# Ep 128 Teach Your Dog This ONE Skill for Consistently Calm Walks

An episode of [Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1721245241), 13 May 2026, 13 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287608/episodes/18995474-ep-128-teach-your-dog-this-one-skill-for-consistently-calm-walks.mp3

Does going out for a walk feel like you’re taking 2 completely different dogs with you? Does it always seem like your dog is rushing ahead, pulling on lead and eager to go until…you turn around and head home, and then they’re as good as gold, walking politely by your side? This week we’re exploring why our dog’s behaviour on walks can leave us feeling confused and what we can do to help them stay cool, calm and collected the whole time. We’ll consider what our dog’s brain might be telling them and why their everyday walk might be more like Christmas day than you realise! We’ll also walk through some super simple steps that you can use at home, in the garden and out and about to help channel your dog’s focus and keep them on their toes (or paws)! ................ Whether your dog is unpredictable with other dogs or predictably bad… Whether it looks like freezing, barking, lunging or running away… Whether you are just starting out on your dog-owning journey or your dog has been labelled as having a “behaviour problem”… … this episode is for you and is going to give you huge insights! Want to join the Help! My Dog Online HUB? Here's the link: www.helpmydog.com/hub Dr Tom Mitchell is a world-renowned veterinarian, behaviourist and dog trainer and director of the Behavet behaviour clinic (rated Excellent on Trustpilot), which sees over 400 pet behaviour consultations each and every month no matter where you are in the world. In 2023, he founded Help! My Dog, an online dog behaviour learning platform to help even more owners all over the world and show that dog behaviour transformation is not only possible but it's FUN, with the right know-how! Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast for the free weekly episodes! Useful Links: Follow Help! My Dog on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpmydogofficial/ Schedule a Consultation with Behavet: https://www.beha.vet/ Follow Behavet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behavet

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: And dogs are really good at anticipating.
[0:02] SPEAKER_00: And it's this anticipation that is causing this behaviour.
[0:06] SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in, a warning.
[0:09] SPEAKER_00: The content of this podcast may not be appropriate for some young listeners.
[0:14] SPEAKER_00: This is real life, and that means that sometimes it can be a little bit graphic.
[0:19] SPEAKER_00: So listen on at your own peril.
[0:22] SPEAKER_00: As a veterinarian, dog behaviourist, best-selling author and trainer, over the past decade, I've had an obsession with transforming the behaviour of dogs.
[0:31] SPEAKER_00: Understanding their brains and creating practical strategies that you can implement easily at home.
[0:37] SPEAKER_00: I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.
[0:43] SPEAKER_00: In fact, out of the blue, a few months ago, my little dog Gorse was bitten by a dog 20 times her size.
[0:50] SPEAKER_00: And suddenly our life of stress-free walks, a calm and cuddly household and being teammates was replaced with reactivity, anxiety, and worrying about what's around the next corner.
[1:01] SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
[1:02] SPEAKER_00: Tom.
[1:02] SPEAKER_00: This is the Help My Dog Podcast, and this is me documenting that journey of transformation, sharing my knowledge and experience with you and having a few laughs along the way.
[1:13] SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog Podcast.
[1:18] SPEAKER_00: And today we are doing a listener's question.
[1:20] SPEAKER_00: And I think it's a common one actually.
[1:22] SPEAKER_00: We've had this a couple of times, and I thought, you know what, we should, we should, we should do it, we should talk about it.
[1:27] SPEAKER_00: And that is my dog pulls like a train, barks at everything, and is a bit of a nightmare on the on the first half of the walk.
[1:35] SPEAKER_00: And as soon as we turn to go home, they behave perfectly, and actually they don't pull on lead and they're focused and responsive and looking up at me.
[1:43] SPEAKER_00: Okay?
[1:44] SPEAKER_00: Now this is really, really common.
[1:47] SPEAKER_00: And the the nice thing is is this leaves gives us a bit of a clue as to how we need to transform your dog's behavior, okay?
