Teaching a puppy / dog to settle

[Mad Jasper]

Hi

I want to teach Skye to settle whilst with me outside on the lead or not in the future.

Any tips on helping her achieve this as I think this is why she whines when we stop for longer than 10 seconds

Cheers

[Rascal]

Maybe some TTouch would help but I’d say it’s a method best shown rather than described on a forum, although you might find this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-22yAe5KGI useful.

Rascal

[Snicklefritz]

Hat tip for taking the time to teach your dog one of the most useful responses there are!

I help the dog learn their 'off' switch before I go to 'settle'. The 'off' switch is not a command, it's just a way, like TT in the video to help the dog learn self control. This is necessary because teaching the dog to actually settle in some position is easy...getting them to stay there is more difficult.

Difficult to describe the actual settle motion (lure) but, I'll try.

Put the dog in a down with the dogs nose facing you directly.
Take a high value treat and put it right in front of his nose.
Move the treat back to one side of his head and over the dog's shoulder in a motion that, if the dog follows it, he will turn his head all the way around and then try to reach back over his shoulder to follow the treat as you move it over the shoulder and back to the opposite side.
This causes the dog to lean back and over and makes it simple to give a little nudge to get him to roll onto his side.
Praise and keep pumping treats to the 'settled' dog to keep him down,.
Now, use your TT technique to help him relax in this vulnerable position.
Later, that big, 'settle' luring motion will become a little wave of the hand.

At a 'doggie' event everyone was gathered into a circle of about 50 people and their dogs facing the center of the circle. People were encouraged to step into the middle of the circle and demonstrate a trick their dog could perform. When my turn came, I took 'Buddy' to the center and gave him a silent 'settle' cue. He laid down completely on his side with his head resting on the floor. Everyone applauded in amazement. So, I told 'Buddy' to 'stay' while I walked off and told the 'emcee' to continue with the tricks. 'Buddy' lay there on the floor, amidst all the dogs and confusion, for five minutes until I called him to me. Game, set and match - 'Buddy'.

'Buddy' will do the same at 60 yards and beyond. But, you gotta get the 'off' switch' first. Vets love it too!!!

Snick

[alpha]

I wish I knew about that 5 years ago perhaps my cocker would n't get so over excited and stressed when we have to wait

[Naj]

Hi

I want to teach Skye to settle whilst with me outside on the lead or not in the future.

Any tips on helping her achieve this as I think this is why she whines when we stop for longer than 10 seconds

Cheers

If it's the whining that you want to stop, then I doubt that you will cut it out completely in an older dog (you don't mention how old she is).

I now spend a lot of time, from puppy stage onwards, conditioning my pups to 'settle' quietly with me, in between bouts of activity, either on the lead or off it. I don't do anything formal with this but just aim to get them into the routine that when I go, they go; when I stop, they stop. So every time I take a pup out, at least once during the outing, I will stop for a few moments & stand or sit &, in doing so, encourage the pup, by my 'passive' actions, to just chill with me. I don't give it any attention until it stops playing around & sits/lies/stands quietly for a moment. Then I will perhaps give it a titbit/quietly stroke or praise it & then move on. I extend the period that we stay there by occasional titbits or a quiet stroke, switching off & ignoring it if it wants to turn any contact into a game, until it settles again. If the dog would rather go off investigating, as it will when it gets a bit older, then I tie a short length of baler twine to its collar so i can just step on it & stop it wandering off without saying anything or having to get hold of it. Then as soon as it settles we move on, as a reward, then slowly extend the 'quiet' period again. I continue this into stopping & chilling during hunting sessions. This time the dog will be all pumped up & you will have to wait a while until its adrenaline levels drop & it is capable of relaxing. More often than not, the marker for this is when the dog gives itself a quick shake. It will then take a titbit but rarely before this point. As it matures the time taken for it to relax itself will reduce.

Naj

[Hepe]

This thread and the posts here gives the clue to the most Important key to successful training of eager dogs full of energy. Bookmark it and reread next time you train a pup or youngster. Impressed!

Helene