Just wanted to share something that I’ve recently started doing with my 10 month old pup that’s been a real game changer in the moments where I desperately need him to settle and relax. Disclaimer: I originally saw this on an instagram reel. I usually take dog training tips from social media with a grain of salt, but this one has been surprisingly helpful for us! It’s supposedly a method used to help train service dogs to be chill in any environment.
Basically, I start by getting him into a down position – usually on a blanket so treats don’t bounce. Then when he isn’t looking at me I drop kibble one piece at a time from above his head every few seconds (so from his perspective it’s raining kibble lol). I aim for the space between his two front paws. If he looks up at me or my hand, I stop and wait for him to look down again. The goal eventually is to capture/reward him for the moments when he’s relaxed with his head resting between his front paws, but rewarding the moments where he’s looking away from me or his nose is sniffing the blanket is a great place to start. Over time, I increase the time between kibble drops.
Sometimes it’ll take 10mins or so of this, but eventually, I see his eyes start to get heavy and he dozes off. I’m shocked how well it works for him… it’s like I can see his system powering down before my eyes. I’ve also done this with him in public settings too. While he never fully falls asleep when we’re in public, it does seem really helpful and relaxing to him to have something low effort to focus on rather than fixating on the chaos of his environment.
It seems like since we’ve started practicing this, he’s gotten a lot better at relaxing in general. He’s taking more frequent and longer naps which in turn has led to improvements in his behavior and he has far fewer chaotic outbursts.
Like with anything, I’m sure it doesn’t work for every dog (especially if they aren’t as food motivated as my pup). But as someone who had been desperately searching for a way to help my energetic herding pup calm the heck down, I just figured I’d share in case it helps someone else! 🤍
submitted by /u/Dear_Fall_6283
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