Doggy Dan : The Online Dog Trainer review - Doggie Training Centre (2024)

Who Is Doggy Dan?

Doggy Dan, real name Dan Abdelnoor, is the founder of The Online Dog Trainer, and is also one of the most famous dog trainers out there in the world - but a lot more famous in Australia and New Zealand.

He's also an author of a relatively famous book, "What the Dogs Taught Me About Being a Parent" , as well as a TV personality in New Zealand [source]

Interestingly, he didn't grow up with dogs, nor was he a dog person when he was younger - rather, he attributed it to being "... very blessed that the universe gave [him] an incredible dog".

Prior to being the famous dog trainer and founder of The Online Dog Trainer, he was an engineer and a teacher, but then decided to transit to dog training full time in 2008.

He has quite a few accreditations to his name in the dog training field as well.

He has completed the Canine Behavior and Psychology Course, as well as the Advanced Aggression Course, from the Canine Behavior Centre in Cumbria, UK.

After founding The Online Dog Trainer, Doggy Dan has also trained more than 50,000 people all around the world, and has helped their dogs become the perfect companions in their home.

In short, he's very qualified, very skilled, and is an all round likeable person.

Are Doggy Dan's teaching methods safe?

In my opinion, yes it is absolutely safe.

In fact, one of the core tenets of his teachings in theonlinedogtrainer is the "Gentle Training Method" - Doggy Dan's dog training videos all closely revolve around the principle of training a dog without using force at all.

That's right, his method of teaching involves NO PUNISHMENT, AGGRESSION, FEAR OR DOMINANCE based teaching.

Another great fact is that the Royal New Zealand SPCA has fully approved and endorsed the Doggy Dan dog training methods, so I'm sure that that his tactics are meant to be beneficial and help the dog be the best companion it can be.

In all his years teaching, he has formulated his famous 5 golden rules of dog training:

• Who controls the food?

• Who will take care of any danger?

• When you're away from your dog, who is the pack leader?

• Who dictates the terms ( Do you listen to your dog, or does your dog listen to you? )

• Who walks who?

You can find more information for the 5 golden rules of dog training here.

Principles of The Online Dog Trainer

The key to Dan's approach, and the reason for his massive success with dogs, is to ensure that you win their minds over first - only then can you train their body and teach them tricks.

Basically, his philosophy is a unique variation of the "Pack Leader".

Allow me to explain this a little bit.

In the wild, the pack leader, or alpha, is usually the dog that is either the strongest, or has some physical trait that makes it the most dominant.

In the same way, due to the unique relationships between humans and dogs, humans are often seen as the pack leader when with a group of dogs.

What's unique about Doggy Dan's philosophy is that he uses gentleness and zero force - he doesn't believe in making the dog compliant.

Most dog trainers do not believe this is ideal. In fact, most will resort to some slight form of compliance - shock collars, to outright beating their dogs for mistakes.

Not so for Doggy Dan - his philosophy alone is unique in that, and it has so far, worked out for 50,000+ people that have since purchased his program.

You can deep dive further into his principles via the 5 golden rules of dog training - that is where you'll understand why he chooses this method of teaching over the rest.

What's inside the online training

There's quite a few things you'll get inside the training: when you join, you'll be given the "Complete Pack".

The contents of the "Complete Pack" include:

The Dog Calming Code

Valued at$97, the Dog Calming Code consists mostly of basic starter courses that you're required to know before deep diving into the other advanced topics.

This consists of 22 videos, as well as various PDFs, assorted articles and even audio tracks for an all round training session.

You can also buy this as a separate product (but really, why would you when you can access the 3-Day trial and get it free?)

Everyday Tools & Tricks

This pack is valued at $27, and contains the behind-the-scenes view of Dan's training processes, where he shows the tools and extra tips and tricks that can make your training sessions fun and positive for your dog.

Pack Training

In Pack Training, you'll learn the foundations to become the Pack Leader of your home, and is one of the most crucial elements of this program.

