DIYK9 Puppy Essentials Review — Worth $297?

My dog jumped on the mail carrier so consistently that she started leaving packages at the end of our driveway instead of the porch.

Not a joke. A note, actually: “Sorry, having trouble with your pup, leaving packages here for now.”

That was the moment I stopped treating jumping as a phase he’d grow out of and started looking for something structured.

That search is what led me to this DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review.

Not a polished ad-read. I bought the course myself, went through the actual lessons with my dog, and I’m writing down exactly what’s inside, what worked, what I’d skip, and the coupon code that genuinely knocks a chunk off the price if you use it.

DIYK9 is built around one instructor’s real background.

Garret Wing spent years as a police K9 handler before building this into an online training company. That matters here more than it usually does because the teaching style borrows directly from working-dog handling, not generic obedience-class scripts.

What Is DIYK9 Puppy Essentials

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials is a self-paced video course covering the specific problems that define the first six months of puppy ownership: potty accidents, crate resistance, biting, jumping, and basic house manners.

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials is a $297 one-time purchase video course led by former police K9 handler Garret Wing, covering potty training, crate training, puppy biting, and basic manners across 20+ hours of lessons designed for puppies 8 weeks to 6 months old, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The teaching approach leans on body language and operant conditioning: reading what the dog is communicating before it escalates into a problem, rather than only reacting after the fact.

That foundation comes directly from working-dog handling, where a handler has to read a dog’s signals accurately because the stakes of misreading them are higher than in a living room.

According to the American Kennel Club, understanding a dog’s body language and using consistent, clear communication is one of the most effective foundations for training success, the same principle DIYK9’s course description leans on.

One claim worth flagging honestly before going further:

Several third-party sources reference an AKC-attributed study on session frequency (3 to 5 short sessions daily outperforming one long session).

I could not independently verify this specific study on AKC’s own site, so I’d treat it as a widely repeated claim rather than a confirmed citation.

The underlying idea—that short, frequent sessions beat long ones—is well established in dog training more broadly, credited study or not.

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What’s Actually Inside the Course

Here’s the honest breakdown any DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review should give you: what you actually get for $297, based on going through it myself.

• 20+ hours of video content, organized into focused modules rather than one long lecture.
• Potty training: DIYK9 claims some dogs can be trained in 48 hours using their method, which I’d treat as an upper-bound best-case rather than a guarantee, since every puppy and household is different.
• Crate training: Focuses on building a genuine positive association rather than just tolerance through treats, gradual duration, and no forcing.
• Puppy biting and nipping: Redirects to appropriate chewing rather than punishment-based corrections.
• Basic manners and boundaries: Covers jumping, door behavior, and greeting guests calmly.
• Lifetime access: Once purchased, you’re not racing a clock to finish the material. You can revisit the course whenever new problems come up.

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials includes over 20 hours of video content covering potty training, crate training, puppy biting, and manners, with lifetime access included at the $297 price point. This means the course can be revisited as new problems come up rather than needing to be completed in one pass.

For dogs already struggling specifically with biting and nipping, read our guide on handling puppy biting and nipping for the free foundational approach before deciding if the paid course adds enough on top.

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My Honest Take — What Worked and What I’d Skip

I’m not going to pretend every module landed equally, and any DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review that says otherwise probably didn’t actually go through the whole course.

The crate training section was genuinely the strongest part for us.

My dog went from whining the moment the door clicked shut to settling within about ten minutes, over roughly two weeks of consistent practice. Not overnight, but faster than I expected going in.

The potty training section delivered real, specific technique, not just “take them out often,” but reading pre-elimination body language, which is the part most free YouTube advice skips entirely.

According to the ASPCA, watching for pre-pottying signals like sniffing, circling, and walking with stiff back legs is the key to catching accidents before they happen, the same behavioral cue DIYK9’s course teaches owners to recognize.

Where I’d set expectations lower: the jumping and greeting-guests section helped, but it required more repetition with our particular dog than the course framing implied.

That’s not necessarily a course flaw.

It’s a reminder that video instruction can teach you the method, but consistency on your end still does the actual work.

For the loose-leash walking piece that comes up constantly once basic manners click, read our guide on leash training a puppy that pulls on walks.

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Pricing — And the Coupon Code That Actually Works

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials costs $297 as a one-time purchase with lifetime access and no subscription—the pricing question every DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review needs to answer clearly.

Payment plan options are available at checkout through AfterPay, PayPal Credit, and Klarna if you’d rather split up the purchase.

Here’s the part most reviews of this course don’t mention:

DIYK9 runs a genuine affiliate coupon system, and code VIMLESH takes 10% off eligible offers at checkout.

On the $297 price, that works out to roughly $267.

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials costs $297 as a one-time lifetime-access purchase, with code VIMLESH applying a 10% discount at checkout, bringing the effective price to approximately $267, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee that applies regardless of whether the discount code is used.

One honest caveat: Coupon codes on any platform can change or expire without notice.

