I’ll be straight with you — I was skeptical.
Another dog training program promising to “unlock your dog’s hidden intelligence”? Felt like I’d heard that pitch before. But after weeks of my dog barking at literally everything that moved outside our window — other dogs, joggers, falling leaves, you name it — I was desperate enough to try anything.
I’d already gone through the usual rabbit holes. YouTube tutorials. A group obedience class at a local pet store. One of those “alpha dog” methods someone recommended on Reddit. None of it stuck. So when I came across Brain Training for Dogs, I figured — worst case, I’d get a refund.
Thirty days later? My dog is genuinely different. Not perfect, but the change is real enough that I felt like I had to write this up.
Quick Scorecard
- Category Rating Ease of Use ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Value for Money ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Training Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Results ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Support & Community ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: 4.7 / 5
What Is Brain Training for Dogs?
If you’ve never heard of it, Brain Training for Dogs is an online training course created by Adrienne Farricelli — a CPDT-KA certified professional dog trainer with over 15 years of experience. This isn’t some influencer who got a puppy and started filming. Her work has been featured in USA Today and Every Dog magazine, and she’s trained service dogs for military veterans.
→ Check Out The Full Brain Training for Dogs Program Here
The program is built around one central idea that honestly reframed how I think about dog behavior:
Most dog problems — barking, chewing, jumping, digging — aren’t personality flaws. They’re symptoms of a bored, understimulated brain.
When you fix the root cause (mental understimulation), the bad behaviors start to fade on their own. That’s the theory. And after 30 days, I’m a believer.
Everything lives inside an online members’ area you get instant access to after purchase. No waiting for anything to ship.
Who Is This Actually For?
Before I go deeper — let me be real about who this is and isn’t for.
This is for you if:
- You just got a new puppy and want to build good habits from day one (honestly, this is the ideal scenario — so much easier to prevent bad habits than fix them)
- Your dog has specific frustrations: barking, leash pulling, jumping on guests, reactivity, chewing things they shouldn’t
- You’ve tried the basics — sit, stay, no — and they’re just not sticking
- You feel like you’ve lost control and are starting to dread interactions with your own dog
- You want a stronger, calmer bond with your pet
This probably isn’t for you if:
- Your dog already behaves well and you have zero complaints
- You’re dealing with severe aggression that requires in-person professional intervention
New dog owner reading this? This is actually perfect timing for you. The one thing I genuinely wish is that I’d found this before my dog developed bad habits. Prevention is so much easier than correction — and this program covers both.
What’s Inside the Course
The program is structured like a school curriculum, progressing through 7 modules from foundational to advanced. Here’s a real breakdown of what you’re getting:
🐾 Module 1 — Preschool
This is where everything starts. Target training, eye contact exercises, getting your dog to actually focus on you as the source of good things. Sounds basic, but this shift is the foundation for every other skill. Without it, you’re building on sand.
🐾 Module 2 — Elementary School
The treasure hunt game, the muffin tin game, the ball pit game. These tap into your dog’s natural foraging instincts while burning mental energy. This is where I first noticed a difference — my dog was tired in a good way after these, and a mentally tired dog is a calm dog. Nobody had told me that before.
🐾 Module 3 — High School
Patience and impulse control. The “jazz up and settle down” exercise in this module was a genuine turning point for me. Teaching a dog to self-regulate after being excited is a skill most people never bother with — and it shows.
🐾 Module 4 — College
Motor skills and focus under distraction. The “open sesame” game — teaching calm behavior despite an open door — is quietly one of the most practical exercises in the whole course.
🐾 Module 5 — University
More advanced impulse control. The “look at that” game here specifically targets dogs who bark at other dogs or people through windows. This one hit home for me personally.
🐾 Module 6 — Graduation
Advanced motor skills and complex commands. By this point your dog is responding to you in ways that feel almost effortless.
🐾 Module 7 — Einstein
This is the fun one. Toy name recognition, ring stacking, tidying up toys, and yes — your dog can learn to play a piano on cue. Whether you want party tricks or just proof of how far your dog has come, this module is genuinely impressive.
Beyond the 7 modules, you also get:
- Obedience 101 — Sit, stay, heel, drop it, come — all taught with the science behind why each method works, not just “do this”
- 7 Trick Training Videos — Roll over, play dead, shake hands, take a bow, howl, and more
- Adrienne’s Archive — 100+ in-depth articles covering nearly every behavior problem imaginable, including a full puppy section (potty training, crate training, bite inhibition, socialization)
- Private Community Forum — Surprisingly active. Good place to troubleshoot edge cases with other owners
- Direct Support — You can submit questions directly to Adrienne. That’s not common at this price point.
- Bonus: Behavior Training for Dogs — A separate course focused specifically on stopping whining, digging, barking, chewing, and jumping. Included free.
→ If Any of That Sounds Like What Your Dog Needs, Here’s The Link to Get Started
My Honest Experience: Week by Week
Week 1: Mostly just foundation work. The target training and eye contact games felt almost too simple, but I stuck with it. My dog started offering eye contact unprompted by day 5, which was new.
Week 2: Started the Elementary modules. This is when I noticed the mental fatigue effect. After 15 minutes of the muffin tin game, my dog would settle down and actually rest in the evenings instead of looking for trouble. The barking didn’t stop, but the frequency dropped noticeably.
Week 3: Hit High School — impulse control. This was the hardest week honestly. The exercises require patience from you as much as the dog. But “jazz up and settle down” started showing real results by the end of the week.
Week 4: By now the routines were just part of our day. The window barking — the whole reason I started this — had dropped by probably 60–70%. Not zero, but dramatically better. And our overall dynamic had shifted. My dog checks in with me now in a way she didn’t before.
What I Actually Liked
The “why” is always explained. Adrienne doesn’t just tell you what to do — she explains the science behind it. That makes you more confident applying techniques and better at adapting when something isn’t clicking for your dog.
Completely force-free. No choke collars, no dominance theory, no punishment. Modern science-backed positive reinforcement — dogs that want to listen rather than dogs that obey out of anxiety.
Troubleshooting guides in every module. When your dog isn’t getting something (and they won’t always get it immediately), there are specific adjustments to try instead of just hitting a wall.
The mental stimulation insight is genuinely valuable. This reframes how you think about dog behavior entirely. Boredom causes more problems than most people realize.
What Could Be Better
Requires real consistency. This isn’t a one-and-done fix. You need to show up daily, especially in the early modules. If you’re in a chaotic season of life, results will be slower.
Later modules are heavy on tricks. The Einstein module is fun, but if you just want a calm, obedient dog and aren’t interested in piano-playing party tricks, it feels less essential. The core behavior content more than makes up for it though.
Interface is clean but basic. Functional, easy to navigate — just don’t expect a sleek app experience.
How It Compares
Before Brain Training for Dogs, I tried:
- YouTube tutorials — Free, but scattered and inconsistent. No structure, no troubleshooting, and no way to know if you’re doing it right.
- Group obedience class — Helpful for basics but generic. One trainer, 12 dogs, zero personalization. Also expensive for what you get.
- “Dominance-based” methods — Didn’t sit right with me ethically, and frankly made my dog more anxious, not less.
Brain Training for Dogs is the only thing that addressed why my dog was misbehaving rather than just trying to suppress each symptom individually.
The Price — Is It Worth It?
At the time of writing, Brain Training for Dogs is $67 — and that covers everything: the 7-module course, all the obedience training, the trick videos, Adrienne’s Archive, the bonus Behavior Training course, and community forum access.
A single one-hour session with a local trainer runs $100–$150+. This is effectively a certified professional’s complete methodology for less than half that — with unlimited access.
There’s also a 60-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. So if you try it and it genuinely doesn’t deliver, you email them and get your money back. That makes the decision essentially risk-free.
Final Verdict
Brain Training for Dogs works — not because it’s magic, but because it finally addresses dog behavior correctly. Mental stimulation, root-cause thinking, force-free techniques. It’s the approach that should be standard but somehow isn’t.
The barking problem that drove me to try this? Largely solved. But the bigger win is the relationship shift. My dog actually engages with me now. She looks to me for cues. The bond is genuinely different.
If you’re a new dog owner, don’t wait for problems to develop — start here. If you’re dealing with an existing behavior issue, this is the most structured, science-backed, affordable path to fixing it that I’ve found. Overall Rating: 4.7 / 5 — Recommended
→ Yes, I Want to Try Brain Training for Dogs Risk-Free
FAQ — Questions People Always Ask
Will this work for an older dog? Yes. The program is designed for dogs of all ages. Older dogs may progress a bit more slowly through the modules, but the mental stimulation is especially beneficial for them.
How much time does it take each day? Realistically, 15–20 minutes per day is enough to see progress. The games are short by design — they’re meant to fit into a normal day, not replace it.
My dog is really stubborn. Will this work? Adrienne addresses this directly — the troubleshooting guides in each module are specifically designed for dogs that aren’t responding as expected. There’s a lot of “if your dog does X, try Y” guidance throughout.
Is this suitable for aggressive dogs? It can help with reactivity and anxiety-driven aggression. For severe aggression, in-person professional assessment is always recommended alongside any program.
What if it doesn’t work for me? 60-day money-back guarantee. You have two full months to try everything and decide. If it’s not delivering, email the support team and you get a full refund.
Is it a one-time payment or subscription? One-time payment of $67. No recurring charges.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I’ve genuinely used and believe in