October 9, 2025 • 11 mins
In this episode of the Puppy Training Podcast, Amy from BAXTER & Bella explores one of the most underrated—but life-changing—skills you can teach your dog: how to do nothing.
From understanding what “settling” really means to learning how to train calmness step-by-step, Amy breaks down the process of helping your dog relax on cue. You’ll hear practical tips for teaching your pup to rest calmly at your feet, wait patiently in real-life settings, and develop emotional balance in an often overstimulating world.
Plus, Amy shares common pitfalls to avoid, like accidentally rewarding excitement, expecting too much too soon, or turning “settle” into a correction rather than a cue for relaxation.
Whether you have a high-energy puppy or an easily overstimulated adult dog, this episode will help you create a calmer, happier home—one peaceful moment at a time.
🎧 Tune in and learn how the art of doing nothing can transform everything.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
On today's episode, we are talking about nothing.
Okay, not really, but kind of.
Teaching your dog to do nothingis actually a really valuable
skill.
Let's talk about it.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter and Fella, the online
puppy school.
Here, we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
(00:23):
experience raising a puppy.
From training tips to practicaltricks, all aimed at fostering a
happy, well-behaved dog whotruly feels like part of the
family.
So if you are ready to enjoy thejourney and strengthen the bond
with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey everybody, welcome to thepuppy training podcast.
(00:45):
I'm Amy Jensen, your host.
I am the owner of BaxterUmbella.
We do an online puppy schoolwhere we have an entire
curriculum of lessons, videos,uh help via our trainers.
I have amazing trainers on myteam that do one-on-one calls,
QAs, group QA calls, weekly, allsorts of things.
We want to help you besuccessful training your dog.
(01:06):
So today I actually want to talkabout teaching your dog to do
nothing.
Sometimes we get caught up inall of these exciting things
that we're going to teach ourdog to do, and we forget this
one.
But it's a big one because a lotof the day, I don't know about
you, but I'm busy.
I'm working, I'm making dinners,I'm helping my kids with
homework, I'm like all of thethings, right?
(01:26):
We're all busy people.
And I want to spend time with mydogs, absolutely, but there are
times when I have to do thingsthat don't involve them.
And then being able to donothing is valuable.
So I guess when I say nothing,we have to be careful because
they are technically doingsomething.
They're chilling, they'resleeping on the floor, they're
relaxing.
So they are kind of doingsomething, but not really,
(01:47):
right?
Okay, I don't want to confuseyou.
Let's get into some of thedetails on how you train your
dog to settle.
How do we get them just to laydown, chill out, relax?
They don't need to be stimulatedor exercised or moving to be
happy, right?
Okay, so what does it mean to donothing?
I don't mean we're ignoring themor expecting them to sit like a
(02:09):
statue either or hold adownstair for hours.
No, what I'm asking them to dois to manage themselves and
they're choosing to settle,they're choosing to relax and
regulate their own energy.
So think about it.
Our dogs are exposed to constantstimulation.
Doorbells, kids running throughthe house, the neighbors' dog
barking, or even just theexcitement of going for a walk
(02:31):
when we're out and about andthey get to sniff and smell all
of the good smells, right?
If we don't intentionally teachthem how to turn off, some dogs
don't magically do it on theirown.
A dog who can do nothing is onewho can rest calmly while you
work from home, chat with afriend, or sit at a park bench.
It's peace for both of you.
Now, why settling is a skill?
(02:53):
Just like recall or leashwalking, settling is a trained
behavior.
Puppies and adolescent dogsespecially need guidance to
learn how to slow down.
Their natural state is curious,busy, full of energy.
You can envision your dog doingthis, right?
Running around your house.
So if we never show them whatrelaxing looks like, they assume
(03:13):
being on all the time is thegoal.
Now, I will also insert thisright here.
There are different breeds whoare bred to do different things.
And some dogs naturally are moreactive all day long because of
their breeding.
Other dogs, they're happy justto lay around and settle all day
long because of their breeding.
So what we're talking abouttoday is how we can influence
(03:34):
the individual dog.
They're going to have differenttendencies based on their breed
and their personality within agiven litter, but we can
definitely influence each dog tolearn how to settle.
A well-trained settle createsemotional balance.
It teaches patience, helpsprevent overstimulation, and
reduces unwanted behaviors likethe barking, jumping, or
(03:57):
whining.
So here are a few tips for youon how to train a settle.
There are a few great ways toteach this skill.
Let's go over one of myfavorites, capturing calm.
Now, capturing means you see ithappen and you reward it.
