Secrets to Dog Training vs Brain Training for Dogs: Which Fixes Problem Behaviors Faster?

Anyone who has owned a dog on a working homestead knows the difference between a dog that is a genuine partner and one that creates extra work every day. A dog that can’t hold a stay while you’re fixing fence, that launches itself at visitors, or that barks without stopping at 3 a.m. isn’t just annoying — it’s a real operational problem. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years figuring out what actually works in dog training, and I get asked regularly by readers which digital training program is worth buying.

Right now, two programs come up together more than any others: Secrets to Dog Training by Daniel Stevens and Brain Training for Dogs by Adrienne Farricelli. Both are digital programs available through ClickBank. Both have been on the market long enough to develop genuine track records. Both promise to help owners fix problem behaviors and build a reliable, well-behaved dog.

But they are built around meaningfully different premises — different formats, different methodologies, different target owners — and understanding those differences is what this article is for.

My quick verdict: Secrets to Dog Training is the stronger choice for most owners who need a comprehensive, actionable reference they can implement immediately across a wide range of behavior problems. The depth of its behavior-specific chapters, the breadth of its obedience coverage, and its format as a re-readable digital guide make it particularly effective for owners dealing with multiple behavior issues or managing dogs at different training stages. That said, Brain Training for Dogs has real strengths for owners who want a structured, progressive brain-games curriculum built on force-free positive reinforcement — and both programs carry 60-day money-back guarantees, so neither purchase carries significant financial risk.

Let me walk you through the full comparison.

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At-a-Glance Comparison Table

Feature	Secrets to Dog Training	Brain Training for Dogs
Creator	Daniel Stevens / Kingdom of Pets	Adrienne Farricelli — CPDT-KA certified professional trainer
Methodology	Comprehensive obedience + behavior problem-solving; covers multiple training approaches	100% force-free positive reinforcement; intelligence development through brain games
Core concept	Broad reference guide covering commands, behavior problems, psychology, and housetraining	21 progressive brain games across 7 curriculum levels
Format	Downloadable PDF/ebook — written reference manual	Online video course + members’ area
Behavior problem coverage	Dedicated chapters per problem type — barking, aggression, jumping, chewing, separation anxiety, and more	Behavior addressed as a downstream result of increased mental engagement
Best for	Owners wanting a comprehensive reference they can re-read; owners dealing with specific, named behavior problems	Owners who want video demonstrations and a progressive brain-games curriculum
Housetraining guidance	Explicit dedicated coverage	Less explicitly structured for housetraining specifically
Community / support	Members’ area and support resources	Private members’ forum with trainer participation
Price range	Typically $37–$67 (check official site for current pricing)	Typically $47 (check official site for current pricing)
Guarantee	60-day ClickBank money-back guarantee	60-day ClickBank money-back guarantee

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TL;DR

• Our pick: Secrets to Dog Training wins for owners who want a comprehensive behavior reference covering specific problem types with direct, actionable guidance they can return to repeatedly.
• Choose Secrets to Dog Training if: you want a broad-scope training manual covering many commands and behavior problems in one place, you need explicit housetraining guidance, or you want a PDF you can annotate and re-read rather than a video course.
• Choose Brain Training for Dogs if: you want a structured, progressive video curriculum built around force-free positive reinforcement and 21 brain games, especially if your dog’s problems are driven by mental under-stimulation.
• Both carry 60-day money-back guarantees. You can evaluate either with minimal financial exposure.

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Secrets to Dog Training — What You Get

Secrets to Dog Training was created by Daniel Stevens and published through Kingdom of Pets at kingdomofpets.com. The program has been available for many years — it was one of the earliest comprehensive digital dog training resources in the ClickBank marketplace — and it has maintained a consistent buyer base throughout that time. In the ClickBank marketplace, longevity at this price point generally signals genuine value: programs that don’t deliver real results don’t sustain their sales through years of increasingly skeptical online audiences.

The program’s design premise is straightforward: give dog owners a comprehensive reference guide they can return to across the full lifespan of their dog, covering everything from foundational puppy work to advanced obedience to targeted correction of specific behavior problems. It is built wide rather than deep on any single methodology.

