Listen Dog Training: The Walk & Talk

Emotional Contagion: Why Your Dog Feels What You Feel

In this episode, I’m diving deep into the fascinating science of emotional contagion between humans and dogs, and sharing practical ways to keep your energy balanced so you can keep showing up for your dog… even when motivation is low!
This episode is equal parts science, mindset, and real-world strategy, designed to help you feel inspired, grounded, and ready to make this season count for your dog’s training success.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The neuroscience of how dogs synchronise with our emotions, stress levels, and energy
Why your mindset and emotional state can make or break your training sessions
How seasonal shifts in mood and motivation affect your consistency - and what to do about it
Simple, science-backed strategies to keep your own energy cup full as the nights draw in
Practical training ideas for indoors and outdoors to maintain progress through autumn and winter
How small, consistent efforts now build the springtime dog you’ll be proud of later
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

Is My Dog Bored? Understanding and Fixing Understimulation in Modern Dogs

Is your dog really misbehaving - or are their needs for fulfillment and stimulation simply not being met? In this episode of The Walk & Talk, we dive deep into one of the most common but overlooked challenges of modern dog ownership: understimulation.
Our dogs may live in our human world, but their brains and bodies are wired for so much more than we usually allow. By understanding your dog’s intrinsic needs, their breed-specific drives, and the role of enrichment, you can unlock calmer behaviour, a happier dog, and a stronger bond between you.
This episode will leave you with fresh insights, practical takeaways, and a new way of looking at your daily walks and home life with your dog.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why modern life often leaves dogs unfulfilled (and what that really means for behaviour).
The science of intrinsic needs and why enrichment reduces stress and frustration.
How breed tendencies shape what kinds of activities will truly satisfy your dog.
Simple ways to make your walks more enriching and mentally stimulating.
How to transform boring mealtimes into powerful enrichment opportunities.
Why enrichment and fulfillment can dramatically reduce problem behaviour… but why training is still essential for lasting results.
Practical, realistic steps to give your dog the joy and balance they crave every single day.
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

Settle Training That Actually Works: The Science + Your Step-by-Step Guide

Settle training might not sound glamorous, but it’s one of the most transformative skills you can teach your dog. In this episode, we dive deep into why the ability to switch off is crucial for your dog’s emotional wellbeing, how it makes daily life smoother and more enjoyable, and the science of what’s happening in your dog’s brain when they learn to relax.
Whether you’ve got a high-drive working breed who never stops moving, a reactive dog who struggles to come down from stress, or a family dog who just can’t switch off in the evenings - this episode will give you the insight and step-by-step guidance you need.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why settle training is about emotional regulation, not just obedience
How settle skills support dogs in real-life situations like cafés, vet visits, and busy households
The neuroscience behind stress, calm, and your dog’s nervous system
How different breeds vary in their natural ability to settle (and what to do if your dog struggles)
A practical, step-by-step method for teaching true settling without force or frustration
Troubleshooting tips for dogs who find it especially hard to relax
Why reward delivery matters when reinforcing calm, and how to avoid accidentally hyping your dog up with treats
How settle training connects with foundational work like engagement and reactivity training
👉 Want to build the foundations that make settle training possible? Check out my 21-Day Engagement Training.
👉 Working with a reactive dog? My Reactivity Pack is designed to give you the step-by-step strategies to create emotional safety and calm.
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover - it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

From Zoomies to Zen: A 7-Day Scentwork Kickstart

Is your dog bouncing off the walls, brimming with energy you just don’t know how to channel? In this episode, I’ll show you how to transform that chaos into calm focus with a simple, science-backed 7-day scentwork kickstart. Scentwork taps into your dog’s natural superpower - their nose - giving them an outlet that drains excess energy, boosts confidence, and builds an incredible bond between you.
Whether you’re brand new to scentwork or just looking for a fun new way to enrich your dog’s life, this step-by-step plan will get you started.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why scentwork is one of the most powerful tools for calming, enriching, and focusing your dogThe simple, inexpensive kit you’ll need to begin
How to teach your dog an ‘indicator’ so they can clearly tell you when they’ve found the scent
A day-by-day guide to introducing odour, containers, rooms, outdoor searches, and more
How to finish the week strong with proofing skills that set your dog up for long-term success
📄 Grab your free 7-Day Scentwork Kickstart Checklist here: Download PDF
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