Confirm the code is still applying correctly at checkout before assuming the discounted price. This is good practice for any online course purchase, not specific to DIYK9.

Quick Comparison — DIYK9 vs Similar Programs

For our full breakdown of the other two programs, read our SpiritDog Training review and our K9 Training Institute review.

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Is It Positive Reinforcement? Clearing Up a Real Point of Confusion

This needs its own section because the answer genuinely varies by which DIYK9 course you’re looking at, and that’s caused real confusion in other reviews.

Puppy Essentials and Obedience 101 both use reward-based, positive-only methods: food luring, hand commands, and no corrections.

DIYK9’s own course page for Obedience 101 explicitly states “no rough stuff” and describes a 100 percent reward-based system.

A separate, higher-tier course called “Unleashed! 5-Step E-Collar” uses electronic collar training instead.

It’s a different product entirely, sold separately or bundled into DIYK9’s Premium Membership, not part of Puppy Essentials in any way.

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials uses exclusively positive-reinforcement methods with no corrections or e-collar training, a distinct approach from DIYK9’s separate “Unleashed!” course, which uses electronic collar training and is sold as an entirely different product, not bundled into Puppy Essentials.

I’m flagging this clearly because a third-party review site conflated the e-collar course with DIYK9’s broader catalog in a way that could make a reader think Puppy Essentials involves e-collar work.

It doesn’t.

If force-free training matters to you the way it does to us, Puppy Essentials fits that standard.

Unleashed does not, and that’s worth knowing before you browse DIYK9’s full course catalog.

For the complete positive-reinforcement foundation that pairs with any force-free course, read our guide on positive reinforcement dog training for beginners.

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Who Should Buy DIYK9 Puppy Essentials

This course fits a specific situation well.

• You have a puppy between 8 weeks and 6 months, though DIYK9 notes it can apply to older dogs working on the same foundational issues.
• You’re a first-time owner who wants structured video instruction rather than piecing together free content from a dozen different sources.
• You want a positive-reinforcement approach specifically: no corrections and no e-collar.
• You’d rather pay once for lifetime access than commit to a membership or subscription.

DIYK9 Puppy Essentials is best suited for first-time owners of puppies between 8 weeks and 6 months dealing with potty training, crate resistance, biting, or basic manners.

It is not designed for dogs with serious aggression, which requires in-person professional behavioral support regardless of any online course.

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Who Should Skip It

• Your dog has genuine aggression, resource guarding, or a bite history. This needs an in-person certified behaviorist, not a video course—DIYK9’s or anyone else’s.

According to the ASPCA, behaviors involving genuine aggression or serious resource guarding are best addressed by a Certified Professional Dog Trainer or a veterinary behaviorist, rather than general group classes or self-paced content designed for everyday manners.

• You want live one-on-one coaching included at this price.

This DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review would be misleading if it didn’t say clearly that live calls with Garret’s team come with DIYK9’s higher-tier memberships, not the standalone Puppy Essentials purchase.

• You’re looking for service-dog certification.

Puppy Essentials teaches household manners, not certification-track training.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The Mail Carrier’s Note — Final Thoughts

That note taped to our mailbox is still stuck to my fridge, mostly as a reminder of where we started.

This DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review didn’t fix everything overnight, and it wouldn’t be honest to pretend it did.

The crate training worked faster than I expected.

The jumping took more repetition than the course framing suggested.

Both things can be true at once.

That’s what an honest review looks like.

Three things to take with you

• It’s genuinely positive-reinforcement. That’s not true of every DIYK9 course. Puppy Essentials and Obedience 101 are. Unleashed is not. Know which one you’re looking at before you buy anything from this catalog.
• Use code VIMLESH before checkout. Ten percent off a $297 course is real money, and there’s no reason to pay full price if the code is live.
• The 30-day money-back guarantee makes this low-risk to try. If the teaching style doesn’t click with how you and your puppy learn, you have a real window to get your money back.

For the complete free foundation this course builds on, read our guide on positive reinforcement dog training for beginners.

Written by

Vimlesh Sharma

Vimlesh Sharma is a dog dad, lifelong animal lover, and the founder of PawWellCare.

He started this site after bringing home his first puppy and realizing how overwhelming it felt to find clear, trustworthy information — without wading through outdated advice or generic tips that didn't actually help.

Everything published on PawWellCare comes from real experience, hours of research, and guidance from trusted veterinary sources like the AKC, ASPCA, and AVMA. The goal is simple: give every dog owner the kind of honest, practical advice that a knowledgeable friend would give — not a textbook.

Vimlesh writes specifically for U.S. dog owners and covers puppy care, training, nutrition, grooming, and dog health. When he's not writing, he's probably on a walk with his dog or testing out the latest dog products so you don't have to.

Note: All content on PawWellCare is for educational purposes only. For medical advice, always consult a licensed veterinarian.

Vet-informed content Dog dad & lifelong animal lover