Dog Training Videos - Do You Need Them?

By Sarah Barker

The short answer about dog training videos, is no. While dog training videos are fun to watch and exciting, the chances are they're going to be more expensive than their book counterparts, and are often harder to digest because of their non-interactive nature. Videos play all the way through, and if you want to remember parts of them you have to take notes, so you end up writing a book of what the videos contain. Why not just get a book in the first place?

Of course, it depends entirely on your favourite method of learning - whether you prefer to read and have something on hand that you can quickly skim through to find relevant sections, or whether you want to sit down in front of your computer or TV so fast forward through a 60 minute video to find a 10 second clip.

With that said, dog training videos are beneficial if you can find the right kind. The trouble is, that's very hard to do. Instead, drop the idea of videos and find yourself a good dog training book - then you can make your own videos when your dog is successfully trained!

Most online dog training courses will come with videos, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should get them. One excellent course written by professional dog trainer Daniel Stevens has no videos, yet is one of the most successful courses available online. He firmly believes that you should spend more time with your dog than watching other dogs on TV, so he didn't include videos when he was created his course.

Instead, he's used photos interleaved with the book text to demonstrate particular techniques or further explain something he's talking about in the text. This means you can skim read the book very quickly and get an instant feel for what's being taught, without having to sit through hours of tedious footage of dogs misbehaving, or unnaturally perfect dogs who have clearly been trained since birth.

Dog training videos should be left for after your dog has been trained, when it can do tricks and you want to show it off. Until that happens, stick with books and material you can hold in your hands. Or better yet, (and this is probably the only time I'd recommend using videos to train your dog) get out and play with your dog, then video the two of you and watch it back. You'll be able to see what your interactions are like, and it will help you plan your training routines.

Dog obedience training can seem like an uphill struggle, but if you've got professional advice from the start and a properly designed behavior strategy, it's actually a breeze to get through. I've successfully trained my dogs out of their bad habits (barking, chewing and scratching) thanks to the advice of Daniel Steven's "Sit, Stay, Fetch!" course. Learn more about dog behaviour training today, and get a free 6 part sample from the "Sit, Stay, Fetch!" course at EasyDogObedience.com. I'll see you there, and wish you the best of luck with your pets.