please help with release command!

[hannahreeves25]

Hi new to the forum, posted a question on our border collie herding family members but think I may have written too much as nobody has answered! One short question I have is to do with departure anxiety. We want to be able to put Digby on his bed when we depart from the house so that he doesn't play up (herd, nip and bark) when we leave the room and house. The problem is that I feel that he needs a release command so that he doesn't feel he has to stay on his bed for the whole duration of our absence. We just want him to stay on his bed while we leave the house so he doesn't try to stop us leaving. Once we are gone he is very good and is never destructive or noisy. Please help, in any way!

[Natalie]

Hi hannahreeves25,

I did see your other post but didnt really know what to suggest to you i haven't got any experience on it and dont know what to say at all.

As for the issue of getting him to stay in his bed, i think the sit stay commands should work if he doesnt know them already. But it sounds like the other issue of him barking around you and family might be the base of the problem.

I'll try do some research on the weekend and let you know how i get on. In the mean time i'd try the sit stay commands and maybe look into separation anxiety as an issue?

[hannahreeves25]

thank you for the reply, we have no problem getting him on his bed, we use the command 'on your bed' and he will get on it and normally lie down. We want him to be sent onto his bed when we need to leave the house as this stops him from rounding us up. We just thought it a bit unfair that once we have left he won't have been given a release command so may feel he has to stay there for the entire time we'ere out, which he doesn't!

[divadexie]

With my dogs I use 'ok' for a release, when letting off the lead, coming out of a sit etc.
You could introduce this as a general release then call it through the letter box once you are out the door?