Stress Free Dog Walks

Katie Guastapaglia
  • 1.0 (1)
  • PETS & ANIMALS

Join me, Katie G, for the Stress Free Dog Walks show every week on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from! You’ll get real-world practical advice that you can apply immediately to your own dog, out there on your very next walk, so they ignore distractions and listen to you, walk nicely, and come back when called - even when there’s something more exciting going on! Even more importantly, I’m showing you why dog training alone will NOT solve your problems. We’re diving deep into everything they DON’T tell you in face-to-face training: the psychology of turning your pulling, barking, lunging dog into a stress free walking companion! There are SO MANY training classes, 1-1 programmes, books, reels, blogs... but so few dog owners ACTUALLY enjoying relaxing walks. I untangle the common misconception that dog training is all it takes to fix the pulling, barking and lunging... and what you need instead! It’s free to listen and subscribe, and some episodes I’ll be joined by a stress free dog owner spilling their secrets to success - so you can steal their strategy for your own dog! Plus look out for longer behind-the-scenes juicy bonus episodes with my team of dog trainers and behaviourists! Find Stress Free Walks on all your major podcast players. Prefer to watch the show instead? YouTube. Or grab a cuppa and read the full written article. Did I mention? It’s free! Tune in while you’re commuting in the car, jogging at the gym, and of course, walking your dog! 🎙️ Connect with me and join the conversation: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StressFreeDogWalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogwoodadventureplay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DogwoodAdventurePlay Learning Centre: https://www.stressfreedogwalks.com

  1. JAN 31

    Progress, Setbacks, and the Psychology of Sticking With It

    Ever start a dog training plan full of hope… then quietly abandon it a few weeks later? Totally normal. And it has nothing to do with your dog. In this episode, I break down the invisible mindset loop that wrecks more dog training plans than bad techniques ever could. I call it The Bail-Before-You-Fail Loop. It explains: ⚡ Why motivated, caring dog owners struggle to follow through ⚡ How your brain hunts for “proof” your training isn’t working ⚡ Why quitting feels so good - but is only temporary relief ⚡ What actually creates real, lasting progress once motivation fades This episode is for you if one bad walk knocks the wind out of you, a single reaction makes you question everything, or you keep thinking, “We’ve still got a long way to go.” Hit play and change how you approach dog training for good. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    11 min

  2. JAN 24

    Why Dog Training Works for Some Owners (And Not Others)

    Same dog. Same training. Different outcomes. Why do some dog owners fix pulling, barking and lunging fast, while others stay stuck for years? The difference is not the lead, the treats, or the dog’s behaviour. It's the human operating system under pressure. In this episode, I break down the exact mindset pattern that keeps some dog owners stuck in reactive dog training loops, versus the pattern that creates progress fast. If your dog pulls, barks, lunges, fixates, ignores recall, or loses their head around distractions, this will reset how you approach training. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    11 min

  3. JAN 16

    Stop Training Loose Lead Walking & Recall Until You Hear This

    Crazy idea, but what if you *didn’t* need to drill loose lead walking or recall? Sounds mad, but it’s exactly what happened for Em and her high-energy spaniel Sweep. She didn’t train loose lead walking.She didn’t drill recall over and over.She didn’t follow 8-week programmes for either. And yet: Loose lead walking improved ‘naturally’.Sweep recalled from deerHe started checking in and staying close without being asked. The training industry will have you believe you need an 8 week loose lead walking programme, THEN a 6 week recall class - when all you actually need is a calm brain and strong relationship. When the brain calms, the behaviour follows. Without tedious heelwork or endless recall reps. Press play to hear the full breakdown of how Em and Sweep did it. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    12 min

  4. JAN 10

    When Dog Walks Cause Shame & Embarrassment

    Here’s a scene you might recognise: Your dog fixates, weight shifts forward. You try your training cue, do what you’ve practiced. He explodes anyway. A bark that turns heads, a lunge that yanks your arm. The jogger makes a face. Someone mutters “train your dog” 🙄 That’s when the shame rush hits. Heat in your cheeks, lead in your stomach. Your body wants to fold in on itself, to disappear. Your brain starts the story: “They think I’m incompetent.” “Everyone is judging us.” “My dog is beyond fixing.” Slowly, without intending to, you build a life around minimising shame instead of building confidence. Walks get shorter, less enjoyable for both of you, and you start to feel guilty that your dog is unfulfilled. Shame does not STAY on the dog walk. It’s what makes you hesitate to try new things. It’s why you replay conversations, worrying you said too much or not enough. It’s why you apologise when you haven’t done anything wrong 😢 Hit play to understand what shame is doing to your confidence, and how to stop it running your walks, your freedom, and your relationship with your dog. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    13 min

  5. JAN 3

    One Toolkit That Solves Multiple Dog Training Problems

    If you’re searching “how to stop jumping up,” “why my dog barks at everything,” or “how to stop pulling”… you’re playing behaviour whack-a-mole. Fix one thing this week… A new problem pops up next week… Tackle that one… another appears… Whack whack whack you go 🔨🔨🔨 Jumping, barking, pulling, reacting, ignoring you, etc etc etc. These aren’t 10 different problems. They’re 10 symptoms of the same thing 📣 Therefore you don’t need 10 training plans. You just need ONE toolkit that works everywhere. 🧰 One toolkit that helps your dog stay calm when the world gets exciting. 🧰 One toolkit that supports recovery so they can think again faster. 🧰 One toolkit you can use for jumping, barking, pulling, chasing, ignoring… all of it. You’ll learn the smarter way to train - using one versatile toolkit that solves many behaviour problems at once. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    8 min

