Reactive Dog Recovery Program

Week 3 – Part 2
(Class Information)

Capturing Calmness
Calmness isn’t natural for all dogs, especially reactive dogs. By reinforcing your
dog for being calm, your dog will start to choose calmer behaviours in the future
and actually enjoy being calm.

To capture and reinforce calmness:

o Surprise dog with treat when she is laying down calmly on her own
and not thinking about treats

o Walk up to her when she is laying down calmly and simply pet her,
then surprise her with a treat

o Don’t give verbal clicker “Yes” as this will only make the dog think
he is being rewarded for thinking about the food as she’s chewing
instead of her being calm

o Your dog will be exited after receiving the treat so show her you
don’t have any more treats

o Try again later when she is laying down calmly on her own and not
thinking about treats

Default Settle:

o Have your dog on leash beside you while you are sitting on a chair
or sofa, or whatever, in a low distraction, trigger-free room in your
house

o Have treats ready

o Keep leash short so she can’t go to something more exciting

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o Simply ignore your dog while she is sitting beside you. Do not cue
your dog to do anything

o As soon as she lays down and calmly settles on her own at your
feet, put a few treats on the floor between her paws for her to eat

o If she looks up at you after eating treats, simply ignore her again

o When she stops looking at you and is still laying down at your feet
in a calm and settled manner, put a few more treats between her
paws for her to eat

o Repeat steps, but slowly increase the duration that she is laying
down and settled at your feet before you put treats down for her
again. This way she learns to remain settled for longer periods of
time without being cued

o Next try handling her by giving her pets, playing with her ears,
gently tugging on her tail

o If she remains laying down and settled, say, “Yes” and reward her
with a treat

o Try walking away for a couple of steps. Do not cue her to stay.
Once she stays laying down and settled with you away from her,
say, “Yes” and go back to her to give her treats

o If your dog decides to get up anytime during any of the steps, do

not say anything. Simply wait for her to choose to lay down again
and settle on her own

o When she does, put a few treats between her paws for her to eat

o When she is reliable, add distractions such as someone in your

house sitting on sofa beside you.

o When your dog stays laying down and settled, put a few treats
between her paws for her to eat

o If your dog decides to get up when the distraction appears. Simply

wait for her to choose to lay down again and settle on her own so
you can reward her with a few treats

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o Once she is reliable, try different rooms in your house. Then the
back yard. Then the front yard. On the sidewalk in front of your
house. In front of your neighbour’s house. In your neighbour’s
yard, etc.

o When outside, ensure there is low distraction and no triggers until

she is reliably desensitized and counter conditioned to not react
when she is in presence of her triggers