Brain Training for Dogs and Secrets to Dog Training are both popular digital programs for dog owners — but they take fundamentally different approaches to solving behavioral problems. Brain Training for Dogs, created by CPDT-KA certified trainer Adrienne Farricelli, is a mental enrichment-first program built around 21 progressive brain games designed to address the root cause of most misbehavior: a bored, under-stimulated dog. Secrets to Dog Training (published by Kingdom of Pets) is a broader behavioral encyclopedia covering a wider range of obedience skills and specific problem behaviors. Which one wins depends almost entirely on what your dog actually needs — and this comparison will help you figure that out.
TL;DR
- Different approaches, not just different content. Brain Training for Dogs is organized around the idea that mental enrichment solves most behavioral problems. Secrets to Dog Training is organized as a comprehensive troubleshooting guide for specific commands and problem behaviors.
- Brain Training wins on structure. The 7-level progressive curriculum is one of the most clearly organized dog training programs available. You always know where you are and what comes next.
- Secrets wins on breadth. If you have a dog with multiple specific problem behaviors — jumping, leash pulling, barking, resource guarding — Secrets to Dog Training covers more behavioral territory explicitly.
- Creator credibility favors Brain Training. Adrienne Farricelli holds CPDT-KA certification — the most widely recognized credential in professional dog training. Kingdom of Pets is a well-established publisher but less individually credentialed.
- Both carry 60-day money-back guarantees through ClickBank, so the financial risk is low on either choice.
- Our recommendation: Start with Brain Training for Dogs if your dog’s behavior problems seem rooted in boredom, excess energy, or lack of focus. Start with Secrets to Dog Training if you need a comprehensive reference for multiple specific commands and problem behaviors.
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1. At a Glance: How They Differ
Before going deeper, here is the head-to-head summary of the two programs across the dimensions that matter most for this decision.
| Feature | Brain Training for Dogs | Secrets to Dog Training |
|---|---|---|
| Primary approach | Brain enrichment + positive reinforcement | Broad behavioral troubleshooting |
| Creator | Adrienne Farricelli (CPDT-KA certified) | Kingdom of Pets team |
| Format | 21 brain games across 7 progressive levels | Comprehensive guide + video content |
| Training philosophy | Force-free only | Primarily positive, some balanced elements |
| Curriculum structure | Highly structured, progressive levels | Encyclopedia / reference style |
| Best for | Boredom-driven behavior, mental engagement, impulse control | Broad obedience + specific problem behavior troubleshooting |
| Ideal user | Owners of high-energy, under-stimulated, or reactive dogs | Owners who want a comprehensive A-Z behavioral reference |
| Price | ~$47 | ~$37–47 |
| Guarantee | 60 days | 60 days |
| Subscription required | No | No |
The table makes clear that these programs are not competing to solve the same problem. Brain Training for Dogs has a specific thesis — that mental enrichment is the missing ingredient in most dogs’ behavioral programs — and builds a structured curriculum around it. Secrets to Dog Training is more of a comprehensive reference that assumes you know what behavior you need to fix and want detailed guidance on fixing it.
2. What Is Brain Training for Dogs?
Brain Training for Dogs is a digital training program created by Adrienne Farricelli, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) with over a decade of professional experience. The program’s central premise is one that experienced trainers recognize immediately: most behavioral problems in domestic dogs — destructive chewing, excessive barking, hyperactivity, difficulty concentrating, impulsive behavior — stem not from disobedience but from mental under-stimulation.
Dogs, particularly working and sporting breeds, were selectively bred to think, problem-solve, and work alongside humans. Modern pet life — even a loving household with regular walks — often fails to tax their cognitive capacity. The result is what behaviorists call “frustration from unmet cognitive needs.” The dog becomes destructive, hyper, and difficult to train not because they are defiant but because they are bored in the deepest sense.