What the Program Covers

Secrets to Dog Training is organized as an in-depth training manual. The core content covers:

Foundation obedience commands. The program walks through the fundamental commands — sit, down, stay, come, heel, leave it, and variations — with step-by-step instructions for each. The coverage includes both the mechanics of teaching each command from scratch and how to proof commands across distracting environments so they become reliable under real-world conditions, not just in a quiet room.

Dedicated behavior problem chapters. This is where Secrets to Dog Training distinguishes itself from many competing programs. Rather than treating behavior problems as a general afterthought, the program devotes individual, detailed chapters to specific problem behaviors that dog owners actually encounter:

• Excessive barking — causes, patterns, and specific intervention strategies
• Dog aggression — both dog-to-dog and people-directed aggression, with protocol differences for each
• Jumping on people — practical correction and redirection approaches
• Destructive chewing — how to distinguish anxiety-driven chewing from boredom chewing, and how to address each
• Leash pulling and reactivity
• Separation anxiety — specific strategies for building independence and reducing distress
• Food guarding and resource guarding
• Digging and escape behavior
• Housetraining violations — including older dogs that have regressed

The fact that each of these gets its own dedicated treatment — rather than being mentioned in passing within a general obedience chapter — means owners dealing with a specific problem get substantial, actionable guidance rather than a paragraph of general advice.

Dog psychology and learning theory. The program opens with background material on how dogs perceive the world, how they learn, and what drives the behaviors that owners find problematic. This isn’t filler — owners who understand why their dog does what it does make better training decisions than owners who are just following rote instructions. Understanding that a dog’s destructive behavior when left alone is driven by anxiety, not defiance, changes the entire intervention approach.

Housetraining. Secrets to Dog Training covers housetraining as its own topic with age-appropriate guidance. This makes it one of the more useful resources for new puppy owners who need to address this foundational skill immediately. Housetraining protocol, accident management, crate training rationale, and regression in adult dogs are all addressed.

Advanced and trick training. For owners whose dogs have mastered basic obedience and want to continue building, the program includes sections on advanced obedience and trick training. This gives the resource a longer useful life — it’s not a beginner-only guide that you exhaust in the first few weeks.

The Format: PDF Reference Manual

The format distinction is important and often underestimated. Secrets to Dog Training is a downloadable digital guide — a PDF/ebook you download, save to your devices, and own outright. This has practical implications that vary significantly by owner type.

If you are the kind of person who prefers to read, annotate, and return to a reference document — to flip to the chapter on separation anxiety when that becomes the pressing issue, to re-read the aggression chapter before a potentially difficult introduction — the PDF format is genuinely preferable. A reference manual that lives on your phone or tablet is available in any moment you need it, without logging into a member area or finding the right video in a course sequence.

The flip side: if you learn better from video demonstrations of technique — seeing exactly how to hold your hands when luring a heel, watching a trainer demonstrate timing — then a written guide requires you to mentally translate text descriptions into physical actions. This is not difficult, but it does introduce more room for individual variation in implementation.

For the owner who reads carefully and is self-directed in implementation, the PDF format is a strength. For the owner who wants to see exactly how something is done before they attempt it, video has an edge.

Methodology and Training Approach

Secrets to Dog Training covers multiple training methodologies. The program’s obedience chapters draw on positive reinforcement principles — reward-based training for building new behaviors — alongside guidance on correction and redirection for established behaviors that are unwanted. This multi-method approach is the program’s primary area of methodological contrast with Brain Training for Dogs.

To be direct about what this means in practice: the program gives owners access to a wider range of techniques, but that breadth requires owners to make judgment calls about which approach suits their specific dog’s temperament and history. For a confident, stable adult dog learning foundational obedience, a broader toolkit is practical. For an anxious, reactive, or fear-based dog, the correction-adjacent techniques in a multi-method guide require careful, informed selection — misapplied correction on an anxious dog tends to make behavior worse.

