Not Seeing Results In Dog Training? Why Layers Of Learning Lead To Real World Success #307
Jun 13, 2025
Struggling with dog training results? Discover why training success often vanishes in real-world scenarios. Learn how layering your dog’s learning through the 5 Cs—Connection, Clarity, Confidence, Challenge, and Complexity—can create lasting results. Unearth the difference between a connected and detached dog, and how these dynamics affect training. Hear a personal story of triumph that illustrates how intentional layers transformed the journey all the way to the world championships.
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Real World Success Requires Layers
Real world success means your dog works well beyond controlled environments, adapting to new places and distractions.
It requires layering learning stages: connection, clarity, confidence, challenge, and complexity.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Follow the 5Cs Training Pyramid
Start training with connection to build engagement and focus from your dog.
Progress through clarity, confidence, challenge, and complexity to achieve reliable behavior in diverse environments.
insights INSIGHT
Connected vs. Detached Dogs
A connected dog is focused on you; a driven dog is focused for work.
If a dog focuses more on distractions than you, it indicates detachment and environmental overwhelm.
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Not seeing results in dog training? I’m breaking down why that happens and how layering your dog’s learning is the key to creating real-world success. We often believe our dogs are “trained” when things look great in controlled settings but when connection disappears, distractions take over, or confidence fades in new environments, it’s a sign that a layer of learning is missing. I’ll walk you through how the layers of the 5C Pyramid build lasting reliability and focus, a personal story from my own training, and how shaping behavior through intentional layers leads to long-term success in agility, sports, and everyday life.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
• Why your dog might be great in training games but struggle in real-world situations. • How building intentional layers in training leads to real-world success with your dog • The concept of “real world success” and how it evolves as your relationship with your dog grows. • A deep dive into the 5 Cs of dog training: Connection, Clarity, Confidence, Challenge, and Complexity. • The difference between a connected, driven, and detached dog and why that matters. • A powerful question to ask yourself in every training moment to stay aligned with your long-term goals. • How intentional layers build deep connection and lasting success. • A personal story about my own dog and how the layers of learning led us all the way to the world championships.
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett