How to Train Your Dog to Settle Down and Relax

[@Inspiredrandomness1]

Thanks for telling us what to do when the dog gets up. So many trainers don't tell us what to do when it doesn't go right.

[@janettex08]

My brother has a GSP that's just very high energy, requires a lot of mental stimulation, etc. When he's inside the house he just causes a ruckus!!! I'm dog sitting him this morning, so I tried following your video and OMG! This was amazing...he was a completely different dog after 2 rounds of this calming exercise. Ill definitely be showing my brother how to perform this exercise at home.

[@TwilightZone13]

Jan X really!? I really need my puppy to be calm. She has so much energy and I can’t constantly play with her. I will try this out tomorrow.

[@jackfielding216]

Wait your brothers a dog

[@christakumar9286]

Did he stay down with his head down ? We did this today in class -not much success , and now I am asking myself 'what is the purpose of all this frustration ?'....the best I can get is that my dog flops to her side , only to get up again , if I move a muscle....

[@idontwanttoparticipateplea212]

So how has it worked in the long run?

[@ahhhhhh8493]

The problem with this for my dog is that the mere sight of treats makes my dog incredibly over excited.

[@sucaz]

Same my dog gets excited when he sees a treat

[@NickBenger]

Make sure you put the treat on the dogs bed to encourage them to stay there instead of get up for the treat. You can also use more boring treats for example the dog's dry food if that's easier.

[@stuff2047]

Yup, as soon as I try to start training mine gets to overexcited after the first treat and won’t calm down enuf to focus😩

[@PigWiggins]

@@stuff2047 I'm not the person who posted this video, but it's really such a waiting game! It can take so much patience at first with a truly excitable dog, and sometimes it does get frustrating, but sometimes you have to wait several minutes or more before the dog gives you a rewardable behaviour. Rather than a small mat like a towel, you can even start with something large like a big blanket. Put your chair on the blanket and give him the first treat just for being on the blanket with you, then sit calmly and ignore him without adding any stimulation from yourself (don't talk to him, try to give him any commands like sit or down, don't even look directly at him). Keep the treats accessible but out of direct eyeline like in a belt pouch or your pocket. If your dog is dancing and pouncing around you, barking, spinning, etc... Just be patient and wait. Start with the next level of "calmness" from where he is, even if it really isn't very calm at all... For some dogs that literally means two seconds of standing still with no barking. The more observant you are, the quicker he'll clue in to what you want from him. Once he realizes standing still is what makes the treat happen, start waiting for three or four seconds of standing still before you give his treat. Always give the treats calmly and quietly, and praise as well. Energetic praise is for energetic activities... Calm and quiet praise given in a soft voice is for calm activities. Eventually, and this could take many training sessions so don't get discouraged, once he seems to grasp the fact that staying still and quiet is the only thing that gets him treats, you should have a dog that may not necessarily be calm but at least isn't flying all over the place, barking, too excited to listen, and is more checked into you and more ready to listen. At this point you'll start waiting for him to offer the next step of calmness, which would be sitting down... just wait for him to offer it naturally, rewarding quietly when he does. When he sits, toss or the reward just far away enough that he needs to stand up again in order to get it. That way, you don't have to try and get him to do it and get him all excited again. After he's consistently offering a sit, wait longer and longer periods of time between the sit and the treat. This will start teaching him to lengthen his calmness threshold and his ability to sit still. Then the big step comes! Laying down. You might have to wait a bit for this one, so when he offers it, really give him a good bunch of treats and praise (in the calmest way possible haha). Again, give him treats in a way he'll have to stand up again to get them. You want to avoid giving him "sit" and "down" commands during this exercise, because the point of this training is waiting for him to offer calmness on his own. It doesn't need to be in that order either, like if he offers a down before a sit then that's excellent! Once he begins to readily offer a down, you can add the verbal command of "settle" or "relax", etc. Don't start offering it until then, otherwise you'll muddy the meaning of the word. You want him to connect a known behaviour to an unknown word, rather than an unknown behaviour an unknown word. Then you can start folding the blanket to make it smaller and smaller, so he has to start focusing on staying on the mat during his calmness exercise. Eventually you can replace the mat with something like a dog bed/cot. Yoga mats also work really well because you can get cheap ones and put one in every room of the house so down the road, you'll be able to say "settle" and he will have that mat in his mind as where he goes to be calm. You won't always need the mat, but it does help give them a physical idea of where to put their bodies and that helps with dogs that are generally all over the place, haha. Anyways, sorry that was so long and I hope that the poster of the video doesn't think I gave any bad advice! I hope it helps!

