Teach Your Dog The "Settle" Command

The settle exercise calls for the dog to lie down on the cue word and/or signal. It’s easily taught and helps in teaching the dog to stay, as well as helping to establish your leadership without harshness.

The settle does not have an ending point. When you give the cue for a stay, you have the responsibility of monitoring that the dog holds position, and of releasing the dog at the end of the period you designate for the dog to stay. [Read Stay Training.]

With a settle, you have the dog lie down, but the dog is allowed to leave the position as long as the dog doesn’t go into an activity unacceptable to you. If so, you simply replace the dog into the settle. Teaching the Settle

To start the settle, you need to get the dog into a down position. There are different ways to do this, depending on your dog’s temperament, any behavior problems, and prior training.

If the dog is not entirely safe to freely handle, sometimes it can work to use the leash. This depends on what the dog is wearing attached to the leash. A collar that doesn’t tighten when you pull the leash is best.

The method is a waiting game. You place a foot on the leash gently, and pull the leash against the foot until it is just tight enough that the dog has to duck the head a bit. Then you wait. Eventually, the dog will lie down, and you can say “Good settle.” Say it softly, because you don’t want to excite the dog into getting up.

For a dog you can safely handle who does not know to lie down on cue, gently help the dog into a down while saying “Settle.” One way of doing this when the dog is easy to handle is to press gently down and back on the top of the shoulders. Dogs don’t typically drop straight down, but rather the shoulders move backward, and this movement with your hand helps the dog’s body respond.

If the dog isn’t inclined to relax with your touch, you can gently lift or pull the front legs forward as you place pressure on the hips. A disadvantage here comes when a dog has a sore hip, knee or something else in the rear, which is all too common. The gentle hand on the shoulders avoids pressure to the rear.

Note that whether using the leash or your hands, this is to be done gently and without rushing the dog. We’re patterning the dog to relax into the settle. We want there to be nothing threatening or even arousing about it. So we teach it in an extremely calm and gentle manner. It can be helpful to start the training on the same level as the dog, perhaps sitting on the floor.

If your dog already knows a cue for lying down, use that to get the dog into the position. In the typical scenario of the trained dog who knows both a word cue and a signal for down, give the down signal, but say “Settle” instead of saying “Down.” This will help you and your dog clearly distinguish between a down-stay and a settle, whether you train the down-stay for good manners or for competitive events.

Stay next to your dog. Settle means to lie down in place. Use this cue when you are eating and the dog begs for food. Use it when the dog bothers you by nudging repeatedly with a nose or with a toy for you to throw. Use it when guests arrive (unless your dog requires more help with control for that much excitement). You can even use it if the dog tries humping a human.

Settle does not mean the dog has to stay. If the dog leaves the settle and goes into a behavior you don’t like, put the dog back into a settle. If the dog leaves the settle and does something that is fine with you--such as go find a toy and play with it--let the dog remain out of the settle. Behavior Modification

In the settle, dogs get bored. They may go to sleep, they may chew toys or eat treats you provide, but in general a dog would prefer not having to go into the settle. It’s not a punishment, but it’s not fun.

You can use this boredom to change behaviors in your dog. For example, the dog comes and sticks a nose too close when you’re eating. You say “Settle” and place a hand over the dog’s shoulders or give a hand signal to get the dog to lie down. If the dog gets up and puts the nose back into your business, you simply repeat—calmly, not getting cranky with the dog.

Typically a dog may try the undesired behavior again. Soon the dog learns trying that behavior isn’t working because you just keep repeating the settle every single time. The dog then tries something else--sooner or later something you like--such as chewing a toy. Softly praise this behavior, but not in an excited way that might encourage the dog to come back and pester you again!

When the undesired behavior always results in you requiring a settle, the dog will eventually stop doing that undesired behavior. Dogs don’t continue behaviors that do not work. Watch for the dog thinking of doing the behavior and choosing to do something else instead, and praise for that choice. This will strengthen it. Go Settle

If you don’t want the dog to lie at your feet, you’ll need to train an alternative location. Say “Go settle” and gently lead the dog to a place away from you that will be comfortable for the dog. You can use a specific dog bed or other soft spot. You can also use a variety of places, eventually letting the dog choose.

At that place, assist or cue the dog into a down position. You’ll get more exercise teaching “go settle” than “settle,” because it requires that you get up from your seat and guide the dog there until the dog reaches the point of going without your aid.

The number of repetitions required will vary with the individual dog, but you must remain ready, forever, to get up and escort the dog anytime you say “Go settle.” Whenever you cue this behavior and the dog doesn’t do it—with or without you escorting the dog—the training will weaken. You must always follow through on a cue, or it will lose its meaning.

The settle at your feet requires little training time apart from real life. Once the dog knows how to lie down on cue, the training will happen when the dog is being pesky. The settle will enable you stop the peskiness, and will save time over other methods. That is, if you have the dog settle at your feet.

Having the dog go settle means you getting up and walk across the room, a lot more work for you! When you’re eating dinner or reading a book, getting up and walking across the room may feel like an interruption to your activity. You might want to teach a settle at your feet, and then decide if it’s worth your effort to teach the go settle. Far-Reaching Benefits

The settle is an example of a trained skill that helps your dog develop more composure. Composure means a dog can relax in the house without being exhausted or crated. It helps a dog cope with extraordinary situations, too, such as recovery from an injury or travel.

As long as you keep the training and handling for the settle gentle, it will be healthy for your dog mentally, emotionally and physically. The dog will be easily shaped toward behaviors that work for you and away from behaviors that don’t. The dog will feel calmer hanging out in the house.

A dog not obsessed with wild exercise experiences less stress in daily life, improving the body’s ability to resist disease. It also reduces the risk of injuries from wild behavior. It helps the dog develop the habit of considering the results of actions.

You could call the settle a penalty, a particularly mild one if you have the dog do it at your feet. Sending a human child to her room means solitary confinement, but the dog settled at your feet is still with you. It’s a great way to change undesired behavior on the spot as well as over the long term.

It becomes quick and easy to simply settle the dog with your hand on the shoulders, not even pausing in chewing your food to say anything. Next thing you know, the dog is no longer trying to get the food, because that behavior never works. The dog gets so well behaved that you realize it’s been a long time since you needed to use a settle. Composure is a wonderful ability in a dog.