If we were asked to name just one exercise that we love teaching at CLEAR Dog Training, it would have to be our settle exercise. Teaching your dog to relax isn’t just about having a calmer dog at home—it gives your dog a valuable life skill they can use wherever life takes them.

Over the past 25 years, our settle exercise has helped thousands of Brisbane dog owners enjoy calmer, happier lives with their dogs. It’s wonderfully simple, remarkably effective and, in our experience, one of the most valuable life skills a dog can learn.

Recently we visited a client in Hamilton to help train her third puppy. During the session she told us that one of the things she loved most about her previous dog was its ability to settle quietly whenever she met friends for coffee. Wherever they went, people would comment on how relaxed and well behaved the dog was.

That didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of patiently teaching the settle exercise until relaxing became second nature.

Dogs need to learn how to relax

Most owners spend a great deal of time teaching sits, drops, recalls, loose lead walking and other useful skills. They’re all important.

But one lesson is often forgotten—how to simply relax.

Just as children sometimes need help learning to wind down, many dogs also need to learn that they don’t have to be constantly moving, playing or looking for excitement. Relaxation is a skill and, like every other skill, it can be taught.

Our settle exercise

The aim of this exercise isn’t to teach your dog another command. It’s to teach them that doing absolutely nothing can be rewarding.

To begin with, choose a time of day when your dog is already reasonably settled. We often joke that you want them in “cocktail by the pool” mode, not “ballistic missile” mode. If your dog has just come home from the dog park bursting with excitement, visitors have arrived or they’re racing around the house, wait until they’re calmer before beginning.

Sit quietly with your dog on lead beside you and gently rest one foot on the lead so they can’t wander around the room. Then simply wait.

Resist the temptation to fill the silence. Don’t ask for a sit or a drop, don’t chatter to your dog and don’t try to entertain them. Let your dog work things out for themselves.

At first your dog may simply pause for a few moments. Quietly place a treat between their front paws. Before long they may choose to sit and, eventually, most dogs discover that lying down is even more comfortable. Each time they make one of these calm choices themselves, quietly place another treat between their front paws.

Don’t rush the cue

Notice that we haven’t asked for any of these behaviours and, just as importantly, we haven’t lured the dog into position with a treat.

This is one of those exercises where we want the dog to work things out for themselves. By allowing them to discover that sitting quietly and eventually lying down brings rewards, the behaviour becomes their own idea rather than something we’ve physically guided them into doing.

As your dog begins choosing to lie down more consistently, that’s the time to introduce a cue if you’d like one. As you see your dog beginning to lower into the drop, quietly say a word such as “settle” or “chill”. Over repeated sessions, your dog will begin to associate that word with the behaviour.

The timing is important. Don’t start repeating “settle” from the beginning in the hope your dog will understand it. At that stage the word has no meaning. By waiting until your dog is already beginning to perform the behaviour before adding the cue, you’re giving the word a clear meaning, making it much easier for your dog to understand and respond to later.

Once your dog is lying comfortably, continue to reward them occasionally for remaining relaxed. The treats should arrive quietly and unpredictably while your dog is calmly watching the world go by. We’re not trying to create a dog that stares intently at us waiting for the next reward. In fact, we love it when dogs begin looking around, taking in their surroundings and simply relaxing. That’s exactly what we’re rewarding.

In other words, we’re paying the dog to chill.

Some owners also like to use a small mat as part of the exercise, making it similar to place training. We think that’s an excellent way to introduce the concept, but don’t become dependent on the mat. The goal is for your dog to settle anywhere—at a café, in the park, at a friend’s house or while you’re chatting to a neighbour—whether you have a mat with you or not.

Take it on the road

Once your dog understands the exercise at home, gradually begin practising in other locations. A quiet park, a friend’s house, a café, outside the local shops or while watching the children play sport are all excellent places to continue building the skill.

Over time your dog learns that not every outing is about excitement. Sometimes it’s perfectly okay to simply lie quietly beside you, watch the world go by and enjoy being part of everyday life.
That’s why we love this exercise so much. It doesn’t require expensive equipment, it doesn’t rely on constant commands and, once your dog truly understands it, it can transform everyday life together.

One of the greatest gifts you can give your dog

Teaching a dog to relax may never earn a ribbon or a title, but it can make an enormous difference to everyday life.

Dogs that know how to switch off often cope better with busy environments, make better decisions and are simply easier to live with. Exercise, enrichment and training remain incredibly important, but so does balance.

After 25 years of helping Brisbane dog owners, our settle exercise remains one of the first things we teach because it gives dogs a skill they’ll use every day of their lives.
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give our dogs isn’t another exciting activity. It’s teaching them how to simply relax.