Gear & Programs
Online puppy training courses: what to check before you pay
You already paid for a puppy class that raced through socialization and skipped the biting and the 2 a.m. crate crying. Here is how to judge an online course on the things that actually kept you up, before you pay again.
On this page (11 sections)
- Why the class you paid for didn't fix the biting, the crate crying or the accidents
- How to compare online puppy training courses: seven questions
- Free online puppy training: what it covers well, and where it runs out
- What The Online Dog Trainer lists on its own site
- One puppy, one rescue: running two plans
- The gear question: another harness will not stop the pulling
- Troubleshooting
- When to get professional help
- Frequently asked questions
- Keep going
- Sources
You paid for the puppy class, and the parts you needed most were the parts it skipped: socialization went by in a blur, and nobody showed you what to do about the biting that has your forearms scratched or the crate crying that starts at two in the morning. So now you are reading about online puppy training courses, and you are wary of paying twice for the same disappointment.
Here is the short answer: you can judge most online puppy training courses before you spend anything, because the things that matter are public. Does the contents list name biting, crate crying and potty training? Who wrote it, and does it say when to send you to a veterinarian or a behavior professional? Is the method reward-based? Does it address a home with a puppy and an adult rescue? What are the refund terms? If a course won't answer those five things on its own site, that tells you something too.
This page is a checklist, not a ranking. Good Dog Basics doesn't rank courses, doesn't call any of them "best", and hasn't taken the course described below.
Key takeaways
- Check the contents for your three problems — biting, crate crying and potty accidents — before anything else.
- Look for a stated reward-based method. If the page recommends punishment, pain-based equipment or "balanced" training, walk away.
- Ask who wrote it, and whether it says when to stop and see a vet or a qualified behavior professional.
- Read the refund window, access length and upsells before checkout, not after.
- A course gives you a sequence; it can't see your dog, your two-dog household, or a rescue's unknown history.
- For growling, snapping, bites that break skin or panic when left alone, start with your vet and a behavior professional.
Why the class you paid for didn't fix the biting, the crate crying or the accidents
A group puppy class runs to a schedule built for the average puppy in the room. What can be taught safely with several puppies and owners in one hour is manners in a room: sit, settle, come when called. The problems that run your day happen somewhere else. Biting happens at 7 p.m. on the living room floor. Crate crying happens at night. Accidents happen every hour or two in the first weeks.
Those are home-management problems. They need a plan you run all day and adjust as your puppy grows, not a drill you practice once a week. That is not a knock on classes; it is a reason to check whether the next thing you buy is aimed at your week, and at both of your dogs.
Free videos have the same gap in a different shape. A video answers one question at a time, well, and then leaves you to work out the order. With a puppy and an adult rescue in the same house, the order is the hard part: which plan starts first, what you do when the puppy is mid-bite and the rescue is barking at the door, and how to tell whether to push on or back off. That is a sequence. A sequence is what you are shopping for.
How to compare online puppy training courses: seven questions
Work through these in order. Most can be answered from the public pages in twenty minutes, before you enter a card number.
Does the contents list name biting, crate crying and potty training?
Open the curriculum or "what's inside" page and search it for those words, plus "house training," "toilet training," "night" and "chewing." A course that lists only sit, stay and come is the class you already took, on video. A course that names your three problems has at least aimed at them.
Who made it, and what do the letters after their name mean?
Names and bios belong on the site. If a course calls its author an expert, look for a specific, checkable qualification: a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, or a certified behavior consultant. You can check a name against the certifying body's public directory. Good Dog Basics holds no credentials and does not audit anyone's. What matters most is whether the course says plainly that it is not veterinary advice and when to see a professional. A program that claims to handle everything is telling you something.
What method does it use, in its own words?
You want reward-based training: reward what you want, manage the environment so the dog cannot practice what you do not want, and change things in small steps. That is the approach the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior sets out in its position statements on humane training and puppy socialization. If the sales page leans on punishment, pain-based equipment, or "balanced" training, close the tab.
Does it address a puppy and an adult dog in one house?
Search the site for "two dogs," "multi-dog," "resident dog" or "introducing." A course written for one puppy in a quiet house will leave you improvising the hard parts: feeding separately, training one dog while the other is behind a gate, walking them separately at first, and what to do when the rescue growls at the puppy.
What are the terms: access, format, refunds, upsells?
Find four things before you pay: how long you keep access, whether it is video only or video plus written notes, whether it is a one-off payment or a subscription, and the exact refund window and conditions. Screenshot the refund policy. If a "free bonus masterclass" turns out to be a separate paid product, that is a pattern worth knowing before you buy.
Does it promise outcomes it cannot control?
Every dog is different, so no honest program can promise a behavior is gone in a set number of days. Treat these as marketing, not evidence: "fixed in 7 days," "guaranteed results," "the only resource you will ever need," countdown timers, and testimonials with no context about the dog.
