Listen Dog Training: The Walk & Talk

By Lisa | Listen Dog TrainingKids & Family Pets & Animals

Listen Dog Training: The Walk & Talk episodes

August 22, 2025Why 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!
20 min
August 15, 20255 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!
19 min
August 08, 2025How 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!
19 min
August 01, 2025Outsmart Every Distraction: How to Hack Your Dog’s Brain for Focus
Does your dog seem to forget everything you’ve taught them the moment you step outside? Are squirrels, smells, joggers, or birds stealing their focus — no matter how hard you try to get their attention?
You’re not alone — and more importantly, you’re not doing anything wrong. In this eye-opening episode, I dive deep into the neuroscience of attention, arousal, and distraction, helping you understand what’s really going on inside your dog’s brain when they seem to ignore you outdoors.
It’s not disobedience. It’s biology. And once you understand it, you can train around it, not against it.
This episode is packed with juicy brain science, real-world examples, and practical strategies to help you compete with the chaos of the outside world and build strong, focused engagement — even when distractions are everywhere.
🧠 In this episode, you’ll learn:
What attention really is — and why your dog literally can’t hear you when they’re overstimulated
The science of saliency and why some distractions win your dog’s focus instantly
How competing reinforcers hijack training (and what to do about it)
What’s happening inside the adolescent dog brain, and why focus gets harder, not easier
How to increase your value to your dog without bribing or begging
Step-by-step strategies for building focus and engagement in distracting environments
Simple training games and hacks to use movement, reinforcement, and patterning to your advantage
Why your dog’s ‘stubbornness’ isn’t a personality flaw... it’s a nervous system in overload
The biggest mindset shift that will change how you approach training forever
👉 This episode is a perfect companion to my best-selling 21-Day Engagement Training course - a transformational programme designed to help you become magnetic to your dog’s focus and build unshakable connection.
✨ Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off:
https://listendogtraining.com/product/21-day-engagement-training/
💻 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 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!
19 min
July 25, 2025Visualisation, Mindset & Dog Training: The Neuroscience of Becoming Magnetic
Do your beliefs shape your dog’s behaviour?
In this powerful episode, we explore one of the most overlooked yet transformational aspects of dog training: your mindset. Whether you’re working through complex challenges like reactivity or just want to deepen your connection with your dog, how you think — and what you believe is possible — will directly shape your success.
Want to know how your internal world is the foundation of your dog training journey? From growth mindset theory and nervous system regulation, to mental rehearsal and visualisation backed by neuroscience, this episode will leave you inspired and equipped to train with renewed belief and purpose.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why mindset is the missing piece in most dog training approaches
How your beliefs shape your behaviour — and your dog’s
The science of growth mindset and what it means for long-term success
How to use visualisation to literally rewire your nervous system
A quick, sensory experiment to prove how powerful your imagination really is
Why your dog responds more to your energy than your technique
How tools like intention-setting can elevate your training
Practical daily habits to help you embody your next-level dog trainer identity
If you’re ready to shift from frustration to clarity, from panic to purpose, and from doubt to results — this episode is your starting point.
💻 Want to dive deeper into transforming your dog’s behaviour with science-backed strategies that actually work? Explore my digital training products, freebies, and online courses at www.listendogtraining.com
👉 This episode is a perfect companion to my best-selling 21-Day Engagement Training course — a transformational programme designed to help you become magnetic to your dog’s focus and build unshakable connection.
✨ Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off:
https://listendogtraining.com/product/21-day-engagement-training/
📱 Let’s connect!
Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 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!
24 min
July 18, 2025Why Your Dog Won’t Stop Barking & What Their Brain Is Trying to Tell You
If your dog is constantly barking at every noise, every passerby, every movement outside the window—or even just at nothing at all—it’s not just annoying… it’s a message.
In this episode, we dig deep beneath the barking to uncover what’s really going on inside your dog’s brain. Spoiler alert: the barking isn’t the real problem. It’s a symptom of something much deeper—nervous system dysregulation.
Whether your dog is hyper-alert, always on edge, or struggling to settle at home, this episode will give you the science, the insight, and the practical tools to help them feel truly safe—and finally bring calm back to your household.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why barking becomes neurologically reinforced, even without 'training' it
What the amygdala, HPA axis, and nervous system have to do with reactivity
The signs your dog is stuck in a hypervigilant state (that aren’t just barking)
Why popular 'quiet' cues or corrections often make things worse
Three transformative strategies to help your dog feel safe enough to stop barking
How to use decompression walks, environmental safety, and co-regulation
Ways to build a calm baseline in your home that supports long-term change
The mindset shift that helps you train with more clarity, compassion, and confidence
This is the kind of episode that can change everything... not just for your dog, but for your relationship, too!
💻 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 so that I can keep going, and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!
20 min
July 11, 2025Move with Meaning: Dopamine, Body Language & How Dogs Really Read You
Before you even say a word, your dog has already read your body like a book… and made a decision.
In this juicy deep dive, we’re exploring the hidden power of movement, body language, spatial pressure, and proximity in dog training - and how understanding these subtle signals can completely transform your dog’s focus, behaviour, and emotional state.
But that’s not all.
We’re also pulling back the curtain on dopamine - the motivation molecule - and how it shapes your dog’s ability to learn, anticipate rewards, and stay engaged with you in even the most distracting environments. This episode is packed with insight, science, and real-world strategies to help you become magnetic to your dog… no treats required (well, not just treats 😉).
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How dogs read your body language with precision—and why it matters more than words
The role of pressure and proximity in shaping canine behaviour
What dopamine really is (spoiler: it's not just about pleasure)
Why anticipation is more powerful than the reward itself
How to build value in your presence through small, intentional changes
Practical, science-backed strategies to gamify your life together and drive engagement
How to become a walking cue for joy, safety, and reinforcement

💻 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
🎉 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 this episode gave you an “aha!” moment, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared the episode with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!
19 min
July 04, 2025How Learning Actually Works in Dogs — Timing, Feedback Loops & Habit Formation
If you’ve ever wondered why your dog sometimes seems to ‘forget’ things they definitely know… or why your training works great at home but falls apart in the real world — this episode is going to change the game.
We’re diving deep into the actual mechanics of how dogs learn — not the myths, not the guesswork, but the real, science-backed strategies that help behaviours stick.
Whether you’re brand new to dog training or you've been at it for years, this episode will help you sharpen your timing, truly understand feedback loops, and train in a way that actually works for your dog’s brain.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why timing is EVERYTHING — and how to master it without overwhelm
How clickers and marker words act like timestamps for your dog’s brain
What a feedback loop is and how to use it to supercharge learning
Why your dog doesn’t always repeat behaviours that get rewarded — and what to do about it
The secret to creating lasting habits that don’t fall apart under pressure
How to spot the missing link when a behaviour isn’t working
Empowering mindset shifts that will make you a clearer, more confident trainer
💻 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 this episode gave you an “aha!” moment, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared the episode with a fellow dog lover — it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!
19 min
June 27, 2025Breed-Specific Enrichment: Exactly How To Hack Your Dog’s DNA For Better Behaviour
Is your dog bored, hyper, reactive or destructive — even though you thought you were giving them enough exercise and attention? It might not be a behaviour problem... it might be an enrichment mismatch.
In this jam-packed episode, I’m diving into one of the most transformative topics in dog training: breed-specific enrichment. We’ll explore how understanding your dog’s original working purpose can unlock a totally different level of calmness, connection, and trainability.
This isn’t about generic food puzzles or 'wearing them out.' This is about using science, history, and smart training to give your dog the life their brain and body were designed for.
Whether you live with a Labrador, a Dachshund, or a Staffy… this one’s for you.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why breed-specific enrichment is the missing link for many behaviour struggles
How unmet instincts lead to frustration, reactivity, and training challenges
The UK’s most popular dog breeds decoded — and what they really need
How to create enriching activities that satisfy your dog’s brain and body
The difference between enrichment and stimulation (and why it matters)
How to turn everyday moments into powerful outlets for your dog’s natural drives
The role of structured tasks in preventing over-arousal
Practical enrichment ideas for Poodles, Labradors, Staffies, GSDs, Dachshunds, and more
How to be the trainer your dog was bred to need
💻 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! I’d love to hear how you’re using breed-specific enrichment in your own training:
Follow me on Instagram and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If this episode gave you an “aha!” moment, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared the episode with a fellow dog lover—it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!
37 min
June 20, 2025The Missing Link: Why Engagement Taught Like THIS Will Transform Your Dog Training
Is your dog tuned out when it matters most? Do they ignore your cues outside, even though they know it at home? You’re not alone — and the issue isn’t obedience... it’s engagement.
In this value-packed episode, we’re digging into what engagement really means, why it’s the key to joyful, reliable training, and how to become the most reinforcing thing in your dog’s world — without nagging, bribing, or losing your cool.
Whether you’re training a distracted adolescent, building confidence with a reactive dog, or just wanting to feel more connected, this episode is full of science-backed strategies and lightbulb moments to help you turn disconnection into partnership.
🧠 In this episode, you’ll learn:
What engagement really is — and why it’s more important than obedience
Why your dog might be ignoring you (and how to fix it)
How dopamine shapes focus, motivation, and connection
Three powerful exercises to boost your dog’s engagement right away
How to reinforce proximity, attention, and commitment — every single day
The mindset shift that turns training into teamwork
🎓 Ready to go deeper?
Transform your dog’s attention, focus, and connection in just three weeks with my brand new 21-Day Engagement Training Course.
It’s on sale until the end of June, and as a podcast listener you can use the code PODCAST10 for an extra 10% off!
💻 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 and TikTok → @listendogtraining
🎧 If this episode gave you an “aha!” moment, I’d be so grateful if you left a review 🌟 or shared the episode with a fellow dog lover — it helps the podcast grow and helps more people train with confidence, clarity, and joy!
19 min

About Listen Dog Training: The Walk & Talk

From the publisher's feed

Leash up your dog, hit the pavement, and tune in to The Walk & Talk with award-winning dog trainer Lisa Burton. In each episode, Lisa pulls back the curtain on dog behaviour, sharing the real,…