First, we want to set up theright environment.
We want to start in a quiet, lowdistraction space with your dog
on a leash or in a small area.
(04:17):
And it's nice to have a comfybed or mat nearby so they have
options.
Do they want to lay on the coldtile?
Do they want to lay on the softmat, right?
So give them some options.
Have a good environment.
Again, low distraction.
We want to second wait for calmbehavior.
So I don't ask my dog for a sitor a down.
I'm just watching.
The moment my dog lies down,sighs, or even just kind of
(04:41):
shifts into a more relaxedposture, then I'm going to mark
and reward that.
So I'm going to use a calm yesor a click.
I don't want something thatexcites my dog.
So if that click is going tohave your dog pop right back up
or your high-pitched yes isgoing to excite them, then we
don't want to do thatnecessarily.
We want them to stay down.
So you can actually just give anice calm yes and then drop a
(05:03):
little food reward withoutexciting them.
The key here is to reward calmin calm ways.
Now I'm not dropping somethingthat's super exciting because I
don't want them to pop up to getmore super exciting food either.
So you could even just praisethem if that works for your dog,
but we want to reward in a calmway.
And then I'm going to start toname the behavior.
Once they start offering thismore easily, you can add a cue
(05:25):
like settle or relax.
And then not only can they do iton their own, but you could also
cue it if you need them to dothat, which is really nice to
have both.
So we add time and distractionsgradually once we're to this
point.
We work up to practicing while Italk on the phone or while I'm
cooking dinner or I just want tosit outside.
Over time, our dogs learn thatsettle means it's okay to rest
(05:47):
now.
It's okay to turn off play andjust be.
We can also pair this with astation or a mat cue where your
dog learns to lie on a specificspot while remaining relaxed.
We do have those behaviors inour program.
We teach you how to train a gooddownstay and a good go-to-bed
cue.
But I also like this behaviornot on cue.
(06:07):
I also like this behavior thatwe're just capturing when they
choose to do it on their own.
I'm not asking them to do it.
And I'm rewarding when theychoose to do it on their own.
Now, if they choose to get upfrom the mat and leave, that's
their choice.
I didn't ask them to stay on themat in this instance.
So they get to choose when theyget off the mat.
But the more you reward them forbeing and doing this calm
(06:28):
behavior or being in this calmstate, they're going to choose
that again.
Now, here's some commonpitfalls.
Even though doing nothing soundseasy, here are some traps that I
see people fall into.
First, they reward withexcitement instead of calm.
So if you squeal or move fast ordrop a really yummy food reward
when your dog finally lies down,you can actually re-energize
(06:49):
them.
So we want to keep our voice lowand our movements slow.
We don't want to excite them aswe reward them.
Now, we can also expect too muchtoo soon.
Puppies can only relax for shortbursts at first.
Build duration over time,seconds, then minutes, then
hours.
As you start to do some of theseum more formal down stays with
your puppies, they learn to holdstill, which is counterintuitive
(07:14):
to a puppy.
They just want to go and do andbe.
Um, and they don't realize thatsitting still or laying down is
a good thing and it getsrewards.
Like not moving gets yourewards.
So that's kind of the firstconcept we need to help them
realize.
So just don't expect too muchtoo soon.
Recognize their age and theirmaturity level.
And as you do this training withthem, it gets longer and longer,
(07:37):
right?
To the point that now I'mactually recording this podcast
right now.
Baxter chose to go over to hisbed and he's taking a nap.
I didn't even ask him to dothat.
He just saw the microphone comeout.
He knew it's podcast time.
So he's like, I'm gonna go tonap, right?
So he's settling.
And sweet little Bella, shewanted to go play, but she saw
that I can't play right now.
So she actually chose to go overon my love sack and she jumped
(08:00):
up on that beanbag and now she'snapping too.
Didn't ask her to do that,didn't tell her to do that.
She chose to do that.
It's because as from puppyhoodon up, we've spent time
practicing and rewarding whenthey choose to go lay down and
settle.
That's a good thing.
Okay, the other pitfall I seesometimes is using subtle as a
(08:21):
correction.
So if I only say subtle when mydog is hyper or in trouble, it
can become a negative cue.
Instead, we want to practice itin neutral times as well.
Um, and that would be if you'recuing it.
So I know we're talking aboutkind of both today, like if you
put it on cue and ask them to doit, or if they just choose to do
it on their own, just be carefulnot using it as a correction.
(08:42):
And then another pitfall wouldbe not modeling calmness myself.
So dogs are emotional mirrors.