Can you sample the teaching before you commit?
Look for free lessons, a free mini-course, a public blog or a video channel. Fifteen minutes of the actual teaching tells you more than a page of copy: is it specific, is it step by step, does it show a real dog being set up to succeed, and does it tell you what to do when the step does not work?
| Check | Where to look | Pass | Walk away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contents | Curriculum or "what's inside" page | Biting, crate training and night crying, potty training named | Only basic commands listed |
| Method | About page, lesson previews | Reward-based, no aversive equipment | Punishment or pain-based methods |
| Author | Bio, credentials page | Specific, checkable qualification; clear limits | Vague "expert" with no name or directory entry |
| Your household | Search for "two dogs," "resident dog" | Separate plans for puppy and adult dog | Single-puppy-only assumptions, unmentioned |
| Terms | Checkout and refund policy | Refund window stated plainly; access length clear | No refunds, hidden subscription, surprise upsells |
An owner with a young puppy and an adult rescue shortlists two programs. The first has a long bonus list but no curriculum; she searches it for "biting" and finds nothing specific. The second names biting, crate crying, potty training and introducing a puppy to an older dog, states a reward-based approach, and lists a refund window plainly on the checkout page. She buys the second at its lowest tier, runs the free biting and crate plans from this site for a week, and books one session with a local reward-based trainer for eyes on the rescue's leash pulling. The course supplies the sequence; the local trainer supplies feedback a video cannot.
Free online puppy training: what it covers well, and where it runs out
You do not have to spend anything to start tonight. Free, well-sourced material covers the three problems you named, and using it for a week will also teach you what to look for in a paid course.
- Biting. The puppy biting plan gives you the redirect-and-pause steps to run tonight.
- Crate crying at night. Puppy crying in the crate at night separates ordinary protest from panic, which is the difference that decides whether you push on or call your vet.
- Potty accidents. The potty training schedule gives you the take-them-out-often plan that most accidents are really about.
- Authoritative free reference. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior publishes its position statements free to read, including its guidance on humane training.
Where free runs out: sequence, and feedback. Free content is a library, not a plan with an order and a "do this next if that happened." And nothing free — paid course included — can watch your dog. If you want someone to see your puppy and your rescue together, that is a local, in-person, reward-based trainer, and one or two sessions may be better value than a bigger course package.
What The Online Dog Trainer lists on its own site
"Doggy Dan" gets recommended to exhausted puppy owners constantly, so it is worth writing down plainly what the vendor's own pages say, rather than what a summary page says. We have no affiliate relationship with The Online Dog Trainer today, and we earn nothing if you buy. If that changes, this sentence and the links will say so. Here is the description as listed on its site on October 27, 2026.
- The Puppy Coach Training Program is described on the page as a step-by-step instruction manual covering how to train your puppy, plus puppy nutrition, exercise and health, and puppy safety.
- Project Moses Video Diary is described as unscripted video of the vendor training his own dog from 8 weeks to 8 months. The topics the page lists include introducing a puppy to your family, what to do if a puppy cries all night, crate training, introducing chew toys, toilet training, socialization, basic command training, managing separation anxiety when you leave, recall and leash training, and feeding and food aggression.
- The Perfect Puppy Program is described as answering common puppy questions — whether to spay or neuter, what to feed, how to socialize safely with other dogs — alongside basic training resources.
Against the checklist above, that is a genuine tick on the first question: crate training, night crying and toilet training are all named on the page, not buried. On the second question, the page as it appears here does not set out a formal qualification or credential for the trainer, so if credentials decide your purchase, ask before you buy. On the sixth, the page carries strong guarantee language, including that the vendor can "guarantee that it's the only resource any new puppy parent needs." That is a marketing claim, not evidence, and this site does not repeat it. The page also shows customer testimonials, which are individual stories rather than proof of what will happen in a two-dog household.
For the fuller write-up, see the Doggy Dan review. If you want to look at the vendor's own material before deciding, read The Online Dog Trainer's puppy page (opens in a new tab).
One puppy, one rescue: running two plans
Courses are usually sold for one dog. Your house has two, at different stages, and the rescue's history is partly unknown to you. You cannot train a history you do not know; you respond to the dog in front of you, keep the environment predictable, and get help fast for growling, snapping or freezing. What you can do is keep the plans separate.
Give the rescue decompression time first
The 3-3-3 rule describes the rough settling windows rescuers talk about — days, weeks, months — and it exists to stop you expecting the finished dog in week one. Fewer new experiences, a predictable routine, and a quiet space of their own.
Run five-minute sessions, one dog at a time
One dog behind a gate or with a chew, one dog training. Short, frequent, and always ending while it is still going well. This also keeps the puppy from rehearsing jumping on the rescue.
Separate the resources
Feed separately, give chews separately, and give the rescue somewhere to go where the puppy cannot follow. Most household friction between a puppy and an adult dog is about shared food, shared space and shared attention.