Owners with anxious or reactive dogs should pay close attention to this. The program’s positive reinforcement chapters are entirely appropriate for these dogs; the correction-oriented sections are better set aside in favor of purely reward-based implementation. This requires more judgment from the owner than a force-free-only program does.

Pros of Secrets to Dog Training

• Broad coverage — one resource covering a wide range of obedience commands and behavior problems
• Dedicated behavior-problem chapters with specific intervention protocols
• Excellent for owners who want a reference they can return to repeatedly
• Strong housetraining coverage — useful from day one with a new puppy or newly adopted adult dog
• PDF format is device-portable and annotation-friendly
• Lower entry price point in many promotional periods
• Long market track record with a sustained buyer base
• 60-day ClickBank money-back guarantee
• Covers advanced and trick training — useful beyond the beginner phase

Cons of Secrets to Dog Training

• Multi-method approach requires owner judgment about which techniques suit which dogs
• Less suitable for anxious, reactive, or fear-based dogs where correction-adjacent methods would be counterproductive
• No structured progressive curriculum — owners self-direct through the content
• Less depth per topic than a single-methodology focused program
• No dedicated brain game curriculum for mental stimulation
• Written format means no video demonstrations of technique

For an in-depth breakdown of the full program, see my full Secrets to Dog Training review. If you have come across skepticism about the program’s legitimacy, I addressed that directly in is Secrets to Dog Training a scam. For pricing detail and current promotional options, see the Secrets to Dog Training cost and discount article.

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Brain Training for Dogs — What You Get

Brain Training for Dogs was created by Adrienne Farricelli, a CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer — Knowledge Assessed) certified trainer. The CPDT-KA is an independently verified credential with meaningful requirements — it is not self-awarded. It requires demonstrated knowledge of learning theory, instruction skills, and ethology, and it is maintained through continuing education. That credential is worth noting because it represents a level of independent professional validation that is relatively uncommon in the ClickBank digital training marketplace.

The program is built around a specific, coherent premise: most common dog behavior problems — barking, destructive behavior, hyperactivity, difficulty with commands, leash reactivity — are not primarily obedience failures. They are symptoms of a dog whose cognitive needs are not being adequately met. Dogs are intelligent animals, and when they are not appropriately mentally challenged, they generate their own stimulation in ways owners find problematic. Brain Training for Dogs addresses behavior at this root level by systematically developing the dog’s cognitive engagement and mental satisfaction.

The 7 Levels and 21 Brain Games

The program is organized into seven progressive curriculum levels, each containing specific brain games that build on the skills developed in previous levels. Across the seven levels, there are 21 distinct brain games — each with step-by-step video instructions, an equipment list, and an explanation of what the game is developing in the dog’s cognition and behavior.

The progression moves from foundational attention and focus games through intermediate impulse control and problem-solving exercises up to advanced working memory and creative thinking challenges. The structure is deliberate: you do not attempt advanced exercises until the foundational work is solid. This scaffolding mirrors how professional trainers sequence instruction.

Each brain game session runs approximately 5 to 15 minutes — appropriate for canine learning. Dogs learn better in short, high-engagement sessions than in extended sessions where attention and motivation fade. The session length makes the program genuinely practical for owners with full schedules.

Video Format and Members’ Area

Brain Training for Dogs is delivered as an online video course through a members’ area. This format has meaningful advantages for owners who learn by watching: you can see exactly how a technique is demonstrated before attempting it, observe the timing of rewards, and understand the handler mechanics in a way that written descriptions do not fully convey.

The program also includes access to a private members’ community where owners can post questions, share progress, and get feedback. Adrienne Farricelli is reportedly active in the community and responds to member questions — a support layer that is valuable for owners new to positive reinforcement training.

The members’ area access model means the program is not downloaded outright in the same way a PDF is. You access it through an online portal. For most owners this is no obstacle, but for owners in remote locations with unreliable internet — a significant portion of the off-grid and homesteading community I write for — a downloadable PDF has a practical edge in accessibility.

Force-Free Methodology Only

Brain Training for Dogs is built entirely on force-free positive reinforcement. No corrections, no aversive tools, no dominance-based techniques. Every exercise in the program uses reward-based methods — behavior that produces good outcomes for the dog gets repeated and strengthened; behavior that goes unrewarded naturally diminishes. This methodological consistency is one of the program’s genuine strengths, particularly for owners with anxious, reactive, or sensitive dogs.

The force-free-only design also makes the program more forgiving of imperfect technique. Positive reinforcement timing can vary somewhat without creating harm; aversive correction timing that is off by a second can produce confusion, fear, or reactivity. For dog owners who are not professional trainers — which is most of us — a methodology that is robust to execution errors is a practical advantage.

Pros of Brain Training for Dogs

• Created by a legitimately credentialed trainer (CPDT-KA certified)
• Clear, progressive curriculum with 21 specific brain games across 7 levels
• 100% force-free — no aversive methods or dominance theory
• Video format provides visual demonstration of technique and timing
• Addresses behavioral problems at the root level through cognitive engagement
• Appropriate session lengths (5–15 minutes) for real schedules
• Active members’ community with trainer participation
• Works across breeds and ages
• Methodology is forgiving of imperfect execution

Cons of Brain Training for Dogs

• Progressive approach means results build over weeks — less useful for acute, specific behavior problems you need addressed immediately
• Online members’-area delivery requires reliable internet access
• Force-free-only methodology, while scientifically sound, requires patience — owners expecting rapid corrections may find the pace of change slower initially
• Less useful as a quick-lookup reference for a specific named problem
• Housetraining is not a dedicated, prominent focus of the curriculum
• The structured sequence means owners are less able to self-direct to the specific topic they need urgently

For a full breakdown of the course structure, see my Brain Training for Dogs full review. If you have encountered concerns about the program’s legitimacy, I covered those in is Brain Training for Dogs a scam. For current pricing information, see the Brain Training for Dogs cost and discount article.

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Head-to-Head: Secrets to Dog Training vs Brain Training for Dogs

Now let’s run the direct comparison across the dimensions that matter most.

Methodology and Training Philosophy

Secrets to Dog Training: Multi-method. The program covers positive reinforcement techniques as its foundation for building new behaviors, and includes correction and redirection guidance for managing established unwanted behaviors. The breadth gives owners a wider toolkit to draw from, but it requires owner judgment about which approaches are appropriate for which dogs.

Brain Training for Dogs: 100% force-free positive reinforcement. The entire program is built on reward-based methods grounded in behavioral science. No correction tools, no dominance theory, no intimidation. This methodological consistency means less decision-making for the owner and less risk of inadvertently applying an approach that worsens an anxious dog’s behavior.

Assessment: This is genuinely a “it depends on your dog” question. For confident, stable dogs without anxiety or fear history, the multi-method coverage in Secrets to Dog Training gives you flexibility. For anxious, reactive, or fear-based dogs, the force-free consistency of Brain Training for Dogs is the safer, more appropriate choice. Most owners of stable dogs with specific behavior problems will find Secrets to Dog Training’s direct behavioral chapters more immediately practical. Owners with sensitive or reactive dogs should lean toward Brain Training for Dogs’s methodology.

Format: PDF vs Video Course

Secrets to Dog Training: Downloadable PDF. You own it outright, access it offline, annotate it, and return to specific chapters as different situations arise. The reference-manual format rewards re-reading.

Brain Training for Dogs: Online video course via members’ area. Video demonstrates technique and timing in ways text cannot fully replicate. Requires internet access; not available offline.

Assessment: This is one of the most practical distinctions and often gets underweighted in comparisons. If you are someone who learns by reading, references materials repeatedly, or has unreliable internet, the PDF format is a genuine practical advantage. If you learn by watching and want to see techniques demonstrated before attempting them, video has a clear edge. Know your learning style before you decide.

Scope: Breadth vs Depth

Secrets to Dog Training: Wide breadth across many commands, many behavior problems, puppy through advanced. The trade-off is that individual topics get solid coverage rather than exhaustive treatment.

Brain Training for Dogs: Deep on its specific methodology — the brain games curriculum is thorough within its scope. Less useful as a broad reference across different training topics.

Assessment: Secrets to Dog Training wins on breadth; Brain Training for Dogs wins on depth within its narrow scope. For owners dealing with a specific named behavior problem right now, Secrets to Dog Training’s dedicated chapter is more immediately useful. For owners who want a complete progressive training curriculum, Brain Training for Dogs’s structured sequence delivers more systematically.

Behavior Problem Coverage — Specific vs Root-Cause

This comparison matters most for the owners buying either program: you probably have a specific behavior problem you want fixed. How does each program handle the most common ones?

Excessive barking: Secrets to Dog Training dedicates a full chapter to barking, covering causes by type (territorial, attention-seeking, anxiety-driven, alarm) and specific intervention strategies for each. Brain Training for Dogs addresses barking as a downstream result of increased mental engagement — dogs that are cognitively satisfied bark less. Both work, but Secrets to Dog Training gives you an immediate protocol for the specific behavior; Brain Training for Dogs gives you a long-term solution to the underlying state.

Destructive chewing: Secrets to Dog Training separates anxiety-driven chewing from boredom chewing and provides protocols for each. Brain Training for Dogs addresses boredom chewing at the root through mental engagement. For anxiety-driven chewing, both have relevant content; for boredom chewing, Brain Training for Dogs’s approach is arguably more elegant.

Jumping on people: Secrets to Dog Training has direct guidance on extinguishing jumping behavior. Brain Training for Dogs covers impulse control through the curriculum, which transfers to jumping. Secrets to Dog Training is more immediately actionable for this specific issue.

Leash pulling and reactivity: Both programs cover this. Secrets to Dog Training has dedicated heel training chapters with specific protocols. Brain Training for Dogs builds attention and impulse control that transfers to leash behavior, and its force-free methodology is meaningfully safer for reactive dogs. For reactive dogs specifically, Brain Training for Dogs’s exclusive positive reinforcement approach is the better choice.

Housetraining: Secrets to Dog Training wins this comparison clearly. It has explicit, dedicated housetraining content covering puppy protocol, accident management, crate training, and regression in adult dogs. Brain Training for Dogs does not emphasize housetraining as a standalone topic within its brain-games curriculum.

Separation anxiety: Secrets to Dog Training has a dedicated separation anxiety chapter with specific desensitization protocols. Brain Training for Dogs builds the confidence and mental engagement that reduces anxiety states. For severe separation anxiety, neither replaces a veterinary behavioral consultation, but Secrets to Dog Training gives you a more immediately targeted protocol.

Dog aggression: Secrets to Dog Training addresses this directly with separate guidance for dog-to-dog aggression and people-directed aggression. This makes it more immediately practical for owners managing an aggressive dog who need specific intervention steps. See my full guide on how to stop aggressive dog behavior for comprehensive treatment of this topic.

Overall assessment: For owners dealing with specific, named behavior problems who need an immediate action plan, Secrets to Dog Training’s behavior-specific chapter structure is more directly useful. For owners dealing with the cluster of problems that comes from cognitive under-stimulation — hyperactivity, general restlessness, boredom-driven destructiveness — Brain Training for Dogs addresses the root more cleanly.

Creator Credentials

Secrets to Dog Training: Daniel Stevens / Kingdom of Pets. An experienced dog trainer and behaviorist with a long market track record and a sustained, loyal buyer base. The specific professional certifications behind his credentials are less explicitly stated than Farricelli’s.

Brain Training for Dogs: Adrienne Farricelli — CPDT-KA. An independently verified professional credential with defined requirements and continuing education obligations. This is a meaningful credential when evaluating whose methodology to trust.

Assessment: Brain Training for Dogs has the more explicitly verifiable professional credential. Secrets to Dog Training’s track record and sustained buyer base are their own form of validation — a program that consistently fails buyers does not survive decades in the ClickBank marketplace — but verifiable credentials remain a legitimate differentiating factor.

Value for Money

Both programs are priced similarly through ClickBank, in a range that represents a fraction of what a single in-person training session would cost. Both carry 60-day money-back guarantees.

The value question is really about how you will use each program. Secrets to Dog Training’s value is realized by owners who engage with it as a genuine reference — who work through the behavior chapters they need, return to the obedience sections repeatedly, and use it as a training companion over the life of their dog. Its breadth means there is always relevant content to consult, even as the dog’s situation changes over time.

Brain Training for Dogs’s value is concentrated in the structured curriculum. Owners who work through it consistently and completely get predictable, measurable progress. Owners who engage sporadically get less return on the same investment.

Assessment: Secrets to Dog Training tends to offer more consistent value across varied engagement patterns because its reference structure means there is always a relevant chapter to turn to, regardless of what stage of dog ownership you are in. Brain Training for Dogs delivers the highest value to owners who are prepared to commit to the structured daily curriculum.

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When to Choose Secrets to Dog Training

You need specific behavior problem guidance immediately. If your dog is jumping on guests today, barking all night, chewing through furniture, or refusing to hold a stay — and you need a targeted protocol to address it right now — Secrets to Dog Training’s behavior-specific chapter structure gives you an immediate action plan. You do not need to work through a structured curriculum before you reach the content you need. Navigate directly to the relevant chapter and start there.

You are a reference-manual person. Some owners learn best from structured progression — the Brain Training for Dogs model. Others learn best from having a comprehensive resource they can read, re-read, annotate, and return to as situations evolve. If you are the second type, a downloadable PDF guide is genuinely preferable to a video course. Know your learning style before you choose.

You want a training resource that stays useful as your dog matures. Your dog’s needs change from puppyhood through adulthood. A resource that has dedicated puppy content, adult obedience guidance, behavior problem chapters, and advanced training sections has utility across years, not just for the specific situation you are addressing right now. Secrets to Dog Training is designed as a long-term resource rather than a single-problem curriculum.

You have a puppy and need housetraining guidance now. Housetraining is a foundational skill that cannot wait. Secrets to Dog Training covers housetraining explicitly and in practical detail, including age-appropriate expectations, crate training protocol, and regression management in adult dogs. This is one of the areas where its broader coverage gives it a direct practical advantage.

You are managing multiple dogs with different issues. Brain Training for Dogs’s structured progressive curriculum is most effective applied with one dog consistently. If you have multiple dogs at different training stages, or dogs with different behavior challenges, Secrets to Dog Training’s topic-by-topic reference structure is more flexible across varied simultaneous needs.

You have a confident, stable dog without anxiety or reactivity. For a well-adjusted dog that simply needs consistent obedience work or specific behavior correction, the multi-method coverage in Secrets to Dog Training gives you a complete toolkit. The constraint on correction-adjacent methods applies most strongly to anxious or reactive dogs; for stable, confident dogs, the broader methodology is more directly applicable.

You prefer a PDF you own over a subscription-model members’ area. This is not a minor consideration. A downloaded PDF works offline, does not require login, does not expire, and is accessible on any device without internet access. For owners in rural or off-grid settings with limited connectivity, this is a meaningful practical advantage.

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When to Choose Brain Training for Dogs

Your dog’s behavior problems are driven by boredom, hyperactivity, or mental under-stimulation. If your dog has excess energy, gets destructive when under-stimulated, or has the unfocused restlessness of a working breed that isn’t being cognitively engaged — Brain Training for Dogs addresses this at the root. The brain games curriculum is specifically designed to provide the kind of mental work these dogs need. A 15-minute brain training session can produce more behavioral calm than an hour of physical exercise for many high-drive dogs.

You are committed to force-free methods only. Whether that commitment comes from ethical values, from reading the behavioral science, or from a dog that has been damaged by previous aversive training — Brain Training for Dogs delivers a complete curriculum with zero correction-adjacent content. There is no need to evaluate which sections to use and which to set aside.

Your dog is anxious, reactive, or fearful. For dogs whose behavioral problems are rooted in anxiety or fear states, correction methods — even mild ones — can suppress behavior while worsening the underlying emotional state. Brain Training for Dogs’s exclusive positive reinforcement approach builds confidence through achievable success experiences. This is the right methodology for sensitive dogs.

You want to see technique demonstrated on video. For owners who learn by watching — who need to see the hand position for a lure, the timing of a reward marker, the handler’s posture during a stay — video instruction provides something a text guide cannot. If video is how you best internalize technique, Brain Training for Dogs is the better format choice.

You want a structured, sequential program. If your preference is to have someone tell you exactly what to do today, what to do tomorrow, and how the progression builds over time — Brain Training for Dogs’s 7-level, 21-game structure delivers that. There is no ambiguity about what to work on or in what order. For owners who have struggled with unfocused or inconsistent training in the past, this structure is genuinely valuable.

You want a program from a trainer with explicitly verified credentials. The CPDT-KA certification behind Brain Training for Dogs is an independently evaluated professional credential. If that kind of verifiable professional validation matters in your decision, Brain Training for Dogs has it clearly established.

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Our Pick: Which Program Wins?

After working through both programs on methodology, format, behavior coverage, credentials, and practical use cases, my recommendation is Secrets to Dog Training for the majority of dog owners — particularly those who want a comprehensive, actionable reference they can implement immediately across a wide range of behavior problems.

Here is my honest reasoning:

Most dog owners come to training programs with a specific, named problem they need to address right now. Their dog is jumping, barking, pulling, or chewing, and they need practical guidance for that specific situation. Secrets to Dog Training’s behavior-specific chapters are organized to serve this need directly — you navigate to the relevant chapter and get targeted protocols, not a multi-week progressive curriculum that you need to work through before reaching the content you actually need.

The PDF format has underappreciated practical advantages for the owner who will use a training resource repeatedly over time. A downloaded guide you own outright, access offline, annotate for your specific dog, and return to across years of ownership provides durable value in a way that a structured video curriculum — which you tend to work through once — does not.

The breadth of coverage gives Secrets to Dog Training staying power. A puppy housetraining guide that you use intensively for eight weeks is useful. A comprehensive training reference that covers commands, behavior problems, puppy work, and advanced training — that you return to for years as your dog’s needs evolve — is a more durable investment. Secrets to Dog Training is designed for the second use case.

For owners of confident, stable dogs, the multi-method coverage in Secrets to Dog Training provides flexibility without significant risk. The constraints on correction-adjacent methods apply most meaningfully to anxious or reactive dogs; for stable dogs, the broader toolkit is an asset.

I want to be honest about where Brain Training for Dogs is the better choice:

If your dog’s behavior problems are primarily rooted in mental under-stimulation — hyperactivity, boredom-driven destruction, unfocused restlessness — Brain Training for Dogs’s cognitive engagement approach addresses this root cause more directly and durably than symptomatic behavior correction does. Similarly, if you have an anxious, reactive, or fear-based dog, the force-free-only methodology of Brain Training for Dogs is meaningfully safer than a multi-method guide that includes correction-adjacent techniques. And if you learn best from video instruction, Brain Training for Dogs’s video format is the practical choice.

A few things I want to say clearly:

First, consistency matters more than which program you choose. A training method applied consistently produces results; either of these programs applied sporadically produces inconsistent results. Give whichever program you choose a genuine sustained effort — 20 to 30 consecutive days of regular implementation — before drawing conclusions about whether it is working.

Second, both programs carry 60-day ClickBank money-back guarantees. You are not locked in. If you work through Secrets to Dog Training for 30 days and find it is not what you needed, you can request a full refund through ClickBank’s process and try the alternative. The financial risk on either decision is low.

Third, both programs can coexist. Some owners use Secrets to Dog Training as their primary obedience and behavior reference and Brain Training for Dogs as a daily brain-games supplement. The two programs serve different functions and are not mutually exclusive.

For a broader view of how these programs compare against the full range of digital dog training options available, see my best online dog training programs ranked roundup. For owners new to structured training approaches, the complete dog training guide gives foundational context for evaluating what matters in any training program.

Bottom line: Secrets to Dog Training wins this comparison for most buyers who want an immediate, actionable, comprehensive reference they can use across their dog’s full life. The behavior-specific chapters, the downloadable PDF format, the breadth of coverage from puppy through advanced training, and the long track record in the ClickBank marketplace make it the stronger all-around choice for the owner who wants one reliable resource to turn to. The 60-day guarantee means you can verify this judgment yourself at low financial risk.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Secrets to Dog Training and Brain Training for Dogs?

Secrets to Dog Training by Daniel Stevens is a comprehensive downloadable PDF guide covering a wide range of obedience commands, behavior problems, housetraining, and dog psychology — structured as a reference manual you can re-read and return to as different situations arise. Brain Training for Dogs by Adrienne Farricelli (CPDT-KA) is a video-based online course organized around 21 progressive brain games and force-free positive reinforcement, delivered through a members’ area. The core difference is format and scope: Secrets to Dog Training is text-based, broadly comprehensive, and designed as a long-term reference; Brain Training for Dogs is video-based, methodologically focused, and designed as a progressive daily curriculum.

Which program is better for stopping aggression?

Both programs address aggression, but through different mechanisms. Secrets to Dog Training has dedicated chapters on dog-to-dog aggression and people-directed aggression with specific step-by-step intervention strategies, differentiating between the two because the appropriate protocols differ. Brain Training for Dogs addresses aggression rooted in boredom or anxiety by building cognitive engagement and confidence through progressive brain games. For owners who want direct, targeted protocols for named aggression types, Secrets to Dog Training’s dedicated coverage is more immediately practical. Brain Training for Dogs is the stronger choice if the aggression is driven by anxiety, fear, or reactivity — for these dogs, the force-free-only methodology avoids the risk of worsening a fear state through correction. Severe aggression toward people always warrants consultation with a certified professional regardless of which program you use. See my full resource on how to stop aggressive dog behavior for more detail.

Is Secrets to Dog Training or Brain Training for Dogs cheaper?

Both programs are sold at comparable price points through ClickBank. Secrets to Dog Training often runs promotional pricing in the $37–$67 range. Brain Training for Dogs typically retails around $47. Prices can change during promotional periods, so check the official sites for current pricing before purchasing. Both carry 60-day ClickBank money-back guarantees, meaning the effective financial risk of trying either program is low.

Can I use both Secrets to Dog Training and Brain Training for Dogs?

Yes, and the two programs complement each other well for different aspects of training. Secrets to Dog Training functions as a broad reference manual for obedience commands and specific problem behaviors — the resource you consult when a new situation arises. Brain Training for Dogs provides a structured daily brain-games curriculum that builds cognitive engagement, focus, and mental satisfaction over time. Some owners use Secrets to Dog Training as their primary obedience and behavior reference and Brain Training for Dogs as the structured mental-stimulation component of their daily training routine. Because both carry 60-day guarantees through ClickBank, the financial exposure of trying both is manageable.

Which program works faster?

Speed of results depends primarily on the owner’s consistency and the individual dog’s history — not which program is used. That said, Secrets to Dog Training’s direct, behavior-specific protocols can produce targeted results quickly for common acute issues like jumping on guests, leash pulling, and housetraining violations — because you get an immediate action plan for the specific behavior without working through a multi-week curriculum first. Brain Training for Dogs takes a progressive approach where results build cumulatively over weeks as the dog’s cognitive engagement and mental satisfaction deepen. For an acute, specific behavior problem you need addressed fast, Secrets to Dog Training’s targeted chapters give you the more immediate starting point. For sustained behavioral transformation addressing the root causes of under-stimulation, Brain Training for Dogs’s arc of improvement is meaningful over a 4 to 8 week window.

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Informational only. This article is for general informational purposes and is not professional, legal, medical, electrical, or financial advice. Survival, energy, and water-treatment decisions carry real risks — consult a licensed professional for your specific situation. Product claims are the manufacturer’s; verify current details on the official site.

By Megan Forsythe — off-grid homesteader & CERT-certified emergency preparedness instructor.