Does your dog need help relaxing? Are they always on the go? Are they struggling with overarousal issues or separation anxiety? Mat work is the answer to teaching dogs to be calm.
Our veterinary behaviorist diagnosed Mr. N with “overarousal” issues and separation anxiety. He prescribed doing Dr. Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol but suggested tweaks to how we had been working on it (there’s also an audio version). You teach your dog how to relax (usually in a down pose) on a 
Mat work also helps with giving your dog a space of their own, teaching stay, having dogs not be underfoot, and keeping them out of the way when needed.
Tips for Achieving Relaxation
Mark and Reward Signs of Relaxation Instead of Just a Down
Mr. N knew how to go to his mat on cue and would go into a Sphinx down. If you looked at him though, you could see how he was all anticipatory and standing at attention in a down pose. Instead of truly relaxing.
The behaviorist initially suggested trying to get him to relax on his side (the pose dogs do when they play dead). Mr. N is more of a curled up sleeper than a side sleeper so I’m using mainly that as his relaxed pose. Now I mark any signs of relaxation (curling up, shifting to his side, putting his head and tail down and basically any signs of a more relaxed posture).
No Clickers
If your dog is used to clicker training at all, clickers tend to amp them up and they will start throwing behaviors at you. I was advised to use a marker word instead (ours is just “yes”) and speak in a soft and gentle tone of voice instead of my more crisp tone when marking.
Incorporate a Remote Treat Dispenser
One of the primary reasons we’re doing matwork is to work on Mr. N’s separation anxiety issues. In order to incorporate distance but still mark/treat immediately, we were advised to use a remote treat dispenser. If you don’t have one/can’t afford one, a no-cost solution is to use a neutral person. They can sit by the dogs and dispense treats. This only works if the dog is not focused on the person.
Petsafe sent us their 
Mr. N thinks the treat dispenser is magical. You use a remote to dispense treats and it can mount on the wall or be free standing. It works well when I’m treating from a distance. I can go touch the doorknob and reward immediately when he is still by the kitchen on his mat and not showing signs of anxiety.
Use Low Value Treats
High value treats like 
Do you use mat work? How do you teach your dog(s) to be calm?
Welcome to First Monday’s Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Tenacious Little Terrier, Travels with Barley and Wag ‘n Woof Pets. Please share your responsible pet owner positive pet training tips by linking a blog post or leaving a comment below. Our theme for this month is Calming & Impulse Control – How do you get your dog to settle down but any positive reinforcement training posts or comments are also always welcome. The Positive Pet Training Blog Hop goes all week long. Our next hop will begin May 1st and continues for a week.
April 3, 2017 4:30 pm
Oh…Relaxation Protocol. I don’t know who hated it worse, Luke, or me. We made progress for a while but then stalled at some point and gave up. Though we certainly use some of its principals in the mat work we do now, but it’s just not as tedious!
I would love to try a remote trainer, but with two sometimes food aggressive dogs, we just can’t. If I had a single dog, I’d try one in a minute though!
I hope this helps with Mr. N’s separation anxiety. He looks pretty content in that last photo!
April 3, 2017 5:26 pm
Oh I openly admit it’s not my favorite either! But must be done. Could you put the other dogs in a different room? Or work with them indoors/outdoors separately?
April 3, 2017 5:24 pm
I’ve been wondering how to reward Honey for a more relaxed state. Right now, I rely on watching carefully and having a little morsel tucked away that I can toss her. But I’m very familiar with the sphinx pose.
I was unclear from the post–does your remote treat dispenser have a remote control that you use to send the treat to Mr. N?
April 3, 2017 5:28 pm
Are you familiar with splitting? You have to chop up the relaxed state into very tiny, fine pieces. So for example, Honey stops thumping her tail and is still. Mark and reward. She shifts her body a tiny bit to the right to adjust. Mark and reward. I’ll try to make a video if that’s helpful!
Yes, it has a remote control.
April 3, 2017 5:51 pm
It sounds like Mr. N is making great progress! I think the treat dispenser would make Barley lose her mind–we’ve used them in agility when we were starting to train weaves and she would skip the weaves and go sit right in front of it and just wait there for something to happen.
April 6, 2017 12:50 am
We’re having to retrace our steps a little bit as Mr. N is a little too focused on the dispenser. He’s getting better at ignoring it though.
April 4, 2017 1:55 pm
Your mat work sounds intriguing! Much success, Mr. N. I don’t have to deal with separation anxiety in my pups, but they break their concentration when we’re practicing tricks or obedience outside and a cat or squirrel comes into their field of vision. I have yet to find a solution to that problem :-/
April 6, 2017 12:51 am
I can get Mr. N to hold a stay and pose with prey animals around… haven’t tried anything more complicated though.
April 5, 2017 4:24 am
I’ve always been intrigued by the mat work protocol. We have not tried it and are looking to explore it more over the summer. Your piece give great insight into how to proceed. Thanks! Me N seems to be doing great!!
April 6, 2017 12:55 am
Thanks, I hope it helps!
April 5, 2017 9:21 am
Thanks for sharing about the mat work! Great tips!
April 6, 2017 12:56 am
Thanks.
April 5, 2017 10:01 am
Interesting! I’ve never heard of mat training before, but it sounds like a great solution to those with overarousal issues and separation anxiety. You do such an amazing job with Mr. N – I always enjoy reading about the different things you’ve trained him to do 🙂
April 6, 2017 12:56 am
Thank you! Behavior modification isn’t quite as fun as tricks but must be done.
April 5, 2017 6:02 pm
I never thought about it before, but Mr. N does radiate a lot of energy in most of his photos. He looks very relaxed, but still adorable in these images. It sounds like your Christmas gift was really worthwhile.
April 6, 2017 12:57 am
He looks like he’s bursting with energy and it’s barely contained! He can relax on cue though.
April 5, 2017 7:27 pm
This looks like a really cool product. According to my mom, I have separation anxiety. Around the house I’m very relaxed and will sleep in a room that mom isn’t even in. But sometimes when she tries to leave I want to stop her from going out the door. Not sure if this would work for me, maybe better for Taffy that follows you every where! Love Dolly
April 6, 2017 12:58 am
Mr. N never wants me to go anywhere without him either but he hides.
April 5, 2017 9:01 pm
I’m really considering the remote treat dispenser tool for the “stay” on your mat training technique. I use that with Walter but getting him to stay is really hard and I need to work on this more in the coming weeks – I haven’t see it used with the mat so I love that you introduced that!
April 6, 2017 12:59 am
Being able to reward immediately is pretty useful. And stays would be a good use for that too.
April 5, 2017 10:09 pm
It is nice to learn about these various training methods and how you teach Mr N to do the different things. Dex never had an issue with being calm and we even passed CGC on first try.
April 6, 2017 1:01 am
Mr. N has his CGC but he struggled with the separation and meeting another dog calmly part during practice.