Training your puppy for the first time could be really overwhelming, even before you’ve started trying. There are many styles and theories behind puppy training, and it can all be very confusing – we’ve been there before! Hiring a professional dog trainer is a great idea, however, if you want to take it into your own hands first, we have a few tips you can start with. One of those is the dog mat. 

 

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What are the advantages of Dog Mat Training?

• Serves as the dog’s personal space and safe place. 
  

When the house gets so busy, just like when you have visitors, when you’re cleaning the house, or when there is a storm outside, he would know where he should settle, and he would feel confident that it’s a safe place for him to stay.  

• Eases the dog’s anxiety. 
  

When your dog gets used to lying down on his mat, it becomes his relaxation habit which helps him lower his stress level.  

• Helps control and avoid the dog’s undesirable behavior. 

Instead of running around the house when bored, destroying objects at home, or barking at everyone that gets into the house, the mat gets the dog’s attention which helps him remain calm.  

• Teaches the dog the concept of staying in one place. 

Since the mat is a dedicated place for your dog, it gives him the understanding that he must stay in one place, especially in certain situations, depending on your cue.  

• Promotes dog’s independence 

Mat builds your dog’s self-control, and when he gets used to it, he would learn how to behave properly even without your supervision.   

 

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How to facilitate the "On Your Bed" Dog Mat Training?  

Mat on your bed training is easy compared to other training styles, that you can literally do it while sitting in your lounge. (How's that?) It is simply associating the dog mat to a positive reinforcement kind of training. Let’s take a look on how it’s done with these simple steps outlined by a professional dog trainer and owner of Amy Puppy School featuring the stylish, very comfy, and really nice dog mat from Indie Boho.
 

1. To begin, you should stand in the middle of the room with the desired bed on the floor, say nothing, and do not really engage with the puppy; there are no cues for this or direction. It is a thinking game for the puppy. 

2. If the puppy looks at the bed bridge, tell him he is "GOOD" then give him a reward. The best reward you can give your puppy is a high-value dog treat – a dog treat that they love essentially. Our Superfood Dog Treats are the perfect high-value puppy training treat as they are bite size and have over 100 treats in each bag. 
With all puppy training, ensure that you repeat the process a few times to build the association between their actions and the positive reinforcement. Ensure that you are diligent with your timing, the "Good" should happen as soon as the dog's eyes meet the bed. Although they may not get it straight away, they must associate the reward with something to do with that bed.  

(Image from Indie Boho)

3. As you progress the training, you can stop rewarding the puppy for looking at the bed (the puppy will find this frustrating), and they will try a grander gesture to get your attention, such as a move towards the bed, stepping on the bed, push their nose on the bed. Reward any progress the same way above. (Keep the session short) a couple of mins, but you could do multiple sessions a day; DON'T make this boring.

4. As your puppy/dog improves, they will continue to up the behaviour they offer; again, you are not cueing this; we are waiting for them to work it out. Put the bed or mat away between training sessions; it will help your dog understand they are about to do the training again each time the mat/bed is put down on the floor. 

Just go on while your pup continues to make progress and only reward the new behaviour — meaning, if you'd only got the dog sitting on the bed, then you would not be rewarding him for having looked at it first; the reward now comes for hopping onto the bed. 

"What I like to do with this is very clear in my video, I want to bridge and toss the food off the bed, so the dog has to run and get it. They then return straight away to the bed to do it all over. Again, this is all progressive, and I can increase the duration between rewards.  
As you feel your dog's behaviour progresses well, you may throw it on cue "On your bed" and continue to build.
Remember that it will take time to establish this, and you will add distractions and duration, etc., but this should give you a great insight to train this.
Have a look at Veronica's training with her young border collie Chip. It shows wonderful progression.  

Good Luck!! I would love to see some progress videos of your work, so tag me on Instagram stories or send vids to me directly to share them!!  

   
Happy Training, Everyone! "

-Amy King, Amy Puppy School

Superfood Treats and Freeze-Dried Treats are perfect for puppy training. Their sizes and softness are just suitable for rewards; they're sugar and gluten-free and made with only natural and healthy ingredients.  

 

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Being a dedicated dog owner often involves:   

• Asking the right questions.   

• Seeking the right advice, and, most importantly.   

• Checking in with your pup to make sure that it's healthy and happy.   

We are in line with you on this, so if you have questions, you may head to our FAQs page for more answers to dog treat-related queries or send us a message, and I would love to chat with you.  

More than anything, it is my priority to keep you informed and empowered.