From Chaos to Calm

Teaching Your Dog to Self-Settle Like a Pro

Picture this: the doorbell rings, and instead of your dog launching into full-scale pandemonium, they acknowledge the visitor with a brief look, maybe a single woof, then calmly settle onto their favorite spot. Dream scenario? Not at all. It's completely achievable – but here's the catch: we have to be proactive, not reactive.

The Reality Check: Why Dogs Lose Their Minds

Let's be honest about what we're working with here. Some dogs are thrilled when visitors come calling – bouncing off the walls like furry pinballs. Others become afraid, slinking away or hiding behind your legs. And then there are the territorial ones, treating every delivery person like an invading army.

There are a variety of reasons you get the behavior response you get from your dog. Maybe we failed to prepare them properly as puppies. Maybe it's in their genetic material – some breeds are just wired to be more reactive. And let's not forget that barking and getting worked up at new things is actually reinforcing and species-appropriate behavior for dogs. It feels good to them, which is why they keep doing it.

But the bottom line is this: you have a dog behavior you'd like to change. I get it. So let's get you going in the right direction, shall we?

The Foundation: Understanding How Dogs Actually Learn

Teaching dogs what to do when people come over relies on understanding how dogs learn as a species. For humans to train dogs (sometimes rather clumsily), it requires a process. I like to tell my clients we need to go through the steps, and I've got a memorable acronym for you: A.R.F.

A is for Acquisition of the new skill. This is usually what dog trainers refer to as "shaping the behavior" – it's simply small approximations of our big goal behavior. Think of it like teaching a child to write their name. You don't expect perfect cursive on day one; you start with holding the crayon correctly.

R is for Repetitions. We need lots of repetitions. We are going to need to perform lots of repetitions. Got it? Some dogs need more than others, and really skilled people can be consistent with their approach in a way that really supports and speeds up learning for dogs. This isn't about drilling your dog into submission – it's about creating muscle memory and neural pathways that make the right choice automatic.

F is for Fluency. In behavior science terms, fluency essentially means accuracy. Can your dog give you the right behavioral response when you ask for it with low latency between asking and receiving? It's the difference between a dog who might lie down eventually versus one who drops into position the moment you give the cue.

A.R.F. – yeah, that's memorable, right?

Photo by Vitalii Khodzinskyi on Unsplash