Atlanta-based dog trainer with over 10 years of professional dog experience. Hi! I’ve always had a passion for animals, particularly dogs.
02/16/2025
The benefits of settling training:
-your dog learns to self-regulate their energy + emotions
-they learn they don’t have to be doing something 24/7 (clover is a pacer and monet is an entertainer/socialite)
-they develop an off-switch (relaxing when they’re excited at a moment’s notice)
-minimize reactivity
-they learn to get comfortable with discomfort (we can’t always be there to give them attention. In those moments they need to know that they can relax and not turn to destructive or reactive behaviors)
It’s best to start this as earlier as possible with your dog. Give them several opportunities a day to turn their brains off. If we’re constantly entertaining them or keeping them busy they have no idea how to handle moments when they need to be calm. That’s where a lot of restless behavior stems from.
It’s best to practice this in all different environments but try and work at a gradual pace going from calm to more exciting (in other words I wouldn’t do this at home and expect my dog to do just as well in a pet store).
My parents have been watching Clover pretty much since Thanksgiving. I brought him home this weekend for a little reintroduction and this has been a huge segment of our retraining. A 10 month old puppy vs a 6 year old soul need some healthy structure and routine. It’s not always about “do do do”, it’s also important what we do in between.
