How to calm an anxious dog outside?
If your pet fears strangers, then walk somewhere that is private or without a lot of traffic or peop Read More
How do I get my dog to be calm in public?
Dillan Haley
2025-08-29 02:59:10
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: 12
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. Giving time for your dog to settle and relax allows Glutamate, which is linked with brain development, cognition, learning and memory, to rise. It also releases Dopamine, which makes them feel good. To progress, reward the dog when they have two paws on the mat and gradually build this up to them having all four paws on 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. Gradually increase the distance between you and the mat, moving one step away and rewarding them for staying on the mat. 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.
Jordi Parisian
2025-08-23 06:30:07
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: 17
To help your dog learn to be calm in public, 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. Gradually reward more relaxed behaviours, this will vary between dogs – some will automatically start lying down so you can quickly progress to rewarding your dog only for this behaviour. 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. You need your dog to learn that they can settle whether they’re on or off-lead – useful skills for a lot of different situations. Add in distractions slowly 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. 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.
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Ramon O'Hara
2025-08-16 18:59:19
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: 15
Implement a “relax” command at home. Catch your dog in a relaxed state and reward them. Introduce the “calm” or “relax” command. Choose a word that you’ll use to name this calm state, and say it whenever you give your dog a reward. Gradually invite your dog to go into a calm state on command.
Burn off excess energy. Start training in a quiet public place. You might go during a time of day when you know there won’t be too many people around or choose a part of the restaurant with the least amount of foot traffic. Keep your visits short and sweet to start.
Always reward calm behavior. Whenever your dog shows a moment of calmness, be ready to reward them with a treat. If they cannot calm down even for a moment, bring them outside of the restaurant for a reset. Manage your own stress levels. Try your best to stay calm and neutral during all training sessions. Don’t get angry and yell at your dog. Instead, give them a calm command, and if they don’t respond, try the reset or end the training session.
Saul Wehner
2025-08-03 22:56:12
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: 18
You wouldn’t expect your dog to learn to sit, roll over or shake hands without a good grounding of training, and so the same goes for asking them to settle in the pub when you’re on holiday. Until they’ve learned that lying down quietly is the way to get rewards, they’re likely to keep pestering you or others around you for attention. At home, get your dog used to lying at your feet around a dining table by asking them to do exactly that: stick their lead and collar or harness on, give them the down command while you sit at your table, and occasionally reward their passive behaviour from a stash of treats in your pocket. Reward fairly regularly to begin with, but gradually lengthen the gaps between rewards until you can go for several minutes without a nose nudge or a fidgeting dog. If you notice them disengaging from you during these gaps, reward this too, as they’ll begin to learn that they needn’t keep all their attention on you. Once you’ve mastered this at home, it’s time to take it into the wild – head out alone so you can focus on the training and don’t order anything too involved, you’ll want to be able to keep one eye on the dog at all times while they’re still learning.
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