How do I settle my dog's anxiety?

Provide a safe and quiet space for your dog to retreat to. Ensure your dog has toys to keep them occupied. Keep your departures and returns calm and quiet. Consider getting a diffuser, some spray, collar or medication for calming an anxious dog. Gently reassure your dog. If the stimulus is outside close curtains, turn on the television or radio and distract your dog with play or treats. Reward your dog for calming down and absolutely avoid punishment for behaviour related to fear, phobia, or anxiety. If your dog gets anxious, your vet can help. If your dog has chronic anxiety, or gets anxious about a specific issue such as separation anxiety or noises, speak to your vet or a trained animal behaviourist for advice.

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. Add in distractions by slowly building up distractions by practising the ‘settle’ in increasingly busy areas or ask a helper to create a distraction by walking past, progressing to more exciting activities like sweeping or skipping. If your dog becomes unsettled or gets up, ignore them and wait until they settle again before rewarding them.