Teaching your dog to be calm on the lead

Do you want your dog to lie down and relax when you're out in different environments, like a café, park, or the beach? You can start teaching your dog this on your walks.

How to reward your dog for relaxing

Lassie’s dog trainer Lina Lundin shows you how to teach your dog to relax on your walks. As soon as you find a park bench, you can simply sit there and wait for your dog to settle down. The good thing is that your dog will then be rewarded when you continue your walk. This gives you plenty of opportunities to practise this in different environments.

Tips for when things don't go to plan

1. My dog won't relax and never lies down

Dogs are all different and learn at different speeds. It can take a while for some dogs to settle in new places. You can try helping your dog by giving them a good chew to relax with. But remember to only move on once your dog is actually calm – which can look different for different individuals and at different stages. Perhaps you’ll start by being happy if your dog simply stands and looks at you for a short while before you move on. You can then gradually increase your criteria for what counts as being calm.

2. My dog reacts to things in his environment

If your dog reacts easily to things in their environment, you can try this exercise. However, as soon as you notice something potentially triggering on your walk, you can switch to doing ‘look at that’ training. For dogs that react to a lot in their environment, it’s important to be able to switch strategies to help them in the best way. If you find that the dog can cope with the trigger when using ‘look at that’ training, you can proceed with that, either while still at the park bench or while walking, depending on what level you and your dog are at. If you feel the situation will be too much for your dog, remove them from it as calmly and quickly as possible.