About this episode

Susan Garrett discusses the challenges of leash walking and how to improve the experience for both dogs and their owners.

Visit us at shapedbydog.com Loose leash walking starts without a leash. I would like you to think for a moment about what kind of an emotional experience it is to take your dog for a leashed walk. For some people there is lunging, jumping, spinning, barking, or zig-zagging. Different behaviors, same outcome. What is meant to be exercise, connection, and calm ends up feeling frustrating instead. In this episode, I'm sharing why leash walking fails so often and why it's not because you or your dog have done something wrong. Leash walking breaks down when expectations severely outpace education, and once you understand where that breakdown happens, you'll never approach walking your dog on a leash the same way again. In this episode, you'll hear: • What leash walking feels like for both ends of the leash. • The difference between what we expect from our dogs and what they've actually been taught. • Why leash walking is one of the most unnatural behaviors we ask dogs to perform. • How teaching leash walking in reverse sets dogs up to fail. • Why behavior does not grow in isolation. • The role the 5C Pyramid plays in building real-world understanding. • Why distraction is rarely the…

People in this episode

Host: Susan Garrett

Topics covered

• leash walking
• dog training
• behavioral issues
• dog education
• emotional experience
• expectations vs education

Keywords

• loose leash walking
• dog behavior
• training techniques
• 5C Pyramid
• distraction
• education
• expectations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: shapedbydog.com, dogsthat.com

More episodes of Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett

• This Or That's: Why Most Dogs Never Become Decision-Makers #331 · July 15, 2026 · 15 min
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• Is Your "Once In A Lifetime Dog" Holding You Back? #329 · April 29, 2026 · 20 min
• How To Shape Your Dog: The Ultimate Guide To Training Success #328 · March 25, 2026 · 30 min
• Beyond "Yes" And "Good": Why Your Dog Needs "Spotlights" #327 · March 13, 2026 · 21 min
• The 30 Second Reset - Because Your Dog Knows #326 · March 6, 2026 · 21 min

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