DIYK9 Reviews, Every Course Broken Down Honestly

DIYK9 shows up constantly on TikTok and YouTube, usually with a Garret Wing clip explaining exactly why a dog is pulling on leash or refusing to come when called.

The production is polished and the explanations are specific, which is part of why the brand has built such a large following.

Most reviews of DIYK9, though, fall into one of two camps.

Either they treat all 5 courses as interchangeable and equally recommendable, or they skim the sales page and repeat DIYK9’s own marketing without checking it against the actual course content.

One widely cited review even describes the entire program as positive reinforcement.

That’s not accurate.

2 of the 5 core courses use methods that fall outside force-free training, and that distinction matters if the training philosophy is part of your decision.

This breakdown goes course by course, with real pricing math, an honest look at which methods each course actually uses, and a clear answer on which ones this site can recommend – the kind of detail most DIYK9 reviews skip over.

Who Is Garret Wing and Why His Background Matters

Understanding Garret Wing’s background explains both DIYK9’s biggest strength and the reason 2 of its 5 courses use methods this site doesn’t recommend.

Garret Wing is a former police K9 handler with over 20 years of law enforcement dog-training experience who founded DIYK9 and has built a combined following of more than 6 million across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

Credentials, according to DIYK9’s own materials

• Father was a police K9 handler
• Became an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Detection) K9 handler at 18
• Trained dogs across breeds and temperaments by age 20
• Served as Senior Police K9 Unit Supervisor
• Founded American Standard Dog Training before launching DIYK9
• 6 million-plus combined social media followers

What distinguishes the teaching style, based on course content?

• Instructions are specific rather than general motivational advice.
• Demonstrations use real dogs in real time rather than pre-edited clips.
• Each lesson explains the reasoning behind a technique, not just the steps.
• A comment section exists on lessons where Wing or his team respond to questions.

Wing’s police K9 background is both the brand’s core credential and the likely explanation for why 2 of his courses lean toward correction-based methods.

Police dog training has historically relied more heavily on physical corrections than companion-dog training does, and that influence shows up clearly in the Leashed and Unleashed courses.

Every DIYK9 Course Reviewed

The 5 core courses split cleanly into 2 groups: 3 that use consistent positive-reinforcement methods, and 2 that don’t.

Treating all 5 as equivalent, which most competing reviews do, misses that distinction.

Puppy Essentials ($297), the Best Starting Point

Puppy Essentials covers training from 8 weeks through 6 months, with over 20 hours of video content.

DIYK9’s Puppy Essentials course covers puppy training from 8 weeks through 6 months old with over 20 hours of video content covering potty training, crate training, socialization, biting, and foundational obedience using food-lure methods.

What’s inside, per DIYK9’s course outline

• Potty training, step by step
• Crate training
• Socialization
• Biting, barking, and jumping management
• Guidance on choosing a breeder or puppy
• Basic house manners

For our detailed breakdown of this specific course, read our DIYK9 Puppy Essentials review.

Obedience 101 ($397), Core Commands Done Right

Over 12 hours of step-by-step video instruction, with high production quality and multiple dogs used to demonstrate techniques across breeds.

DIYK9’s Obedience 101 includes over 12 hours of step-by-step video instruction teaching sit, stay, heel, recall, and additional core commands using food lures, hand signals, and voice cues, at a one-time cost of $397.

Commands covered

• Sit, stay, down
• Come (recall)
• Focus and heel
• Place and crate command

For a complete breakdown of this course, read our DIYK9 Obedience 101 review.

The Perfect Walk ($297), the Most Underrated Course

Most competing reviews barely mention this course, which is a gap worth addressing.

What’s covered across 30 videos, per DIYK9’s course outline

• Loose-leash walking technique
• Stopping pulling and lunging
• Handling encounters with loose dogs
• Reading a dog’s body language on walks
• Managing strangers approaching to pet the dog

Method: 100% force-free, based on DIYK9’s own course description.

For our detailed breakdown, read our full Perfect Walk review.

Leashed ($397), Where the Methods Change

This is where DIYK9 reviews on this site diverge from most competitors, since Leashed teaches on-leash obedience through leash-pressure technique.

DIYK9’s own marketing states it requires “no food luring necessary,” which reflects a fundamentally different training philosophy than the 3 courses above.

How leash-pressure works, per the course description

• Physical tension applied through the leash to guide or correct behavior
• Tension released when the dog complies
• No food rewards used as the primary motivator

Method: Leash-pressure corrections.

Not recommended on this site, though acknowledged as effective for some owners and dogs.

Unleashed! 5-Step E-Collar ($697), the Most Expensive and Most Debated

Unleashed teaches off-leash reliability using an electronic collar, across more than 30 hours of content, making it DIYK9’s most expensive standalone course.

What the research says

A 2014 peer-reviewed study published in PLOS ONE by University of Lincoln researchers found that dogs trained with e-collars showed significantly more tension, more stress-related yawning, and less environmental engagement compared to dogs trained exclusively with reward-based methods.

The ASPCA’s official position statement on training methods states that humane training relies primarily on lures and rewards rather than methods that inflict unnecessary distress or discomfort.

This doesn’t mean Unleashed can’t produce results for a specific owner’s goals.

The relevant question is whether those results justify the method, given that reward-based alternatives exist for most companion-dog obedience goals.

Not recommended on this site. Effective for specific use cases according to available research and user reports, but force-free alternatives are worth exploring first.

DIYK9 Pricing in 2026

Course pricing, laid out with the actual math most reviews skip.

