Creating Calmness

Everyone has seen THAT dog out and about.

The one that is so calm and chill when there are kids, dogs or noises all around them. We all look on with envy and think “WOW, they sure got lucky with their dog”. But in reality they probably worked with their dog to teach him/her how to be calm.

YES! you can teach a dog to be calm! Isn’t that so cool.

We have discussed your dog’s bucket in a previous blog post ( if you missed it head back to the first post for more bucket information) and now we will talk about the benefits of teaching calmness in relation to the bucket.

Teaching your dog to have calm default behaviours, a calm existence, a generally calm way of being, keeps that bucket empty as a matter of course.

Then, when an exciting, arousing or challenging event happens, the bucket doesn’t overflow; it tops up a bit and then, because your dog’s brain knows how to be calm it empties right back down again. And because your dog has some great go to calm behaviours, they recover much more quickly when the inevitable exciting, arousing or worrying things happen in their life.

I tell my clients that one of the best ways to create a solid bond with your dog and be able to REALLY read their body language is to start by teaching calmness.

This can be a really fun way to grow your dogs skills and your bond!

Calming games help your dog to use their brain to figure out what we are asking of them. We can also learn if they are a “thinker dog” or a “doer dog” and adjust to their needs to help them succeed. One of my favorite parts of games based dog training is to see your dog blossom when they start to use their brain and “ace” the games we are playing with them. They are so proud of themselves and they start to grow their confidence in their decision making and interactions.

There are also ways to teach calm that aren’t so involved. I like to call them calming zones:

• entertainment zone

• calmness capture zone

• the chill zone

  
  Each of the three zones provide their own unique opportunity to grow calmness. Being able to grow calmness in any situation will help your dog to gain the confidence to make smart decisions, aid with thinking while excited, grow disengagement and also help to empty your dogs bucket after exciting, scary or difficult events.

  With all the ways to grow calmness you will be able to show your dog that being calm, cool and collected is where they feel the best, have the least amount of overflowing buckets and can really use their brain to make smarter decisions.

  If you are interested in finding out more about games based training and growing calmness in your crazy best fur-friend then don’t wait to schedule your free phone consultation today.