Farricelli’s solution is 21 carefully designed brain games organized into 7 progressive levels: Preschool, Elementary School, High School, College, University, Graduation, and Einstein. Each level introduces more cognitively demanding tasks that build on the skills developed in previous levels. The games develop:
- Focus and attention — teaching the dog to orient toward the owner rather than environmental distractions
- Impulse control — one of the most practically valuable skills in any dog’s repertoire, directly reducing jumping, leash pulling, and grabbing behaviors
- Problem-solving capacity — dogs learn to work through puzzles and novel challenges, which builds frustration tolerance and cognitive flexibility
- Cooperation and responsiveness — games reinforce the habit of checking in with the owner, making all subsequent training more effective
The methodology is force-free throughout. No corrections, no aversive tools, no intimidation. Every game is reward-based, which means the dog is choosing to engage rather than complying under pressure. Research on dog cognition published in Animal Cognition consistently shows that positive-reinforcement training produces dogs that are more engaged, more responsive, and better at solving novel problems than training methods that rely on punishment or avoidance. Farricelli’s approach is grounded in this science.
The program also includes a video library where Farricelli demonstrates each game, which addresses one of the most common failure points in written training guides — the gap between understanding the concept and actually executing it with your dog in your living room.
For a complete walkthrough of what the program includes module by module, see my Brain Training for Dogs Review 2026: Is Adrienne Farricelli’s Program Worth It?. For pricing details, see Brain Training for Dogs Price: Cost, Discount & What You Get.
3. What Is Secrets to Dog Training?
Secrets to Dog Training, published by the Kingdom of Pets team, takes a fundamentally different organizational approach. Rather than building toward a single central thesis, it is structured as a comprehensive behavioral reference — an encyclopedia of dog training that covers the full spectrum of obedience commands, specific problem behaviors, and training concepts from puppy basics through advanced work.
The program covers a wide range of behavioral territory:
- Foundational obedience — sit, stay, down, come, heel, and off commands with step-by-step training progressions
- Problem behavior troubleshooting — jumping up, excessive barking, leash pulling, separation anxiety, resource guarding, aggression, digging, chewing, and other common issues addressed in dedicated sections
- Puppy-specific guidance — housetraining, bite inhibition, socialization windows, and the specific challenges of the first year
- Advanced training concepts — off-leash reliability, training in distracting environments, multi-dog household management
Kingdom of Pets has been a presence in the digital pet training space for a significant number of years and has a track record of producing practical, owner-accessible content. The Secrets to Dog Training guide reflects this history — it is well-organized, readable, and covers more behavioral ground than most single-source dog training resources.
Where the program is less clearly defined is in its philosophical foundation. The guide draws primarily from positive reinforcement principles, but unlike Brain Training for Dogs, it does not explicitly commit to a force-free-only methodology. Some sections may include balanced training approaches — techniques that use both positive reinforcement and mild corrections — which may be appropriate for some training situations but is a departure from the strictly force-free framework that some owners specifically seek.
The format is primarily text-based guide with supplementary video content, organized more as a reference manual than a sequential curriculum. This means it is highly useful as a troubleshooting resource — you look up the behavior you need to address and work through that section — but it does not provide the same kind of structured progressive experience as Brain Training for Dogs’ 7-level system.
4. Head-to-Head: Which Wins on Each Dimension?
4.1 Creator Credibility
This is the clearest advantage for Brain Training for Dogs. Adrienne Farricelli holds CPDT-KA certification — the Certified Professional Dog Trainer credential administered by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, widely regarded as the most rigorous and credible certification in the professional dog training field. The CPDT-KA requires documented training hours, passing a knowledge assessment, and adherence to the CCPDT’s Humane Hierarchy and code of ethics. It is not a self-designation or a marketing credential.
Farricelli has also written for dog training publications, contributed to veterinary and behavioral resources, and has a verifiable professional history in the field. This is not a program created by a marketer who read some dog training books — it is created by someone who has done this work professionally and has the credentials to prove it.
Secrets to Dog Training is published by Kingdom of Pets, a team-based operation rather than an individually credentialed trainer. Kingdom of Pets has a legitimate track record and has produced useful content, but the individual credential transparency that Brain Training for Dogs offers is not present in the same way.
