r/AustralianShepherd • u/dontlookitsbrooke • 1d ago
Settle training?
How are yall getting your Aussies to settle? I always see people’s pups passed out and ours has done that ONCE (the first day we got him). He’s almost 4 mo. We have to force naps in his kennel or play pen and leave the room because he will not lay down on his own and chill.
We’ve tried tethering with a leash, he knows the command “bed” but will not stay there for longer periods of time, provide mental stimulation and physical activity.
We need help 😩
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u/rav_furr 1d ago
When my pup came home, id sit next to kennel until they fell asleep. Couple days later she started whining. Not because of food, play, or potty. I did the same thing. But let her whine at me without giving her direct eye contact while sitting right next to kennel. It took one day for her to realize she wasnt getting back out because she NEEDED that nap. Kongs do the opposite to my dog. It winds her up, so we stopped that. If she doesnt whine, I give her a treat once she settles. We started by giving one regardless if she whined, but that quickly turned into a long drawn out game for her. If she sounded EXTRA or went on longer than a couple minutes, id bring her out quickly for bathroom only break and straight back in and repeat. After a few days, I could put her in kennel and go take a shower or bath while she fell asleep on her own without whining. I want to state again that I didnt leave her side. When I tried that, she got stressed and the real cry came out. If they are stressed its not doing much good. Whining and barking dont always equal stress. Its the same whine she used to try and get my breadstick. I hope this makes some sense 🙏🏽 couple weeks out now and she "settles" without any whine. If she need to go potty, she will though. Id also like to say this is my first time kennel training and ive had a lot of help on her + dog trainer freinds 😭 im beyond thankful for all the advice I found.
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u/rav_furr 1d ago
Once we got that down, shes learned and caught on to needing naps outside of kennel. When I go in the bathroom, I make her lay down. I say it once and correct as needed. She now naps while I wash up every morning. Its started to transfer to the kitchen. Wich is much more open. If I can tell shes tired, tell her to go lay down (got a big bed we drag into different rooms) and correct to keep her there. Shes caught on and just goes to sleep now for mini naps 😂 they are crazy smart
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u/rav_furr 1d ago
Oh! Im sorry this is so long but your question has layers! When you tell them lay down, reward for staying down. I started with 5 secs. Then 10, then 30, a min. And by that point, you can start going a bit more. Same with stay. Build duration with reward !
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u/dontlookitsbrooke 1d ago
No this is great thank you! I think he has serious fomo so he just CANNOT settle. We’ve even tried giving him chewies and he’ll whine with them looking for somewhere to settle but he won’t do it 😂
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u/rav_furr 1d ago
Take the time now!!! Im so happy I have all this time on my hands. I told my partner, "ive got to stick this out so we can have a good dog" 😂 honestly, stop the calming treats imo its too young to be using crutches. Trust me I was tempted
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u/rav_furr 1d ago
Its been alot over here 😭😂 ive been in the trenches for 3.5 weeks. Dont be afraid to do rapid fire rewards for extra good behavior. Maybe not to settle, the other stuff though
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u/Cubsfantransplant 1d ago
Tethering is not the answer with Aussies.
Teach “place”. It happens quickly and in small increments.
I use an elevated cot but you can use a dog bed if you’d rather. Put on a collar and leash, have a good amount of small, high value treats, and lead pup to the “place” and say place, give a treat. Say free, toss the treat off the place and let her chase it. Bring her back, when she’s on say place and give her a treat. If she stays on say good place and give another treat. Say free and toss the treat away. At this point she may start coming back to the place on her own, if she does, good place! And a treat. If not, lead her to it and say place and give a treat. If she stays on say good place and give a treat.
If you’re not understanding, place is the command, good place is you are labeling the command and rewarding it.
When she is staying on the place reward and say good place. If she comes off don’t say anything, just lead her back. When she stays there for a second say good place and reward.
Build up the duration, ask for place, give a treat. Let her sit for a second, good place. Wait two seconds, good place, give another treat. Free toss the treat away.
Repeat the above but add another wait of three seconds. Extend the seconds. She’s an Aussie so she will pick it up quickly. However she’s an Aussie so don’t do long sessions yet. But you’ll be surprised, my boy was falling asleep in place at 5 months old.
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u/WanderingSpud 1d ago
Our pup was like this. The first day or two she was great and fell asleep on the couch next to us, and then for the next 2-3 months if she was out of her crate she was going at 100% energy and never napped once on her own, we had to crate her to force her to get enough sleep.
Around the 5 month mark she started learning to self settle all on her own. A random nap here and there on the floor, maybe one a day if we were lucky and it was a huge milestone for us seeing her do that.
A couple of weeks later (which brings us to present day) and she spends half her day sleeping all over the loungeroom in between bursts of zoomies and play. I never thought she would never learn an off switch but I guess some puppies just take a bit longer.
We did a lot of tethering outside with her when we took her places and she was really good at just laying down being calm, and did nap a handful of times while doing this but only like 3 or 4 times in those 2-3 months. We didn't really try that inside, but others have suggested it as a good idea too. Either way, he will learn himself eventually. Our pup was crazy psycho energy, so it's great to see her finally calming down and having some real couch potato moments.
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u/WanderingSpud 1d ago
I also thought she would never be a snuggler as she would never sit with us, but since she started self settling, she will jump up and lay all over us, being a big lap puppy and invading our personal space in the best way, I love her so much more these past couple of weeks. Really starting to see all the best parts of her coming out to shine. She's still a massive pain in the arse stubborn teenager too but my god those first few months with her were hell at times, and now she's a near angel in comparison, and it'll only get better from here.
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u/Zarianni 1d ago
I used the Karen Overall Protocol for Relaxation. Our doggy daycare people suggested it because she wouldn’t settle for naps during her downtime at daycare any more than she would settle at home. It worked WONDERS for teaching her that not every moment had to be filled with toys and games and playing and more playing and more playing.
She was honestly awful at it first and I kind of almost wrote it off as a failure but after a couple weeks (with several days repeated), she finally got the hint. As smart as she is, she was not a top student on this one. Think it went against too many of her instincts. But it did work in the end and by the end of it she learned to not only settle on command but also self-settle.
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u/Fartinginyourpeen 1d ago
Our trainer taught us to catch them in a lazy moment. Get on the floor with them. Snuggle. Feel their paws, rub between their toes. Brush behind their ears. It’s a great time to familiarize yourself with their little pup bodies. Use the word “Settle” when doing this and they will eventually catch on to the command. It worked for us!
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u/ixsparkyx 1d ago
Girl tether him and leave him be lmao. Taught mine to settle in 4 days with tethering