To be sure, some dogs are just naturally very chill couch potatoes and they have relaxing down pat. Others may be anxious, a bit hyper, or just rather demanding of constant attention. If you keep some tasty treats in your pocket, you will be able to reward your dog at any time you see him relax. We start by not giving any command. If my dog is pestering me for attention, I ignore her for a little bit. As soon as she lays down and is exhibiting relaxing behavior, I calmly give her a few treats. If she goes and lays down on her rug on her own, I drop a few treats to her and walk away. If I am going to be busy on the computer and I don't want her to be pestering me, I get a longer lasting chew bone and drop it on her rug and tell her to settle. You can use whatever word works for you. Some people use the word chill. At first, I want to try to catch my dog doing the relaxing behavior that I want and immediately mark that behavior with a reward. Early on I may say "Yes, Good settle". In my house I have a few rugs laying around for my dogs to lay on plus the door to the wire crate is left open. After marking and rewarding the dog choosing to settle, I begin to couple it with the command. I might walk over to the rug or crate and drop a chew bone or treats and tell my dog to settle. It can be helpful to sit next to the rug slowly giving some treats and praise & pets while she remains on the rug. Gradually I will work up to telling my dog to settle when company come into the room to watch a movie with us, and when out for a walk at the park, I will find a bench in a shady spot and tell her to settle as I drop a few treats down to her. Eventually, my dog will learn that her anxious, hyper and pushy behavior does not get the attention she wants and she will choose to relax. Happy training!
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