How do I teach my dog to settle down and relax on the cue?

To help you and your dog learn basic training techniques, it might be worth enrolling in some dog training lessons. Reward relaxed behaviours. 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. 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. Always make sure your dog is having a good time when settling, whether enjoying their toys, chews, or simply dozing and snoozing.

Teaching "relax" involves waiting for your dog to naturally relax on her own, associating a word with that, and calmly praising her. 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. 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. 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.

To teach your dog to settle down and relax on the cue, you can use one of two methods. The first option is where you teach your dog what you want, ask him to do it, and reward him when he does it. Start by asking your dog for a sit, then use a treat to lure the dog down into a lying position, making sure you don’t move the treat forward, instead move it straight down and slightly towards the dog’s front paws. When he lies down, say ‘Good’ and give the treat, repeating this until your dog readily follows the treat and lies down. You can add the word ‘Down’ in when you know your dog will lie down, so you are linking the word with the action. Once your dog knows how to do the down, you are going to change the cue so that he lies down when you sit down, using your down cue and rewarding your dog when he lies down, and each time you do, make your cue smaller until your dog lies down when you sit down. Alternatively, you can use the ‘Choose to Settle’ method, which is perfect for when you are watching TV and want your dog to chill out beside you, by attaching your dog on a flat collar to the chair you are sitting on, giving him a stuffed Kong or something to chew on, and settling down in front of the TV, allowing him to eventually settle down. Make sure you have something comfortable for your dog to lie on, such as a stuffed Kong, so it is rewarding for him to stay put.

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. Once your dog goes to lie down on the mat whenever you get it out, wait for the them to rest their head on the mat before rewarding. 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. Gradually include distractions and practice in different locations, using your dog’s mat as a cue to settle. Remember to go at your dog’s pace.