How to teach a dog to relax?
Velda Nicolas
2025-05-22 16:48:06
Count answers: 4
Teaching "relax" involves waiting for your dog to naturally relax on her own, associating a word with that, and calmly praising her. You will then reward the behavior as it happens naturally. To begin, think about the situations in which your dog begins to relax on her own, such as when she lies down after a walk or play session. First, look for signs that your dog is starting to relax such as lying down, letting out a sigh after activity, resting her head, or crawling next to you for a nap or cuddle. When your dog shows signs of relaxing, quietly say "Relax." If touching your dog usually calms her down, you can gently and slowly stroke her fur. Keep your motions slow and your voice soft. Repeat this at various times of the day when you see her in that position and in a calm state. Repeat this over several days.
After you’ve completed this over several days, you will then prompt her to relax by saying "relax" just before she shows signs of settling. When you see the right time, or your best guess at the right time, say "relax" as you did in the above steps. If you see signs of your dog relaxing, quietly praise her, saying something like "That’s it" or "Good dog." You can gently and slowly stroke her fur, as you did in the first steps. Again, keep your motions slow and your voice soft. Over time, which could be days or weeks, try asking your dog to relax in busier environments and situations, but only after you’ve practiced a great deal in quieter situations and you’ve seen your dog respond with calmer behaviors.
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