{"id":1963,"date":"2022-01-23T17:57:48","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T17:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/romanreign.com\/?page_id=1963"},"modified":"2023-04-09T01:37:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T01:37:48","slug":"the-off-switch","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/the-off-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Off Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We teach our puppies the \u201cOff Switch<\/em>,\u201d a valuable skill set that dogs (and humans) will find useful. The \u201cOff Switch<\/em>\u201d is akin to the calm on command, and it can go by many other names or skill set. At home, we also call it, \u201cNetflix and chilling<\/em>\u201d or the \u201cArt of doing nothing<\/em>.\u201d The Puppy Culture group refers to it as \u201cPuppy Taming<\/em>.\u201d Trainers who pair this behavior with a mat often call it \u201cmat training<\/em>\u201d or \u201crelax on a mat<\/em><\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs with this skill are able to mentally and physically self-calm and relax, and we intentionally condition it with our puppies. We set rules that couch time is quiet time, and calm behavior is rewarded with snuggles and the occasional snacks. This behavior can readily be transferred to new environments or onto a specific mat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common routes we see to get \u201ccalmness are:\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Tiring the dog out physically<\/strong>. The thought is \u201cif I tired the dog out, it will calm and relax without much effort from me.\u201d Here\u2019s why it doesn\u2019t always work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. You may inadvertently teach the dog to always be on and ready for physical activity. The dog is PRIMED for full velocity-jacked up activity all the time, because you\u2019ve taught it that the higher energy they are, the more full throttle fun you will bring to the party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You still have to tire the dog out which can be difficult with weather and time constraints. If it is storming outside, and you have a dog exploding with energy like an ice cold liter of Pepsi packed full of mentos, you have a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Your dog may be physically injured and unable to physically exercise. Crate resting a high energy dog that has been taught to LEVEL up at every chance is a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Getting the dog a playmate.<\/strong> Now you have two dogs that haven\u2019t learned to calm. Oops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the “off switch” is a useful skill: All dogs need age and condition appropriate physical and mental stimulation, and the amount will vary across dogs. After those needs are met, a dog that can calm on command is much easier to manage. You\u2019ll thank us for the Netflix and chill sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article written by SpiritDog Training is a wonderful description of types of exercise<\/a> that can help you understand how to select the type that is right for the situation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We teach our puppies the \u201cOff Switch,\u201d a valuable skill set that dogs (and humans) will find useful. The \u201cOff Switch\u201d is akin to the calm on command, and it can go by many other names or skill set. At home, we also call it, \u201cNetflix and chilling\u201d or the \u201cArt of doing nothing.\u201d The… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1963"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2795,"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1963\/revisions\/2795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/romanreign.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}