Walk separately until both are manageable
One handler with a pulling rescue and a puppy on the same walk is a recipe for a fall. Walk them separately for now, and run the loose-leash plan with the rescue alone.
If you are deciding which to start first, start with the puppy's potty and crate routine, because it buys you sleep, and start the rescue's walking in parallel on separate outings. Both hubs walk you through this: the New Puppy start-here page and the Rescue Dog start-here page.
The gear question: another harness will not stop the pulling
You have bought a no-pull harness that did not stop anything, and you are right to be suspicious of buying another. The research cannot rescue the decision for you. A 2022 PLOS ONE pilot study by Pálya and colleagues measured how harnesses affected dogs' movement using a treadmill setup with a very small number of dogs, and the published peer-review comments in the same file question that sample size. It cannot tell you which harness will stop your dog pulling. What it does support is modesty about gear claims.
The practical rule: buy one well-fitted harness for comfort and back-up control, not three, and put the money you save into the training plan. No harness teaches loose-leash walking; the training does.
Troubleshooting
- If you already bought a course and it does not cover biting
- Use this site's free biting plan while you check the refund terms against what the sales page promised. If biting was advertised and is not there, ask for a refund inside the stated window.
- If your puppy screams in the crate and cannot settle at all
- Stop and read crying in the crate at night. If there is true panic — drooling, frantic scrabbling, attempts to hurt themselves — see your vet and a behavior professional before continuing crate work.
- If your rescue growls when the puppy comes near
- Separate them and manage the space. Do not punish the growl; it is information that comes before a snap. Get professional eyes on it (see below).
- If you cannot tell whether a course is any good
- Buy the cheapest tier that includes the modules you need, use it for a week, and decide before the refund window closes. Write the refund deadline in your calendar the day you buy.
- If you keep buying gear instead of training
- Set a rule: one harness, then practice the loose-leash plan before any other purchase. Gear is easier to buy than to practice, which is exactly why it feels appealing at 11 p.m.
When to get professional help
Stop and call for help if
- A bite breaks skin, or your rescue growls, snaps or guards food, toys or space.
- Your dog panics when left alone — destruction, house soiling, drooling, self-injury, or hours of crying that does not settle. Research on separation-related problems notes the term covers several different underlying emotions and that there is no diagnostic test, which is exactly why a course cannot tell you what your dog has.
- You see severe or panicked fear, or any sudden change in behavior. Sudden change goes to your vet first.
- Your puppy and rescue have had a scuffle, or you are frightened of walking them together.
Who to call. Start with your veterinarian: pain, illness and medication side effects can all show up as behavior changes. For behavior problems, look for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist (ACVB directory), a certified applied animal behaviorist, or a certified behavior consultant, for example through the IAABC or the CCPDT directories. Ask any trainer which methods they use; reward-based is what the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends.
Frequently asked questions
What should an online puppy training program cover first?
Biting, crate training and night crying, potty training, and safe socialization. Those are the problems that decide how the first months feel, and they are the ones a weekly group class usually cannot reach. If a program's contents page lists only sit, stay and come, it is a manners course — useful, but not aimed at your week.
Are puppy training courses online as good as an in-person class?
They do different jobs. A course gives you a sequence you can rewatch at 2 a.m. and run at your dog's pace. A class gives you a person who can see your dog, plus supervised puppy contact, which you should discuss with your vet under the AVSAB socialization guidance. Many owners use both, or a course plus one or two local sessions.
Is there good free online puppy training?
Yes. This site's guides on biting, crate crying and potty schedules are free, as are the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's position statements. Free material is strong on individual problems and weak on sequence and feedback — nobody is watching your dog.
What is the best online puppy training?
There is not one best course, and Good Dog Basics does not rank them. The one worth your money names your three problems, states a reward-based method, says who wrote it and when to see a professional, explains its refund terms plainly, and does not promise a fixed result in a set number of days. Every dog is different.
Can an online course stop my rescue pulling and jumping?
A course can give you a step-by-step plan for both, and pulling and jumping are very trainable with rewards and consistency. What a course cannot do is watch your dog, your timing or your two-dog household. For a rescue with an unknown history, expect to add local, reward-based eyes — and get professional help first if there is growling or snapping.
Sources
- Position Statements, American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (accessed October 27, 2026).
- Separation related problems in dogs, National Library of Medicine (PMC) (accessed October 27, 2026).
- Development of a detailed canine gait analysis method for evaluating harnesses: A pilot study, Pálya Z et al., PLOS ONE, 2022 (accessed October 27, 2026).
- The Puppy Coach Training Program, The Online Dog Trainer (accessed October 27, 2026).
See how one program describes itself
A plain, dated write-up of what The Online Dog Trainer lists on its own puppy page, what it doesn't say, and what to ask before you buy any course.