Unlock the Reinforcement Secret That Makes Training Actually Stick

Your dog’s ‘bad behaviour’ isn’t about stubbornness, defiance, or dominance - it’s about reinforcement. Every behaviour your dog chooses has a payoff, and once you understand what that payoff is, you hold the key to transforming their behaviour for good.
In this week’s episode of The Walk & Talk, we’ll unpack the science of reinforcement and dive into exactly how to shift your dog’s habits using modern, professional, positive training methods.
If you’ve ever felt frustrated by your dog’s behaviour, this episode will reframe everything - and give you the practical tools to create lasting change!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why all behaviour is driven by a payoff - and how to identify what that is
How functional analysis reveals the real reason your dog does what they do
The four reinforcement functions that explain nearly every ‘bad behaviour’
Common myths about dog behaviour… and why they hold you back
Science-backed strategies to shift reinforcement and build better habits
How to stop battling your dog and instead collaborate with them
✨ Ready to put this into action? Check out my 21-Day Engagement Training course - your step-by-step guide to building focus, connection, and cooperation in just 3 weeks.
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

How to Harness September Energy to Transform Your Dog Training

September isn’t just about back-to-school for the kids… it’s the perfect time for you and your dog to hit reset, refocus, and embrace the fresh-start energy of autumn. In this episode, I’ll show you how to turn gloomy walks and shorter days into an opportunity to transform your dog’s training.
We’ll dive into the science of learning, why structure is so powerful for dogs, and how to set achievable training goals that actually stick. You’ll leave this episode with practical, science-backed strategies and simple homework ideas you can start today to bring more focus, calmness, and joy into your training journey.
And if you’re ready to take things further, my 21-Day Engagement Training Course is the perfect back-to-school project for you and your dog! With daily, bite-sized lessons, you’ll build engagement step by step and create the kind of focus that makes recall, loose lead walking, and every other skill so much easier.
👉 Check it out here.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why September is the ideal time to reset your dog training routine
The neuroscience behind structure, predictability, and learning in dogs
A simple ‘Back-to-School’ framework to set achievable goals
How small daily habits rewire your dog’s brain for lasting behaviour change
The seasonal mindset shift that turns rainy autumn walks into training wins
Why engagement is the cornerstone skill that makes all other training possible
 
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
 
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover; it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

How To Reshape Your Dog's Brain For Confidence & Calm

In this week’s episode of The Walk & Talk, we take a deep dive into one of the most game-changing approaches in modern dog training: concept training.
This method goes far beyond obedience and surface-level behaviour fixes… Instead, it teaches us how to shape the way our dog’s brain works - building the core concepts that drive lifelong emotional stability, focus, and resilience.
Whether you’ve got a bouncy adolescent, a nervous rescue, or a reactive firecracker, this episode will give you a totally new lens on behaviour - and the science-backed tools to make lasting change from the inside out.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
What concept training really is and how it differs from traditional obedience methods
The neuroscience behind behaviour: why your dog’s brain does what it does
How core concepts like calmness, optimism, impulse control, and focus shape behaviour
Why bad behaviour is often just a symptom of an underdeveloped skill
How to use short, joyful games to reshape your dog’s mindset and emotions
Why concept training is one of the most effective ways to create long-term transformation
Practical tips to get started today - no fancy tools or long sessions required
How this method builds connection, confidence, and clarity for both ends of the lead
Grab all the exercises you need to start your concept training journey with my Design Your Own Dog Training Pack ⬇️
https://listendogtraining.com/product/dog-training-exercises/
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work?
Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at: www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect!Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!
 

