Dog Training Resources & Tools That Support Structured Handling
The structure outlined in this booklet can stand on its own. The resources below are tools, supports, and additional guidance that help you apply that structure consistently in real life. Some reduce environmental triggers. Others strengthen communication. A few provide added clarity when situations become more complex.
Use what fits your dog, your household, and your current stage of training. The goal is not to accumulate tools. The goal is to apply structure clearly and calmly.
Table of Contents
Private Consultation and Coaching with John Wade (Zoom)
Some situations benefit from direct feedback. A private Zoom consultation allows us to review your specific Cane Corso, your environment, and your current challenges in a focused and structured way. If you are unsure how to apply the program or you feel stuck, this can shorten the learning curve significantly.
Power Steering™ Dog Training Collar
This collar was designed for calm, controlled communication with large and powerful breeds. It allows you to interrupt behavior early and redirect without wrestling or increasing frustration. Similar high quality options can also work if they are built with the same principles in mind.
Power Steering™ Easy Grip Training Leash
A leash should feel secure in your hand and remain comfortable under tension. Proper grip reduces slippage and minimizes friction during high energy moments. This becomes especially important when working with strong dogs such as the Cane Corso.
Lunge (Long Line) 20 to 30 Feet (Easy on the hands)
A long line is essential for teaching recall and for completing early stages of structured heel work. It allows freedom of movement while still preventing rehearsal of mistakes. Avoid thin nylon options that are hard on the hands. Choose a material that provides grip and reduces the chance of friction injury. This one is padded and doesn’t get super heavy if it’s wet out.
Harness for Safer Hiking
A harness can be useful during exercise sessions when you are not actively teaching leash skills, but your dog is dragging a long line (Can’t be caught, Can’t be taught). Rather than have the line attached to a collar and potentially cause a neck injury if the line suddenly wraps when your dog is running, attach it to a proper tactical-type harness. (If you plan on being in the woods during hunting season, consider getting an orange colored vest.)
Bungee/Shock Cord Extension for Long Line
When using a long line outside formal training sessions, a short bungee attachment can reduce shock during sudden stops providing some protection for your dog. There are a wide variety of shock cord/bungee-type leashes, that you could attach to the harness and then the lunge line to the handle area, but I don’t have a lot of faith in the material for this sort of application, so making your own may be the best bet. All you need is to visit a hardware (and maybe a boat supply to find shock cord sold by the foot):
- About 6 feet or 2 meters of bungee/shock cord.
- A quality clasp/snap
- A quality O ring
Note: You have to use a certain knot when using bungee/shock cord, as regular rope knots will unravel. It’s not a complicated knot. Here are the instructions: Perfection Loop Knot. Also called Angler’s Loop Knot.
The only decent quality commercial version I could find can be found here:
Dog In Training High Visibility Patch
I have been unable to find a quality adjustable vest that had large enough lettering (In Training), but I did find these patches which might be attached to an existing harness. I do have a design in mind for an adjustable quality vest and if there’s enough interest I may start a Kickstarter campaign to have them manufactured for Toy-sized to Mastiff-sized breeds. Send me an email if you wish to be notified: Email Here.
I did find these decent quality patches. They’re 2″ X 6″ and high visibility. They’re removable.
Indoor/Outdoor Mats
In time, you’ll want your dog to “Stay”, regardless of a mat, but during the early stages of teaching “Stay” (kitchen/doorways) it helps if your dog has a mat as a destination. For mats near the door, you’ll want one set to the side on both the inside and the outside. So, you’ll need something reasonably weatherproof. Also, something that doesn’t slip around. Because the “Stay” isn’t a particularly long “Stay” it doesn’t have to be as large (or as comfortable as a mat you might use while you’re in the kitchen preparing meals or in the dining room eating meals. I like this unique mat because it’s particularly easy to clean. The one in the image is larger than you’ll need (they have various sizes), and isn’t placed to the side, but there was a dog in the picture. You’ll want one for each door you regularly come in and go out of.
→ My Amazon Link for a neat design for an Indoor/Outdoor Mat
Indoor Mats
While you’re in the kitchen preparing meals or in the dining room eating meals, your dog will eventually be expected to “Stay” for longer periods of time, so a more comfortable mat is in order.
I recommend using a type that has three raised sides for training and ongoing comfort. This design seems to have a slight edge over flat mats in terms of calming and settling down your dog.
A Practical Guide for Puppies, Adult Dogs, and Dogs That Struggle With The Crate
This booklet is for both starting crate training from scratch and fixing crate training problems. It’s perfect if you don’t want to leave anything to chance. This booklet will show you how. It will help you avoid the mistakes that so often turn the crate into a problem, give you a clear plan for helping a puppy or dog settle and cope better, and also help if crate training has already started going off the rails. Whether you are bringing home a new puppy, dealing with a puppy that is struggling, or trying to reintroduce a crate to an older dog, this guide will help you make the crate a more welcome, useful, practical, and lasting part of your dog’s life.
House Training On A Schedule
Dogs, like children do best with routines. You’ll learn how to prevent accidents, build the right routine, and train your dog to eliminate on your schedule, three times per day, and in one spot (so there aren’t land mines all over your yard).
Window Film/Frosting (For Reactive Dog Training)
For dogs that are learning to be less reactive it’s best that they aren’t looking out windows and fanning the flames of their reactivity. Using this type of film to either partially or entirely block their view and still let some light in, this is a good temporary solution.
