Teaching Your Dog to Settle Through Tethering
Tethering is a great skill for just about any dog, but it’s especially useful for dogs who don’t easily relax on their own or dogs who struggle with anxious behaviors. Tethering is one of the first forms of management and structure that you can introduce to your dog with minimal training and it’s a skill that can be used not just at home, but while you’re traveling, taking your dog to visit friends, or enjoying even dinner at a dog friendly restaurant with your pup.
NOTE: If your dog has separation anxiety or struggles with the initial phases of tether training, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
What is tethering?
Tether training is simply attaching your dog’s leash to a stable anchor point, such as a door knob, banister, or even an eye hook in your wall, and teaching them that this is a cue to relax for anywhere from thirty minutes to several hours. This is a form of management, meaning that if your dog has problems such as getting into the trash when you aren’t looking, barking at the window, or sneaking off to use the bathroom inside, you can tether your dog while you aren’t directly engaging with them to set them up for practicing desirable habits and prevent them from continuing to build habits that we don’t want to see in the future. This is also a form of structure, which is another word for an aspect of a healthy routine that we create with our dogs. Dogs thrive on clear expectations, so practicing calm, structured habits in the house and initiating fun, wild play outside on our terms will quickly create long term habits in our dogs that make our lives with them more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Tethering is unique from other forms of management (like crating or place training) in that it’s extremely mobile, requires minimal training, and can teach long term habits if practiced consistently. Both of my dogs and many dogs that I’ve trained are no longer tethered consistently, but still habitually relax in the spots that they were tethered in when I watch TV, cook, or get ready in the morning. Settling is one of the most important skills we can teach our dogs that will follow them for their lifetime.
Rules of the tether
When your dog is on the tether, it’s important to establish non-negotiable ground rules for everyone involved to keep your dog’s expectations clear and maintain tether time as a safe space and time to relax.
Supervision Required Your dog should always be supervised on their tether, especially during early stages of training.
No Petting Allowed The tether is your dog’s space to relax and feel safe, no exceptions. When you put your dog on the tether, you can walk up to them to reward them or release them. Outside of that, it’s doggie zen. Visitors or other members of the household should be entirely ignoring the dog on the tether, if they need to walk by, they should give at least a two foot buffer of space between themselves and where the end of the dog’s leash can reach.
No Nuisance Behaviors Tethering should be a positive addition to your routine, so if persistent barking, leash chewing, digging on the floor, or any other bad habits occur, reach out immediately for assistance. Barking will typically stop within a few sessions if it isn’t rewarded with attention. Leash chewing can be prevented with a no chew leash which I always recommend starting with if possible, especially with dogs under a year old.
Tether set up basics
Attach an approximately four to six foot leash to a solid anchor point that’s out of the direct flow of traffic in your home. For the first few sessions, it’s ideal that you have a comfortable place to sit about six to ten feet from the end of their tether. A few options and ideas will be listed at the bottom of this page.
Provide a bed or blanket as close as possible to the tether point that your dog won’t chew, this will encourage your dog to lay down with a loose leash rather than stretched out to the end of the tether. If your dog knows place or you plan to teach it in the future, do not use their place bed for this.
After your dog understands the tether (typically about four to six successful sessions), you can provide a water dish and an item to chew if you’d like. Take these away temporarily if your dog gets too rowdy with them.
Avoid tethering to table legs if your dog has a habit of jumping up. Sofa legs are also not ideal for this.
How to begin
Calmly walk your dog to their tether station, switch their leash to the tether and calmly walk away. Don’t say anything to them during this time. Simply go sit down where you can see them, ignore them, and relax, it might be a while!
If your dog lays down, calmly get up, and walk over to them with a reward. Most dogs will stand up when you begin to approach them, if they stand up, turn right around and go back to your seat. Once you’re able to approach them without them getting up, hand feed them a few treats or pieces of their kibble then walk back to your seat.
Repeat this as many times as you’d like. For the last repetition, reward your dog, then say “all done” or their release cue. This is their cue that tethering is over and they can get up while you switch their leash.
Take your dog out for a short, calm, leashed bathroom break to end the session.
How long should you tether?
During the first few sessions of tethering, your sessions should ideally last from about thirty minutes to an hour. This should give you enough time to get a few clear rewards in then end on a successful note.
If your dog takes longer to lay down, especially for adult dogs who may not be inclined to settle quickly, start your thirty minutes when they lay down. If your dog is an adult and can hold their bladder, there’s typically no harm in tethering for a couple hours while you read a book or watch TV while they settle in.
Young puppies should sleep for about sixteen to twenty hours a day. Keep initial sessions short for growing brains, but once your puppy understands the tethering process, don’t hesitate to integrate it heavily into your routine. You can tether for one to two hours at a time, take a calm bathroom break, get a training session with some play time in, then tether again throughout the day. Now is the time to build good habits!
Anchor Point Ideas
Sliding glass door handle- Most sliding glass door handles are fairly stable and easy to clip a leash to, if you have one that you can tether your dog on without them being in the way or having too many distractions outside, this is a great option!
Leash looped to the opposite side door knob- Another simple option. Open a door in a convenient tether spot, loop your leash or tether around the door knob on the opposite side of the door, then close the door so the leash is secure.
Eye hook- A more permanent option, but a good option if you want your tether in a specific place where a door knob doesn’t allow.
Sturdy table or kitchen island leg- This is one of my least favorites, but if your dog doesn’t table surf and you don’t need that space for the time being, it can still be a good option for some. Make sure to remove anything fun from the table just in case if your dog can reach.
