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A bored dog is not a badly behaved dog. It is an under-worked one. Barking at the window, shredding the sofa cushion, spinning at the front door when a visitor arrives — most of that is energy with nowhere to go, and no amount of extra walking fixes it, because physical exercise builds stamina rather than burning mental fuel.
Brain Training for Dogs attacks the problem from the other side: mental work first, obedience second. Here is what the program contains, how it is structured, and whether it is worth the money.
Who Made It
The course comes from Adrienne Farricelli, a CPDT-KA certified professional dog trainer with more than fifteen years of hands-on work behind her. That certification matters: it means her methods are force-free and reward-based rather than the correction-heavy approach still sold by plenty of online trainers.
How the Program Is Structured
Seven modules, arranged like a school, each one harder than the last. You do not jump ahead — every level assumes the skills built in the one before it.
- Preschool — attention and targeting, the foundation for everything else
- Elementary School — sensory games and basic mental stimulation
- High School — impulse control and learning to settle
- College — concentration and motor skills
- University — patience and advanced problem solving
- Graduation — advanced obedience under distraction
- Einstein — showpiece work: tidying up toys, playing the piano
Alongside the modules you get seven trick-training videos, an Obedience 101 section, a “Polishing Up Your Training” guide, and Adrienne’s Archive — over 100 articles on specific behavior problems. There is also a private member forum where you can post about your own dog’s sticking points.
Want to see the full module breakdown and current price?
👉 Check out Brain Training for Dogs here
Why Mental Work Changes Behavior
A dog that has spent fifteen minutes working out a puzzle is genuinely tired — in a way a forty-minute walk does not achieve. The games in this program also teach the skill underneath most household problems: impulse control. A dog that can wait, think, and choose is a dog that stops rehearsing the bad habit.
That is why the course targets barking, chewing, jumping, digging, leash reactivity and anxiety through games rather than through corrections. You are not suppressing a behavior; you are giving the dog a better thing to do with its brain.
Bonuses and Guarantee
The purchase includes the Behavior Training for Dogs course as a bonus, covering whining, digging, barking, chewing and jumping specifically. The whole package carries a 60-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked — which is long enough to work through several modules and see whether your dog responds before you decide to keep it.
Pros and Cons
What works
- ✅ Built by a certified trainer, not an anonymous marketer
- ✅ Force-free throughout — no prong collars, no shock, no alpha nonsense
- ✅ Progressive structure means you always know the next step
- ✅ Video demonstrations, so you can see the timing rather than guess it
- ✅ Member forum plus a 100+ article archive for problems the modules do not cover
What does not
- ❌ It is a lot of material — the volume can feel overwhelming at first
- ❌ Results depend entirely on you showing up daily for short sessions
- ❌ The member area design feels dated next to newer app-based programs
- ❌ Serious aggression or severe separation anxiety needs an in-person behaviorist, not a course
Who Should Buy It
This suits the owner of a smart, restless, under-stimulated dog — the Border Collie that redecorates the hallway, the Labrador that cannot settle, the terrier that barks at everything that moves. It also suits anyone who wants to train without force and does not know where to start.
It is not the right tool for a dog with a bite history or a diagnosed anxiety disorder. Those cases need a qualified behaviorist working with your dog in person.
If you want the everyday groundwork first, read our guide on how to train a calm and obedient dog, then come back and add the games.
Verdict
One session with a private trainer costs more than this entire course, and you would leave with a fraction of the material. If your dog’s problems come from boredom rather than fear or aggression — and for most household dogs they do — this is a well-built, humane place to start, with two months to change your mind.
Ready to put your dog’s brain to work?
👉 Get Brain Training for Dogs here
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