05/10/2023
Such good and sound advice!
Educational post
Teaching your dog to do nothing
Honest truth, this was probably one of the hardest things to teach Rose. She was great in the crate, good as gold in the car, and, during training, BUT, when hanging out in the house she found Dude a massive distraction and she struggled to just settle down when left loose with him. Indy was not an issue as Rose was very respectful of her.
Teaching a dog to do nothing at all requires consistency and patience.
We see a lot of dogs for behaviours like pulling on the lead, lunging, jumping up, barking, whining, chewing, and, attention seeking behavious. Sadly some owners see this kind of behaviour as normal or say "he's just excited"
The reality is, these behaviours are very ofen a symptom of a dog who lacks self control. Dogs displaying these kinds of behaviours are often stressed, anxious, or, over stimulated.
If these unwanted behaviours are misunderstood, and the root cause is not addressed, then the owner is less likely to be able to change them.
In many cases like this the dogs we see have never be taught to do nothing, to switch off, relax, or to settle down on a bed as part of their training.
These dogs often have toys all around the house because the owners are hoping they will wear themselves out. They don't seem to be able to switch off. They are constantly doing something, or waiting to do something.
Sometimes we hear that the owners of the dogs described above have been advised to "exercise them more" or "they need more mental stimulation" when actually what the dog will truly benefit from is being taught how to "settle and do nothing" giving them more exercise will actually make the dog fitter and fitter...
As long as your dog is getting an appropriate amount of exercise, you should also teach your dog to settle down, relax, and, do nothing. Its genuinely a fabulous thing to teach.
I talk about two types of settle, a trained settle and a self settle. They are two different things, but they are both very important.
When teaching your dog a trained settle be patient and consider the duration, distance and the distractions. Train each independently before expecting your dog to settle with all three elements. I start by teaching duration first, then adding distance, finally adding distractions. I am careful to always reward the dog in the settle position, not when they are released or called out of the settle, this reinforces the behaviour. I also teach a release cue which gives your dog permission to come out of the settle.
I have written a puppy book based on the life of Rose which is available on Amazon and on our website and we have an online puppy training course as well as offering in person training
www.familydogservices.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/The-Life-Of-Rose-819251128435132/