Last Updated on September, 2024
Can Zigzag puppy training really train your dog?
The simple answer is yes, it can, and I did it with my Lab puppy.
But, there is a however part.
You’re in the right place if you really want to assess whether Zigzag puppy training is worth it — this review covers everything.
Read through and decide for yourself.
But, why trust me?
Table of Contents
- Why Trust Me?
- What is Zigzag Puppy Training?
- Who are Behind Zigzag Training?
- Key Features of Zigzag Training
- How Much is Zigzag Puppy Training?
- Zigzag Puppy Training Customer Testimonials
- Pros & Cons of Zigzag Training
- Zigzag Puppy Training Alterative: K9 Training Institute
- Conclusion: Zigzag Puppy Training
- FAQs
Why Trust Me?
I actually used the app to make the best out of the trial and tried to train my Labrador puppy.
I also directly contacted Zigzag customer support and their trainers during the process, just as much as communicating with fellow puppy parents.
Going the extra mile, I also went through several reliable customer testimonials and YouTube comments and cross-checked with many other (sometimes inaccurate) Zigzag reviews.
That’s how you get the most accurate and updated info here.
Before we move to the review, let’s look at a quick summary.
The Good
Zigzag Puppy Training is bespoke for puppies, and their training content is fantastic. There’s a foolproof structure that ensures puppy parents follow the training as intended. There are also several additional features, such as unlimited 1-on-1 chat with expert trainers, a food portion calculator, and a like-minded community within the highly user-friendly mobile app. You also get a trial.
The Not So Good
Zigzag’s pricing point is high, and they don’t offer a monthly plan; it’s always a quarterly or annual subscription plan. The lack of an industry-standard monthly plan is a big minus point.
The Bottom Line
While Zigzag definitely works, I came across an equally good yet 100% free alternative, K9 Training Institute, that I have discussed at the end. Even if you want Zigzag’s quarterly or annual subscriptions, I recommend you try the free resources before spending money.
What is Zigzag Puppy Training?
Zigzag puppy training is a UK-based and app-based training program. The best thing about the Zigzag is that they’re 100% focused on puppyhood.
This isn’t any ordinary puppy training program; Zigzag is recommended by leading dog organizations such as Force Free Pet Professionals, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and even Applied Pet Behavioralists.
That’s why your investment has strong returns — don’t worry, the app is completely free. I’ll cover the costs in a separate section.
Before we get into its key features, let’s see who are the founders of the app.
Who are Behind Zigzag Training?
Zigzag Puppy Training was founded by two canine professionals; Lorna Winter and Patrick Luke.
Lorna is the Head of the Program (and a co-founder). She brings a diploma in companion animal behavior.
She is also the Chairman of CAPBT, presently known as CABTi (COAPE Association of Behaviourists and Trainers International).
She is also the director of the UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter. Training Content’s quality is sky-high as Lorna brings over 25 years of experience in marketing and innovation, 17 of which were dedicated to pet care.
On the flip side, Patrick brings 15 years of design, brand, strategy & business development.
Together, they offer you one of the most successful pet training solutions: the Zigzag puppy training app.
Next, let’s discuss what this training app offers.
Key Features of Zigzag Training
Zigzag’s success is behind several features. Leveraging these features depends on understanding them. This section is dedicated to that.
User-Friendly Mobile App
The heart of Zigzag puppy training is its app.
The app works the same for Android and iOS devices. The user interface is super user-friendly and makes using the app and training your puppy a fun experience.
I never experienced any lagging, and everything is centralized and easy to navigate with.
Personalized Approach
All Zigzag training features are centralized on one key feature: personalization.
When you sign up, the app will ask you questions about your pup’s age, breed, and even specific other needs. For instance, you could be having a cat or other dogs at home, or maybe children, or maybe no garden.
The subsequent training plans will be based on these criteria.
As I said, my pup is a Labrador. I noticed how drastically different the recommended training plans are when compared to others who don’t own Golden Retrievers.
It’s clear that Zigzag aims for a personalized approach. Even so, the puppy trainers cover everything in puppy training.
Next, let’s see what and how they do it.
Comprehensive Training Content
You’ll be surprised to see how comprehensive Zigzag’s training really is; it teaches EVERYTHING your puppy needs to know to live happily.
Some of the key training areas are:
The cherry on top is the set of tricks and games that make the puppies more intelligent and agile. In fact, most conventional online training programs omit the fun, while Zigzag doesn’t.
Remember that you get 250+ training lessons with ‘How-to’ videos. You’ll also get 3 daily puppy videos.
You’ll also learn why exactly Zigzag follows the listed methods that educate you too.
The overall efficiency of this training content is backed by HOW they do it, which is journey-based training.
Journey-based Training
Whether it is about getting your puppy used to the name, sit on cue, sleep training, or even toilet training — they do all of it.
The secret to their success is the training journey that starts in Chapter 1. Every chapter is named in a way you can understand what it’s about.
For instance, the first chapter is named ‘’Coming Home,’’ whereas the core focus is just on getting the puppy used to your home.
What makes Zigzag successful is that they aim to start resolving issues as early as possible while getting your puppy used to the home.
For example, the toilet training-introduction is the second step in Chapter 1. That makes the overall engagement time a step longer, increasing the overall efficiency of Zigzag’s training.
Another factor that backs the journey’s success is step-by-step instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
One of the biggest issues that most dog parents struggle with in online (or app-based) training is understanding. The lack of understanding makes you question not only the quality of the training content but also your ability to train your dog.
This is where Zigzag puppy training wins.
Each training content is well segregated and well outlined. I was surprised to see how specific and descriptive they are about even the tiniest details.
For instance, I only came across a maximum of 2-3 steps of crate training in the past. Zigzag exceeds five steps, detailing every step thoroughly.
The first step for crate training is to “Introduce your pet to the crate, keeping the door open,” and every other step gets more and more descriptive.
You would notice that Zigzag has left no space for improvisation or left you uninstructed between steps. This is a major issue with several alternative training programs. The more you have to think and do on your own, the higher your chances of failing.
That’s why Zigzag works.
Step-up-step instructions are just one side of the coin; the other is the pre-recorded videos.
100% Pre-Recorded Video-Based
Let’s be honest; both you and I have tried (and failed) YouTube videos.
Make no false assumption — some YouTube-based trainers can be resourceful.
But you’d notice how you’d always have to sign up for their $100/month special dog training program as you finish a few videos.
These videos tend to lack the production quality, amongst many other flaws.
I have tried a few, and I no longer want to lose my money.
In Zigzag, all videos run parallel with instructions, which makes it even easier to understand them.
Stage-wise Structure
One of the most significant drawbacks of similar training methods is that you can skip steps easily. This is one of the biggest reasons why these apps have a bad reputation.
That makes it hard for anyone to assess whose fault it is; is it of the program of the dog parent?
However, Zigzag has cured the issue by default. The forthcoming steps are locked unless you complete the previous steps. That’s one secret to the training program’s success. This is directly connected to the journey-like breakdown of the training.
Zigzag aims to train you just as much as your puppy. One such aspect is the food portion calculator.
Food Portion Calculator
The app’s bottom layer has five elements: Today, Journey, Library, Calculator, and Expert.
Calculator here is the food portion calculator.
This is another area where experienced and (definitely) new puppy parents will struggle. Zigzag bridges the inconvenience.
You can simply enter your puppy’s weight and the product, and it’ll show the expected adult weight. The portion breakdown comes when you tap the red button that says calculate.
This takes away hours of research and a little fortune while preventing several health complications.
But what if you wanted help? That’s why you get an unlimited instant chatting option.
Unlimited Instant Chat With Puppy Training Experts
The expert button at the bottom right corner is dedicated to connecting you and Zigzag’s expert trainers.
This initiative shows that Zigzag anticipates the probability of questions with video-based training.
The truth is that, sometimes, we need that extra consultation regardless of how great the training content is.
You can just tap on the button and get connected to an expert trainer. Don’t worry! This is not an AI bot — I did the testing for you.
The feedback is personalized, and the team is dedicated to fixing your issues promptly.
So, is Zigzag all about videos? Absolutely not.
Several Reading Material
I remember seeing an interesting article about play biting when I was researching the app. Lorna wrote this, and I read it fully as soon as I got into the app because I had some issues with my puppy’s biting.
She doesn’t waste your time by explaining biological or psychological issues and why this is happening. Instead, she quickly moves on to discuss how to deal with play biting.
For example, did you know that getting your puppy to sleep around 18 hours is a fundamental fix to this issue?
The content quality is consistent among all the articles. Some of these areas include biting & sleeping, playful biting, and even keeping teeth off hands.
You can access all these in the Library icon on the app’s bottom tab.
With all of this, Zigzag gives you one more very important feature: the community.
Like-Minded Community
Zigzag coaches know what they’re doing. However, some issues are so specific and rare that they can only happen with specific dog parents.
You have a bigger chance of running into a similar dog parent in this community than finding a coach who has experience with the particular issue.
Zigzag understood the requirement, and that’s why you get to be a part of a like-minded puppy parent community. You can initiate questions, share your thoughts and experiences, and have a set of friends who have puppies.
These are the features that make Zigzag what it is.
Next, let’s look at the pros and cons of the app.
How Much is Zigzag Puppy Training?
As I just mentioned, Zigzag puppy training is not free.
However, you can start using all features in a trial. After that, you can go with either the annual or quarterly plan. It’s a bit problematic how they don’t offer a monthly plan for someone who might have second thoughts.
I chose the cheapest quarterly plan to evaluate the training for you.
Here’s how Zigzag puppy training pricing vary:
Next, look at some of the customer testimonials.
Zigzag Puppy Training Customer Testimonials
You know that I never show the positive customer testimonials companies feature on their websites if you’ve ever read any of my reviews before.
I went with reliable sources for this review too.
I am okay with the collection of my data and sign up to get free trial BUT before that just to get to sign up you must agree no matter what to get spam from their partners. This isn’t okay and is enough to keep me from subscribing. I think the prices are fair if you want to pay and get spam. Pay or spam but not both. Shame because it looks like a good app. You get spam sign up before anything and it isn’t optional.
This review from Playstore stresses a critical issue that even I disliked. Similarly, I’m fine with my data being collected, but spamming is unpleasant.
Customer service team were brilliant and very quick to respond to my questions.
Looking forward to training my puppy using this informative app.
Customer service is repeatedly given priority with many reviews. Zigzag understands a critical brand management touchpoint while providing decent training content that’s strategic.
Be ready to pay to train. At first glance I thought this app was wonderful, it starts by learning you dogs name and your name to. Even the breen for better training options. And so many things to teach with very detailed passages for you to learn. But to unlock lessons you have to pay or they are locked I want a app that cares more about helping dog owners especially younger owners such as my self who can’t pay. It isn’t there fault and is over all a amazing app but my experience was not great
This review from Play Store stresses how you HAVE to pay for the good stuff. While I understand it from a business perspective, it’s up for debate whether it should be all-paid.
Pros & Cons of Zigzag Training
Pros
Cons
Zigzag Puppy Training Alterative: K9 Training Institute
Zigzag puppy training WORKS and is reliable without a doubt.
The only problem is their high pricing point.
That’s why I decided to pull out of the program during the trial period.
However, I still had an untrained puppy with time running out. Just for the hell of it, I looked up for completely free courses that get the job done with little or no hope.
This is when the K9 Training Institute (K9TI) came into the picture.
To my surprise, the training does EVERYTHING that Zigzag does, and it’s completely FREE. Not only that, but they also personalize training for both puppies AND adult dogs.
We’re talking about crate training, potty training, fixing behavioral and obedience issues, and so much more.
You won’t be getting food portion calculators and constant 1-on-1 consultations, but I never felt the need. It’s because the training has no room for confusion, like some Zigzag videos.
Before you wonder who delivers the training, one is a well-experienced dog trainer with 20+ years of experience in training not just ordinary dogs but rescue and emotional support dogs. The lead trainer is Dr. Alexa Diaz and she holds a PhD in animal behavior.
The second trainer and the lead presenter is Eric Presnall, who hosted the hit Animal Planet TV show “Who Let The Dogs Out”.
The secret to their success is that they use the same force-free techniques used to train service dogs. On top of that, K9TI’s training content is based on the research conducted at Harvard and Stanford Universities.
With K9TI, you can cover fundamental training aspects like:
It’s still 100% free, and I believe this is because they want to grow their community until they can start charging. I guess I was lucky.
That’s how I trained my puppy for free and while staying home.
Other dog training program reviews:
Conclusion: Zigzag Puppy Training
Zigzag Puppy Training is a UK-based online and app-based puppy training program.
Covering almost all puppy training aspects, the app is legit. The content quality and structure are top-notch, and the user interface is equally impressive. You can train your puppy with Zigzag.
The only problem is their high pricing point.
K9 Training Institute beats Zigzag with such a lead because it does EVERYTHING Zigzag does (in terms of puppy training) for completely FREE.
So, even if you want to end up with Zigzag’s paid services, it’s better to try the free solutions first.
I hope this review was helpful, and feel free to share it with your friends and family to raise awareness.
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