Settle
Why is settle one of the most important foundation behaviors? Most dog training classes start with sit, down, leave it, loose leash walking, the ACTION behaviors! However, the foundation of all training starts with two things: handler focus and learning to do “nothing” or settle around distractions.
Sophie can settle and shop for shoes too!
Once you have these two things the rest of your training is so much easier! Think back to a time when you were in class or a dog training lesson. The trainer is giving instruction and you want to listen! But your dog is excited! This class is awesome! Look at all his friends! And those friendly people, surely they want to say hello to him! So instead of being able to listen, you are trying to keep your dog calm. Imagine being in any distracting place such as the classroom, a store, a patio for dinner, shopping, hanging out with family or friends and your dog calmly lays next to you watching the fun go by! Sounds great right? It starts with settle.
This “off switch” behavior is taught two ways: On a mat as stay behavior or without a mat as a default behavior.
No Mat No Problem!
A settle cue simply means your dog lays calmly on her belly, rolled on her hip. It’s a cue for a dog to relax. This is not a stay. Your dog is allowed to move around and shift positions, but when cued she will lay down on her hip. Essentially it means to relax.
This is the act of doing “nothing” and it’s an art to train “nothingness!” On a road trip we were driving through Arizona and I saw on the map, “Nothing, Arizona,” I had to see this! A town called Nothing? That was just too funny! I watched eagerly for signs telling me “Nothing” was coming and do you know what I saw? NOTHING! There was literally nothing in Nothing Arizona.
This turned into an amusing analogy of how we end up teaching our dogs to do “something” when we are attempting to just teach them to relax, to do “nothing.” Because of my anticipation, looking for Nothing, checking the map to see how close we were, talking to my husband about it, I was certainly not relaxed! Too often this is what happens when we teach a dog to relax. We reinforce an anticipatory emotional state. Our dogs are excited to train! They like food and attention and how happy we get when they get it right! Training is FUN! Training is SOMETHING! So when we start trying to train a dog to settle it can be very hard to actually get them to relax. Here are a few tips before you start:
Where does your dog relax best? The bedroom, the living room, the bathroom? (Let’s be honest. Few of us actually pee alone anymore right? At least not if you’re owned by Cavaliers! The bathroom can be a great place for easily distracted dogs to do “nothing.”) This is where you’ll start teaching your settle.
Always start in the least distracting environment where your dog is most likely to relax.
Choose a comfy space and give yourself something to do such as read a book, work on your computer or watch TV. You will really be paying attention to your dog, but it helps to have some activity that doesn’t require your full attention as well.
Exercise your dog and make sure their basic needs are met so they are tired and not starving. It’s hard to relax when you’re hangry! Feed half their meal in an interactive toy and then use the rest to practice settle.
Choose a time of day your dog is more likely to be tired, perhaps at the end of the night or after a walk. Don’t practice this when you’ve just come home and your dog is excited!
Minimize distractions. Put the other dogs away with either a stuffed Kong, Toppl, Bully Stick or bone. Start with only one dog at a time if they will distract each other.
For Newbie Dogs
You can capture or lure a settle from your newbie dog.
To capture it choose a room in your house where your dog is used to laying down and chilling out. When your dog chooses to lay down toss a treat to her. If this is on a dog bed or piece of furniture that’s okay! You can always fade the bed after you've added the cue. What does your dog do when you deliver the treat? Does she get up? That’s okay! Wait for her to lay down again and when she does toss another treat! If your dog is close enough to you to quietly place the treat in front of her, do so. After some repetitions, your dog is going to catch on, “Hey! Every time I lay down Mom tosses me a treat! Sweet! I’ll lay down again!”
Some other cues for Settle
Chill/Chill out
Relax
Be calm
Choose your own!
Once your dog is reliably offering you a down withhold the treat a few seconds. You don’t want them to get up before you reinforce, so pay attention to their body language and don’t wait too long. Right before you expect them to lay down cue, “Settle” then reinforce with food.
To lure this behavior start in that same environment. Put a treat to your dog’s nose and lure the nose down towards the ground as if you’re luring a down. When your dog’s belly is on the ground take your treat towards her shoulder until she rolls onto her hip. Deliver your treat.
The next step is to fade the lure into a hand signal. Create a hand signal by removing the treat from your hand, but repeating the same hand movement. When the dog is reliably responding to the hand signal you will add your verbal cue. Say your cue, “Settle!” and pause. If your dog doesn’t respond, use your hand signal to remind them they are supposed to lay down.
For Experienced Dogs
If your dog already knows a verbal cue for down use the “New cue, old cue” method to teach a new cue. Start in the same low distraction environment the newbie dogs would use and cue your dog to “Settle.” Pause and let your dog think about this new word! After a few seconds cue, “Down.” Then reinforce when your dog responds.
Let’s do an experiment. When you cue down does your dog lay on their belly but not roll onto a hip? Some dogs will! Try pausing longer before you deliver the treat. Does your dog roll onto her hip? If so, click or “Yes!” Then deliver the treat. If your dog doesn’t automatically roll onto her hip lure her nose towards her belly so she roll onto their hip. Click, then treat!
When you say down it means lay on your belly, and settle means lay on your hip and relax.
Adding Duration
Now that you have a cue that means relax, the trick is adding duration. Start in your same training location. Cue settle and wait a few seconds to deliver the treat! Does your dog stand up? That’s okay! Wait and see what happens. If your dog lays back down, great! Don’t wait as long before reinforcing this time.
When training duration don’t always make it harder and harder for your dog by adding more time to each repetition. Keep it random: 1 second, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 2 seconds, 6 seconds. If your dog doesn’t settle again you can cue again, but reinforce sooner.
Beware of always making it harder for your dog by making them settle longer and longer: 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds.
Add a Release Cue
When your dog has a few seconds of settling add a release cue. This is the same release cue you’re using for all positions: stay, wait, going through the door or any duration behavior. This will help your dog know when they are free to get up and “move about the cabin.” If your dog is getting up from her settle before you’ve released her, release sooner. Your dog is trying to tell you it’s too hard and you’re asking her to settle for too long. Simple fix! Keep duration shorter or more varied. You may also need to lower the distraction level.
Tips:
Start in the easiest location for your dog. Keep distractions in this area low.
Keep your sessions short. Release often and take breaks to play tug of war, fetch, chase or other active games.
When your dog is doing well with duration in the easy, low distraction environment add distractions there before moving to a new location. Some suggestions: Walk around or away from the dog, clap your hands, talk out loud, turn on the TV or have a family member walk in the room.
A future article will cover teaching stationing on a mat.
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