If I'm anxious or I'm movingfast, they're going to more
likely feel that anxiousness andwant to mirror that energy.
When teaching calm, I need to becalm.
Now, what does this look like ineveryday life?
Once your dog knows how tosettle, you'll notice it
everywhere.
They curl up quietly at yourfeet during dinner.
(09:04):
Awesome, right?
They relax on their mat whileguests visit.
They lie peacefully beside youat a soccer game or an outdoor
cafe.
They take breaks naturallybetween play sessions.
This skill transforms dailylife.
Suddenly, you don't have tomanage your dog every second.
They know how to managethemselves.
And that's the beauty ofteaching your dog to do nothing.
You get to live with your dog,not just around them.
(09:26):
Now, a few tips for you if youwant to get this started at your
house.
It's really simple to let's sayyou're at the park watching your
kid play soccer.
Have your puppy on a leash andhave a little mat set out for
them or a blanket, have a chewtoy that they can chew on.
Maybe you have a little toy ifyou need to kind of entertain
them, but we're just sitting inthat spot.
(09:47):
And they might get up and movearound, but then they might lay
down too for part of that.
And they might get up and needto move around a little bit
because they're puppies, right?
But then they settle for a fewminutes.
That few minutes is a win.
And the more you do that,whether it's at a soccer game or
you're at the park, you justwant to sit on the bench or at
home and you're watching a show,right?
You can keep your puppy kind ofin a limited area.
(10:08):
So maybe that's the tether, thehouse line, or the a little
leash that you're keeping themin an area where they can get up
and move around and shift and dothings, but then they can't
really run around and play.
When they settle, ah, we want toreward that and tell them, yeah,
good job.
That's what I'm looking for.
So that's a good way to getstarted.
We're happy to coach you throughthis process inside our program
as well.
So if you have any questions onhow to get started, or if you're
(10:30):
having troubles getting your dogto settle, please reach out to
us.
We'd love to help you.
Teaching your dog to do nothingis one of the greatest gifts you
can give them and yourself.
It's about emotional regulation,balance, and trust.
So remember, calm is a learnedskill.
We can practice it daily.
We can celebrate the littleprogress that we see with our
puppies who are small andimmature, right?
(10:53):
They need time to mature andgrow into this.
But our dog will learn thatstillness can be just as
rewarding as action.
Thanks for joining me today onthe podcast, you guys.
I hope you have a wonderfulweekend.
Happy training.
We'll talk soon.
Thanks for tuning in to thePuppy Training Podcast.
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
(11:13):
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a little patienceand consistency, you can create
a loving bond and a well-behavedpup who's a joy to have in your
family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review, and share itwith fellow puppy parents.
For more resources, visit Baxterand Bella online.
(11:34):
Until next time, happy training.
On today's episode, we are talking about nothing.
Okay, not really, but kind of.
Teaching your dog to do nothingis actually a really valuable
skill.
Let's talk about it.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter and Fella, the online
puppy school.
Here, we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
(00:23):
experience raising a puppy.
From training tips to practicaltricks, all aimed at fostering a
happy, well-behaved dog whotruly feels like part of the
family.
So if you are ready to enjoy thejourney and strengthen the bond
with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey everybody, welcome to thepuppy training podcast.
(00:45):
I'm Amy Jensen, your host.
I am the owner of BaxterUmbella.
We do an online puppy schoolwhere we have an entire
curriculum of lessons, videos,uh help via our trainers.
I have amazing trainers on myteam that do one-on-one calls,
QAs, group QA calls, weekly, allsorts of things.
We want to help you besuccessful training your dog.
(01:06):
So today I actually want to talkabout teaching your dog to do
nothing.
Sometimes we get caught up inall of these exciting things
that we're going to teach ourdog to do, and we forget this
one.
But it's a big one because a lotof the day, I don't know about
you, but I'm busy.
I'm working, I'm making dinners,I'm helping my kids with
homework, I'm like all of thethings, right?
(01:26):
We're all busy people.
And I want to spend time with mydogs, absolutely, but there are
times when I have to do thingsthat don't involve them.
And then being able to donothing is valuable.
So I guess when I say nothing,we have to be careful because
they are technically doingsomething.
They're chilling, they'resleeping on the floor, they're
relaxing.
So they are kind of doingsomething, but not really,
(01:47):
right?
Okay, I don't want to confuseyou.
Let's get into some of thedetails on how you train your
dog to settle.
How do we get them just to laydown, chill out, relax?
They don't need to be stimulatedor exercised or moving to be
happy, right?
Okay, so what does it mean to donothing?
