How to teach a dog to relax?
Maci Paucek
2025-06-17 06:01:33
Count answers
: 17
Teaching a dog that won’t settle to lie down when asked on a mat or dog bed gives them and you time to switch off and chill out.
Place a mat, blanket or a towel on the floor so the dog has somewhere comfortable to lie down.
Allow the dog to go over to the blanket and investigate.
Reward the dog whenever they investigate or go near the mat.
Reward them by throwing treats on the mat instead of giving them from your hand to help build a strong association that the mat is a good place.
Build up some duration for lying on the mat, do this by delaying reward for a couple of seconds initially and then increasing this at your dog’s pace.
This exercise should be calm and collected, practice at a time when your dog is already tired, encouraging calm behaviour from your dog.
Remember to go at your dog’s pace.
If they move away from the mat or break their down position go back a step and lure them back into position.
Nelda Brekke
2025-06-09 00:15:20
Count answers
: 20
Teaching a dog that won’t settle to lie down when asked on a mat or dog bed gives them and you time to switch off and chill out.
Step one Place a mat, blanket or a towel on the floor so the dog has somewhere comfortable to lie down.
Allow the dog to go over to the blanket and investigate.
Reward the dog whenever they investigate or go near the mat.
Reward them by throwing treats on the mat instead of giving them from your hand to help build a strong association that the mat is a good place.
This exercise should be calm and collected, practice at a time when your dog is already tired, encouraging calm behaviour from your dog.
Remember to go at your dog’s pace.
If they move away from the mat or break their down position go back a step and lure them back into position.
Step five Build up some duration for lying on the mat, do this by delaying reward for a couple of seconds initially and then increasing this at your dog’s pace.
Don’t go too quickly or your dog might get up.
Kasandra Nitzsche
2025-06-03 16:00:51
Count answers
: 15
To help you and your dog learn basic training techniques, it might be worth enrolling in some dog training lessons. Reward relaxed behaviours. To begin with you may just need to reward your dog for any behaviour that doesn’t involve staring at you, pulling on the lead, or barking. Sit quietly on a chair with your dog on the lead and a blanket on the floor. Drop tiny bite-size treats to your dog as a reward for settling down on the blanket. Gradually reward more relaxed behaviours. When your dog is relaxed, start increasing the time they must be settled before you reward them. Gradually build up by a couple of seconds each time over multiple training sessions. Once your dog starts to get the hang of it and is shifting their weight so they’re comfortable and relaxed, you can start practising with them off lead. Try to resist telling your dog what to do during training, the aim is for them to learn for themselves to be calm and to relax.
Velda Nicolas
2025-05-22 16:48:06
Count answers
: 17
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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