Raising Dog Book Reviews: What Owners Say After 30 Days of Training
By:Author:Raising Dog Editorial
Updated on:October 20, 2026
- What the Ratings Look Like
- What Owners Praise
- The Complaints, Answered Honestly
- Myth: "Your Dog Is Trying to Be the Alpha"
- Five-Star vs. One-Star Reviews: What They Are Really About
- What 30 Days of Training Actually Looks Like
- What the Book Can't Do
- How Long Until You'd Write Your Own Review
- Where Raising Dog Fits
- Final Thoughts
Raising Dog book reviews are mostly positive: at the time of writing (October 2026), Trustpilot shows 913 reviews and a TrustScore of 4 out of 5. Owners praise the quiz and the book's layout.
Most complaints are about the app subscription at checkout, not the training.
That split is worth understanding before you buy, so this piece reads both sides. Every quote below is published on Trustpilot or the brand's own help center, copied as written.
Then comes the part reviews rarely cover: what 30 days of training with a plan like this actually looks like, and when a change in behavior is realistic.
What the Ratings Look Like
Of the 913 Trustpilot ratings shown at the time of writing, 404 are five stars and 233 are four stars, so roughly seven in ten are positive. There are 37 three-star, 14 two-star and 225 one-star ratings.
Read a few dozen and a pattern appears. Many five-star reviews are written on the day of ordering, about the quiz.
Most one-star reviews are written weeks or months later, about a charge. Fewer reviews in either direction are about training results, which is normal: people tend to review the buying experience, not week three of loose-leash practice.
What Owners Praise
The Quiz Feels Relevant
Wendy, from the UK, wrote that ordering was "easy to do, asking relevant questions to our dogs breed." Another owner, Jane, felt "the questions asked to create the book were very relevant to what we want to do to improve our dogs behavior."
The Book Is Clear and Easy to Follow
Peter, a four-star reviewer, wrote: "The content in the book is well laid out and easy to follow as is the app." Mark kept it shorter: "Book is great." Jenny, from New Zealand, called the book she received "really great and helpful."
The Command Lessons
A review published on the brand's help center, from Kelly, singles out the commands section: "There is such a dedicated section on training commands that's easy to follow, and it feels very hands on."
Support Replies Fast
A large share of recent five-star reviews thank the support team by name for quick, polite answers, including on weekends.
The Complaints, Answered Honestly
People search "raising dog book reviews complaints" for a reason, so here they are.
"I Didn't Know About the Subscription"
This is the most common one-star theme by a wide margin. The book itself is the main purchase, and the companion app runs on a recurring subscription.
The site's subscription terms say plans renew automatically at the end of each billing period, and that a free trial converts to a paid plan unless it is cancelled before it ends. Checkout also shows several optional add-ons, and some reviewers say they accepted one without realizing.
What to Do About It
- Read the order summary line by line before paying, and decline any add-on you do not want.
- Decide about the app on purpose. It is a useful tracker, but it is a subscription, so treat it as one.
- If you change your mind, cancel on the Manage Subscription page on the website, or email [email protected] with the address you subscribed with. If you subscribed through the App Store or Google Play, cancel in your Apple or Google account settings.
"It Felt Generic"
A smaller group of reviewers expected more customization. Kirstie wrote that the book is "generic, and about clicker and crate training." Another reviewer felt the customization was mostly the dog's name appearing in the text.
Here is the honest context. The mechanics of teaching a cue are the same for every dog: mark the moment, reward it, repeat.
No customized book can or should reinvent that. What the quiz changes is the order, the emphasis, the starting point and the problems covered, which is where generic books lose most readers.
If you already know the basics well, say so in the quiz; it asks which commands your dog knows for exactly that reason.
"My Situation Wasn't in the Options"
A few reviewers found a gap: one wanted to work on nipping, which is not a listed option, and another's breed was not in the search list. If your dog is a mix, pick the breed they take after most, and use the problem-behavior questions to describe the rest.
Myth: "Your Dog Is Trying to Be the Alpha"
Behavior reviews are full of "he thinks he's the boss." The idea that pet dogs pull, jump or ignore you because they are trying to dominate the household is one of the most repeated pieces of dog advice, and it sends owners in the wrong direction.
Look at the mechanism instead. A dog that pulls on the leash gets where it wants to go faster, so pulling pays.
A dog that jumps on guests gets attention, so jumping pays. A dog that ignores "come" at the park gets more park time, so ignoring pays.
None of that needs a theory about rank; it is learning by consequence, the same process that teaches a dog to sit for a treat.
That is good news, because it means the fix is not winning a power struggle. It is changing what pays: reward the loose leash, the four paws on the floor, the recall.
Reward-based training is built on exactly that.
Five-Star vs. One-Star Reviews: What They Are Really About
| Factor | Typical five-star review | Typical one-star review |
|---|---|---|
| Written when | Often on the day of ordering | Often weeks or months later |
| Main topic | Quiz, ordering, support | Subscription charges |
| About the book | Clear, easy to follow | Some found it too basic |
| About training results | Rarely mentioned yet | Rarely mentioned |
| Useful takeaway | The quiz and book are well made | Read checkout carefully |
What 30 Days of Training Actually Looks Like
Reviews rarely describe week three, so here is a realistic picture of a month with a short daily plan.
| Week | What you are doing | What you might notice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the plan, start 5-15 minute daily sessions, first cues | The dog starts offering simple behaviors for rewards |
| 2 | Repeat cues in new rooms, add short distractions | Cues work at home, wobble outside |
| 3 | Start your priority problem, like pulling or barking | Progress is uneven, with good and bad days |
| 4 | Practice in real situations: walks, visitors, meals | The new habit shows up more often than the old one |
Week three is where most people quit, because progress looks flat. It usually is not flat; the dog is unlearning a habit that has worked for months.
What the Book Can't Do
The book is a plan, not a result, and no review can do your training sessions for you. It also cannot assess your dog in person.
If your dog shows aggression, panics when left alone, or changes behavior suddenly, see a vet or a qualified trainer first. Sudden changes, like house soiling in a trained dog, can have a medical cause, and serious fear or aggression is safest with hands-on help.
How Long Until You'd Write Your Own Review
Give it at least a month of short, daily sessions before you judge the training itself. Simple cues often click within days; rehearsed habits like pulling take weeks.
The quiz and the book's layout you can judge on day one, which is why so many early reviews are about exactly that.
Where Raising Dog Fits
Raising Dog builds a training plan from your answers about your dog's breed, age, habits and problem behaviors, and delivers it as a printed book, a PDF ebook, or both. The optional companion app adds progress tracking and reminders, on a subscription you choose at checkout.
Go in with the right expectations: a well-laid-out plan for your dog, and a month of short sessions to make it work. Take the quiz at raising.dog
Raise A Happy Dog
Train Your Dog Right
Final Thoughts
The reviews tell a consistent story. The quiz and the book earn their praise; the complaints mostly come from checkout choices people did not notice.
So read the order summary, decide on the app on purpose, and give the plan 30 days of short daily practice before you write your own review.
FAQ
No, it is a real product from a registered company, and owners do receive their printed books and ebooks. Most negative reviews are about subscription charges, so read the checkout summary carefully before paying.
The companion app and some checkout add-ons are subscriptions that renew automatically until cancelled. You can cancel on the website's Manage Subscription page, by emailing support, or in your App Store or Google Play settings.
Those are among the problems the quiz asks about, and the plan puts your priority problems first. For aggression or severe anxiety, see a vet or a qualified trainer as well.
Contact [email protected] within 14 days of delivery with clear photos. The help center says damaged, misprinted or wrong items are replaced.
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