I don't mean we're ignoring themor expecting them to sit like a
(02:09):
statue either or hold adownstair for hours.
No, what I'm asking them to dois to manage themselves and
they're choosing to settle,they're choosing to relax and
regulate their own energy.
So think about it.
Our dogs are exposed to constantstimulation.
Doorbells, kids running throughthe house, the neighbors' dog
barking, or even just theexcitement of going for a walk
(02:31):
when we're out and about andthey get to sniff and smell all
of the good smells, right?
If we don't intentionally teachthem how to turn off, some dogs
don't magically do it on theirown.
A dog who can do nothing is onewho can rest calmly while you
work from home, chat with afriend, or sit at a park bench.
It's peace for both of you.
Now, why settling is a skill?
(02:53):
Just like recall or leashwalking, settling is a trained
behavior.
Puppies and adolescent dogsespecially need guidance to
learn how to slow down.
Their natural state is curious,busy, full of energy.
You can envision your dog doingthis, right?
Running around your house.
So if we never show them whatrelaxing looks like, they assume
(03:13):
being on all the time is thegoal.
Now, I will also insert thisright here.
There are different breeds whoare bred to do different things.
And some dogs naturally are moreactive all day long because of
their breeding.
Other dogs, they're happy justto lay around and settle all day
long because of their breeding.
So what we're talking abouttoday is how we can influence
(03:34):
the individual dog.
They're going to have differenttendencies based on their breed
and their personality within agiven litter, but we can
definitely influence each dog tolearn how to settle.
A well-trained settle createsemotional balance.
It teaches patience, helpsprevent overstimulation, and
reduces unwanted behaviors likethe barking, jumping, or
(03:57):
whining.
So here are a few tips for youon how to train a settle.
There are a few great ways toteach this skill.
Let's go over one of myfavorites, capturing calm.
Now, capturing means you see ithappen and you reward it.
First, we want to set up theright environment.
We want to start in a quiet, lowdistraction space with your dog
on a leash or in a small area.
(04:17):
And it's nice to have a comfybed or mat nearby so they have
options.
Do they want to lay on the coldtile?
Do they want to lay on the softmat, right?
So give them some options.
Have a good environment.
Again, low distraction.
We want to second wait for calmbehavior.
So I don't ask my dog for a sitor a down.
I'm just watching.
The moment my dog lies down,sighs, or even just kind of
(04:41):
shifts into a more relaxedposture, then I'm going to mark
and reward that.
So I'm going to use a calm yesor a click.
I don't want something thatexcites my dog.
So if that click is going tohave your dog pop right back up
or your high-pitched yes isgoing to excite them, then we
don't want to do thatnecessarily.
We want them to stay down.
So you can actually just give anice calm yes and then drop a
(05:03):
little food reward withoutexciting them.
The key here is to reward calmin calm ways.
Now I'm not dropping somethingthat's super exciting because I
don't want them to pop up to getmore super exciting food either.
So you could even just praisethem if that works for your dog,
but we want to reward in a calmway.
And then I'm going to start toname the behavior.
Once they start offering thismore easily, you can add a cue
(05:25):
like settle or relax.
And then not only can they do iton their own, but you could also
cue it if you need them to dothat, which is really nice to
have both.
So we add time and distractionsgradually once we're to this
point.
We work up to practicing while Italk on the phone or while I'm
cooking dinner or I just want tosit outside.
Over time, our dogs learn thatsettle means it's okay to rest
(05:47):
now.
It's okay to turn off play andjust be.
We can also pair this with astation or a mat cue where your
dog learns to lie on a specificspot while remaining relaxed.
We do have those behaviors inour program.
We teach you how to train a gooddownstay and a good go-to-bed
cue.
But I also like this behaviornot on cue.
(06:07):
I also like this behavior thatwe're just capturing when they
choose to do it on their own.
I'm not asking them to do it.
And I'm rewarding when theychoose to do it on their own.
Now, if they choose to get upfrom the mat and leave, that's
their choice.
I didn't ask them to stay on themat in this instance.
So they get to choose when theyget off the mat.
But the more you reward them forbeing and doing this calm
(06:28):
behavior or being in this calmstate, they're going to choose
that again.
Now, here's some commonpitfalls.
Even though doing nothing soundseasy, here are some traps that I
see people fall into.
First, they reward withexcitement instead of calm.
So if you squeal or move fast ordrop a really yummy food reward
when your dog finally lies down,you can actually re-energize
(06:49):
them.
So we want to keep our voice lowand our movements slow.
We don't want to excite them aswe reward them.
Now, we can also expect too muchtoo soon.