[1:56] SPEAKER_00: So the way to think about this is that in the first half of the walk, the reason why your dog is not behaving the way you know they can behave, because they do it on the second half of the walk, is because quite literally their brain is not in their skull.
[2:10] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[2:11] SPEAKER_00: They are in a state of anticipation of the walk, in a state of anticipation of maybe there's a park destination halfway, and then you, you know, you you you go home after the park.
[2:22] SPEAKER_00: And effectively their brain has left their head and it is already in that final destination, and their body is like trying to catch up, yeah?
[2:29] SPEAKER_00: So they're literally pulling on the end of the lead, trying to get their brain back in there, catch up with where their brain is.
[2:34] SPEAKER_00: And dogs are really good at anticipating, and it's this anticipation that is causing this behavior.
[2:40] SPEAKER_00: Now, why does anticipation come about?
[2:42] SPEAKER_00: Well, it's actually really simple when you boil it down.
[2:45] SPEAKER_00: Predictable events create anticipation, yeah?
[2:49] SPEAKER_00: Anticipation creates arousal, yeah?
[2:52] SPEAKER_00: Increased arousal.
[2:54] SPEAKER_00: So how can we never ever forget that?
[2:58] SPEAKER_00: Well, let's think about um, I don't know, predictable events in our lives.
[3:02] SPEAKER_00: Christmas, for example, for many of you, right?
[3:05] SPEAKER_00: It's the same date every year, and there is this big buildup, and it's very predictable.
[3:12] SPEAKER_00: And because it's predictable, you start to anticipate it the closer it gets.
[3:16] SPEAKER_00: And anticipation, that anticipation then triggers the emotional response associated with that event.
[3:23] SPEAKER_00: Now, for some of you, that's going to be a positive emotional response to Christmas.
[3:28] SPEAKER_00: Excitement.
[3:29] SPEAKER_00: For some of you, it's gonna be a negative emotional response because you're thinking, oh god, like 24 hours with family, how will I survive, right?
[3:36] SPEAKER_00: And you start to have this negative anticipation, but it still, you know, it still increases your arousal level.
[3:42] SPEAKER_00: And so it's exactly the same with our dogs.
[3:45] SPEAKER_00: Now, what happens with that arousal level in our dogs?
[3:48] SPEAKER_00: Well, as arousal increases, well, they are less responsive, they're less able to deploy the skills that we know that they have, they're less able to make the right choices because they're in a higher state of arousal.
[4:00] SPEAKER_00: And often, when we're talking about this level of behavior deterioration on the first half of the walk, they're in very, very high arousal over arousal, right?
[4:10] SPEAKER_00: And so that explains why the first half of the walk and the second half of the walk can often be different.
[4:16] SPEAKER_00: It actually doesn't often relate to, oh, they've burnt some energy and now they're better.
[4:22] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[4:23] SPEAKER_00: Because think about it, they're actually more responsive on that second half of the walk.
[4:28] SPEAKER_00: They're not, you know, dragging their back legs along the street like I've not got another step left in me.
[4:33] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[4:34] SPEAKER_00: They're actually more responsive, more focused and calmer, right?
[4:38] SPEAKER_00: That's the there's a there's a difference in quality there.
[4:42] SPEAKER_00: So what do we do about it?
[4:43] SPEAKER_00: Well, imagine if for the entire walk your dog could have their brain firmly in their skull and they can do, they could do all these things that you know that they're capable of for the entire walk.
[4:54] SPEAKER_00: Well, we can do that, and we can do it in a couple of different ways.
[4:57] SPEAKER_00: The first way is um I alluded to earlier.
[5:02] SPEAKER_00: Predictability creates anticipation, which creates arousal.
[5:06] SPEAKER_00: If we remove the predictability of what a walk looks like and where it goes, we can find that actually they're more responsive in the moment because their brain is now in the moment.
[5:17] SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that might look like very, very short walks where you go out, walk 10 meters, and then go home again.
