Training Your Dog to Use a Placeboard

£29.99 incl. delivery and VAT

Before using a placeboard for your training purpose, it’s important for safety and success to train your dog to use the placeboard.

Equipment Needed:

• Placeboard
• Lead and collar/harness
• High-value treats (small, pea-sized pieces of cheese, chicken, or sausage)
• Treat pouch

Initial Setup:

Have your placeboard at the ready, your dog on a lead and your treats readily available in your treat pouch. Remember, while this guide demonstrates training from one side, agility dogs will ultimately need to work from both sides.

Getting Started: Building Confidence

Your dog’s first introduction to the placeboard should be positive and pressure-free. Every dog learns differently – some will hop straight on, while others might need a gentler approach.

Start Here:

1. Stand beside the placeboard with your dog on their usual walking side
2. Hold a treat close to your dog’s nose and slowly guide them towards the board
3. Reward ANY positive interaction initially – even looking at or stepping towards the board
4. For less confident dogs, try these stepping stones:
   • Rewarding for walking past the board
   • Encouraging one or two paws on the board
   • Building up to 4 paws on the board, in their own time

Key Point: Always ensure your dog exits the board in a straight line – this builds discipline for gundog training, dog agility training and general obedience. To begin with the straight line will be moving off in front of the board, but at a more advanced stage of training, you can direct your dog, standing in front of them, to move off in a straight line to the left or the right.

Moving to Operant Conditioning:

Operant conditioning is about your dog giving you the behaviour BEFORE getting the reward. Before moving to this stage you need to be sure your dog understands the behaviour expected.

Once your dog is confidently stepping onto the board, we’ll encourage them to offer this behaviour themselves. This is where the magic happens! Dogs learn by habit, so after enough repetitions, your dog should calmly walk beside you, and step on the board as you get to it.

When your dog gets on the board, reward them.

1. After your dog exits the board, wait quietly
2. Watch for them choosing to return to the board
3. When they do, reward generously
4. If they sit automatically – jackpot! Give multiple treats

Building Duration and Distance

Start small, build big:

1. Begin with brief sits (2-3 seconds) – use a command for this initially if you need to, but if you just stop and wait when your dog steps on to the board, they will most likely choose to sit, without any command.
2. Gradually extend sitting time
3. When your dog is steady in a sit for about 15 seconds, start to add one step of distance at a time
4. Always return to reward in position

Next Steps:

1. Build the steadiness in sit, on the board with distractions
2. Practice release cues – for gundog this will be your retrieve commands
3. Reward maintaining position
4. Practice approaches and exits

Advanced Training Tips:

• Keep sessions short (5-10 minutes)

• End on success

• Progress at your dog’s pace

• Maintain straight exits throughout

• Practice in different locations

Common Challenges and Solutions:

1. Dog reluctant to stay
   • Return to shorter durations
   • Increase reward value, especially if the struggle is in more distracting environments
   • Practice in calmer environments
2. Crooked exits
   • Mark and reward straight exits only
   • Use guide markers if needed

Safety Reminders:

• Never force your dog onto the board
• Ensure stable footing
• Ensure the placeboard is stable and steady
• Ensure the placeboard temperature is safe – not to hot in the sun or icy in the cold weather
• Watch for signs of fatigue
• Keep treats small and easily digestible

A placeboard really is one of the best training tools you can invest in. It is great for teaching calm and steady behaviour for any purpose.

£29.99 incl. delivery and VAT