The Bundle Math

The 3 force-free DIYK9 courses, Puppy Essentials, Obedience 101, and The Perfect Walk, cost $991 combined when purchased individually, compared to $1,997 for the Complete Training Set bundle that adds 2 non-force-free courses, making the bundle $1,006 more expensive for buyers who only want reward-based training.

• Force-free courses only: $297 + $397 + $297 = $991
• Full 5-course bundle: $1,997
• Difference: $1,006

That $1,006 buys Leashed and Unleashed at a modest bundle discount.

For owners who don’t want those 2 specific courses, that’s roughly a thousand dollars spent on content they won’t use.

Membership Options

According to DIYK9’s current site, purchased courses and the Complete Training Set now include lifetime access, a change from the previously stated one-year access window.

Force-Free vs Not, Why This Distinction Gets Missed

3 of DIYK9’s 5 core courses, Puppy Essentials, Obedience 101, and The Perfect Walk, use genuine reward-based positive reinforcement, while the remaining 2, Leashed and Unleashed, use leash-pressure corrections and electronic collar stimulation respectively.

Anyone researching DIYK9 reviews to decide on a purchase needs this distinction clearly, since the training philosophy behind a $1,997 decision matters as much as the price itself.

DIYK9 vs Brain Training for Dogs vs SpiritDog

DIYK9’s 3 force-free courses cost $991 combined for structured obedience training, compared to Brain Training for Dogs at $67 for mental-stimulation games and SpiritDog’s individual courses starting at $49 for behavior-specific training.

By budget

• $67: Brain Training for Dogs, the most content per dollar.
• $300: One DIYK9 course, or several SpiritDog courses.
• $1,000: All 3 DIYK9 force-free courses, a complete foundation.

For the complete comparison across all reviewed programs, read our Best Online Dog Training Courses guide, or our Brain Training for Dogs review for the budget-focused alternative.

What User Feedback Says About DIYK9

Most DIYK9 reviews focus only on the sales page. This section draws instead from publicly available feedback across Google, TikTok comments, and Reddit threads, where a consistent pattern emerges.

Frequently praised

• Teaching clarity, specifically explanations of the reasoning behind techniques
• Visible behavior changes reported within the first 1 to 2 weeks by multiple users
• Direct comment-section support from Wing or his team
• Production quality and step-by-step structure

Frequently criticized

• Price, relative to lower-cost alternatives like Brain Training ($67) or SpiritDog ($49-59)
• “Limited time” pricing that doesn’t appear to actually change
• Premium Membership cost, at $1,499 plus $99 monthly

Mixed feedback

• Unleashed generates polarized responses, with some users reporting strong off-leash results and others questioning whether e-collar use is necessary given reward-based alternatives.

Who Should Buy DIYK9, and Who Shouldn’t

These DIYK9 reviews point toward 2 clear buyer profiles, worth checking against your own situation before purchasing anything.

Consider DIYK9 If

• The free introductory course’s teaching style is a good fit for how you learn.
• A specific training gap has been identified, puppy foundation, obedience, or walking behavior.
• The $297 to $397 per-course price point fits the budget for structured, professionally produced video training.

If all 3 apply, the individual course matching the specific need is the more cost-effective starting point, not the bundle.

Consider Skipping DIYK9 If

• Budget is tight. Brain Training for Dogs at $67 covers basic obedience and mental stimulation for a fraction of the cost.
• Force-free training is the priority. The bundle costs $1,006 more than the 3 force-free courses combined, and that difference buys methods that may not fit the goal.
• The dog has genuine aggression, reactivity, or fear-based behavior. No video course substitutes for an in-person certified applied animal behaviorist assessment.

DIYK9 Refund Policy, the Fine Print

This is the fine print most DIYK9 reviews skip entirely. DIYK9 offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on individual courses and the Complete Training Set bundle, with conditions worth knowing before purchase.

Covered

• Individual courses: 30-day money-back guarantee
• Complete Training Set bundle: 30-day money-back guarantee

Not covered

• Monthly and annual memberships: no refund, cancel-anytime only
• Premium Membership: the 30-day rule applies to the initial $1,499 payment; the recurring $99 monthly charge is non-refundable

DIYK9’s 30-day money-back guarantee on individual courses is voided after watching more than 10 video lessons cumulatively, according to the company’s stated refund terms, meaning buyers need to evaluate course quality within roughly the first third of most courses’ content.

Since most courses run 20 to 30-plus lessons, that effectively narrows the useful evaluation window to the first several days of active use rather than the full 30-day period.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The Real Verdict on DIYK9

Garret Wing built a genuinely strong product with DIYK9. The teaching is specific, the credentials are real, and the 3 force-free courses hold up well against independent research and user feedback.

A good product and a good purchase aren’t always the same decision, though.

Three things worth taking from these DIYK9 reviews.

• The force-free courses earn their recommendation honestly. Puppy Essentials, Obedience 101, and The Perfect Walk deliver structured, well-produced training for owners who want that format.
• The bundle doesn’t make financial sense for force-free-only buyers. An extra $1,006 for 2 courses built around methods you’ve ruled out is money better spent elsewhere.
• No video course replaces professional help for serious behavior problems. Aggression, severe anxiety, or reactivity call for a certified professional, not another online course.

For the complete comparison of DIYK9 against 11 other reviewed training programs, read our Best Online Dog Training Courses guide.

For the force-free foundation this site builds every recommendation around, read our positive reinforcement dog training for beginners guide.

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