Leash Skills with Michael Ellis

Not a bad video. Pricey. Didn't like seeing his butt cracks when he bent over. I think clicker training is better and you can view on you tube at no cost. Did have some very good parts re training tools but again nothing you can't find on you tube

I am in general a BIG, BIG and I repeat BIG fan of Michael Ellis. I think all his other videos are simply exceptional and I own almost the entire collection. I think in watching this DVD you must first understand two separate things: a) Leash pressure for loose leash walking is a different learned behavior from competition heeling. Most people refer to walking nicely on a leash for a walk on the street as "heeling" but technically you should call it "loose leash walking" and not "heeling; and b) Teaching competition heeling and teaching nice, pet level , not competition level obedience is very different. The Michael Ellis tapes, in my opinion, are better geared for the competitive obedience crowd, which is a different crowd than the "pet level" obedience crowd. So while dogs are dogs, the audience for one video series is a different dog owner audience. I think this video is not very good. I think the other instructor they have, Tyler Muto, is the better trainer on this particular subject. You see, Michael trains highly motivated Malinois competition dogs that are genetically programmed with a ton of prey drive, very reward driven and very motivated in general. That's good for the competition dog obedience crowd, and not the regular pet-owner crowd. The regular pet owner person doesn't want to be dragged down the street, and leash pressure, and even correction based techniques. The average pet person may not have a highly motivated dog. The techniques shown about leash pressure and an overall positive approach are overall correct, but the average pet person, who may have not purchased the other Michael Ellis tapes, may not be as familiar with all the techniques and communication systems. I think a prong collar and how to correctly and humanely use it , and how to use leash pressure, as a "steering mechanism" for the dog, especially the average pet person, not competition heeling person, would have been a superior video for this one. I say this as somebody generally loves all the Leerburg videos but I think the audience for this one, when compared to the methods shown, is not a good A to B match up. In other words, in my opinion, Tyler Muto, who is also under the Leerburg banner, is the better video for leash pressure and loose leash walking, whereas Michael Ellis more of my go to person for competition type obedience. So while this is full of good information and some people will find it very helpful, I think the audience of this video is not the usual Michael Ellis audience.