Raising a Well Mannered Mutt

By Sallie Palmer

The Settle Exercise

 Teaching your puppy to accept being touched by people is very important. Your puppy should allow you to touch and examine him from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail. By touching your dog you are teaching him manners and control that may save his life.

What you want to do is condition your puppy that you are allowed to examine his ears, eyes, teeth, paws and body without him protesting. As a good owner you will probably want to trim your dog’s toes nails, clean his ears, examine his mouth and check his body for injuries, foxtails, ticks, etc. You don’t want your dog to protest against you while you are doing this.

This exercise works best with young puppies under 16 weeks old. I don’t recommend this exercise for older dogs. There are other exercises more appropriate for older dogs.

This is how you start: Sit with your knees on the floor and your puppy in a sit position wedged between your knees facing away from you. Place one thumb through your puppy’s collar under his chin and lightly rest your open palm on his chest.

With your other hand gently examine your puppy’s ears and mouth. Gently cradle and hold your pup’s muzzle. Rub your pup’s head and neck. Talk to your dog in a soothing tone while doing this. Run your hand down to your puppy’s paws and pick them up examining each toe.

If at any point your puppy squirms, vocalizes in protest or tries to nip you, say “SETTLE” only once and apply slight pressure with the hand on the pup’s chest and freeze (this is a light pressure and not a squeeze.) Gently hold on until your pup relaxes and then continue with the activity. If the pup tries to bite, he should not be able to get to your hand that is on his chest. With your other hand you can cup the pup’s chin, tilt it back towards you and blow in his face. This will startle your pup for a second or two but usually make them calm down right away. Once the pup has relaxed, it is important that you praise him and talk to him in a soothing voice again.

Next you want to place the puppy on his side and gently examine his body. This is not an Alpha Rollover. It is merely placing the puppy on his side so you can examine the rest of his body. Gently place one hand at his neck to help keep him in place. If he protests, say “SETTLE” and gently restrain him until he relaxes. If your puppy sighs, that’s a great sign that he is relaxing. Make sure your attitude is not one of frustration or resentment. It is very important that you have an attitude that conveys trust and confidence. Your puppy is very sensitive to your moods. Be very patient while doing this exercise.

Most dogs enjoy this. This activity is basically a doggie massage. There is however those dogs that will resist this exercise at first and through repetition will learn to tolerate the exercise. It is for the safety of your puppy that they learn to accept this gentle touching. Your veterinarian will appreciate you teaching your puppy to settle on command.

Watch your puppy for these signs: Fear and anxiety, Tensing and stiffening, Pupils size increasing, seeing the whites around the eyes increase, struggling, crying and obvious panic.

Relaxation…Eyes are relaxed, muscles are relaxed the dog feels floppy, puppy makes a deep sigh and falls asleep.

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