*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through one of my links, at no cost to you.
So, you found Adrienne Farricelli’s program “Braintraining4dogs” and now you’re wondering if this is actually something for you?
Then you’re in the right spot!
I’ve been wondering the same thing a few months ago.
While Baloo has come a long way from being a super hyper, jumpy dog, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
So, eventually I decided to just get the program and try it out. And to help you understand it better, I wrote this extensive review so that you can make an informed decision whether Brain Training For Dogs is right for you and your dog.
First, I’ll show you what Brain Training for Dogs even is and what is in the training. Then I’ll give you my opinion on what’s good about it and what could do with some improvement. And last, you’ll learn who this program is best suited for.
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick summary: I highly recommend Braintraining4dogs, particularly for hyper dogs or dogs with common behavioral issues, such as ignoring your commands, barking, whining, destructive behavior etc.
This program only works with positive reinforcement, which means there’s no force or punishment included. At its core, Braintraining4dogs engages your dog mentally to learn to solve his own problems. That will help him to become more confident but also much more relaxed. At $47 this is a bargain for the value you get! And if you’re not happy with it for any reason, there’s a 60-day-money-back-guarantee.
Okay, now grab yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy the review!
What is Brain Training For Dogs?
Brain Training For Dogs (or Braintraining4dogs) is a force-free dog training program that uses brain games to eliminate behavioral problems.
The program is in fact split in 2 parts: the brain games and common behavioral problems and solutions.
The brain games are its core, though. This part is built in a fun school-like system where your dog will go form preschool to Einstein.
Every level has a few different games that you have to teach your dog.
That’s not only great mental stimulation for your dog, but you’ll also teach your dog skills that you can use to correct about any behavioral issue!
Let’s take a closer look.
Brain Training For Dogs’ Structure
The program is split into two main parts: the brain games and common behavioral issues. Both are e-books with lots of pictures and there’s a video for every game.
Along with that you’ll also find a section about puppies, a forum and some case studies.
As you can see, there’s a whole lot to learn. You definitely won’t be short on information!
Brain Training Games
The brain games are what this program is named after.
If you’re a dog owner you’ve probably played a good chunk of fetch or tug of war with your dog, right? These are great to wear your dog out physically and it helps for bonding. But the issue with those games is that your dog doesn’t get challenged mentally.
That’s what this course focuses on.
Mental stimulation for dogs is immensely important for a calm and well-behaved dog. If you’d like to learn more about this aspect, there are a few articles at the end of this review where you can learn more.
To begin with, the course contains an extensive part about the most important dog training commands. Plus, you get taught everything you need to know about clicker training, which is a highly effective dog training method.
After that there are 21 games that are split into 7 parts.
Each part is like a step in your school career, so naturally, the games become a little more difficult with every higher school level.
Here’s an overview:
- Preschool:
- Targeting
- Look into my eyes
- The airplane game
- Elementary:
- The Treasure hung
- The muffin game
- The ball pit game
- High School:
- Jazz up and settle down
- The bottle game
- Bobbing for treats
- College:
- The shell game
- Open sesame
- The magic carpet
- University:
- Hide and seek
- Look at that
- Hot and cold
- Graduation:
- Leg weaving
- Serpentines and spirals
- Name discrimination
- Einstein:
- The tidy up game
- Ring stackers
- Play the piano.
Yep, your dog will even learn to tidy up his things and play the piano.
Petty awesome, right?
Every game has a section about what you need for this particular game and what purpose it serves in dog training. Then, the game gets explained step by step.
After that there’s always a troubleshooting section. This part is especially valuable because it goes over the most common problems you might encounter and how to solve them.
The last part of every game consists of the exam. This is where you learn what your dog needs to do in order to pass the exam. After that, you’ll find a grade table and the scores required for an A to F.
There’s also a video for every game, where you can see how Adrienne and her dog Einstein do it.
It’s all made like a game, which definitely makes dog training much more fun!
