Why Chilling On The Mat Is Better Than Just Chilling

Unless you’re craving 24/7 action, which isn’t healthy for a dog and probably also not for you, life with a canine who settles at times is a lot more pleasurable.
There are two options:
Either you acquire a hardwired couch potato, and good luck with that because even if you expect a certain breed to be low-key, not every individual is and especially not when young, or you could teach a settle on the mat which works with every dog.

True, settling doesn’t necessitate a mat. Most dogs are very capable of finding a cozy spot when they feel like chilling out, but incorporating a mat has a whole bunch of advantages:

It becomes a visual and tactile cue for your dog to settle, and once it is you can transport it to different rooms in your home and indicate where you’d like her to slouch.
It helps when company comes. We all know what usually happens when the bell rings or there is a knock on the door: If the dog loves people, she gets excited, and if she doesn’t, she gets anxious. Either way, she barks, charges the door, and jumps because she is aroused, and because she doesn’t know what else to do. The mat could become the targeted spot you direct her to.
You can take the mat with you when you’re away from home. Many dogs are nervous in a new environment because they don’t know how their world works there, and the mat can anchor the pooch, like a security blanket.
That includes the training facility, where the mat can be your dog’s safe retreat, a spot you send her to when you are not actively working. Or it could make a specific starting point clearer for a dog, help her to learn the place from where the next activity begins. 
You can put a mat on the couch or bed to induce your dog to stay on her end, which means your guests clothes won’t be covered with hair, and you might have a more restful sleep.

A cautionary word: What you are aiming for is that the mat becomes an  important “my space” association, but with that the dog might also defend it against others. I am okay with that. My dogs are allowed to give “buzz off” signals that are appropriate – a growl for example. It is a different story when a dog overreacts and attacks a retreating dog, or lacks inhibition and there is a risk of a bite. In that case, there is a bigger issue at paw, and I advice you consult with an experienced and force free behavior specialist.
With most dogs, though, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. 
Here is how you can convince your dog that settling on the mat is a wonderful thing. 

If you like shaping, present your dog with a new and comfy mat, and mark and reward when she shows interest in it. Once she deliberately targets the mat to score a treat, stop reinforcing that and wait until she finds a new mat behavior, for example puts a paw on it. When she does that deliberately, stop reinforcing until two paws are on it – four – she sits – she lies. Keep the loot coming as long as she is on the mat, and stop when she leaves.
If you’re like me and shaping is not entirely your thing, place a mat beside you when you read, work on the computer, or watch TV. Don’t prompt, but whenever she settles on it, drop treats – fairly frequently in the beginning, or provide a yummy filled Kong, or a chewy/bone. Food is better than a toy because you want your dog to settle, not move around, but a toy to rip up can also work, just not one she rolls around and then chases.

I’ll let you in how cooking dinner and mealtimes play out in our house: I invite the dogs to join us with the come command if they’re in another room (which rarely happens), or with let’s go if they are near me (this is where you typically find my dogs). Dogs are very keen on human food, which means I get 100% compliance, so why would I want to miss such a great opportunity to practice recall or having my dog walk with me. 
The mat is placed approximately 6 feet from where we are, and if I have a rookie learner I’ll tether her to a piece of furniture or the bannister to set her up for success.
Whenever the dog reclines on the mat, I toss a piece of exactly what almost every dog wants: human food. With the rookie, tidbits land fairly frequently on the mat, but in time I can prepare a whole meal or finish dinner before I share some of my food.
A more alpha-oriented trainer might warn you that a dog who is keen on your food is status seeking, and when you give it you'd elevate her status, but that’s just crap talk. It is the giver who controls the resources and hence has the power, not the recipient.
What really happens is that your dog is motivated by something you control, mentally connects with you, is calmly attentive, practices self-restraint because she waits on the mat, or completely relaxes around the distraction of food. All behaviors you want in other aspects of your life together. 
Plus, including your dog into your social life strengthens your relationship. Food sharing is bonding, and you reinforce the mat settle effectively, which strengthens that behavior, which means your dog will offer it more reliably, relaxingly, repeatedly, and at one point you won't have to tether her any longer.
There is another benefit: Whenever you let a dog observe people doing stuff, in our house we call it supervising, you provide satisfying and tiring mental stimulation; enrichment without having to invest extra time – nowadays often in short supply.
And, settling on the mat around food sets the stage for the dog to learn to also settle when there are other distractions, for example when someone is at your door or entering your home. In that case, provide prolonged entertainment – the Kong, or chewy, or bone, and temporarily return to the tether.

Initially, when you begin mat training, make it a limited resource, which means  remove it when the session is over. That way you raise motivation, and your dog will be über-happy whenever you bring it out again and ready to work with you.
In that sense, release your dog, with a specific verbal cue like all-done or finished when she still wants to be on the mat.
Later on, you can leave it out, because your goal is that it becomes both a spot your dog chooses to go to when she wants to chill, and a place you can purposely direct her to.
With the former, your dog is allowed to self-release, but whenever you send her to the mat, you are also the one who releases her, either with your general cue, or a specific one when you want her to do a certain action next.

