Move Over, Spot!
A quick targeting trick to help you reclaim that spot on the couch.
Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA
Previously, I talked about teaching your dog manners with targeting. Here’s a quick tip using targeting to teach your dog to move over on the bed or get off the couch.
Make sure you have a cue word—“Floor!” maybe?—and have a delicious treat ready. As always, it helps to start with a slightly hungry dog. Say your cue, wait one second, then toss a single treat on the floor with a sweeping gesture so that your dog watches it and sees the treat land. When she gets off the furniture, she gets the treat. Follow up with another activity, or sit down in the vacated spot, so your dog doesn’t immediately jump back up.
Over several days, try to find a dozen or so opportunities to practice this exercise. Then, on the next rep, say your cue, wait, and gesture as if you were tossing the treat, but don’t actually toss it. Instead, when your dog gets off the sofa, deliver the treat from your other hand or from a stash in another location. After a dozen more reps like that, you can begin to give treats less often. Sometimes your dog gets a food treat and praise for jumping off the furniture, and sometimes she just gets praise. Over time, gradually decrease the frequency of food treats. Don’t eliminate them entirely—let your dog have a nice surprise once in a while. That will keep her response strong as she guesses that maybe this time she’ll get lucky.
Want to raise a happy dog who loves to play and cuddle — but still comes when called and doesn’t chew up your favorite shoes?
Then check out The Dog Trainer’s Complete Guide to a Happy, Well-Behaved Pet!
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).