Common behavioral issues and solutions
The second part of this course consists of an e-book for the most common behavioral issues and solutions for them.
It covers the following topics:
- Whining
- Digging
- Barking
- Chewing
- Jumping.
Every topic is covered in-depth and looked at from every possible angle. It also shows how the different games can help you with that specific problem.
If you’re facing any of these problems with your dog, be sure to find the solution there!
Here’s an example of how the author cured a dog’s jumping problem:
Who is Adrienne Farricelli?
Now let’s take a quick look at who the author, Adrienne Farricelli, actually is.
Adrienne was born in Italy and now lives in the US.
On a trip back to Italy, she discovered a dog training course and decided to take it.
In 2010 she became a certified dog trainer by the Italian Association for Dog Trainers and Canine Consultants.
She didn’t stop there, though.
After teaching obedience classes in Missouri, she decided to get another certification by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) in the US.
She now lives in Arizona with her 2 Rottweilers, Petra and Einstein, and her husband, Alex.
So, as you can see, she definitely knows what she’s talking about!
In order to stay certified, she regularly needs to attend seminars and workshops to stay up to date.
She’s a force-free training advocate and focuses heavily on positive reinforcement, such as clicker, treats and praise.
Everything you need to get started
In summary, Brain Training for Dogs has literally everything you need to get started!
This is particularly awesome if you don’t have a lot of knowledge about dog training, yet.
In that case, this course can guide you through training your dog from A to Z. There’s no need to look at hundreds of other books, trainings and dog schools that might confuse you. Plus, it’s so much cheaper than getting all this other stuff, like I did in the beginning…
It literally took me years to accumulate only a fraction of what’s included in that course. Don’t make the same mistake as I did…
Brain training for dogs review
Okay, now that you’ve had a bit of an overview, let’s get into the actual review.
Keep in mind that this is my own honest opinion, after I’ve completed the course with my Mini Poodle Baloo.
I’m no professional dog trainer myself, but I did acquire quite a lot of knowledge about dogs over the last couple of years.
So, before we get into the review, I can tell you straight away that the methods taught in this course work!
How does Brain Training For Dogs Work?
Brain Training for Dogs is designed in a way that helps improve your dog’s intelligence so that he can basically solve his own problems!
Sounds pretty awesome, right?
And it’s actually a great concept.
Instead of punishing your dog if he does something wrong, you reward him for doing the right things. This way he learns that focusing on you and acting in a way you ask him to will get him what he wants, which is treats or toys.
That’s the basic concept of positive reinforcement.
However, the course doesn’t stop there. Instead, it’s based on 21 games that will teach your dog skills that he can use in other training sessions.
Let’s take the game “look into my eyes” or the “airplane game” as an example. This is a fun way to teach your dog that focusing on you will get him rewards.
So, what does he learn?
“If I don’t know what to do, I simply look at my owner.”
Bingo!
That’s such a valuable lesson that you can then make use of while training other things, such as walking heel.
Here’s what the “airplane game” looks like performed by a pro:
What makes this course different from other programs?
First of all, it’s based on positive reinforcement.
So, you reward good behavior and ignore unwanted behavior. To do this, Adrienne works with a clicker or a verbal marker. This helps your dog make a strong connection between the desired behavior and the reward.
What’s really different about it is that fact that it’s gamified, though.
Most of our dog’s behavioral issues have one simple root: boredom!
Dog’s nowadays don’t have a job. Most dogs are basically just chilling most of the time, which is only interrupted by the occasional walk or fetch game.
This can easily lead to boredom which means your dog will find himself a job, such as barking, tearing up your stuff or chasing anything that moves!
This is where the games come in! They not only make it a fun and easy experience for you and your dog. They also give your dog a job again!
You can see your dog go through his schooling career, making you prouder with every step.
Plus, becoming good at the games will boost his confidence and will make him eager to learn more.
And the better he gets at the games, the smarter he gets. As you can imagine, training a smart dog is much easier because he’s eager to learn! He’s actually interested in what you’re trying to teach him and he finally has a solid occupation!