[@stuff2047]

@@PigWiggins I can’t thank you enough for all that helpful advice. I’m sure it doesn’t help that it’s my first dog and therefore I’m inexperienced. The first of my own as an adult that is, I had plenty growing up. She never barks, not an aggressive bone in her body, she is just the most hyper dog I’ve ever seen (even growing up, lol). She jumps all over everyone when they walk in the house, even the people who live here and she sees every day, she won’t nap unless no one is home bc she’s too afraid she’s gonna miss something. I’ve just never seen anything like it and never remember all the dogs I had growing up being this way but who knows. She’s a beautiful black Labrador Retriever. She’s only 8-9 months old too. Thank you again for the helpful info. I will start trying all that.

[@pawsinhanddogtrainingandbe2592]

Love this video, thanks Nick.

[@kblak21]

A very quality video. Thank you for Youtubing

[@isabeltee7254]

Thanks for your video! My dog is young and very excitable, she wants to greet every person and dog in the place and whines or barks constantly if not allowed..will defo be trying this!

[@rileywilliams4972]

My girlfriend's dog has severe separation anxiety and we are working with an expert to help the behavior. She started us with this exercise, and you've explained and demonstrated it exactly how she did. My gf's dog's name is also Chester, so that's a funny coincidence. This video will be super helpful for us to refresh and be reminded exactly how to do this. Thanks Nick!

[@NickBenger]

Thanks Riley! Good luck with Chester's separation anxiety. I did a podcast on separation anxiety with Malena DeMartini. Its episode 51 of the Dog Talk with Nick Benger podcast. It's on spotify and all other podcast apps. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@vibingqueen]

Any tips would be useful as my 5 month lab puppy also has selersfkkn anxiety - he’s fine when left in his crate but when left out of his crate alone he is restless and gets upset if there’s no one inside or outside with him- hence teaching him the “settle” command

[@BeABravoDog]

Very nice Nick! Sharing with clients

[@angelinalozada189]

Thank You.

[@123Simone28]

Great video!!! Thank you so much!

[@blkbeauti05]

When my dog is on 100% and I am on 5%. I like him to relax. I do use the command "Relax." Thanks for this video.

[@Maths_With_Mike]

Excellent video Nick Benger! We're going to start this right away - particularly useful to know the estimated timeframe so that we know to stick with it. Thank you!

[@mirandawimbush256]

Nice! I love the bit about reinforcing calm behaviours not when your dog is staring at you!

[@SNTwistedSeries]

This helped me a lot!! Have a 1 year old Beagle who has trouble learning how to relax after some play time. I did however have to teach him a "Settle" command first for him to understand the concept.

[@vonda1974]

what a good idea. I have a dog who refuses to be on the floor, be it a bed, rug or duvet. she wants to be on sofa or bed at home and I mean all the time! pubs are tricky as she wants to go on sofa or bench!! this will be really great a we are often not bringing her. as she will start barking if not 'up high' as it were! thanks

[@NickBenger]

Thanks Vonda! Let me know how it goes!

[@random-gc7dc]

Wow you really deserve more subscribers than you have. earned mine 👍

[@irenedwyer7218]

We have a 14 month old Irish setter and I will try this with him. We have two blankets we put on our living room floor and the problem is when I turn my back he goes wandering around the house getting into mischief.

[@deanpiper2549]

Can y make a vid of how to get your dog to fall asleep fast pls

[@giackyt]

Great! Thanks! Does it always have to be the same mat?

[@NickBenger]

That would be preferable as it will be a more reliable signal to your dog to relax.

[@Beadifferent]

I have a dog who won't accept any treats, doesn't matter what I try, he also has the concentration (on me) of a gnat.

[@NickBenger]

Is he anxious? Have you tried sausage or cheese? To get him more focused on you you can download my free engagement guide at www.barkplayteach.com/the-engagement-guide

[@Beadifferent]

@@NickBenger Thanks for your reply, have only just seen it, my dog is not food oriented at all, I have tried just about everything.

[@iamlegend5373]

Maybe try rewarding him with love instead(petting hugging) or using the clicker method

[@ChristianFlanders]

Hey nick! When would be the proper point to introduce a verbal cue to this? As I give each treat?