Winner: Brain Training for Dogs — by a significant margin on creator credibility.
4.2 Training Methodology
Brain Training for Dogs is explicitly and consistently force-free. The program never introduces aversive tools, corrections, or punishment-based techniques. Every exercise is built around rewarding the behaviors you want, which aligns with the consensus position of modern behavioral science and is the approach recommended by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. For owners who have made a deliberate choice to train force-free — whether because they have a sensitive dog, a rescue with an unknown history, or simply a philosophical commitment to humane training — Brain Training for Dogs delivers on that commitment without exception.
Secrets to Dog Training is primarily positive but does not carry the same explicit force-free commitment. For owners who prefer a purely positive approach, this distinction matters. For owners who are more pragmatic about training methodology and want options, Secrets provides a broader toolkit.
Winner: Brain Training for Dogs for force-free, positive reinforcement-committed training. Secrets for those who want methodological flexibility.
4.3 Content Breadth
Secrets to Dog Training covers more behavioral territory. If you need specific guidance on 10 different problem behaviors — resource guarding, separation anxiety, aggression toward other dogs, leash reactivity, excessive barking, jumping, digging, counter-surfing, and others — Secrets is more likely to address each of them explicitly with dedicated sections.
Brain Training for Dogs is narrower in scope but deeper within that scope. It is not trying to cover every possible behavioral problem; it is building the mental foundation that makes all behavioral work easier and more effective. The program’s thesis is that a mentally engaged, cognitively stimulated dog with strong impulse control is a dog that is easier to train for everything — commands, manners, and complex behaviors alike.
Winner: Secrets to Dog Training for content breadth across specific problem behaviors. Brain Training for Dogs for depth within the enrichment approach.
4.4 Structural Curriculum
Brain Training for Dogs’ 7-level progressive system is one of its most practical strengths. Starting at Preschool and moving through to Einstein, you always know exactly where you are in the program, what skills have been built, and what comes next. The progressive structure means each level builds genuine cognitive capacity before introducing more demanding challenges. There is no guessing, no ambiguity about whether your dog is ready for the next step, and no risk of jumping to advanced content before the foundational skills are in place.
Secrets to Dog Training is structured more as a reference manual. This is well-suited to its purpose — you look up the behavior you need to address and work through that section — but it does not provide the same progressive training experience. For owners who want a structured curriculum they can work through from start to finish, Brain Training for Dogs delivers a more satisfying and pedagogically sound experience.
Winner: Brain Training for Dogs — the 7-level progressive structure is a genuine strength that Secrets does not match.
4.5 Video Content
Both programs include video support, but Brain Training for Dogs integrates video more thoroughly into the core curriculum. Farricelli demonstrates each game in video format, showing exactly how the exercise looks when done correctly — the timing of the reward, the body language to use, the way to set up the environment. For activities that are difficult to convey in text (and many training exercises are), video demonstration makes the difference between theoretical understanding and successful execution.
Secrets to Dog Training includes video content as well, but the ratio of video to text and the depth of demonstration coverage is generally considered less comprehensive than Brain Training for Dogs’ video library.
Winner: Brain Training for Dogs for video-integrated instruction.
5. Decision Framework: Which Is Right for Your Dog?
The most useful comparison is practical. Here are specific scenarios and which program is the better fit for each.
“My dog is destructive when I’m away — chewing furniture, getting into things.”
Destructive behavior during owner absence is one of the most common presentations of mental under-stimulation. Dogs that do not have adequate cognitive outlets often redirect that frustrated energy toward the environment when bored. Before assuming separation anxiety (which is a specific clinical condition with distinct characteristics), consider whether your dog is getting enough mental exercise. Brain Training for Dogs is built precisely for this scenario — the brain games provide the cognitive outlet the dog needs, and the impulse control exercises reduce impulsive destructive behavior directly.
Brain Training for Dogs is the right choice here.
“My dog won’t respond to basic commands — sit, stay, come.”
If your primary challenge is teaching specific commands with reliable compliance, Secrets to Dog Training covers command training with a level of step-by-step specificity that is directly applicable. For owners who need a structured guide through the obedience fundamentals — especially with detailed troubleshooting for why a command might not be working — Secrets provides that reference directly.
