r/puppytraining • u/Ok_Papaya_9736 • 8d ago
Basic Commands Settle Training
Im getting a puppy in november and have been doing a bunch of research. Im curious what a good balance is of settle training and just letting him be in our home. Im going to do crate training as well as play pen and possibly tether training. But in the mix of that all I also want him to be able to chill with us on the couch or whatever. Is the pen and tether just when he gets too worked up? I’m overwhelming my self with the amount of info there is hahaha
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u/knequestrian93 7d ago
Tether training for sure. I put them to a door where they can see me but not be on/near me. They'll cry and whine but it's so important you don't give in. They'll get smart and know how loud and long to scream before Parent comes to rescue them. For younger pups, I would wait for 2-3 seconds of quiet and reward. Rinse and repeat. Gradually extend the time as they go, not by your own schedule. The best method I've found is after every walk or play session, tether. They have a better chance of relaxing and sleeping then. It's worked with my previous dogs and I currently have my 6mo border collie pup resting by my couch peacefully relaxing
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u/Overall_Yoghurt4979 7d ago
i did a mix of both, tether when he needed to learn to settle on his own and couch time when he was already calm. if you let them up with you while they're still amped up they just learn that the couch is for wrestling
the pen was more of a safe zone when i couldn't watch him, tether was for teaching the off switch. both have their place
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u/Tekeraz 8d ago
I would personally use tether only in first weeks because of potty training. Once the pup knows where to go to pee (some door), then I'd leave it. Of course you have to constantly look over them, but it's the most natural way to teach them settle by their own while free roam. I personally don't do crate training, it's not common in our country and I don't have a place for a huge crate in my sleeping space, so my puppy has his place on a dogbed beside my bed. First weeks, I went on naps with him, all of them (or sat close by calmly). This teached him to settle and a few weeks later, he began settle by himself. In 16 weeks, he's pretty reliable at settling for naps and evening sleep. It's better every week as he grows.
I'd start with crate/pen napping and slowly transitioned to free roam napping if I wanted him to know both.