Train Your Dog - The Positive Gentle Method

I felt that the lessons presented on this DVD will be more affective when used to train more food/treat driven dogs that are willing to work for a reward like a cookie etc in exchange for the owner's desired behavior, but will more than likely frustrate the dog owner that has a highly independent dog who has little or no interest in performing in exchange for a "cookie" There is essentially no dog psychology discussed on this DVD which leaves the viewer relying completely on the methods presented, with no understanding of the "why's and hows" behind what the dog may be doing, or thinking during a training session, but instead just a series of "moves with cookies as a reward the owner can do" which I believe will not provide the universal desired result that many people dealing with serious dog behavior issues my be looking to remedy through the use of this DVD as it only demonstrates motions for the owner to go through instead of any understanding as to why they're going through them.I also found the off script attempts at humor to be a waste of time, and some of the explanations provided about how dolphins at sea world can be trained with food and therefore that must mean that dogs can also be trained with food alone to be a real problematic premise for why the techniques presented in the video should work for all dogs, and is a real ambitious logic. I have a great deal of respect for Nicole Wilde and believe that she is truly an expert in canine behavior, and have no doubts if she came to your house to train your dog would likely have an invaluable perspective/point of view on how to help, but this DVD it is primarily a cookie-driven training system which I believe will stifle anyone with a dominant, obnoxious, severely hyper, or highly distracted dog during attempts to train.I appreciate the idea of using positive methods for training dogs, and I really like the humane treatment of all animals which is why I gave this DVD 2 stars, however based on training effectiveness, I feel that plenty of people who turn to this DVD to help resolve problem behavior their dog is illustrating, who happen to own a dog with an independent, socially disinterested personality, will find themselves very frustrated as no deep canine psychology/understanding is revealed, or training methods that deal with dogs who don't want your cookie illustrated. The "untrained dogs" in this DVD are so ridiculously food driven the trainer can hardly keep them off of their hands and out of their pockets as they "train" them. Anyway, some of the techniques will work quite well for easy, friendly, well socialized dogs who love to work for food. People looking to correct unwanted behavior from dogs demonstrating highly undesirable behaviors should look for a DVD that includes more problem resolution/dog psychology based instruction in my opinion.

I am an aspiring dog trainer, so I have seen MANY videos and DVDs. I have read many books on the subject of dog training as well. I have read many of Nicole Wilde's books in particular(which, by the way,I really benefitted from) and that is what prompted me to purchase this DVD (because she is one of the trainers featured in it). Nicole is a well known Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Author (well known amongst many professional dog trainers all over the USA)and she has become a favorite of mine! This DVD is great! It is so well organized and it makes training so EASY. You don't have to watch a whole DVD in one sitting. Instead, browse the menu for the behavior you want to train your dog... then select it with your remote control. Watch it with your dog and then practice it (Viewing and practicing one command might take you 20 minutes or so). It is broken up into many sections to make training EASY, EFFECTIVE (as far as results AND time)...more so than ANY training video I've ever seen! Using the techniques that Laura and Nicole demonstrate for you will build a loving bond with your dog AND your dog will think learning is fun... which, I believe, is the very BEST part of this type of training! You won't regret purchasing this DVD! I think your dog will thank you too!

This movie is okay. The things a like about this movie is that the girls in the movie did a good job making the method they use make sense to the viewer. The were consistant throughout the entire production. I also like that they broke it down into segments for you. What I didn't like about this video is that the training sessions weren't in depth. They were short and concise. But they didn't give the viewer a chance to see how to work with a dog/puppy that was misbehaving or timid. The dogs that they worked with had already been worked with. So my advise to you would be this: if you have a puppy that seems to be eager to learn or if you are thinking about getting puppy, I would recommend this video. If you have a dog that has behavior problems I would recommend buying a video that breaks each training session down and is more thorough in description. Also get one that you know that the dogs are fresh and haven't been worked with by a trainer before.

Overall this was a helpful DVD to understand basics of gentle puppy training using a rewards based method. However, what if found very difficult was trying to follow the camera angle and motion. I thought it would be more practical to show the trainer and dog w/the camera in one position (the trainer and dog in one view). During some training sessions the camera was often held sideways, at an angle, and kept skipping views , showing the motion through a different angle as the trainer went through the instructions. You get the idea, and you can duplicate the instructions, but the video was a little difficult to follow for this reason. The video goes through basic commands: sit, down, heel, stay and come, plus many more commands using a clicker for reinforcement. It also has a section on behavior problems such as jumping up, potty training issues, and nipping.

I wanted a video on positive dog training using a clicker, so members of our dog rescue could learn about it and see it done. We are all experienced dog owners and handlers. First I purchased Karen Pryor's clicker training video. While Pryor's video presented the material well, the video's production quality left much to be desired. Wilde's video seemed more up to date and the write ups promoted it as a great teaching tool. Wilde's video presents very basic lessons using a clicker. This video is suitable for the novice dog owner, and the short lessons are an especially good way to show children how to interact with their new dog. However, the video is designed for the novice owner. This is not a video for the experienced handler interested in learning about positive dog training and use of a clicker on a deeper level.

Excellent video. Every one of the commands now works