Secrets to Dog Training is the more targeted choice for command-specific training.
“My dog is hyperactive and can’t focus for more than a few seconds.”
Poor focus is one of the primary targets of the Brain Training for Dogs curriculum. The early levels of the program are specifically designed to build attention span and the habit of orienting toward the owner. The games are deliberately short, success-focused interactions that reward the dog for sustained engagement. A dog that completes the first two levels of Brain Training for Dogs will be a significantly more focused training partner for any subsequent work.
Brain Training for Dogs is the right choice here.
“My dog has five different behavioral problems I need to address.”
For owners dealing with a broad constellation of behavioral issues — jumping, leash pulling, barking, counter-surfing, and aggression with visitors, for example — Secrets to Dog Training’s encyclopedia-style structure provides explicit guidance on each problem individually. You can work through multiple sections in parallel or sequence rather than waiting for a progressive curriculum to build toward the relevant content.
Secrets to Dog Training for breadth across multiple specific behavioral problems.
“I want a science-based, force-free-only approach.”
Brain Training for Dogs is the only choice here. Adrienne Farricelli’s force-free commitment is explicit, consistent, and embedded in every exercise in the program. If you have a sensitive dog, a rescue with an unknown history, or a philosophical preference for purely positive methods, Brain Training for Dogs delivers on that commitment without qualification.
Brain Training for Dogs — unambiguously.
“My puppy does everything wrong.”
Both programs work with puppies, but they serve different needs. Brain Training for Dogs builds the cognitive foundation — focus, patience, cognitive engagement — through games that puppies genuinely enjoy. The early levels are well-suited to the puppy mind: short, reward-dense, and fun. Secrets to Dog Training, by contrast, is more useful if you have specific puppy problems you need to troubleshoot — housetraining, bite inhibition, jumping — and want detailed step-by-step guidance on each.
Brain Training for Dogs for building cognitive foundation. Secrets for troubleshooting specific puppy problems.
“My dog is reactive on leash — lunging, barking at other dogs or people.”
Neither program is a substitute for in-person work with a certified professional for severe leash reactivity. However, Brain Training for Dogs’ impulse control exercises build the foundational skills — the ability to disengage, to check in with the owner, to override arousal states — that are the building blocks of reactivity rehabilitation work. If your dog’s leash reactivity is moderate and you want a home-based program to complement professional work, Brain Training for Dogs provides the most relevant foundational training.
Brain Training for Dogs as a complement to professional reactivity work. Consult a professional for severe cases. See also Dog Training Basics: Proven Techniques for Any Breed for context on the broader training landscape.
“I want to bond with my dog through training.”
The game format of Brain Training for Dogs is genuinely fun for both dog and owner. The activities are interactive, reward-dense, and designed to create positive associations with working together. Several Brain Training owners describe the program as the first time training stopped feeling like a chore and started feeling like play. For owners who want training to be a relationship-building activity rather than a compliance exercise, the Brain Training approach is significantly more enjoyable.
Brain Training for Dogs — the game format is built for this.
“My dog doesn’t seem motivated by food rewards.”
Brain Training for Dogs relies substantially on food rewards to mark correct responses during games. Dogs with low food motivation may engage less readily with the reward structure, which can limit the program’s effectiveness. Secrets to Dog Training, covering a broader range of training approaches, may offer more options for dogs that respond better to toy rewards, play rewards, or other forms of reinforcement.
Secrets to Dog Training may be a better fit for low-food-motivation dogs. Brain Training can still work, but requires finding the right high-value reward.
“My dog is a specific working or sporting breed with high drive.”
High-drive breeds — Border Collies, Belgian Malinois, Australian Shepherds, Jack Russell Terriers, working Labradors — are the quintessential target audience for Brain Training for Dogs. These breeds were developed to work, and the mental exercise deficit they experience in typical pet life is enormous. The brain games engage their problem-solving drive, channel their energy productively, and provide the cognitive work that these breeds need. Farricelli’s experience with working breeds is evident throughout the program.