[5:24] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[5:24] SPEAKER_00: It might look like 20 meters, it might look like slightly different routes.
[5:30] SPEAKER_00: If there's a particular space in the walk where you are going to and from, for example, a field or a park or or some open space, you might want to skip that and not not go there and try and remove that predictability.
[5:46] SPEAKER_00: That can sometimes work by itself, but it always works when you pair it with what I'm about to talk about next.
[5:53] SPEAKER_00: Okay?
[5:53] SPEAKER_00: And that is that the reason why your dog's brain is not in the moment, the reason why your dog's brain is in the park is because there's no benefit to it being in the moment, right?
[6:06] SPEAKER_00: There's no if there was benefit to their brain being in the moment and them not being in a state of anticipation, they would not be in a state of anticipation and their brain would be in the moment.
[6:15] SPEAKER_00: So, how can we anchor the brain back in the moment?
[6:19] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[6:20] SPEAKER_00: What brain anchor could we use?
[6:22] SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, I just want to take a moment to answer a question that has been coming in in literally 10 emails today, and that is how can we help you with your dog's behavior struggle, whether that be reactivity, separation, anxiety, resource guarding, maybe you've got a multi-dog household struggle right now, maybe your dog's just so overaroused on a walk that they just can't listen to you and they're chasing everything inside.
[6:45] SPEAKER_00: Like, can I get Tom's help?
[6:47] SPEAKER_00: Um, and the answer is that actually you can, and you can do that by booking a behavet behavior consultation.
[6:55] SPEAKER_00: That's where literally my team give you the plan on how to transform your struggle and get you to that dream that made you get a dog in the first place, right?
[7:06] SPEAKER_00: Your world's got smaller and smaller and smaller, and actually it doesn't need to be that way.
[7:10] SPEAKER_00: You just need to reach out for help.
[7:12] SPEAKER_00: Now, a couple of things to say on that.
[7:13] SPEAKER_00: First of all, if you're insured, if your dog's insured with Pet Plan, Kennel Club, Agria, or many pets, we actually do direct claims with them, which means that that's covered by your insurance.
[7:24] SPEAKER_00: So you don't pay out of your pocket, your insurance covers that.
[7:28] SPEAKER_00: And the second thing to say is that we have loads of options if you're insured with another provider, or if your dog's not insured at all, that's also totally fine.
[7:36] SPEAKER_00: We have loads of options that we've developed to make this so accessible for you.
[7:40] SPEAKER_00: And because we're aware that you've already invested a load of time and a load of money in getting your dog, looking after your dog, caring for your dog.
[7:47] SPEAKER_00: But the last thing we want is for you to have done all that and still not be living the life that you deserve with your dog.
[7:52] SPEAKER_00: And we know we can get you there.
[7:54] SPEAKER_00: So all you need to do is go to the Behave Vet website, and the way to do that is go B-E-H A.V-E-T.
[8:03] SPEAKER_00: That's behotvet, and it will take you there.
[8:07] SPEAKER_00: Or just Google Behave Vet, right?
[8:09] SPEAKER_00: Um, and you can get scheduled in and we can literally get you booked in for a consultation as soon as possible.
[8:16] SPEAKER_00: We normally can accommodate it within a week, right?
[8:19] SPEAKER_00: So that you can be getting to your dream ASAP.
[8:22] SPEAKER_00: So, how can we anchor the brain back in the moment?
[8:25] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what brain anchor could we use?
[8:28] SPEAKER_00: Well, what we like to do with dogs is teach them a very simple behavior that acts as a brain anchor, and that is we get a small portable object like a little yoga block or some little like foot target, something they can fit both front feet on, okay?
[8:43] SPEAKER_00: And we teach them to put their front feet on this object.
[8:48] SPEAKER_00: Now, this is really simple.
[8:49] SPEAKER_00: All you're gonna do is lure them with a piece of food onto the object so their front feet are on the object, and as soon as their front feet hit that object, you're gonna go yes, and feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed.