Why Adolescence Is the Golden Hour of Dog Training

Think your teenage dog is just a chaotic, cue-ignoring menace you have to survive? Think again.
Today I’m flipping the narrative on canine adolescence—and showing you why this misunderstood phase is actually a once-in-a-lifetime training window.
If your dog is between 6 months and 2 years old (ish) this is not the time to throw in the towel or cross your fingers and hope they grow out of it. It’s time to get strategic. Because biologically, behaviourally, and emotionally, your dog is primed for growth. You just need to know how to work with it.
And if you're craving more focus, more connection, and more joy on your walks? This is also the perfect time to jump into my 21-Day Engagement Training course... a science-led step-by-step program to help you become the most rewarding and compelling thing in your dog’s world. 
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the “just survive adolescence” mindset is sabotaging your training
What’s actually going on in your dog’s brain during this stage
The 3 major neurological changes shaping your dog’s behaviour right now
How to turn independence-seeking into a bonding opportunity
Why adolescent dogs are more trainable than puppies in key ways
How to use novelty, reward upgrades, and real-life reinforcement to boost your results
Practical training tips to get better focus and cooperation—without the overwhelm
How to lay the foundations now for an adult dog you’ll be proud of for life
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? 
Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at: www.listendogtraining.com
Or jump into my 21-day engagement training program at: https://listendogtraining.com/product/21-day-engagement-training/
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

5 Foundational Skills That Make or Break Reactivity Training

If you’ve been working on your dog’s reactivity and it feels like nothing’s changing, this episode is for you.
Because the truth is, most reactivity training skips the most important bit - the foundation work that actually sets your dog up for success before they’re anywhere near a trigger.
In this episode, I’m sharing the essential, often-overlooked steps that make or break reactivity rehab. These are the pieces I teach every client, and they’re the difference between progress… and plateau.
Whether your dog reacts to people, dogs, sounds, or everything in between, this episode will help you rethink what progress really looks like - and give you a clear, science-backed starting point to build lasting change.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why desensitisation isn’t working (and what your dog actually needs first)
The neuroscience behind emotional regulation and reactivity
The 5 core skills every reactive dog should master before exposure work
How calm patterned movement rewires your dog’s brain for safety and focus
The difference between obedience and emotional availability—and which one matters most
The missing piece that’s keeping your training stuck on repeat
Practical ways to build focus, settle, and co-regulation without needing to tire your dog out
Why foundational work makes your trigger training 100x easier
The exact daily steps to start turning things around right now
🎓 Ready to train smarter, not harder? Explore my science-led dog training programs:
🔗 21-Day Engagement Training Course🔗 Reactivity Training Program
Use code PODCAST10 at checkout for 10% off any course or download!
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work?
Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
📱 Let’s connect!
Follow me on Instagram & TikTok →@listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!

How to Build Food Motivation from the Ground Up: Dog Training Unlocked

Is your dog the kind that turns their nose up at treats during training? Do you feel stuck because everyone says to ‘just use food’… but your dog couldn’t care less?
In this deep-dive episode, I unpack one of the most misunderstood training challenges: food refusal.
Because here’s the truth: your dog probably is food motivated. What’s actually getting in the way is often a mix of emotional state, stress chemistry, and misunderstood arousal.
This episode will change the way you look at your dog’s behaviour, help you understand the real reasons they might not engage with food, and give you science-backed strategies to transform your training approach - without blame, frustration, or gimmicks.
🧠 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why ‘not food motivated’ is usually a symptom - not a trait
How stress, arousal, and cortisol shut down appetite and engagement
The neuroscience behind your dog’s shifting motivation
What to do when your dog won’t take food outside
The difference between high arousal and true engagement
Simple, practical strategies to build food motivation from the ground up
How to choose the right food for your dog’s emotional state
Why food refusal is a powerful communication cue - not a training failure
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Check out my digital training products, freebies and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
You can use code PODCAST10 for 10% off all my digital dog training packages, guides & courses!
📱 Let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If you found this episode helpful, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared it with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!