Foreword: I got this trick by email from a friendly visitor to my site. If you know a trick that is not on my site, please email it to me and it will be posted on this site.

Second Foreword: Before we begin, think about a spot you would like your Rover to sleep on and hang out on during the day. This might be a dog bed, a rug, or anything else that Rover can call Rovers on.

All Rovers need a place of their own, somewhere where they can get away from all that attention, little kids and people wanting to teach them more tricks. This is their "safe zone" where nobody bothers them.

Directions: Once you have a spot for Rover we can begin. Simply say, Rover, GO TO YOUR SPOT, and take Rover to Rovers place and DOWN Rover. After a minute or two praise Rover for staying in Rovers spot and release Rover.

Repeat this step a couple of times, rotating praise and treats. After a while stop going all the way to Rovers spot with Rover. Most Rovers are pretty quick with this trick. Don't expect Rover to spend every minute in Rovers spot. At first after the trick is taught you might have to encourage Rover to go to Rovers spot, but after a while Rover will do it both on command and when Rovers feels like it.

Conclusion: As I said, this trick is pretty easy to teach. But here are a couple pointers for improving Rovers trainability.

1. Tell Rover to GO TO YOUR SPOT and throw a treat on Rovers spot. Make sure Rovers DOWNS on Rovers spot though.
2. Give Rover a bone to enjoy while relaxing on Rovers spot.
3. Shorten the command to something like SPOT or BED.