How to teach a dog to be calm outside?
Maximilian Mertz
2025-08-03 21:30:51
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To help your dog learn to be calm outside, it’s hard for your dog to learn how to settle when there are distractions, so it’s best to begin practicing somewhere quiet. 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.
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 slowly start 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.
Lempi Stoltenberg
2025-08-03 21:29:08
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To teach a dog to be calm outside, 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. Gradually include distractions and practice in different locations, using your dog’s mat as a cue to settle. 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.
Amira Willms
2025-08-03 19:41:25
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Practise in lots of different places - around the house, in the garden, at a friend's house and in the local park. It's essential to reward your dog while they're still in the desired position, and consistency is key. Practise regularly and increase the time by a few seconds each time. Look out for signs that your dog is going to break the desired behavior and reward him before he does - set him up to win rather than fail. Start by only taking one step back before giving them the reward, and then slowly and gradually increase the distance.