Brain Training for Dogs is particularly well-matched to high-drive working and sporting breeds.
“My dog is older and I want to keep them mentally sharp.”
Cognitive enrichment for aging dogs is an area with genuine research support. Studies on canine cognitive dysfunction suggest that mental stimulation throughout a dog’s life supports cognitive health in the same way it does in aging humans. Brain Training for Dogs is not marketed exclusively for young dogs — the games are adaptable to the physical limitations of older dogs while still providing the cognitive engagement that supports brain health.
Brain Training for Dogs is a strong fit for senior dogs’ cognitive enrichment.
6. Can You Use Both?
Yes — and for owners dealing with complex behavioral situations, using both programs provides more comprehensive coverage than either one alone.
The relationship between them is genuinely complementary. Brain Training for Dogs addresses the cognitive foundation: building a focused, mentally engaged, impulse-controlled dog that is a more willing and capable training partner. Secrets to Dog Training addresses the specific behavioral layer: troubleshooting individual problem behaviors with detailed, command-by-command and behavior-by-behavior guidance.
A practical sequence: Work through Brain Training for Dogs first, particularly if your dog is under-stimulated or unfocused. After completing the first few levels, you will have a dog that pays more attention to you, disengages from distractions more readily, and has developed basic impulse control. At that point, any specific behavior work you do — whether guided by Secrets to Dog Training or another resource — will be built on a stronger cognitive foundation and will proceed more efficiently.
Alternatively, if you have an urgent specific problem — a dog that is biting, eliminating indoors, or showing aggression toward people — Secrets to Dog Training provides the immediate troubleshooting guidance while Brain Training for Dogs provides the longer-term enrichment program that addresses the under-stimulation often underlying such behaviors.
The combined investment is modest given that both programs are in the $37–47 range, and both carry 60-day money-back guarantees. If budget is a constraint, Brain Training for Dogs is the stronger starting point for the majority of dogs and behavioral situations.
If you are a multi-pet household owner also managing cat behavior alongside your dog training, two additional digital guides cover the cat side of the equation: Cat Spray Stop Review 2026: Does This Program Actually Work? for indoor marking issues, and Cat Language Bible Review 2026: Can You Really Learn Cat-Speak? for building a deeper understanding of feline communication.
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7. Price and Value Comparison
Both programs are similarly priced, both are one-time digital purchases, and both carry 60-day money-back guarantees through ClickBank.
Brain Training for Dogs: The program is typically priced at approximately $47, though current pricing should be confirmed on the official site. The purchase includes the full written curriculum, the video game demonstrations, and access to the private member community where Farricelli answers questions and owners share results. There are no subscriptions, no recurring charges, and no physical products to wait for. For the current full pricing breakdown and what each component includes, see Brain Training for Dogs Price: Cost, Discount & What You Get.
Secrets to Dog Training: Secrets to Dog Training is typically priced in a similar range, approximately $37–47 depending on current promotions. The purchase includes the comprehensive guide and supplementary video materials. Like Brain Training for Dogs, it is a one-time digital purchase with no recurring fees.
Value comparison:
For Brain Training for Dogs, consider what a single in-person session with a credentialed trainer typically costs — $75–$150 per session is common in most markets. A full behavioral consultation package can run $300–$600 or more. Brain Training for Dogs provides a curriculum developed by a CPDT-KA certified trainer, accessible on your schedule, repeatable as needed, at a fraction of the per-session cost of professional training. The 60-day guarantee means you can work through the early levels and assess whether the program is producing measurable improvement before the refund window closes.
For Secrets to Dog Training, the value math is similar. The program’s breadth means you are effectively getting guidance on dozens of behavioral issues in a single purchase. If professional consultation for multiple behavioral problems would otherwise be required, the program’s price represents substantial value — even if it only helps you address two or three of the problems effectively.
Both programs are low-risk financial decisions given the 60-day guarantee structure. If you try Brain Training for Dogs and find that your dog is not food-motivated enough to engage with the games, or that your specific behavioral problem requires more targeted guidance, you can request a full refund within 60 days and redirect to Secrets to Dog Training. The reverse applies as well.