Wireless Doorbell (For Excessive Barking At The Door Training)
Practicing door scenarios repeatedly without relying on guests allows you to build controlled desensitization. This tool supports calm responses before real visitors arrive.
I had a heck of a time finding a relatively inexpensive battery-powered (the plug-in wall type isn’t as good as you need the sound coming from where your current doorbell sound comes) wireless doorbell with the ability to sound like the average doorbell that came with two buttons so that clients with doorbell-crazed conditioned dogs could more easily help their dog break the cycle. This is the one I found and purchased for my equipment bag.
→ My Amazon link for a battery operated truly wireless doorbell with two buttons
How to Choose and Use Better Self-Entertaining Toys for Puppies and Dogs
If you want to choose better toys, use them more effectively, and avoid a lot of the common mistakes that lead to boredom, bad habits, wasted money, and unnecessary risk, take a close look at the recommendations and links on this page. In a number of cases, what makes these setups work so well is not just the product itself, but how it is altered, combined, presented, and rotated. There’s also a link for teaching search for dinner, a great way to stimulate your dog’s mind. It will make their day.
Exercising A Dog Safely While Bicycling
It’s great cardio for dogs once their growth plates have fused (18 months to 3 years of age – depending on breed – check with your veterinarian). Cardio has far more positive impact on brain chemistry (and body) than walking and contributes to better training and retention of training.
Also, bicycling (or running) with your dog has the added advantage for people with reactive dogs to change their mindset from walking – “on patrol mode” and into the less reactive “going somewhere” mode.
For your safety, and your dog’s safety invest in one of the bicycle attachments that are now available.
The one I have used is called a “Springer.” There are other options I’ll link to as well, and even more if you do some searching, but be careful because many that I found that were way cheaper had weight/pull ratings that made me skeptical and very few reviews to support to give me confidence.
Tripod for Recording Training Sessions
Recording short sessions often reveals timing issues, body language signals, or inconsistencies that are difficult to notice in the moment. Reviewing your own work accelerates improvement.
This link is to a decent quality portable tripod that comes with a wireless remote, but try your local dollar-type store as well.
Books To Help When Motivation Lags
It may seem a bit unusual to include books on motivation in a dog training resource section, but my 35 years of experience has shown me that this is one of the biggest factors affecting success. Even with the best of intentions, even with the best of intention it is very common for the perfectly natural tendency to procrastinate to kick in. I’ve selected these books in hopes it adds a additional tools to your toolbag for helping you succeed with your dog training goals. These 3 books help you approach this common problem from three different angles. One gives you a simple way to act before hesitation takes over, another helps you understand and reduce the internal resistance that makes you delay, and the third shows you how to build small, repeatable routines so you are not relying on motivation at all. Taken together, hopefully they make it far more likely that you will actually follow through on your dog’s training instead of putting it off.
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
If you’re like many people, you know what you should be doing with your dog, but keep hesitating, delaying, or second-guessing yourself. This book addresses that problem directly. The core idea is simple: act within five seconds, before your mind talks you out of it. Applied to dog training, that means when it comes time to do one of the “Here And There Throughout The Day, Practical Life Skill Development” and “Touch Stone” reminders of “I Am The Teacher, You Are The Student” exercises, you have a strategy in place for getting started when the hesitation sets in. It is not a dog training system, but it can help you become more decisive and consistent, which for many of us is often the missing piece.
→ My Amazon link for Mel Robbins The 5 Second Rule (Kindle/Paperback/Hard Cover/Audiobook)
The Now Habit by Dr. Neil A. Fiore
The Now Habit’s core message is that procrastination is often driven by internal pressure, overwhelm, or the fear of getting it wrong, not laziness. Applied to dog training, that means learning how to reduce that pressure and make it easier to start your “Here And There Throughout The Day, Practical Life Skill Development” and “Touch Stone” exercises without resistance. Again, it is not a dog training system, but it can help you remove the mental blocks that prevent you from following through consistently, which for many people is a major reason training stalls.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This book is about staying consistent over time. Most people that apply the dog training principles they learn from me notice significant change fairly quickly, but if they don’t stay consistent things regress rapidly. This book addresses that problem directly. Its core message is that real progress comes from small, repeatable actions that are built into your daily routine, not from bursts of motivation. Applied to dog training, that means setting up simple, consistent opportunities to work on things like your “Here And There Throughout The Day, Practical Life Skill Development” and “Touch Stone” exercises so they become part of how you go about your day, rather than something you have to remember to do. It can help you build the kind of consistency that produces steady, reliable results.
→ My Amazon link for Atomic Habits (Kindle/Paperback/Hard Copy/Audiobook)
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Disclosure
Every now and then, I’ll share links to products I recommend on my website, in emails, or elsewhere. Some of those links are affiliate links. That simply means that if you choose to buy through them, I may receive a small commission — at no extra cost to you. I don’t recommend products casually. If I link to something, it’s because I’ve either used it myself or taken the time to look into it carefully. I consider quality, durability, safety, manufacturer reputation, and consistency, not just price. One thing worth mentioning: in the dog world especially, two products can look almost identical online , same photos, same descriptions, sometimes even similar branding, but differ significantly in materials, construction, quality control, or after-sale support. What appears to be “the same thing for less” isn’t always the same thing once you’re actually using it. That’s one reason I’m selective about what I link to. If you do choose to use one of my links, I genuinely appreciate it. It helps support the time I invest in testing, researching, writing, and sharing what I’ve learned.
Thank you for your trust and your support.
– John “Ask the Dog Guy” Wade