What position should the dog be in? To me, and most owners, it doesn’t really matter if the dog sits, lies or stands on the mat. She can choose whatever is comfortable, and I name the behavior, the being on the mat, settle. Naturally, with dogs authentic relaxation means they’re stretched out, so that is the position she’ll likely be in.
However, if you also use the mat as a momentary target point, a certain position is likely important and then do use your precise corresponding command for sit, down or stand.

Like with all training, the rules of adding duration, distance and distractions, one at a time and gradually raising the bar, apply here too.
Especially getting a solid mat stay in connection with the entrance door and people’s comings and goings can be a bit more complex than providing a mat and a filled Kong: You have to find the right motivator, very incrementally increase distractions, even build up to a frozen Kong to prevent that the dog becomes discouraged because getting the loot out is too difficult.
I will talk about all that in future posts, but your friendly behavior consultant can also help you with your and your dog’s individual abilities and challenges.

Leave-it: What It Means And Troubleshooting

In my last post I discussed how to teach a dog to leave and walk away from something that he wanted to pursue. 
The natural question is if leave, categorically, means he never gets access, or if  means: Leave till further notice. 

Opinions are split, as usual, but here is how I apply the command:
If there is a real risk that a dog will harm a person or animal, then leave has to mean access denied. Period. With absolute certainty, and you better be a darn good manager so that your dog, indeed, doesn’t get what he wants during the training phase. 
For all others, though, such finality limits the command’s use. Sometimes, something or someone can become available after a leave cue, after I had a closer look, and I want the flexibility to change my mind. 
For example, there could be dog in the distance I don’t recognize at first and want my dog to leave, but as he comes closer I see that it’s one she played with before. 
Or there could be a stranger my dog wants to greet, but I need to ensure first that the person is okay with that. 
Squirrels are initial leave-its, but when I see that it is safe for squirrel and dog, I allow mine to chase. 
For me, having a reliable leave with the liberty to change my mind is the best of both worlds: It allows my dogs to have fun and socialize – something I take great joy in, but it is on my terms, not theirs. 
It keeps them out of trouble, they practice self-control, and it strengthens our bond because they understand that access to things they want happen through me. 

If your goal is the same, then, during the training phase, periodically let your dog have what he originally wanted and you initially told him to leave, but make sure that he waits for a release cue. I use get, my universal signal for: access granted. 
And don’t let the dog get the original item every time, or he’ll expect that and becomes frustrated if, one time, he can’t have it. Realistically, a dog can’t always get what he wants. No matter how friendly yours is, not every person likes dogs – I know, hard to believe but true – and not every dog wants yours in his space. 
So, don’t be so predictable: Sometimes, you offer something else, sometimes he gets that plus what he originally wanted, and sometimes he only gets what he originally wanted. Not only do you train against frustration, but you also raise your dog’s attention to you. 

Leave works! It is, in my opinion, one of the fundamental commands and I teach it to almost every dog I meet. It is generally easy to teach, but periodically I encounter a dog where it’s less straightforward. Here are a few common hurdles and how to solve them:

• The dog is not interested in what you toss! Up the ante and use a higher valued treat, and/or play games with the food first. 
• The opposite: The dog is so hyper-motivated by what you tossed that he cannot shift his focus. Lower the value. And feed your dog. Heck, if an animal has to jump through hoops for every piece of food, food becomes a really big deal and all he can think about. If your dog still can’t do it, you can name-prompt to give him a clue what you are after. I’d rather wait a dog out and let him find the behavior, but some dogs really do need the initial extra help. 
• The dog is too scared to go for the tossed treat. That is typical fallout from punitive training methods. Because he experienced in the past that acting  spontaneously it could hurt, he becomes too inhibited to offer behaviors, is stressed by the treat on the ground, and shuts down. In that case, you need to build the dog’s confidence first: Play, reinforce offered behaviors, and of course don’t use anything aversive. 
• You are raising criteria too fast. Which means you take it to the next level before you mastered the present one. Don’t go from kibble to a hambone, or your dog might offer you a quick glimpse as a trick, but won’t be committed to leave the thing for good and walk away from it. Remember, it is commitment you want, so raise the bar gradually - and when you ask your dog to leave something he really wants, the reward has got to be similar to what he wanted to do away from you. If it was to chase a squirrel, don’t shove a cookie in his mouth, but play chase. If he wanted to play with a dog, then play with a toy or run with your dog. 

The goal is that your dog will want to hear you say the cue. Then, don’t be surprised if he puts his own spin on it and uses it to solicit for rewards and interaction. Not kidding, whenever Davie and Will thought I was especially boring on a walk, they would hang the schnoz into something, typically scat or deer poop, and look at me a split second later, waiting for the leave command they enthusiastically and instantly heeded when it came. There is no other explanation. They weren’t collecting intelligence, they wanted some fun with me, and prompted it by trying to get me to say leave. 
If your dog does that, it’s okay. He is not dominantly controlling you, he is thinking – and leaving whatever it is he shouldn’t have. Exactly what you want. Be proud and play along.