The £15-or-Less Dog Training Kit Recommended By Behaviourists

A high-value reward has to be in your training kit, especially when you’re working outside. While every dog’s different, I find that many love something to lick. The act of licking can reduce stress and arousal in dogs, helping to calm them if there’s anything they’re a little excited or worried by. Pro tip: reactive dogs can really benefit here.

Natures Deli pouches are super convenient to carry around in your pocket and easy to squeeze out, which is a godsend in cold temperatures. They come in lots of flavours. Salmon and liver tend to be popular, but you can also opt for chicken, peanut butter or sweet potato. Why not experiment with a few?

For everyday training, you’ll want something nice and palatable for your dog that’s also easy for you to use. Paté is one of my favourite training treats; most dogs are motivated by it, even fussier eaters. And it comes in a wide variety of flavours, from classic salmon and beef to one-of-a-kind wild boar and goat.

Thanks to its firm texture, you can easily cut it up without much mess and make pieces as small as you like so you get more bang for your buck. Plus, you can freeze the rest so it lasts longer. 

Teaching your dog to relax and settle down can be hard work. But predictable cues that don’t involve you constantly talking to them can really help. That’s where a settle mat comes in. It’s a specific mat you can teach your dog to chill out on both indoors and out. Be consistent and eventually they’ll settle as soon as the mat comes out.

This one from Dunelm is a budget-friendly favourite. It’s water-resistant, making it ideal for outdoor training as well as in the house (or pub), and has cushioning for your dog’s comfort. Plus, it can easily be washed when it inevitably gets a little grubby.

Interactive play toys like fluffy tug toys are not just brilliant training tools but a way to really enhance your relationship with your dog. Dogs often love fluffy textures because they mimic prey, making these kinds of toys irresistible both inside and out. While you can get toys that feature ethically sourced fur, there are also plenty of faux fur options to choose from. 

You can also use these kinds of toys to teach your dog skills like impulse control. If you ask your dog to wait before you bring the toy out and have play breaks where they’re asked to sit or lie down, you’ll soon see their ability to wait in other situations grow.

A good treat pouch will do wonders for your training. It helps you keep rewards out of sight until the exact moment you need them, meaning your dog doesn’t need to see food in order to do something. It also makes you super quick at delivering rewards – no more searching in manky coat pockets or struggling with pesky plastic bags. 

I love a silicone pouch as they’re easy to clean, even when you’ve had all kinds of gross food in there. Pro tip: if your dog gets too excited by seeing the pouch, wear it around the house so they get used to it, rather than only putting it on when you’re going to train them.

The first step to successfully training your dog is making sure their needs are met. Giving dogs space to sniff, explore and move naturally helps reduce pent-up energy, which can otherwise lead to frustration and unwanted behaviours, making any training much harder than it needs to be. How can you do that if they can’t safely be off-lead? With a longline. They’re also handy for recall training, acting as the step in between being on a short lead and going fully off-lead. 

Longline leads can take a while to get to grips with so find a material that feels comfortable for you. Biothane can be particularly handy when it’s wet and muddy as it’s easy to clean and provides good grip. And practise how to gather up the slack indoors before you try it on a walk with your dog. Note that these leads should only be attached to the back of your dog’s harness rather than a collar to prevent neck injuries.

Your dog’s nose rules their life. And when you learn how to tap into that, life with them becomes a lot easier. Instead of fighting their need to sniff, use a simple scentwork kit at home and when you’re out and about to teach them to find scents with you. This one uses the scent of a Kong to get things started but you can use any scent that’s safe for your dog. 

As well as providing plenty of mental stimulation, sniffing games can also build focus, confidence and engagement. I use them to help reactive dogs relax around their triggers and nervous dogs branch out into the wider world. But they’ll benefit easily excitable and high drive dogs too!

Loose-lead training takes time, effort and a lot of patience. There’s no special lead, collar or harness that’s going to magically solve the issue. But one thing that can really help is a good everyday lead. Many people think to go short as they want to feel more in control of their dog. But actually, a lead that’s around 2m long is the sweet spot, giving your dog enough room to move and sniff without pulling your arm out the socket but not so much room that walks feel unmanageable. 

Leads with multiple attachment points are especially handy. You can attach one end to the front of a harness or collar and the other end to the back of the harness if you find your dog really difficult to walk. Pro tip: you can also attach the lead to different places to let your dog know when it’s training time versus free time. Trust me, they pick this up pretty quickly.

Dogs are natural foragers and this is another need you’ll want to meet to make your training more successful. But it’s not always easy to let them do this outside. Maybe where they like to forage lots of rubbish you’d rather they didn’t put in their mouth. Or maybe you don’t have a garden where you can easily throw food around for your dog to scavenge. A snuffle mat is about to become your new best friend.

Whether you’re trying to help your dog calm down before they go for a walk or looking for a more interesting way to reward a super sniffer during your training, these mats have plenty of uses. My dog loves his so much that he always chooses to eat from one rather than from his bowl each morning. But every dog’s different, and no dog should have to work for their food if they don’t want to!

Basic dog training isn’t rocket science. But a trick us professionals use love to use is data tracking. That means we carefully plan training sessions, track what went well and what didn’t, and note any emerging patterns. That way, we know where to start the next session and how to tweak what we’re doing to help our dogs be successful, rather than just guessing and hoping for the best.

While you can track your sessions however you like, a physical training journal like this one can help you develop the habit. It also becomes a way for you to see just how far you’ve come, which can help when your dog’s having an off day and you just want to cry.