DOG TRAINING

It's estimated that there are over 60 million dog owners in the U.S.  Most of them have come to realize that dogs don't come already programmed, without the need for dog training.  Just like children, pets need to be taught right from wrong; how to behave in certain situations.  This can be especially challenging since animals don't speak the same language as humans.

There are dozens of dog training resource materials available to you for purchase over the internet.  Some are built on a history of success, while others offer a single person's viewpoint.  All have one thing in common - they try to give you an effective way to communicate with your dog.

When looking at different dog training programs, there are certain factors you need to consider.  Some of these include:

•  Effectiveness.  Does the program carry through on its claims?  Is there a history of success in using the program?

•  Methods.  Are you comfortable with the training methods used?  Does it cover the specific training needs you require?

•  Cost.  Is the cost of the training reasonable for the value it provides?  Is there a refund available if you're not satisfied?

TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best dog training programs available today.  We hope you find these reviews helpful in training your dog!

 

Cost:	$39.95
Refund:	60 day money-back guarantee

 

This training program covers everything that a responsible dog owner needs to know.  It is well organized and easy to follow along so anyone can use it without difficulty.  The website is full of glowing testimonials about how the program has worked for them.  There are reports from all around the world and for all kinds of breeds.  

Daniel Stevens, the author of Secrets to Dog Training, focuses on the importance of being the "alpha dog" and the idea of "dog whispering."  The e-book is broken down into straightforward chapters as follows:

•  DOG 101: It's A Dogs Life

•  DOG 102: Caring for Your Dog

•  DOG 103: Training Methods Revealed

•  DOG 201: Secrets to Understanding Your Dog

•  DOG 202: Dog Problems Solved

•  DOG 203: Commands to Start

•  DOG 301: Dog Whispering Uncovered

•  DOG 302: More Dog Problems Solved

•  DOG 303: Advanced Commands and Tricks

Some of the commands specifically addressed in Secrets to Dog Training are Sit, Come, "Okay", "No", Roll over, Seek (find), Hold and leave, Sit and Stay (advanced), Beg, Down, Fetch, Heel (stages 1 to 3), Shake, Crawl, Wait, Jump, Catch, Climb, and Stand.

Daniel Stevens does not just regurgitate what others are saying, but has developed his system through years in the industry and has many case studies to back it up. Some of the problems he specifically covers are Aggression, Thieving, Biting and nipping, Travel problems, Coprophagia (poop eating), 2 dogs in the house, Destructive behavior, Death in the family, Digging holes, Bad breath, Disobedience, Cat chaser, Dominance aggression, Flatulence, Fear of the leash, Fleas, Fights between dogs, Jot weather and heatstroke, Nuisance barking, Jealousy, Off-leash problems, Jumping on furniture, Jumping on people, and Worms.

The manual is comprehensive for obedience training and worth the money by itself, but the four bonus books really round out an entire dog training approach from potty training to security instruction.  The six bonus books are:

•  Dog Grooming  (14 page book with 11 tips)

•  Security Train Your Dog  (11 page book with 6 tips)

•  House Training Methods  (10 page book with 12 tips)

•  Secrets to Becoming the Alpha Dog  (10 page book with 14 tips)

•  Secrets to Dog Training On the Go (mp3 format)

•  A Quick Guide to Dog Aggression

As if all that weren't enough, as a free bonus you can email Daniel and his team at Secrets to Dog Training with any specific problem you have with your dog and they will send you personalized advice on how correct the problem.

This program is great for a loving dog owner who believes that dogs are naturally pack animals and need to have that role of leadership filled in their lives.  An excellent program filled with helpful, useful information, Secrets to Dog Training receives our top rating.

 

Cost:	$38.97
Refund:	60 day money-back guarantee

 

Dove Cresswell has produced a top quality program.  The only thing keeping this from getting a five star rating is its slightly less comprehensive coverage of total dog training as compared to Sit Stay Fetch.  She does cover basic obedience training and the most common problems (pulling on the leash, jumping up on people, peeing in the house etc.).

The program comes in seven downloadable video lessons:

•  Puppy house training/ potty training

•  Dog obedience training

•  Crate training

•  Walking politely on a leash: the informal heel

•  The recall

•  Good puppy and dog manners

•  Special dog tricks

There are also eight bonuses included.

•  Bonus 1 - Be In Touch With Dove Directly.

•  Bonus 2 - Teach Your Dog to Fetch

•  Bonus 3 - Train Your Dog to Play Soccer.

•  Bonus 4 - Teach Your Dog to Play Hide and Seek.

•  Bonus 5 - Information on Dog Sports

•  Bonus 6 - Choosing the Right Toys For Your Dog.

•  Bonus 7 - Earning Your Dog's Respect

•  Bonus 8 - Choose the Right Dog Food & Treats

Dove Cresswell has a very positive approach to dog training based mostly on enthusiastic praise and a reliance on treats. This is the system for anyone who is uncomfortable with the idea of needing to be the "Alpha Dog" in their relationship with their dog.  This is also a better program for dogs that are not aggressive.  This may be the best program for showing you how to teach tricks since Dove's primary experience is in training animals for TV and film. The website could benefit with an FAQ page.

