.
Practise doing this at home and reward the puppy every time the puppy goes to sit on its Mat.
Once you’ve established a regular pattern of the puppy sitting on its mat on command try moving the mat to different places.
Once the puppy is happy to use the mat in different places you can look at enabling the puppy to make its own decision if the puppy chooses to sit somewhere else that is not on the mat and call the puppy to the mat and reward for being on it , if the puppy makes the correct decision and gets straight on it’s Mat without being called a huge fuss and a higher reward is given.
Do not allow children or other animals to use the mat this is your puppies safe place.
Do not use negative enforcement the mat is a nice place.
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