Does this dog training program really work?
Yes, it does.
Brain training for dogs is the perfect starting point to make your dog a well-behaved, even-tempered and happy doggo.
But I’m going to be honest with you: if your dog suffers from serious behavioral issues, such as biting you or other dogs or other aggressive behavior, such as barking non-stop when seeing other dogs, this course might not be enough for you.
For such serious cases, you’ll probably have to see a professional in person.
Why it’s so effective
This course is so effective because it teaches your dog to solve his own problems and to focus on you for guidance.
It covers about every behavioral issue you could think of and it teaches your dogs skills you can apply to train any command or trick.
Plus, it goes to the root of the problem: dog boredom!
These 21 games are all designed to challenge your dog mentally. Throughout the course of his schooling career, he’ll become smarter with every game.
Not only that, but he finally has a job again, namely to focus on you and solve brain games!
This will make your dog much calmer, more confident and overall happier!
And who doesn’t want a happy dog?
What could be improved
Of course, there are always things to be improved.
One thing that I would suggest is more video content. There’s a video for every game, so you can understand exactly what you’re supposed to do, which is great.
However, the rest is mostly text with some images.
I think for some people video might be easier to consume. And so adding a few more videos explaining the concept would be great.
However, this is a detail. You’ll definitely understand everything with the e-books too, especially because there are lots of pictures.
Pros and Cons
So, now I’d just like to give you a quick list of the pros and cons so that you have a clear overview.
PROS
- One-time purchase and you get everything you need for a well-behaved dog
- Super cheap in comparison to dog school
- Your dog’s success is measurable
- Tackles the root of almost every behavioral problem, instead of just working on symptoms
- 60-day money back guarantee
- It’s fun for you and your dog!
CONS
- Much of the information is text-based
- Not for dogs with serious behavioral issues
How much does it cost?
The course costs $47, which is a one-time purchase.
And you know what’s really cool?
You even get a 60-day money back guarantee. So, there’s basically no risk involved.
If it doesn’t work for you, you’ll get your money back!
Who is Brain Training For Dogs for?
Now let’s quickly look at who Brain Training For Dogs is for.
I hope that this helps you figure out if it’s a good fit for you and your pup.
Can this course be used for any dog?
Generally, this course can absolutely be used for any dog.
The only exception are dogs with very severe behavioral issues. Very aggressive or traumatized dogs need a professional to get trained.
But other than that, every dog can learn from this course.
Well, rather every owner 😉
It doesn’t matter how much training he or she had previously. The course is laid out in such a way that it goes over some basic commands first.
If your dog knows them perfectly already, you can just skip this section. Although, a little fresh-up is always a good idea.
Otherwise, you can go through it step by step and your pup will be well-behaved a few months later.
How old should my dog be for this course?
There’s no age limit for your dog to fit this course.
You can literally get it on the first day you bring your puppy home!
And contrary to common belief, you can also teach an old dog new tricks.
Yes, it might take a little longer.
But dogs love to learn! So, even if your pup is already a little grey, he can perfectly learn new concepts!
Is it too late for my dog to get started?
No, it’s never too late!
Well okay, if your dog is suffering from dementia or has gone blind, then it might be too late.
But other than that, you can also perfectly teach a 12-year old dog new tricks and commands!
Final verdict
Okay, so that’s about pretty much everything there is to know about Braintraining4dogs.
If you’re looking for an easy, cheap course that focuses on training your dog from the root of his behavioral issues, this is the program for you!
While I knew a lot that’s taught in the course, it took me YEARS to learn it. You don’t need to spend this long. You can just get all that valuable knowledge by taking one course!
I’m going to be honest, though: It’s no a magic pill! You’ll have to put in the work!
This course will guide you through every step of training your dog. But you’ll have to stick to it and work with your pup on a consistent basis!
If you’re willing to do that, you’re on track to owning the best boy/best girl you ever knew!
Here are a few more articles on mental stimulation for dogs: