Dog training channels

[Levistico]

What are your favourite/go to YouTube dog training channels? I recently discovered “Happy Hounds”, which I really like (force-free/positive reinforcement only) and have been using successfully to teach my dog “leave it” after a horrible human poo eating incident at a picnic site recently 🤮. But I’d love to hear about more good channels, and equally about others to avoid.

I like Will Atherton
But recently binging Victora Stilwell - it's me or the dog

I really dont like Will Atherton but he's probably ok if you can see the balanced/aversive stuff and ignore it

Victoria Stillwell, kikopup

Will Atherton loose-lead walking is essential. Genuinely think every dog owner should watch it the day they bring their dog home.

McCann dog training is also good - they do some very good videos on how to properly* *introduce resident dog to a puppy (because it is completely different to introducing resident dog to a new adult dog) which, again, I think everyone should watch when they're thinking about getting puppy No.2

KikoPup is good for tricks.

For more behavioural type stuff then the new series of It's Me or the Dog with Victoria Stilwell.

The Dog Academy on C4 was also good for that kind of thing. Jo Pay and Kamal Fernandez both have an online presence though I've never watched their YouTube channels.

I pick and choose between lots and canine behaviour is my hobby. I like Will Atherton but as someone mentioned the aversive stuff in my opinion should only be used by professionals like him, not taught for home training. I also like Southend Dog Trainer - he swears a lot and it clearly gets him clicks but his following is massive. He breaks it down quite well. Will works with rescue dogs and I like that. Victoria Stillwell does my head in-so pretentious. I like Joel Beckman for reactivity. I also like Mordor Gundogs on YouTube. His style is very different to the others but for a working Cocker or Springer / Labrador, etc ... he's fantastic and KNOWS the working breeds. There are many more and as it's an unregulated industry you just have to pick and follow what you find helps.
What there is lacking, is a trainer who specialises in multiple dog households. It takes years of experience to tackle this scenario when it goes wrong. It has done for me and it was heartbreaking. 10 years later and I've done it again, but I've learned SO much in that time and it's worked really well. My 5 month old Labrador is brilliant on the lead but I find that bit easy to teach. Her recall is also excellent but I'm expecting the dip in a couple of months once the teenage hormones are taking over. My older giant breed is amazing in the water (in her DNA), but recall when she gets a scent? Ain't happening 🤯. I do know her well though and put her on a lead if we are in ‘scent’ territory! Not needed on the beach. Puppy is WAY too over confident greeting other dogs, so she’s back on the lead to learn how to greet in a more respectable and calm manner. Wishing you many happy years with your pup!

Watching with interest

The last person I would recommend is Southend Dog Training - he's horrendous and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near dogs.

Stonnie Dennis. Great on building confidence in dogs and on breed traits.

Can you expand, please?

I thought he could be quite good

Kikipup
Susan Garrett - agility but lots can be applied to pet dogs and everything is really good fun. I have used a lot of her games to get my terrier's engagement (and it really works)
Victoria Stillwell
McCann dogs
Rachel Fusaro seems to be quite sound too but quite 'influencer' style
The Dog Academy is excellent. It shows the power of reward based training and understanding why rather than just fixing things

...but remember, videos just scratch the surface of teaching/treating a behaviour. It takes months if not years of dedication. My terrier is my second agility dog having competed my first to a high level and at 2 she is still not ready for competition. She can do everything well but we are still building engagement and focus. Training and behaviour is not the quick fix they often look on the videos.

I really like Amellia the Dog Trainer on instagram in addition to some of the ones mentioned above. She's very young but clearly cares a lot and has some good takes. Also more interesting than educational on instagram is TrickSpaniel - the things that dog can do are mind blowing!

I sometimes watch Will Atherton - overall he doesn't irritate me as much as most of the others but but his methods don't work for me. I have a 5 month old puller but I will not resort to a prong collar. WA is also averse to force free methods and extremely dismissive of certain breeds that resist his training (like huskies etc). Victoria Stilwell rubs me up the wrong way and Kikopup only does small dogs. A lot of the others just seem to be macho guys with a misogynist attitude and I get enough of that on a daily basis in the street when I walk my dogs 😡

I haven't really found a trainer that is sufficiently clued up on Livestock Guarding Dogs or giant breeds in general. LGD have very different needs for training because they are independent minded and stubborn and aren't food driven.

If anyone can recommend anything that deals with really big dogs that would be good but I don't mean Bullies, Cane Corso I'm thinking more Pyries/Anatolians or even the other giants such as Leos/Newfies etc. Thanks.

Rob Alleyne
Will Atherton
Adam at Southend Dog training

Really big dogs are the same as really small dogs just heavier :) Dogs all learn in the same way. In my agility class I have a range of breeds from a tiny ex breeding cavalier to a high drive working Mali. I teach their owners in the same way. Their dogs make the same progress. Yes the mali is more powerful and has more potential to go wrong but he's a super chap with a great bond with his owner and has only been taught using positive reinforcement. You can see too - he really listens and has a genuine desire to work with us and he's only a youngster

You need to take breed characteristics into account but that tends to be more with motivation than training. My friend is a trainer and has a Newf who is high level in obedience. He's been taught in the same way as her other dogs (GSD, terrier, mastiff).

Totally agree. Their Force Free Dog Training video is a disgrace.

He says force free trainers are killing dogs. Nope, it's macho men that are killing dogs.

The reason not many trainers have training that works for livestock guardians breeds is likely because they assume anyone who gets that breed (as with the pastoral group) understands the dog - which, as you say needs very different training - and therefore is more than equipped to deal with them (however unfair that might seem as an owner). Most of the dogs behaviourists deal with are gun dogs that idiots people buy thinking they'll be the perfect family pet.

It's one thing for someone to get a GSD that they don't know how to train...but quite another to get a Newfoundland - simply because of the size and strength of the Newfie. So, behaviourists assume that people will not make that mistake.

If you are struggling your best bet would be asking the local vet if they know or any behaviourists or trainers who can work with larger dogs. Vets should be the first 'go-to' for things like training etc, as they will know who to avoid. Otherwise, try the breeder - they should be able to recommend someone - or the breed club in the UK 😊

It's motivation with the LGBs not training. They are not designed to work with us.

I have a working terrier. You have to make working with you REALLY rewarding as it's not something they find natural to do. I've spent time making myself more rewarding (not just with food - lots of fun games) than her sodding off to do her own thing. They still learn in the same way as a more handler focused breed you just have to apply things a little differently. A spaniel or collies wants to work with you naturally. A terrier/hound/LGB doesn't as they were bred to work on their own. They don't need us.

Thanks to everyone who’s contributed: you’ve given me some interesting recommendations to explore.

My previous dog (a whippet) slotted into my life so well that I didn’t really need to train him beyond recall (which was always hit and miss if there were deer around), so although I’m not a new dog-owner, I’m a novice at dog-training. My present dog is a rescue from a hoarding situation, and while completely biddable, she’s still quite fearful 10 months after adopting her. Now that she’s completely settled in, I thought that training might help build her confidence, and would also be something we could do together to strengthen her trust in me, but she’s not a dog who would respond well to aversive/so-called balanced training; she would just drop to the ground in fear. Hence the emphasis on force-free training/positive reinforcement. So far, eight weeks in, she’s doing well and the training does seem to be improving her confidence and our bond.

I shall watch your recommendations with interest, as I try to become a better trainer for my lovely little dog.

No dog responds well to fear or pain. They just shut down and look like they do.

My last dog was a rescue and severely fear aggressive to handling. The vets were always interesting! Our own vets were wonderful with her and worked hard to lessen her stress and mostly she kept under threshold and if not she had a light sedative. She injured herself badly when we were staying with family and needed vet care. The vets we used wouldn't listen to us, took her away and forced her into the treatment with no sedation. We could hear her screaming from the back room. She came back out a wreck but a very quiet wreck. The nurse said she'd 'quietened down eventually - they all do'. We paid and left quickly declining a follow up two days later.

We opted to return home and take her to our own vets and when she walked in she went into a frenzy when the vet tried to touch her. This was a vet she knew and she trusted. He worked very slowly and we managed to get the bandages off to take a look then rebandage her. It took ages. He was wonderful.

That is the reality when you shut a dog down.

One of the best ways to build confidence is training :) I teach an ex puppy farmed dog and she is doing wonderfully with both obedience (the KC good citizen scheme which if taught correctly is good fun) and also agility which is also games and fun based.

Have a look and see if you have a local Kennel Club training club which is volunteer run. They tend to be run by people with a real passion as we're volunteers and it's not a business. We do it because we enjoy it, sees what it has done for our own dogs and want to help others. The KC website has a list I think.

@Killingoffmyflowersonebyone

Thanks for responding 😊You are right about LGD owners being, in the main, experienced. It is certainly noticeable that breeders are always wary of homing pups with novice owners and rightly so. Clearly you know this - I can't remember if you said you're a vet...but your replies to posts are always spot on.

Not really struggling - no major issues. I've had the same breed for 47 years although it's our first puppy since 2014. We did have 3 together for many years (2f, 1m). They are terrible in adolescence; it's a massive body but still a puppy brain. Because they aren't usually food driven it can be difficult to get them to focus - they are distracted by the slightest thing but that's just their heritage coming out; they have to be aware of what is going on around them. With our girl (5 months) the pulling is now limited to her obsessive need to investigate dogs/people rather than a constant straining at the leash and we know that with Pyreneans they slowly become more aloof to the point where they have little interest in people unless it's someone they know. With regard to pulling towards other dogs it is a pain but is all just part of puppy socialisation and hopefully it will slowly diminish as she matures. Our previous two pups went to puppy class and later ringcraft but with Brie we haven't bothered and are just focussing on numerous short walks.

My question comes more from a behavioural angle than from an actual need for training videos. From hanging out on the puppy survival thread, where they are predominantly gundog people, I'm just getting a different perspective and a renewed interest in dog psychology/behaviour. After seeing Will Atherton's comments (almost annoyance) about Huskies being independent minded I was just curious as to whether any of the top training people have done any work with giant breed dogs but LGD's in particular. It's just in relation to getting inside the LGD mindset and understanding the reasons why they are resistant to any reliable level of recall and why they just switch off from commands because they think they know best. They continually override the handlers decisions because these dogs have worked off their own initiative for hundreds of years so they find it hard to understand why they are being given instructions. But would a trainer necessarily take that into account? A lot just seem to have the attitude of a one-size-fits-all type of training - a dog is a dog is a dog kind of thing.

So basically I just wonder if dog trainers in general are ever willing to acknowledge that certain breeds are not able to be, for want of a better term, reprogrammed, to override their inbred need to do a particular job... It would be interesting to see them work with an Anatolian, Maremma or Komondor and try to really get inside its mind from a handling perspective.

I'm just an armchair dog psychologist really though, nothing more.

@Newpeep Interesting response, thank you. You're spot on with the comment "they don't need us" but sadly, too few people actually give that any thought.

It does come down to knowing and understanding your own dog. I think I've just been lucky to have a breed that suits my personality and I establish a strong bond early on. The LGD just does its guarding thing with no input from me aside from just being there with it. In that way it does need me to be its flock but it doesn't need me from a training perspective...

Interesting stuff.

@LettyToretto I'm reluctant to expand too much on here as his legal team are very aware of anyone criticising him and can be quite threatening.

If you look him up on TikTok and find the reaction videos to him they should be quite helpful though ☺️

I am frequently told you can’t train terriers. Often as I’m walking along with mine a few feet away alternating between hunting and checking in. Once I was stopped in the street when we were practicing our heel work for Rally and she was absolutely perfect with a slightly goofy look of joy on her face. This man has had terriers and I was wasting my time apparently. I wonder if he’d have stopped a man in the same way. You absolutely can but you cannot bully them. You have to raise your profile. They need to trust you. They need to see they’re going to get something out of it. They are supremely intelligent so that makes them sensitive and they learn quickly (which is why management is key).

You can train them in the same way as any other dog but you need to motivate them first.

‘Ladies Working Dog Group’ is worth looking at.

Mcann - used this a lot when pup was small
Will Atherton
Southend Dog training
mk9 plus
and whatever pops up on instragram.