Overall, this is another excellent dog training program. The videos really help describe the lessons, and the information is presented in an easy, helpful way.  For those people not comfortable with the Alpha Dog approach used in Sit Stay Fetch, Dove Cresswell delivers a valuable and effective alternative.

 

Cost:	$39.97
Refund:	90 day money-back guarantee

 

The 7-part free email course is a nice benefit of this product. It covers general topics and is great for a curious dog owner. The topics covered are:

•  The 7 stages of puppy development

•  When should I start training my puppy?

•  The right leash and collar for my dog

•  Why your puppy nips - and 5 ways to get him to stop

•  5 ways your dog senses the world differently from you

•  5 surefire ways to show your dog you're the boss

•  5 tips for choosing the right vet for your dog

The program that you purchase is much more extensive even though it does not reach the depth of coverage of our top 2 products.  An eye catcher on this program is its promise of results in seven days or less.  They also provide the longest refund period (3 months) of any of our dog training products reviewed, called "The Dog Ate It" guarantee.  The program covers basic obedience training and potty training.  Author Charlie LaFave has a definite focus on training dogs from the time they are puppies, but also has tips for training older dogs.

The program also comes with five bonuses:

•  Bonus 1 - "What To And What Not To Feed Your Dog!"

•  Bonus 2 - "Doggy Mind Teasers"

•  Bonus 3 - "Weather Tips for You And Your Dog"

•  Bonus 4 - "Electronic Training Solutions"

•  Bonus 5 - "Introduction To Clicker Training"

This is a decent program designed primarily for puppy training, but with tips for older dogs as well.  The bonuses are nice though not terribly necessary.  Overall you get more for your money with our top two programs.

 

Cost:	$37.77
Refund:	60 day money-back guarantee

 

This is a very good program that covers a large number of commands.  A long list of attractive bonuses rounds out this offering.  With a long list of testimonials from satisfied customers, they must be doing something right!

This training system is divided into four sections:

•  Dog Psychology

•  Canine Learning Theory

•  Obedience Training - Basic and advanced - in which you learn the following commands:

	Sit	Fetch	Down
	Come	Mine	Off
	Bed	Stay	Heel
	Drop	Potty	Speak/Quiet
	Ouch	Stand

•  Problem Behavior Solving  - in which the following problems are addressed:

	Dominance	Separation Anxiety
	Destructive Behavior	Jumping
	Digging	Chewing
	Chasing	Begging
	Aggression	Fearfulness
	Shyness	Excessive barking
	Biting/Nipping	Pulling on Leash
	Escaping	Coprophagia (eating own poop)

 

Nine bonuses are also offered with the program. These focus on general dog care and complement the obedience training offered with the program.  The bonuses offered are:

•  Bonus 1 - Good Nutrition For Good Health!

•  Bonus 2 - 101 delicacies For Your Dog!

•  Bonus 3 - How To Choose The Right Vet For Your Dog!

•  Bonus 4 - How To Teach Your Dog 13 Easy Tricks!

•  Bonus 5 - Mastering Dog Grooming (CD Audio)

•  Bonus 6 - One-on-One Email Consultation for 12-Months!

•  Bonus 7 - Secrets revealed! How To Solve Canine Aggression

•  Bonus 8 - How To Prevent doggie behavioral problems through Mental Stimulation

•  Bonus 9 - Dog Insurance Exposed! Is It Really Worth It?

If you can get past the somewhat unprofessional appearance of the website, you'll find Dog Training Mastery provides a very good product that covers a lot of ground.  

 

Cost:	$47.00
Refund:	60 day money-back guarantee

 

The website has several glowing testimonials about the products effectiveness, but you have to get past the author's sentimental story at the beginning about his childhood dog and how he trained it.  This program comes primarily from what he learned from a Disney animal trainer as a boy.

This program has the advantage of being an audio-visual presentation similar to Dove Cresswell's, but with moving animations rather than pictures.  The basic program covers general aspects of obedience training by giving you tips on how to become the "Alpha Dog", ways to correct whining, biting and chewing, and many basic tricks such as sit, stay, come, heel and lay down.  It is odd however the remarkable similarities between this and Dog Training Lessons.  Both programs offer a part called "Instinct vs. Man."  The promotional material for this portion on each site has much identical phrasing and it is divided into identical sections, in fact only when the product is pictured does it appear different from each other.

There are also five bonuses that come with the program:

•  House training made easy

•  100 Cool tricks you see in the movies

•  Secrets to a happy and healthy pooch (also offered on Dog training lessons)

•  101 ways to spoil your dog for under $10 (also offered on Dog training lessons)

•  180 dog recipes even you can enjoy

Overall this program is on the expensive end and definitely does not cover the amount of material that our top selections do.  Though the material is effective it does not seem to come from the extensive personal experience that Sit Stay Fetch or Dove Cresswell's program does.  The web page would benefit from a FAQ page and more extensive testimonials.  Why this comes in below Dog Training Lessons, a site that offers some remarkably similar materials, is the lack of information available online and the price.

