Teaching pets how to compose themselves

Behavior therapy can help teach a dog how to relax in a situation where they might otherwise be afraid or distressed. In a dvm360 interview, Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC (IAACB), lead clinician and practice owner at the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, Oregon, discussed the lecture he presented at the 2025 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, that addressed how to condition relaxation, how it can be used in other behavior treatment plans, and the versatility of this technique.

This lecture is now available to virtual learners through the Fetch On-Demand platform. In this video, Pachel describes the lecture and what he hopes attendees will take away from it.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC (IAACB): The topic is "incorporating condition relaxation into behavior therapy." So, this particular session goes through the foundations of why we might want to teach that. We cover the basics of how to teach it, how to troubleshoot it, and then also look at about a half a dozen or so practical examples of where and how we might actually incorporate that into treatment plans for other conditions—whether that's leash reactivity, separation anxiety, noise phobia, or just unruly manners...scenarios like barking and jumping at the front door. Starting from that standpoint of what relaxation [looks] like, [we’ll cover] not just a "down, stay" but actually teaching an animal how to compose themselves [and] how to address some of the arousal that gets in the way of behavior modification in so many other contexts.

The biggest thing for me with this particular topic is the versatility of this particular technique. I don't expect that teaching a dog how to settle on a mat is going to fix all of the problems, but it's a really important and helpful segment of so many other treatment plans and so many other things that we can do. If we can master 1 or 2 techniques and then pass along that same technique and education to our clients, it levels [up] their ability to address the issues that are concerning for them.

Fetch On-Demand delivers expert-led veterinary continuing education (CE) on your schedule. With CE on your own terms, you can access top-tier sessions anytime, anywhere—whether at home, in the clinic, or on the go. Ready to earn CE credits? Watch this session and more on Fetch On-Demand, available now on dvm360 Flex.