8. The Verdict
Brain Training for Dogs is the stronger choice for:
- Dogs whose behavioral problems stem from boredom, under-stimulation, or excess mental energy
- Owners who want a structured, progressive curriculum with a clear beginning and end
- High-drive working and sporting breed owners
- Anyone committed to force-free, positive-reinforcement-only training
- Owners who want training to be an engaging, relationship-building activity
- Senior dog owners looking to maintain cognitive engagement and sharpness
- Owners with unfocused, hyperactive, or impulse-challenged dogs
- Anyone who wants to train with a program created by a verifiably credentialed professional
Secrets to Dog Training is the stronger choice for:
- Owners who need a broad behavioral reference covering many different problem types
- Those who want A-to-Z obedience guidance with specific command troubleshooting
- Owners dealing with multiple distinct behavioral problems simultaneously
- Dogs with low food motivation who may not engage with the game-based reward structure
- Owners who prefer a reference-style resource over a sequential curriculum
The overall recommendation: Start with Brain Training for Dogs. For the majority of dogs — particularly the high-energy, smart, difficult-to-focus dogs that represent the most common training challenges — the mental enrichment approach addresses the root cause of behavioral problems in a way that generic obedience troubleshooting does not. The structured curriculum, the CPDT-KA credential behind it, the force-free consistency, and the proven results across a wide range of breeds and behavioral situations make it the stronger program for most readers facing most training challenges.
If your situation genuinely calls for a broad behavioral encyclopedia — if you have multiple specific problems across multiple behavioral domains that Brain Training for Dogs’ focused curriculum does not cover — Secrets to Dog Training is a legitimate alternative. Both are legitimate programs. The difference is depth of focus versus breadth of coverage, and which one serves you better depends entirely on your dog’s specific situation.
Have questions about Brain Training for Dogs specifically before committing? The Brain Training for Dogs: Scam or Legit? Honest Verdict article addresses the most common concerns about the program directly.
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9. Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Brain Training for Dogs and Secrets to Dog Training?
Brain Training for Dogs focuses on mental enrichment through 21 brain games to address behavioral issues rooted in boredom and under-stimulation, using a force-free, positive reinforcement-only approach by CPDT-KA certified trainer Adrienne Farricelli. Secrets to Dog Training (Kingdom of Pets) covers broader obedience training and problem behavior troubleshooting with a more comprehensive encyclopedia-style approach, including some balanced training elements. Brain Training goes deeper on the brain enrichment concept; Secrets goes broader on obedience and problem behavior types.
The core distinction is philosophical as much as practical. Brain Training for Dogs asks: what does your dog need cognitively, and how does meeting that need change their behavior? Secrets to Dog Training asks: what specific behavior is problematic, and how do you change it? Both are valid frameworks; the right one depends on whether you think your dog’s problems come from under-stimulation or from never having learned specific behavioral rules.
Which is better for a puppy — Brain Training for Dogs or Secrets to Dog Training?
Both work with puppies, but they approach it differently. Brain Training for Dogs builds the cognitive foundation — focus, patience, responsiveness — through games that puppies find engaging. Puppies are natural learners, and the game format aligns perfectly with how young dogs naturally want to interact with the world. Completing the early levels of Brain Training with a puppy establishes habits of attention and impulse control that make every subsequent training task easier.
Secrets to Dog Training provides more comprehensive guidance on specific puppy behaviors — biting, jumping, leash manners, housetraining. For owners who are being overwhelmed by multiple simultaneous puppy problems and need targeted troubleshooting, Secrets’ encyclopedia structure is practically useful. The ideal approach, if budget allows, is both: Brain Training for Dogs to build the cognitive foundation, and Secrets as a reference for the specific issues that arise.
Is Brain Training for Dogs more expensive than Secrets to Dog Training?
