Calm Is Trainable

Calm isn’t about obedience or stillness

Many guardians are told their dog is 'high energy,' 'too much,' or 'needs more exercise'. But a tired body is not the same thing as a regulated nervous system.

🚫  Calm is not obedience.
🚫  Calm is not stillness.
🚫  Calm is not a dog who has given up.

Calm is the ability to regulate, recover and make choices from a balanced nervous system. It’s what allows dogs to cope with everyday life - transitions, stimulation, frustration and change - without becoming overwhelmed.

When calm is present, learning becomes easier.
When calm is missing, everything feels harder.

Why so many dogs struggle to settle

Modern dogs are often overstimulated and under-recovered. Well-intentioned routines can unintentionally keep dogs in a constant 'on' state - moving from walks to play to food to training to enrichment without ever being taught how to truly come back down.

More activity doesn’t automatically create calm.
More enrichment doesn’t automatically soothe.
And waiting for dogs to 'grow out of it' often leads to deeper dysregulation over time.

What’s missing is not effort. It’s the skill of regulation.

Common myths that keep calm out of reach

Myth #1: Exercise creates calm
Exercise is important, but without recovery skills it often creates fitter dogs with the same regulation challenges.

Myth #2: Enrichment always soothes
Enrichment can be regulating or activating. Without balance, it can add pressure instead of relief.

Myth #3: Calm dogs are shut down
True calm includes choice, curiosity and engagement - not suppression.

Myth #4: Dogs will grow out of it
Without support, many dogs grow into dysregulation rather than out of it.

Calm is a skill that can be taught

Calm isn’t something dogs either have or don’t have.

It’s a trainable skill that develops through intentional reinforcement, thoughtful pacing and environments that support recovery instead of overwhelm.

When calm is taught deliberately, dogs don’t just relax more. They recover faster, cope better and learn more effectively.

How the Art of Relaxation helps

The Art of Relaxation is a structured, evidence-based program designed to teach dogs how to downshift and regulate in real life.

It focuses on:

• teaching relaxation without suppression

• reinforcing calm choices

• supporting nervous system recovery

• building calm that transfers beyond a mat or single exercise

This isn’t about stopping behaviour.
It’s about building capacity.

A calm foundation makes everything else easier.