Every step contained will help train your dog to respect and regard you as the authority in the household.

There are a variety of training techniques you'll learn in them.

This section is also where you'll see the 5 Golden Rules of Dog Training in depth and in action.

Puppy training

This aptly named section covers everything you need to know about puppy training - which can be really useful for first time puppy owners.

It starts all the way from the bare basics of puppy training, such as basic commands like 'sit' or 'stay'.

As a little sneak peek, this section contains the sections:

• Introduction
• General Health
• Getting Started
• Meeting the World
• Behavioral Issues
• Basic Command Training

That said, there are further subdivisions from the categories above - doggy dan's dog training videos tend to go quite in depth for the benefit of new puppy owners too.

Project Moses

This is probably the most unique part of his course.

Project Moses is basically an online diary of his very own dog, Moses, a Border Collie x Labrador and basically, he uses Moses as a training diary of sorts.

This is a unique point of his course because he uses EVERYTHING he teaches in the course on Moses, so you get to see the effects of his methodology first hand.

This project basically covers Moses from 8 weeks old, to 8 months old. It's a great supplement to the Puppy Training module above!

There is a significant amount of teaching resources within Project Moses itself, which sadly I'm not allowed to share as it's proprietary for course members only. Sharing outside the course without Doggy Dan's permission will result in legal issues.

That said, this module alone is the best that you can get in any online dog training video - it's also why I'm doing this Doggy Dan review.

Dog Problems

Of course, an online dog training program isn't complete without a module on dog problems.

This section tends to focus more on adult dogs that you adopt - from aggressive dogs, food aggression to dogs with separation anxiety, this section has it all.

This section has a large assortment of videos too, because dog problems can range from behavioral, all the way to behavioral AND genetics.

Dog Training

And of course, in the final large module is where you can teach and old dog, new tricks.

That said, dog training is also a very wide topic, and there are a ton of videos inside the members area, so go ahead and explore!

Forum

One of the biggest pluses of the program is also access to a massive forum of people who have bought the course.

It's an active forum, where lively discussions are going on, as well as questions being answered by the more senior members in the program.

Doggy Dan Compliments

Of course, a review would be meaningless without people actually praising the course.

Here's some from those who purchased it below:

Here's also a video of Dan in action:

Doggy Dan Complaints

No review would be complete without the criticisms of the program.

Previously when The Online Dog Trainer was reviewed (2 - 3 years ago) one of the chief complaints I had was the fact that a ton of their videos were non HD and it made the course less desirable.

Now fast forward that to 2021, and all that has been well and truly taken care of - nearly the videos are now up to date, and are in full glorious HD.

However, another complaint that has been growing even among members of the forum is that the videos require an active internet connection and the videos cannot be downloaded.

This is an understandable point, as the team at The Online Dog Trainer wouldn't want those on the 3-day trial to completely download all the videos and scam him,

Is the online dog trainer worth it

In a word, yes.

Have a look at the pros and cons below:

FAQs

Do the 5 golden rules of dog training work?

Yes, only if you follow his instructions and not deviate from the golden rules.

Price of the course

• 3 Day Trial: $1
• Monthly Membership: $37/month
• 6 Month Membership: $147 ($24.50/Month)
• 12 Month Membership: $198 ($16.50/month)

Is there a money back guarantee?

YES.

Doggy Dan's The Online Dog Trainer has a 60 day money back guarantee, no questions asked.

By now, Dan's ODT Method has already been successfully applied and used by 50,000+ members worldwide - very few have refunded due to bad service or quality of the content inside.

Conclusion

3 years on since my first review of The Online Dog Trainer, I can safely say that it's now worth a lot more - a lot of positive changes happened within these few years:

• Better quality videos
• More active forum
• New content from Doggy Dan
• Podcasts
• New training techniques, tips and tricks come out from creative forum members

All in all, I believe the course is still worth its weight in stars: 5 out of 5.