Taking your dog for a walk should be enjoyable, but often it turns into chaos. Discover why leash walking fails, largely due to mismatched expectations and education. Learn about the revolutionary 5C Pyramid—connection, clarity, confidence, challenge, and complexity—that transforms training. Unveil the importance of games in building the right foundation, and find out how distractions may not be the real issue. Plus, explore innovative training methods, including indoor exercises that set your dog up for success before ever using a leash.
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insights INSIGHT
Expectation Versus Education Gap
Loose leash walking fails because expectations outpace the dog's education.
Susan Garrett says this mismatch explains most leash struggles, not owner fault or distraction.
insights INSIGHT
Train In Layers With The 5C Pyramid
Behavior must be built in layers using the 5C Pyramid: Connection, Clarity, Confidence, Challenge, Complexity.
Susan Garrett argues real-world walking requires progressing through these layers, not skipping to the top.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Start With Connection Then Clarify Success
Build connection first through educational games so the dog wants to work with you.
Use clarity next by setting an obvious criterion so success becomes inevitable for the dog.
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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 real issue on leash. • What changes when education catches up to expectations. • How seeing where leash walking breaks down changes everything.
Join J-Walking: Write to us at wag@dogsthat.com with the subject line "Connected Walking" for a very special opportunity to join us in J-Walking.
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett