Last Updated on October, 2024
It can be a challenging task to find a reliable option to train your dog. Especially if your dog has patience testing behavioral issues.
During your extensive online searches looking for a dog trainer, you may have come across off-leash K9 training, or someone may have recommended them to you. And you want to know what the deal is?
So, here we are to help you with that. In this review article, I will cover important topics including the teaching techniques and prices to help you decide if off-leash K9 training has what’s right for you and your pooch.
Let’s see what all this rave is about!
The Good
The off-leash K9 offers many training courses catering to a dog’s personality and obedience levels. With the help of a professional trainer, your dog can learn various commands with a high level of distraction-proofing to ultimately become an off-leash dog.
The Not So Good
Your dog needs to learn the commands through you. Learning commands through you helps establish a healthy relationship with your dog. In daily practice, the dog has to obey your commands. And to establish this your active participation is required. At off-leash K9 training, your dog learns from a trainer, which may cause confusion among the authoritative figure in charge. Plus certain course prices can be heavy on the wallet for some.
The Bottom Line
I wouldn’t recommend off-leash K9 training to you if you want to build or strengthen your relationship with your dog. Besides, if training your dog with the help and guidance from K9 TI (training institute) lets you spend more time with your dog and allows your dog to learn at its own speed, I would recommend choosing that over off leash K9 training.
Table of Contents
Considering Off leash K9 Training to Train Your Dog?
Off-leash K9 training was founded by Nick White, a celebrity trainer, United States Marine Corps veteran, and former US secret service bodyguard.
He is the author of the book Raising the Perfect Dog: Secrets of Law Enforcement K9 Trainers.
He also hosts A&E’s hit show, “America’s Top Dog!”
Off-leash K9 is a renowned dog training business with around 140 locations throughout the United States.
The celebrity exposure has brought publicity and growth to this program across many platforms like yahoo, A&E, American legion, US Military veterans, Military times magazine, smart CEO magazine, and many more.
The Dogington Post even recognizes the program among some of the top trainers in the world.
Backed up by thousands of ‘before and after’ YouTube videos, this globally recognized dog obedience training boasts thousands of 5-star reviews. The training promises to train your dog to be obedient off-leash at home and out and about.
So let’s delve deeper to figure out how it works!
Off-Leash K9 Training Courses
The number of training courses they offer at off-leash K9 is CRAZY. Whether you want your dog to improve on obedience, general behavior, or whatever else you and your dog are struggling with, the off-leash K9 training has it covered.
Based on your needs, you can choose from the following;
- Puppy orientation– To set a good foundation for basic obedience and help you house-train your puppy.
- Basic obedience– Includes all the basic commands to ensure your dog can remain outside, off-leash, and listen to commands in the presence of distractions.
- Basic and advanced obedience– A top-up lesson including many more advanced commands for those who want rock-star dogs.
- 1-week freedom board and train– This program ensures that your dog returns to you when called, even while enjoying freedom at parks, beaches, or playgrounds.
- 2-week board and train– A popular program focusing on practical, everyday obedience, including manners and socialization. It is taught with a high level of distraction proofing for a high level of precision.
- Reactive/aggressive dog training– For dogs with aggression and reactivity issues
- In-home basic obedience– Same curriculum as basic obedience done at your home.
- In-home basic and advanced obedience– Same curriculum as basic and advanced obedience done at your home.
- Therapy dog preparation– To develop your dog into a therapy dog.
- Diabetic alert dog training– To develop your dog into a diabetic alert/ service dog mainly through scent detection.
- Tracking and trailing training – A program that mentally and physically stimulates your dog for outdoor activities like sporting and trailing.
Considerations Before Signing Up for a Program By Off Leash K9 Training
Overall, the off-leash K9 training covers a wide range of training services focused on a 100% off-leash and obedient output.
In addition to basic and advanced obedience training, they also offer personal protection and detection training, meaning the cultivation of bomb dogs, drug dogs, therapy, diabetic alert dogs, and more.
The Teaching Methods Employed
Off-leash K9 training is based on research on animal behavior. The training uses a combination of teaching techniques for behavior correction and modification.
The central and ruling technique is focused on using the electronic training collar. In conjunction with the e-collar, a leash, verbal signals, and body language, such as hand and foot signals, are used to communicate with the dog.
No matter how old your dog is or the dog’s breed, the training at off-leash K9 aims to fix behavioral issues and improve obedience. In time, the goal is to help your dog master a new command without the restriction of a leash.
If you are looking for basic or advanced, or refresher dog training programs, then off-leash K9 can help you.
Things to Keep in Mind Before Buying a Course
- This is a physical one-to-one training class with a professional dog trainer.
- You may have to board your dog based on the class/ training program you choose.
- The training is centered around the use of electronic collars.
- If you are unsure of using electronic collars, you can request to test them on yourself to ensure safe and humane use.
- The dog obedience programs focus on delivering an off-leash dog who can follow a new command without the restriction of a leash.
- At the end of the program, you will be briefed on how to continue proper communication with your dog to maintain consistency.
Other dog training program reviews:
- K9 Training Institute
- Dog Academy Review
- DIYK9 Course Review
- US Service Animals Review
- Top Tier K9 Review
Inside the Off-Leash K9 Training Courses
Training Technique
The primary mode of communication for dogs is body language and secondarily through vocalizations.
Their non-verbal language includes many body postures and movements, tail carriage and movements, eye and ear positions, and facial expressions. For this reason, dogs effectively respond to visual cues.
At off-leash K9, whatever course you choose, the training revolves around the use of electronic collars. Body language and verbal commands are used to make the electronic collar more effective.
According to Nick White, the founder, electronic collar training with the help of positive reinforcement helps build confidence in your dog.
Dog Obedience Training
Although they specialize in multiple training services, Off-leash K9 training is known for its high level of dog obedience in real-world environments.
Dog obedience training focuses on maximizing your dog’s natural abilities to deliver an obedient dog that you can easily control.
From puppy training to basic and advanced obedience to board and train programs, several important commands are covered to help your dog become calmer and more obedient with better impulse control. Some of the commands included in the curriculum are;
- Basic “come,” “sit,” “down,” “extended down,” “place, “extended place,” and “out.”
- Extended distance obedience
- Heel command
- Watch command
- Through command
- Front command
- Stand command
- Focused heeling
- Touch command
Based on the course you choose, you’ll be able to wean your dog off behavioral issues and expect the following outcomes in terms of dog obedience;
- Your dog will sit on command/ sit in a specific location you point to until you release
- Drops any all things when you command
- You can command your dog to sit from 50+ yards away from you
- Maintain eye contact until released
- Improved greeting manners (no jumping)
- Achieve loose leash and off-leash walking right beside you
- Waiting politely at doors and gates until you release them
- Waiting politely for meals until you release them
- “Come” command when outside, off leash around distractions
- And many more
It is important to note that most courses are private lessons. The professional trainer assigned to you will pay full and complete attention to your dog.
It makes it convenient to make relevant adjustments around your dog’s personality and learning speed.
And in my opinion, this is very important because every dog is different and requires reciprocation accordingly for effective learning.
These private lessons will allow your dog to form a relationship with its personal trainer making training outcomes more effective.
On top of that, off-leash K9 training will brief you on maintaining progress while handling and controlling your dog properly.
The Price
At off-leash K9, the price of most dog obedience courses includes the cost of the 15-20 foot leash, electronic collar, home visits, and boarding charges where applicable.
Currently, the price range typically falls between $100 and $3000; the least priced is the puppy orientation per session, and the highest is the 2-week board and train course.
The higher end of the range can be overwhelming for some dog owners. And there are cost-effective alternatives you can turn to. I will be discussing one such alternative in the topic below.
Off-leash training has 1000s user reviews/ratings and 1000s of before and after YouTube videos which serve as proof of the effectiveness of training.
If you are a dog owner who thinks your dog will benefit more from in-person private sessions and if you can afford the cost, then off-leash K9 training is worth considering.
Also, to make the investment more affordable, off-leash K9 training offers monthly plans to cover your course payments in installments. Based on the coverage of the course, some courses include lifetime refreshers as private lessons.
Review Wrap-Up: Off-leash K9 Training
To wrap it up: based on my research, Off-leash K9 training specializes in a variety of courses. No matter your dog’s behavioral issue, off-leash K9 promises to give you a solution.
Although the courses are costly, it seems to be providing the value it promises. The 1000s of 5-star reviews prove this.
With pro trainers at off-leash K9 training, you are assured to achieve an obedient dog willing to follow your commands.
And with so many locations around the United States, surely everyone will have access to a location in the area.
My Canis Panther dog, although very fond of me, can tend to get a bit aggressive and hyperactive when he gets fixated on something. And when he gets carried away like this he refuses to acknowledge or respond to me.
So on my hunt to work on this issue, I found off leash K9 training. I chose to give it a go especially because there was a branch in my vicinity.
I was interested in their basic and advanced obedience course because it included commands like extended distance obedience, heel and focused heeling commands which seemed to cover the issues I have with my dog.
This consists of 8 lessons. So that’s what I chose.
To be honest, I would say that it was worth the price and it delivered what it promised. I first handedly experienced the transition my dog went through from lesson 1 to lesson 8.
He did learn all his commands from a professional trainer and even positively responded to them. Over the class duration he started reciprocating with all of the said commands.
So yes, I was happy with the transition. That said, when I used the commands at home he did respond to me but seemed a bit reluctant.
At the same time, when at training with his trainer from off leash K9 he responds to commands without any reluctance. I think this is because he learns his commands from the trainer instead of me.
This made me realize that my dog considers the trainer as his master, but in practice he should effectively process the commands given by me. The change in commanding authority tends to confuse my dog.
So for this reason, I wouldn’t recommend choosing off leash K9, also because you miss out on the bonding with your dog that comes from learning from you.
Pros
Cons
An Alternative to Consider
On my search to fix the issue of who is in command authority, I found K9 TI.
An online learning program that is completely FREE OF CHARGE.
Yes, you read it right.
If you are on the fence about off-leash K9 training or if what they are offering is too much for you, if you simply cannot afford a personal trainer or if you think you may end with the same issue I faced, the K9 TI (Training Institute) is worth considering.
The K9 TI was founded by an animal behaviorist, Dr. Alex Diaz.
With over 20 years of experience in the service dog industry, she is among the most respected services and emotional support dog trainers.
Unlike off-leash K9 training, the K9 TI is an online class that offers a free workshop video and a total transformation master class. The training at K9 TI is centered around three key approaches;
- Use of body language
- Operant conditioning
- Acknowledging that dogs need a task to do
This is a video-based training program that involves you hands-on. With the help of expert trainers’ personal coaching, you can tackle most of your dog’s behavior issues to achieve a well-trained dog.
You being personally involved not only in terms of presence but also as the commanding figure will help you build a positive and communicative relationship with your pooch.
The K9 TI program offers an extensive amount of content that effectively covers the following areas;
- How to house train
- Training on eliminating unwanted barking out of excitement and alert you of stranger presence without barking
- Teach your dog to always come when called
- How to stop jumping on people
- Methods on tuning out distractions
- Body language commands to work on various behavioral issues
- Leash training and loose leash walking
- Train your dog to calmly greet people and other dogs in public
- And many many more
K9 TI is an excellent alternative compared to off leash K9, that too for a ZERO DOLLAR price tag. Too good to be true? I know, I felt the same way. But I went ahead and tried it, cause I’ve got nothing loose right! And I am glad I did.
With K9 TI I managed to teach my dog all what he learned from off leash K9 and much more. Yes, that means I am happy with the outcome.
And if K9 TI gives you the opportunity to train your dog yourself in the comfort of your home, why not give it a shot.
Comparison: Off Leash K9 vs K9 TI
| Off-leash K9 | K9 TI |
| Lessons are built around the use of an electronic collar in addition to other communication modes | Lessons are built around the use of body language to effectively communicate with your dog |
| Offline | Online |
| Private sessions by a pro trainer means lack of your active participation during training | Training by yourself allows you to build a healthy relationship with your dog |
| Multiple courses to choose from | Total transformation class: 13 classes |
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
To summarize, training a dog isn’t an easily accomplished task. It requires effort, technique, consistency, and proper communication. Also, this is not a once-and-done task.
You need to practice your dog’s new skills continuously. Committing 10-15 minutes a day for training and practice will help refresh your dog’s mind to perfect the newly learned skills.
So, for anyone looking for an efficient and professional way of training their dog, K9 TI is the way to go.
With a freely available workshop video and a Total transformation Masterclass, you can definitely work on your dog’s behavioral issues, eventually achieving a happy YOU and a HAPPY POOCH.
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