Puppr Review: Our Favorite Dog Training App

We started using Puppr years ago when we got our first dog, Goomba. We knew obedience training of any sort was extremely helpful for our bond with our pups, but also thought it would be helpful since Goomba would have a better idea of what we were asking for in various situations. Our goal was to try to find a way to teach Goomba many different tricks that would be fun and frustration-free.

We chose the Puppr app because it has a large variety of different modules and categories of training and other activities for your pup. Even the base free version has a slew of different options for behaviors to teach! We’ve been using it ever since!

One of the main reasons that we love their app so much is the completely functional free tier to get started (and the additional lesson packs are extremely fairly priced). This gives you an opportunity to give their app a real try without having to sprint through a 3 or 7-day trial period to try to determine if you think it’s a valuable resource.

Here at The Ruly Bully, we only recommend or review services or products that we personally have used for an extended time, since we feel it takes more than bumbling around for a few minutes to form an opinion.

Features

Interface

One of the main features we like best about the Puppr app is the clean interface. There are hundreds of different places you can find ways to teach your pup new tricks. We prefer an app that doesn’t feel like you’re fighting it just to use it. Let’s be honest, if you make a great product, as Puppr does, you don’t need to harass people with unending popups about subscribing or have ads that take up half of your page. Here are some examples of what we’re referencing:

Notice the clean interface with only what you need?

What Puppr does is refreshing. We’ve always found it much easier to focus on a task when your workspace, in this case, the app, isn’t bombarding you with notifications & distractions. Between the easy-to-read font and large clickable areas, it feels like Puppr tries to make the app as easy to use as they can.

Built-in clicker

Puppr uses a clicker-based training method, which is excellent for beginners and advanced users. We love the thoughtfulness of the clicker button’s design. It’s front and center on the bottom of every screen. No moving buttons, second prompts, or other options. It simply recreates the noise of a clicker.

A benefit of using a clicker for training is that it is simple to load the clicker noise so that your dog is able to use it as a marker for good behavior. If you wish, it’s easy to change your marker to a verbal one, different noise, or whatever else you may want to use!

If you’d rather have a manual clicker, something like this from Chewy is perfect!

Multiple dogs

We have two pups, Goomba & Prim, so one of our criteria for a dog training app was being able to track multiple dogs’ progress on the same platform. Puppr makes this seamless. All you have to do is select the dropdown menu and all your pups are displayed in a single spot. We love it!

Adding a dog is easy, as well, with only 5 simple questions to complete bringing your new pup up to speed.

Progress tracking

Another feature we like a lot is the ability to track progress, especially combined with the previously mentioned feature of having multiple dogs. As an example, if we have issues with a trick (every dog learns differently!) we’ll take a break from it and come back later. It keeps training from getting too stale and repetitive, which helps it be more fun!

In-app reminders

Admittedly, this one isn’t too flashy, as it’s just a simple reminder. We find it most helpful to get yourself (and your pup) into a routine.

We haven’t used the potty reminder, as both of our pups were potty trained when we got them. Being able to set a slew of different reminders would be much less annoying than using alarms every so many hours on your phone, but we don’t have first-hand experience.

Live chat

A chat feature is a valuable tool that can come in handy when you encounter a command that your dog just can’t seem to grasp. Instead of spending hours researching how to work past the issue, the chat feature allows you to quickly and easily get the help you need. This feature is a lifesaver for those who want to save time and avoid frustration and is perfect if you’re having difficulty with crate training your pup.

Example trick

We wanted to demonstrate how we use Puppr to teach our dogs tricks & give you an idea of how easy it is! We’ll be showing spin, one of our dogs’ favorites, but Puppr has everything from sitting to agility training like agility jumps!

To start, here are the steps that Puppr provides for learning spin.

Puppr makes this easy by breaking it down into simple steps. We specifically like the “9 out of 10 times” metric for moving to the next step. It’s an easy way to determine whether your pup knows the behavior.

Here’s Prim demonstrating the steps!

A few extra notes. We generally use string cheese or Stewart beef liver (Amazon) as our food lures, as our pups perform particularly well for them. A lot of our guides involve using more enticing lures, like our favorite energy-burning activity!

We typically use non-verbal cues along with a command word. We find that our pups are much more consistent when both are used. We draw a circle in the air as our non-verbal cue, but you can do whatever you want!

Finally, make it fun! Most pups respond better and are more willing to perform behavior if you’re excited instead of stoic. You’ll hear a lot of “dog/baby voices” from us when we’re training our pups!

Value of Puppr

Puppr premium

What do we think of the value of Puppr premium? We think it’s worth it, but instead of only using our opinion, give it a shot yourself! Puppr has a 7-day trial to give you a chance to use the premium features of the app without having to spend money or commit to anything.

If you’d rather try a different route, use the free version for a bit. There are a wide variety of free tricks to teach your pup, and if you like them, Puppr also has a free premium trick of the week that is unlocked temporarily, as well. The peek at the premium benefits is extremely well done, and honestly, we used the free version until we mastered most of the tricks and then transitioned into using the lesson packs from Puppr Premium.

Subscribing to Puppr premium gets you a large number of benefits, including live chat help, masterclass videos, access to lesson packs, and more!

Puppr offers the following options for subscriptions if you decide you love their service as much as we do:

• Monthly – $12.99/yr
• Yearly – $99.99/yr
• Yearly (current promo) – $69.99/yr

Puppr shop

If you’re unable to or don’t want to subscribe, yet, no worries! There are other ways to show your appreciation, as well!

Next time you’re shopping for dog supplies, check out Puppr’s store! They have a wide variety of their favorite supplies sold on Amazon and it will cost the normal purchase price! These are affiliate links to Puppr’s recommended supplies, and we use quite a few of the supplies ourselves!

If you’re looking for something else, their merch offers another way to support them! The prices are fair and the designs are great, whether you want a t-shirt, sweater, or bag! Our favorite is the professional dog petter t-shirt!

Conclusion

We love Puppr & recommend it to anyone looking for a great dog training app! Don’t take it from us though, give their free version a go before subscribing to make sure it’s something you like!

Have a different favorite tool for helping train your dog? Share your favorites with us on Instagram by tagging @therulybully.

Have fun!