The life changing art of doing nothing with your dog

So your dog is fulfilled, getting lots of exercise and quality time but they STILL won’t switch off? This might be the missing link.

🌟 Do nothing with your dog, on purpose 🌟

When dogs can’t settle, a common mistake I see is constantly giving the dog attention - even subconsciously. The dog comes up for a pat, they get it. Dog looks slightly bored, they get an enrichment toy thrown at them. Dog is being a pain inside, they get let out in the yard or played with immediately.

My whole stick is needing to fulfil our dogs appropriately and give them the outlets they need. But even a real working dog should be able to switch off between jobs - it’s essential for quality rest and the ability to just exist in the world without driving handlers insane. This comes naturally to some breeds, but for others we really need to work on this.

One of the ways I practice this is the stand on the leash and ignore the dog approach. Start this when your dog has had a bit of a run around and is more likely to settle, find a comfy quiet spot without much going on and sit down with your foot on the leash. Ignore the dog. They might pack a tantrum. They might pace around. They might harass you (which you can interrupt with the leash and shorten up if needed to reduce conflict). But eventually they realise that nothing exciting is happening and they may as well chill out. I praise this in a calm way and let them settle - rest can be valuable for our dogs too.

When we practice this in lots of places and increase the difficulty and expectations as the dog becomes more capable and understanding of the requirements, you start getting a dog who can settle more easily and relax because that is the expectation that’s been set.

Other things I do in this department include place training, kennel and crate training, and being really mindful NOT to always engage with the dog when they’ve approached you during “down time” (assuming needs have been met!!).

Just because a dog is high energy and/or high drive, does not mean they have to be manic 24/7. It’s okay to expect them to be able to chill too, provided you are meeting their needs throughout the week.