Chloe Stewart Founder

As an executive coach, my superpower is sensing the subtle shifts in emotion and energy that dictate team performance. Interestingly, reading these exact energy levels is also the key to understanding dogs. Today, I use these skills to coach people and train dogs, creating positive change at both ends of the leash.

What inspired you to become a dog training consultant?

My journey with dog behavior started with a friend’s dog Pedro, a 30-pound 9 year old Boston Terrier. He yanked so hard on his leash while I was walking him that he pulled my lat! This injury taught me some humility, and that I needed to look beyond treat training to fix the problem.

To solve Pedro’s reactivity, I had to look at both ends of the leash. 

What was the solution?

By using my leadership coaching skills, and with extensive research of dog behaviour and training models, I developed the LEASH methodology. I applied it with clear rules and calm energy. Guiding Pedro like a true pack leader. In just two weeks, he walked calmly on a loose leash and virtually stopped reacting to distractions. This behaviour continues as we keep the LEASH method going.

How do you know it works beyond Pedro?

To test this framework, I tried it on my own two dogs. Chewie was an overly protective guard dog at 7 years old and 25 pounds, and BB was a 5 year old 12 pound guard barker who reacted to every little noise and person outside. By watching what set them off and changing our home’s energy, BB’s barking reduced in just one month, and Chewie is finally retired from guard duty!

What happened then?

After proving the concept worked with three very different types of behavior, I took on my biggest scaling challenge yet: fostering Layla, a 65-pound, 1 year old, high-energy rescue dog who was simply chaotic and wild on the leash. My lats were in danger again. Even if she wasn’t a foster that had to stay on two leashes outdoors, she was a ‘runner’ before she came to me. Off leash exercise was not an option even in a fenced in area.

At her size and strength, her frantic state of mind was a high-stakes challenge with my two much smaller dogs in tow. 

How did the Foster dog Layla respond?

She is a very sweet dog, but got too excited whenever her adrenaline spiked. After just three weeks of our training, the changes were amazing. She learned to stay calm for the majority of the walk, ignore big distractions with proper tools, and no longer looks to ‘run’. I continue using the LEASH methodology as her trainer to underpin her specific training needs as she gets older. Every day she is learning more and more about how to live calmly in her new adopted home (with none other than Pedro as her adoptive brother).

How do the four dogs exist together?

The biggest challenge was introducing these four very different dogs to each other and reach the point where we can all switch off because everyone knows their roles, responsibilities and feels safe. This took solving Olympical level logistical challenges due to confliciting ages, sizes and energy levels and pack order amongst the dogs, as well as managing the different humans who were also a big piece of the puzzle. The result is the work has paid off and all four are able to be together in small or large spaces, indoors and outdoors without any problems arising.

So what happened then?

These successes are precisely what inspired me to launch Both Ends of the Leash Consulting. I can bring owners and their dogs together to live a calm coexistence. The humans at the end of the leash will learn to lead the dog and communicate in their language.The dog at the end of the leash will transition from worker to companion, retiring the management dog to unleash the joy-filled, loving family pet.