Brin the teenager 2/2025

Have you ever had one of those days when you did loads of training and activities with your puppy and you were so proud of how they behaved, then, in the evening all you want is for them to settle and go to sleep, and they won’t!  

Last night knowing Brin had done loads all day, 3 good walks including a lovely long run in the forest during the day, some training in the morning and ball searches before tea, I found myself frustrated that he couldn’t settle in the evening like my other dogs. He was pacing round the room, jumping on me, Sonic and Logi in turn. Both of his older brothers had enough and told him so!  

I found myself saying “will you just settle down” and realised that was not what he needed. It’s at time like this I fully empathise with my clients, the last thing I wanted to do was some training but impulse control doesn’t train itself!  

After a short session where Brin struggled to concentrate because he was so tired I decided that it was time to put him to bed in his crate. As soon as the door closed Brin lay down and went to sleep. Sometimes if your pup looks like he is still full of beans despite a busy day you might be surprised learn he’s behaving like this because he is actually overtired and doesn’t know how to handle this sensation. Just doing some settle training may solve the problem, showing him what to do without actually telling him what to do. Or in the more extreme case, putting him away for a while.

I love the settle exercise as it teaches your dog to control himself and find reward by working through his own thought process without you having to manage his behaviour. Then every time your dog just lies down for himself you can reward that behaviour for an effective additional lesson. Very quickly your puppy will realise that he gets rewarded as much for settling quietly as he might do for other behaviours, which is a win for everyone. His reward can be anything from a treat to just verbally acknowledging him and praising him, it’s just so important that we remember to praise behaviour that we want instead of just leaving them because they have finally laid down.