Puppies can only relax for shortbursts at first.
Build duration over time,seconds, then minutes, then
hours.
As you start to do some of theseum more formal down stays with
your puppies, they learn to holdstill, which is counterintuitive
(07:14):
to a puppy.
They just want to go and do andbe.
Um, and they don't realize thatsitting still or laying down is
a good thing and it getsrewards.
Like not moving gets yourewards.
So that's kind of the firstconcept we need to help them
realize.
So just don't expect too muchtoo soon.
Recognize their age and theirmaturity level.
And as you do this training withthem, it gets longer and longer,
(07:37):
right?
To the point that now I'mactually recording this podcast
right now.
Baxter chose to go over to hisbed and he's taking a nap.
I didn't even ask him to dothat.
He just saw the microphone comeout.
He knew it's podcast time.
So he's like, I'm gonna go tonap, right?
So he's settling.
And sweet little Bella, shewanted to go play, but she saw
that I can't play right now.
So she actually chose to go overon my love sack and she jumped
(08:00):
up on that beanbag and now she'snapping too.
Didn't ask her to do that,didn't tell her to do that.
She chose to do that.
It's because as from puppyhoodon up, we've spent time
practicing and rewarding whenthey choose to go lay down and
settle.
That's a good thing.
Okay, the other pitfall I seesometimes is using subtle as a
(08:21):
correction.
So if I only say subtle when mydog is hyper or in trouble, it
can become a negative cue.
Instead, we want to practice itin neutral times as well.
Um, and that would be if you'recuing it.
So I know we're talking aboutkind of both today, like if you
put it on cue and ask them to doit, or if they just choose to do
it on their own, just be carefulnot using it as a correction.
(08:42):
And then another pitfall wouldbe not modeling calmness myself.
So dogs are emotional mirrors.
If I'm anxious or I'm movingfast, they're going to more
likely feel that anxiousness andwant to mirror that energy.
When teaching calm, I need to becalm.
Now, what does this look like ineveryday life?
Once your dog knows how tosettle, you'll notice it
everywhere.
They curl up quietly at yourfeet during dinner.
(09:04):
Awesome, right?
They relax on their mat whileguests visit.
They lie peacefully beside youat a soccer game or an outdoor
cafe.
They take breaks naturallybetween play sessions.
This skill transforms dailylife.
Suddenly, you don't have tomanage your dog every second.
They know how to managethemselves.
And that's the beauty ofteaching your dog to do nothing.
You get to live with your dog,not just around them.
(09:26):
Now, a few tips for you if youwant to get this started at your
house.
It's really simple to let's sayyou're at the park watching your
kid play soccer.
Have your puppy on a leash andhave a little mat set out for
them or a blanket, have a chewtoy that they can chew on.
Maybe you have a little toy ifyou need to kind of entertain
them, but we're just sitting inthat spot.
(09:47):
And they might get up and movearound, but then they might lay
down too for part of that.
And they might get up and needto move around a little bit
because they're puppies, right?
But then they settle for a fewminutes.
That few minutes is a win.
And the more you do that,whether it's at a soccer game or
you're at the park, you justwant to sit on the bench or at
home and you're watching a show,right?
You can keep your puppy kind ofin a limited area.
(10:08):
So maybe that's the tether, thehouse line, or the a little
leash that you're keeping themin an area where they can get up
and move around and shift and dothings, but then they can't
really run around and play.
When they settle, ah, we want toreward that and tell them, yeah,
good job.
That's what I'm looking for.
So that's a good way to getstarted.
We're happy to coach you throughthis process inside our program
as well.
So if you have any questions onhow to get started, or if you're
(10:30):
having troubles getting your dogto settle, please reach out to
us.
We'd love to help you.
Teaching your dog to do nothingis one of the greatest gifts you
can give them and yourself.
It's about emotional regulation,balance, and trust.
So remember, calm is a learnedskill.
We can practice it daily.
We can celebrate the littleprogress that we see with our
puppies who are small andimmature, right?
(10:53):
They need time to mature andgrow into this.
But our dog will learn thatstillness can be just as
rewarding as action.
Thanks for joining me today onthe podcast, you guys.
I hope you have a wonderfulweekend.
Happy training.
We'll talk soon.
Thanks for tuning in to thePuppy Training Podcast.
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
(11:13):
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a little patienceand consistency, you can create
a loving bond and a well-behavedpup who's a joy to have in your
family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review, and share itwith fellow puppy parents.
For more resources, visit Baxterand Bella online.
(11:34):
Until next time, happy training.
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