[@NickBenger]

You have the visual cue of the mat from the beginning. Verbal cue is optional but if you're going to use one I would introduce it when the dog is settling on the mat reliably. Good question Christian!

[@FFACanineWelfare]

I would shape the behaviour first and as the dog understands what is asked of him, I would introduce ‘settle’ (presuming you wouldn’t use that in an every day context). Settle then becomes the cue that can be used around visitors etc. I would also use karen overalls relaxation protocol to help the dog self calm.

[@LinariaFreeze]

Going to try this with my over-excited labrador teenager now. She knows "place" and "stay" and "down", but she does them and then demandingly looks for treats and growls or barks and just walks away if she doesn't get it soon enough. She never proper relaxes or settles. Will try to look for calm behaviours.

[@vibingqueen]

So I’ve been using this method but when would you suggest actually saying the word “settle”. My 5 month old lab puppy can rest his head down and lie down without me saying anything and I’m throwing him treats no eye contact or not saying anything but when should I say “settle” and what hand sign would you suggest?

[@yulfranc]

This actually works like i was shock the dog literally behave

[@pogdogfuzz]

When I want my girl to settle she will lay there as long as I want her to but she shakes, I'm not sure if she's anxious or not, how can I stop this behavior and get her comfortable to the point of sleeping and not shaking?

[@hiro_the_gsdm918]

My dog just chews the mat up 😭😭😭 PLEASE HELPPPP

[@brickgeek4974]

When my dogs get a treat the bigger one wants more than the other dogs, so he bites them on the neck and lifts them in the air and blood goes everywhere. Meaning the don’t get treats because i have 2 Scottish terriers and 2 springer spaniel. The springer is the dominant one. The springer is a male and the 2 smaller dogs are brother and sister and the brother is the one who refuses to eat near the other dogs because then he gets attacked and is so skittish and shakes and mostly pees himself.

[@heatherjackson6222]

What if your dog plays with the mat and wants to chew it

[@FFACanineWelfare]

Heather Jackson you can redirect to a better activity, it’s acceptable for a dog to enjoy an activity while on the mat. The concept of teaching this exercise isn’t to suggest the dog can’t entertain himself, it’s to teach a reliable calm behaviour, self control around stimuli. You may find it helpful to associate the mat with self play and use it consistently, daily. If toys are not something you want your dog to use on the mat, let your dog do his thing with the mat, but when he looses interest or pays any slight attention to you (which you can encourage by interesting noises etc) click and treat (pair clicker to high value food first). He will likely quickly learn that chewing the mat is less beneficial than what you have to offer. High value food (something your dog finds the best thing ever!) is going to help you a lot, but use that special treat for these training sessions only. Chewing is a self reinforcing behaviour so be aware of that. In any case, check out karen overalls relaxation protocol, you might find this helpful.

[@myfuturepuglife]

How do I get my puppy to stop digging at the bed. I put them out for her comfort and she tries to shred them!

[@anette-ze1sf]

so do mine, I guess they are trying to form some kind of a nest

[@tayanicole7557]

I’m having a baby in 10 weeks and my pitty is not even 1 yet he’s overly excited excited and cry’s for everything if he’s in the cadge to go to sleep he cry’s like someone is hitting him or something any tips ?

[@NickBenger]

If you want to use a crate then I suggest taking a look at this article I wrote for K9 Connectables; k9connectables.com/crate-training/

[@rosannebrown6300]

Mine jumps on people when they come in

[@deanpiper2549]

Cos of my cats do y know how to make your dog to forget about cats and more....

[@Tsagkaraki82]

Don't we add any "relax" word as a que?

[@NickBenger]

Yes, you can do. Although the mat itself will also serve as a cue to the dog.

[@deanpiper2549]

My doggo just won't get too sleep-.-

[@FFACanineWelfare]

If you used a marker, you’d find you will be reinforcing the behaviour. I notice you’re not actually reinforcing head down because he’s too focused on your hand for the food reward, he offers another behaviour (head raised) which is reinforced so you’re actually teaching him the opposite to what you intend-be aware there is food still coming-which is the opposite to relax. A longer duration video, taken over time as the dog learns would’ve been more beneficial.

[@springtempo446]

my puppy just chews the mat. I don't want to reward her for that

[@lizzylee2106]

same :(

[@smokie.87]

Ahhaahhhhahaaaaahh;hhh