[9:00] SPEAKER_00: And then you're gonna throw a piece of food away so that they leave the object.
[9:04] SPEAKER_00: As they turn around after eating that piece of food and turn back to you, you're gonna greet them with a load piece of food in your hand and lower their front feet back onto the object and feed, feed, feed, feed, feed after saying yes and throw a piece of food away again, right?
[9:18] SPEAKER_00: Until you get to the point where actually you don't need to lower them because they've realized that the object is the vending machine of life, right?
[9:24] SPEAKER_00: Their front paws go on and it's feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, like jackpot, right?
[9:31] SPEAKER_00: And so at that point, what you can start to do is pick the object up and move around with it and place it down, their feet go on, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, pick the object up, move somewhere else.
[9:42] SPEAKER_00: They're following you, going, when are they gonna put that object down?
[9:45] SPEAKER_00: You put the object down, their feet go on, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed.
[9:49] SPEAKER_00: You pick the object up, you walk somewhere else, they're go, they're following you, and thinking, when is that object going to go down?
[9:55] SPEAKER_00: You put the object down, their feet go on, you feed, feed, feed, feed, feed.
[9:58] SPEAKER_00: You get the idea, right?
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: And you start to build that into these little um unpredictable short walks that you're doing.
[10:07] SPEAKER_00: You pop their lead on, you put the object down.
[10:09] SPEAKER_00: If their feet go on, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, awesome.
[10:12] SPEAKER_00: You open the front door, you walk out the front door, you pop the object down, feet go on, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed.
[10:18] SPEAKER_00: And what starts to happen is it's way more beneficial for them to keep their brain in the moment and thinking, I wonder when that object's gonna come out and I wonder when it's gonna go down, right?
[10:27] SPEAKER_00: Now, the good news is you don't need to do, you'll get to the point where you don't need to be doing the object, putting the object down every three meters.
[10:34] SPEAKER_00: That's no fun for anyone's walk or back, right?
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: And just simply having it there and periodically anchoring your dog's brain back in the moment, maybe every, you know, 10 minutes, yeah.
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: Soon you have to do it at all because their brain will just be in the moment because they've learned it's way more efficient and calmer and more enjoyable for your brain to be in the moment.
[10:56] SPEAKER_00: But right now we've got to have these anchors to keep it in the moment, right?
[11:00] SPEAKER_00: As well as making their walks unpredictable.
[11:02] SPEAKER_00: When you do that, you fix the actual underlying driver, yeah, of their brain is not in their skull.
[11:10] SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, that's gonna be way more effective than trying to drill them on loose lead walking and drill them on focus on that first half of the walk.
[11:18] SPEAKER_00: Because how on earth are you going to drill a dog?
[11:21] SPEAKER_00: How on earth are you gonna train a dog or teach a dog something new when their brain is not in their skull?
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: Which is why a lot of conventional advice on on um reshaping and and transforming your dog's behavior on walks doesn't work because it's all based on the assumption that they have a brain in that moment.
[11:42] SPEAKER_00: And until we get their brain back in their head in that moment, none of those things are going to work.
[11:47] SPEAKER_00: And what you find is as soon as you implement what I've just described and what I've just gone through, you find that actually often you don't have to do any of the training because you've already done it.
[11:56] SPEAKER_00: They knew it all along, but their arousal level wasn't conducive to them being able to actually implement what they already knew.
[12:04] SPEAKER_00: Now, I hope that that has been a bit of a light bulb for many of you, and also quite energizing in thinking you're gonna, you know, jump out your seat and grab an object and start training this right now.
[12:15] SPEAKER_00: I highly recommend you do because this is really transformational for your dog walks, and ultimately the learning is one thing, but the thing that gets the real life results is actually you implementing that learning.
[12:27] SPEAKER_00: And so go forth, implement it.
[12:29] SPEAKER_00: That was this episode of the Help My Dog podcast, and we will see you next week.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.