  6. 12/27/2025

    Reactivity Is Not a Behaviour Problem (Why Training Isn’t Working)

    If you’re trying to fix the barking, pulling and lunging whilst the barking, pulling and lunging is happening - you’re already too late. By the time your dog *does* the behaviour, their body has already fired off an entire chain reaction that you did not see. 📈 Heart rate up. 🫁 Breathing quickened. 💪 Muscles primed. ⚡ Stress chemicals dumped into the system. 🧠 Thinking brain already offline. So if you’re trying to stop the behaviour, you’re only reacting to your dog’s reaction (which means you are just as reactive as they are). Reactivity isn’t a behaviour problem. It’s a brain and body problem 📣📣📣 One more time: Reactivity isn’t a behaviour problem. It’s a brain and body problem. What you see on the OUTSIDE (the barking, the spinning, the pulling) is just the END result of everything that happened seconds earlier on the INSIDE. This is why cueing, commending or correcting will only ever be a sticking plaster, and you’ll plateau at your current level, no matter what you try. Stop addressing the end of the chain, and start at the beginning. Press play before you waste another walk trying to fix the symptom instead of the cause. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    9 min

  7. 12/20/2025

    How to Pass Other Dogs on Walks if Yours is Anxious, Excitable or Reactive

    You know ‘The Showdown’ 🤠 The quiet walk, the long straight path, no exit route. Cue: dramatic music as a dog appears on the horizon. What do you actually do when another dog is heading straight for you on a walk? Shorten the lead? Turn around? Hold your breath and hope for the best? I explain why so many pass-bys go badly - and what to do instead. 🤠The common mistakes made in those few seconds and the red flag that you’re dangerously close to a meltdown (and injury) 🤠Why ‘hoping for the best’ is the fastest way to set your dog up to fail 🤠And the simple adjustments (even before you’ve done any training) that stop the whole thing escalating. If passing other dogs makes your stomach knot up and the townsfolk run for cover, you need this episode in your ears. Press play and learn how to walk past other dogs without the drama. 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    7 min

  8. 12/06/2025

    EXACTLY How to Reply to Unwelcome Opinions About Your Dog

    Christmas is full of joy - and opinions. Ever been hit with unsolicited advice about your dog’s behaviour at family gatherings? 🙄 💬 “Oh she’s *still* barking?” 💬 “We never use treats - you’re spoiling him.” 💬 “Our dog doesn’t need a lead.” You can enjoy the festivities without feeling judged or defensive - AND feel good about how you handled it (instead of silently resentful and thinking up ‘witty’ comebacks at 3am). When eeeeeveryone thinks they know what’s best for your dog, here’s how to handle these snarky comments with confidence, while advocating for your dog (and your sanity) 📈 Dog Walking Diagnostic - Discover Your Dog’s Walking Style! Do you know the REAL reason your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores you? It’s often not what you think! Discover why your dog struggles on walks - and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Dog Walking Diagnostic Quiz is completely free, takes just 5 mins, and is your first step toward stress-free walks with a well-behaved dog you’re proud of. https://stressfreedogwalks.com/diagnostic 📘 Calm Canine Blueprint Subscribe to the show, comment Calm Canine, and head over to https://stressfreedogwalks.com/blueprint/. I’ll send you my Calm Canine Blueprint completely free. 🐕 The Loose Lead Walking Recipe Ready to stop the pulling, zig-zagging and lunging FOR GOOD? ‘The Recipe’ is the complete retraining system that takes you step-by-step to loose lead, stress free walks. With personalised Trainer & Behaviourist advice to make sure you get this thing DONE - regardless of where you’re starting from today. https://stressfreewalks.dog/recipe

    12 min
See All (49)

Trailer

About

Join me, Katie G, for the Stress Free Dog Walks show every week on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from! You’ll get real-world practical advice that you can apply immediately to your own dog, out there on your very next walk, so they ignore distractions and listen to you, walk nicely, and come back when called - even when there’s something more exciting going on! Even more importantly, I’m showing you why dog training alone will NOT solve your problems. We’re diving deep into everything they DON’T tell you in face-to-face training: the psychology of turning your pulling, barking, lunging dog into a stress free walking companion! There are SO MANY training classes, 1-1 programmes, books, reels, blogs... but so few dog owners ACTUALLY enjoying relaxing walks. I untangle the common misconception that dog training is all it takes to fix the pulling, barking and lunging... and what you need instead! It’s free to listen and subscribe, and some episodes I’ll be joined by a stress free dog owner spilling their secrets to success - so you can steal their strategy for your own dog! Plus look out for longer behind-the-scenes juicy bonus episodes with my team of dog trainers and behaviourists! Find Stress Free Walks on all your major podcast players. Prefer to watch the show instead? YouTube. Or grab a cuppa and read the full written article. Did I mention? It’s free! Tune in while you’re commuting in the car, jogging at the gym, and of course, walking your dog! 🎙️ Connect with me and join the conversation: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StressFreeDogWalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogwoodadventureplay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DogwoodAdventurePlay Learning Centre: https://www.stressfreedogwalks.com

Information

  • Creator
    Katie Guastapaglia
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Katie Guastapaglia
  • Show Website
    Stress Free Dog Walks

You Might Also Like