Last Summer, I got together with a friend and decided to record some videos about dog training. I called this video series "Train Me Please".

Here is episode one

Please let me know what you think and areas in which I can improve my approach to animal training.

Thanks in advance,
Jose.

I like it, especially since I got to see you in action with the dog working on engagement. What I suggest is a short voiceover telling us what you & the dog are doing, and why.

Example "We see the dog & I doing blah blah blah, I am working on keeping his attention so he will blah blah."

It doesn't need to be a long speech, but it clarifies what and more importantly why you are doing something.
I really appreciate that it is short and to the point in a friendly fun manner. Great work!

 Quote: Shannon Spillane

I like it, especially since I got to see you in action with the dog working on engagement. What I suggest is a short voiceover telling us what you & the dog are doing, and why.

Example "We see the dog & I doing blah blah blah, I am working on keeping his attention so he will blah blah."

It doesn't need to be a long speech, but it clarifies what and more importantly why you are doing something.
I really appreciate that it is short and to the point in a friendly fun manner. Great work!

Hi Shannon,

Thank you for your suggestions. They are much appreciated.

All the 12 episodes are now edited and produced and will be released at the rate of one per week.

The original reasoning behind not speaking during the practical portions was that I wanted all the clicks to be heard as well as some vocal expressions I use to engage the dog. However, I must admit that even if some clicks were lost, the voice over would make it more interesting.

Here is episode 2.

Comments and suggestions are very welcome.

I've watched both of your first two videos, and I think your training skills and technique are great.

My suggestions are only about the video production itself.

Instead of all the explanation in the first four minutes that are delivered directly to the camera--I'd prefer to hear this explanation done as voiceover during the scenes of training.

I think people watching online video have very short attention spans, and if you don't connect with them quite quickly, the tendency will be to lose the viewer. In this video, it takes many minutes before I actually see any dog training. (I'll admit, I fast-forwared though most of your monologue. This kind of "talking head" isn't the most compelling use of the medium, especially for a topic as visually rich as dog training.)

And then during the training scenes, the viewer is left on their own to interpret what they are seeing--because there is no explanation, only example. (it's very good example---but if this is for novice dog owners, I think they would need step-by-step voiceover helping them to understand exactly what you are doing at each stage, and why.

Stopping and starting the steps--even repeating key moments (like "instant replay") would not only help make the content stick better, it would offer more production value to the video. On-screen text graphics would also provide an opportunity to enhance the important training messages.

What are your goals for this video series? Are you just doing this for fun? Is this part of a business plan?

Hi Tracy,

Thank you for taking the time to give me some very helpful suggestions. I am keeping everything in a file that I will definitely use for future reference.

To be honest, we ended up realizing that the separation of theory and practice should not exist or at least be less apparent. Unfortunately, we realized this late in the editing process.

In regards to the "why" we did these videos, we shot these videos in a moment in which I was spending a one month vacation in Portugal (my home country). I have been training mammals (not just dogs) most of my adult life and one friend asked me for help with his dog. A third friend of mine had just finished her Degree in Cinema and wanted to get some experience. She specializes in logistics and not in filming and video editing. Up until that point she had no experience in filming and editing. I have experience in training animals, but not a lot of experience in training them for the camera so that others can learn from it. So, as a learning experience we decided to make these videos.

Additionally, I love to take advantage of every opportunity for micro-entrepreneurship, and for that reason we decided to monetize the videos to have an idea of weather or not dog training videos can be profitable, how many people are there watching the videos, etc.

Here is Episode 3.

This one is about lure/reward training. I hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts.

Episode 4 is not available.

This one is about walking on the leash and engagement on a high distraction area. In fact, it is the very first time this dog comes to this specific place.

I have added a voice over in the part that I am working on engagement with Perola, just like some of you here suggested some weeks ago.

As usual, I would appreciate your input on this video .

Keep well,
Jose.

Jose, Very nice work!

I enjoyed all of the episodes, especially #4. The voiceover during the park demonstration was most helpful. The length of video seems to be just right. The explanation at the beginning and end was short and to the point and I think a novice could grasp the concepts easily.

Your dog is happy and engaged. You are informative, relaxed and confident.

Keep up the great work. I am a huge fan of anyone who teaches people there is another option other than compulsion training. The more we all learn about dog behavior….the better-there is a lot to learn.

I will gladly watch more episodes.

This is Episode 5.

On this episode I address the dog energy level and timing. Regarding the energy level, I should have probably talked a little bit more in terms of environmental satiation than in terms of how tired the dog is. Nonetheless, I think there are a couple of useful tips here. Looking forward to hear your comments on this one.

Christy, thank you so much for your kind words.

Keep well,
Jose.