 

Cost:	$37.77
Refund:	60 day money-back guarantee

 

DIY Dog Training at Home covers a variety of dog training areas.  One of our issues with this program is that the author's background is in producing dog health e-books, not the hands-on training of dogs.  As she says on her site, all the information she presents is gathered from books she has read, not from her own personal experience.  Her goal in offering this training guide is to answer questions that she was commonly asked while she wrote her Dog health e books.

Some of the questions she covers are:

•  How do I best use newspapers to potty train my dog?

•  My dogs won't stop "humping" what should I do?

•  How can I safely introduce a new puppy into my family?

•  How can I teach my dog not to eats his poop?

•  My dog "pees" at every tree when we are out walking, how can I teach him to stop it?

•  My dog has started nipping and biting when I groom or touch him, what should I do to make him stop it?

•  How do I teach my doggy to stop barking quickly and easily?

•  My dog is over 3 years old, can she be potty trained?

She also sweetens the pot by throwing in seven bonuses:

•  A Goldmine Of Doggie Health Tips.  (Audio recording - 1 hour and 7 minutes)

•  Dog Training Down Under. (Audio recording - 1 hour and 3 minutes)

•  Introductions to Clicker Training.

•  Secrets to Becoming the "Alpha Dog" & Being Your Doggie's Pack Leader.

•  Full typed transcription of the "Goldmine of Doggie Health Tips" audio.

•  Full typed transcription of the "Dog Training Down Under" audio.

•  Free email consultation.

Though the package covers a lot of ground, you need to remember this is not really her area of expertise.  You may get more out of the "Goldmine of Doggie Health Tips" than anything else.  For dog training needs, we recommend going with someone who has more hands-on experience in the field.

 

Cost:	$19.95 - on-year subscription $24.95 - two-year subscription $39.95 - lifetime subscription
Refund:	90 day money-back guarantee

 

For this product, access is based on membership.  You get quite a bit of information, but it is locked up tight until you subscribe.  The 90-day money back guarantee definitely makes it a low risk investment.  Also it has an attractive price; $19.95 for a 1 year subscription, $24.95 for a two year subscription and 39.95 for unlimited access.  This is confusing though because the FAQ page lists the price as $29.95.  Besides that, consider the 1-year subscription it has the lowest price.

Since this is the least expensive program in our review, it may be of interest to the most budget conscious shoppers. Another nice thing is the regular updates to the site so that there is new information for you to look at almost every time you log on.

Some of the training and dog care areas regularly found on the site include:

•  Train your dog in 7 Days or Less

•  Get him to Come, Sit, Stay and Heel

•  Get him to Lie Down and Fetch

•  Prevent Destructive Chewing

•  Protect & Care for your dog

•  How to Correctly Praise your dog

•  Stop him from Jumping up on you

•  How to Speed up training Results

•  The Right way to use Food

•  How to Choose the Right dog for you

•  How to Raise your puppy

•  How To Choose A Veterinarian

•  24/7 Live Technical Support

•  Know which Toys your dog wants

•  How to win your puppy's Love

•  Introduce your puppy to his Crate

•  Welcome a new pup to your Home

•  Dog Training Internet Resource file

•  Fixing Aggression Problems In Dogs

The downfall is nothing is really yours; when the subscription is up, it's over.  Also if the problem you are trying to handle with your dog is not covered on the site, you are out of luck.  You can send an email to request coverage on your issues, but there is no guaranteed response as there is with Sit Stay Fetch and Dove Cresswell's programs.

 

Cost:	$39.95
Refund:	90 day money-back guarantee

 

According to the web site Ellen Langton trained her dog practically overnight using a book called How to Train Your Dog in One Evening.  Unfortunately there is no other reference as to how it works for other people.  Though the idea of training a dog in one evening sounds great, it is a little outrageous. Dogs, like people, need consistency over time to really learn behaviors.  We might believe this for one trick but not general obedience training.  Also for the price we would much rather get a more comprehensive book.  

Some of the things that are covered in this book include:

•  The nifty trick police officers use to make sure their dogs come when they're called

•  How to stop your dog from digging holes all over your yard

•  The exact number of toys your dog should have

•  If you have a dog that bites, here's the one game you should never play with them

•  How to make all your trips to the vet stress-free

•  Why feeding your dog this certain food can cause digging problems

•  Imagine your dog coming up and "telling" you when he has to go potty

•  2 words that can immediately stop your dog from chewing

•  A remarkable product that has even the spunkiest of dogs "healing" in minutes

•  The single most important command you can ever teach your dog

•  The huge mistake almost everyone makes with dogs that run away

•  The easy 4 step system that eliminates potty training accidents

•  How to stop your dog from jumping all over people

•  Relaxation techniques for even the most nervous or excited dogs

•  What K-9 police do to keep their dogs from barking

•  A quick way to stop your dog from chewing up everything in the house

•  The 7 golden rules experts use with their own dogs

This product also comes with two bonuses:

•  The Potty Training Zone For All Dogs

•  Dog Training 101 - The Straight Facts

The lack of information to back up the claims on the website left us believing it was not worth the price.  We believe you can do better, and spend less, with one of our top-rated selections.