Brain Training for Dogs is typically priced at approximately $47, while Secrets to Dog Training is positioned at a similar or slightly lower price point in the $37–47 range. Both are one-time digital purchases with no subscriptions and no recurring fees. Both are backed by 60-day money-back guarantees through ClickBank. Check each official site for current pricing — promotions vary and prices can change. For the most detailed breakdown of what Brain Training for Dogs includes at its current price, see Brain Training for Dogs Price: Cost, Discount & What You Get.
Which dog training method is better — brain games or traditional obedience?
They address different needs rather than competing to solve the same problem. Brain games (Brain Training for Dogs) build focus, impulse control, and cognitive engagement — the mental foundation that makes all training easier. Traditional obedience training builds specific command responses: sit, stay, come, heel. The most effective approach combines both in sequence: build the mental foundation through brain games first, then layer in specific obedience commands on top of a dog that already knows how to pay attention and regulate its own impulses. They are not mutually exclusive — they are complementary layers of the same overall project of having a well-behaved, happy dog.
The research literature on positive reinforcement dog training consistently supports reward-based methods as more effective and longer-lasting than punishment-based approaches, regardless of whether those reward-based methods are being used for brain games or for traditional command training. Both Brain Training for Dogs and Secrets to Dog Training draw on positive reinforcement as their primary methodology, which places both in alignment with the scientific consensus on effective dog training techniques.
Which is better for a reactive or aggressive dog?
Neither program is a substitute for in-person work with a certified professional for severe reactivity or aggression. If your dog has bitten a person or another animal, or if the reactivity is severe enough to make walks unmanageable or to pose a genuine safety risk, please consult a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or a CPDT-KA certified trainer directly — no digital program is an appropriate substitute for professional assessment in those situations.
For moderate reactivity — dogs that bark and lunge at triggers but can be managed — Brain Training for Dogs’ impulse control games build the foundational skills that reactivity rehabilitation work depends on. Specifically, the ability to disengage from a trigger on cue, to check in with the owner under arousal, and to maintain a settled state in the presence of moderate distractions are all skills that Brain Training for Dogs develops through its progressive game curriculum. If your dog’s reactivity stems partly from mental under-stimulation (a common contributing factor in high-drive breeds), Brain Training for Dogs addresses that component directly. For a broader look at training approaches across different behavioral challenges, see Dog Training Basics: Proven Techniques for Any Breed.
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Final Verdict
Brain Training for Dogs and Secrets to Dog Training serve different owners with different dogs and different needs. The choice between them is not about which program is objectively superior — it is about which one matches your specific situation.
If you have a dog whose behavioral problems look like boredom made visible — the chewing, the restlessness, the inability to focus, the hyperactivity that persists even after exercise — Brain Training for Dogs is the more precisely targeted solution. Adrienne Farricelli’s CPDT-KA credentials, the force-free methodology, the progressive 7-level structure, and the video-supported game demonstrations combine into one of the most credible and practically effective dog training programs currently available in the digital space. The brain game approach addresses why the behavior is happening, not just what to do about the surface symptom.
If you have a dog with a broader set of specific behavioral problems that require individual troubleshooting — or if you want a comprehensive A-to-Z behavioral reference that you can consult for any training challenge that arises — Secrets to Dog Training covers more ground and is a legitimate choice for that use case.
For most owners reading this comparison, Brain Training for Dogs is the stronger starting point. The mental enrichment approach delivers a more engaged, focused, and cooperative dog, and that improved foundation makes every other training effort more effective. The 60-day guarantee means you can try it without risk and evaluate whether it is producing the results you need before the refund window closes.
If you want to know more about whether Brain Training for Dogs is the real deal before committing, my Brain Training for Dogs Review 2026: Is Adrienne Farricelli’s Program Worth It? covers the program in full. And for transparency on how this site works, see the Affiliate Disclosure and About Nora Hartwell.
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Training method note: Brain Training for Dogs uses positive reinforcement and force-free techniques throughout. Secrets to Dog Training is primarily positive-reinforcement based but does not hold to a strict force-free-only standard. Both are digital information guides — results depend on consistent application. Consult a certified professional for severe aggression or reactivity.