Pros: Simple instructions, good demonstrations, amount of information.
Cons: Editing and some minor organization issues.
The Bottom Line: A solid resource for dog owners anxious to begin basic training with either puppies or adults. Strong content, clear instructions, and good demonstrations.
donnamr's Full Review: Train Your Dog - The Positive Gentle Method
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot.
Train Your Dog: the Positive Gentle Method is a very good video for those who want to begin home dog training. It covers typical behaviors that are usually covered in basic obedience classes. One of the aspects of the video that I particularly like is that it presents training sessions with puppies and adult dogs.
Conducting the training lessons are Nicole Wilde and Laura Bournhenne. Nicole Wilde is well known in the world of dog training, having hosted a radio talk show on the subject and written several very good dog training books, including So You Want to Be A Dog Trainer; Its Not the Dogs, Its the People; and Help for Your Fearful Dog. Im less familiar with Bournhenne, though her biography indicates extensive work with animals.
Content
The subject matter is extensive, but each topic is handled in an individual lesson (see organization, below). Each is simply explained and relatively short. In most of the lessons, one of the trainers demonstrates with a dog or puppy as she discusses the techniques.
Each behavior is broken down into several steps, including luring the dog into the desired behavior (such as sit), then attaching a word to the action, and finally requesting the behavior with the new word. These lessons are so clearly described and demonstrated that it makes the training seem quite easy, as long as the progression of steps is followed. Viewers can see how these behaviors build slowly, resulting in eventual success. They can also see how to handle situations when dogs don't react correctly.
Each step of the the way, the trainers emphasize positive reinforcement - ignoring wrong behaviors and consistently rewarding correct ones. They also show how to effectively use treats as rewards and not bribes. They explain what they are doing with the dogs and why they are doing it.
Only one lesson didnt ring entirely true for me. The dog in the lesson on heeling wasnt exactly representative of what most owners face. The dog was a beautiful Doberman that was relatively calm and hardly pulled on the leash. Where was the tugging, lunging dog that most owners have to control? I think a dog with those behaviors would have made the lesson more realistic.
Organization of the Lessons
The DVD is fairly well organized, allowing the viewer to click on each separate behavior or command and watch that. This makes it easy to concentrate on learning the techniques for teaching an individual behavior. DVD sections include:
Our Methods: Wilde and Bourhenne explain the concept of positive reinforcement and the importance of rewards
Basic: contains individual lessons on sit, down, stay, come, and heel
Other Essentials: lessons on leave it, give, wait, gentle, touch, to bed
Behavior Issues: use of crates and baby gates, ringing bells, staying by door, jumping, nipping, and housebreaking
Bonus: car safety, leadership, come, what constitute rewards and consequences, clicker training
The only organizational problem I had was with the Bonus section. The only true bonus was the information on clicker training, which is an alternative training method. Everything else in the Bonus section would have made more sense if included in other sections. For example, why not put the additional information on come in the Basic section where the behavior is demonstrated? Or, why not discuss rewards and consequences in the Our Methods section, where the topic is first introduced? Better to combine these so that all of the information is in one lesson - then the viewer doesnt have to jump back and forth. Finally, the section about leadership (how to be a quiet authority rather than an intimidating force) is so important that it shouldnt be buried in a Bonus category.
Editing
The editing of the DVD is sometimes distracting. When speaking directly to the camera, the trainers often appear confused - not about their content, but about where to look, whether to stop talking, etc. Certainly some of these shots should have been redone. The cut-off points in some of the lessons are rather rough as well, so whoever did the editing didnt do an entirely professional job.
Im a dog trainer, and I can tell you that this is one of the references I often review when I feel its time for me to get back to basics. Its an excellent tool for dog owners who wish to teach basic obedience and start their dogs on the road to being good family members.
Featuring Nichole Wilde and Laura Bourhenne We've watched several training DVDs and this is one we really, really like. Using positive training techni...More at SitStay.com
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