FOUNDATION RELAXATION TRAINING

If you can’t relax, how can you be expected to stay calm when faced with the things that makes you anxious or aggressive?  Humans do not go through systematic desensitization programs without being taught how to relax and then using those skills in behavior modification.  However dogs don’t understand how to relax on cue or command until we teach them.

There are several ways to teach your dog to relax.

• Initially teach your dog to “sit” and then to “watch” or “focus”, to “settle”, or to “go to your mat”
• Extend the length of time you require your dog to stay on the mat.
• Practice long down stays on his or her mat.
• Massage or T-touch may be used.
• Reward your dog each time they show more relaxation during a training session.
• Many owners have had success “clicking” and shaping their dogs behavior to reward them when the dog takes a more relaxing position or indicates some form of relaxation.  It is even possible to work working towards “marking” their slower breathing patterns in a down stay. However, for some dogs, clicker training is exciting and the sound of the clicker might be too stimulating. An option is to use a sound that is calming opposed to the stimulating sound of a clicker.
• Once the dog is anticipating what you want and is relaxing to get a treat, you can attach a cue word just prior to asking him or her to sit/down, or however you are initiating the training sequence, etc. Just remember, even if the marker used is exciting, the point is to teach your dog what behavior you are looking for. In time you can reduce the amount of treats you are giving, because being relaxed in inherently pleasurable.
• Practice these exercises in a variety of non-threatening context, over time adding more challenges