Let's Talk Training: Shaping Success with Susan Garrett
"Effective training is achieved simply by playing with your dog."
“Every single dog has got an unbelievable capacity to show you how brilliant they can be.” – Susan Garrett
Bring out the best in your dog.
Susan Garrett of Ancaster, Ontario, uses discovery, challenge and innovation as the basis of her dog training fundamentals. Her philosophy can be summarized by one thing: Effective training is achieved simply by playing with your dog. World renowned for her game-based positive reinforcement training, Susan focuses on training that is fun for the people and animals involved, making sure everyone enjoys the time they spend together. Her methods have helped thousands of dog owners in over 100 countries have the best relationship possible with their dogs.
Susan first became interested in animal behavior while earning her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). She developed this knowledge into her principles for dog training, becoming a successful canine sports instructor and competitor. She has won multiple gold medals at National or World Championship agility events with every dog she has owned in the past 30 years.
One of the most successful USDAA® competitors of all time, Susan has won Grand Prix® National Champion titles six times in five different height classes, the “Triple Crown” twice with two different dogs, National Champion Dog Agility Masters® Team five times, Steeplechase® Championship five times, BiathlonSM twice, plus the Masters ChallengeSM Championship.
“My goal is to always bring out the best in my dog,” Susan said of her competitive training. “The trophies were an outcome of my goal.” Dogs that come into her home stay for life, and she focuses on raising great family pets first, talented performance dogs second.
Focus on Obstacle Performance and Handling Execution.
Susan believes “our agility dogs are doing the absolute best they can, with the education we have given them in the environment that we are asking them to perform." She also believes there are two key elements for agility training: Obstacle Performance and Handling Execution. Focusing on the fundamentals of each component is vital because “the time a dog spends on an obstacle compared to the time the dog spends between the obstacles is very similar.”
"Obstacle Performance: The elements for obstacle performance include our dog’s fitness, criteria breakdown (weaves, tunnels, contacts, the different jumps, tire and start line), understanding and speed.
Handling Execution: The elements of our handling execution include knowing our dog’s line, knowing our best handling line, proper appreciation of motion, cueing lines for our dog well in advance to allow him to prepare his body and know what path to take, keeping the connection with our dog throughout, and our fitness."
Susan reflects that “over the past 30 years of teaching dog agility, there is not one physically sound dog on this planet who cannot LOVE the sport when it is trained correctly,” and notes that it is crucial to “focus on having a joyful, engaged relationship with your dog” first.
Have a joyful, engaged relationship with your dog.
During a recent USDAA training query on Facebook, Susan was the top-quoted trainer when the audience was asked to share “the best advice you received from a trainer.” In addition to the “bring out the best in my dog” quote that several handlers mentioned, Pascale Burnet shared this Susan Garrett advice that comes to mind every time he trains: “Be the GPS and flagman to your dog while running a course.”
Many fellow competitors have adopted her philosophies, which she has shared through workshops, books, DVDs, blog posts, podcasts and online training programs. She has been a highly sought-after speaker worldwide. One of her books, Shaping Success, was named the Dog Writers Association of America’s (DWAA) Dog Training and Behavior Book of the Year in 2005. More about her work can be found at DogsThat.com.
In 2020, Susan started her Shaped By Dog Podcast to help pet owners and competitors alike understand how dogs think and learn and to provide information on living with dogs, positive training, and solutions to overcoming challenges. It’s now one of the most popular dog podcasts of all time and frequently featured in USDAA's Training Tuesday series.
Susan shares her life with five dogs, Border Collies Feature, Swagger, Momentum and This! and a rescue Bulldog mix, Tater-Salad, at Say Yes Dog Training Inc. in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada.