BOARD & TRAIN FAQ

Our team will give you all the tools you need to prepare your dog for their program, including crate training, detoxing, and more specialized instructions tailored to your dog and their behaviors. You’ll work on these in tandem during your prep sessions, with communication inbetween on an as-needed basis.

There is! Take a look at our packing list for guidance on what to supply for your dog’s B&T.

To ensure your dog achieves the best results, and you your maximum investment, we cannot make adjustments to the packing list. Thank you for understanding!

Unfortunately, no. Dogs are in a pattern with you, and when they see you they are reminded of old habits and routines. We’ve found that visits set the dog back in their progress by a few days to a week, and we want to maximize your valuable training budget.

In some rare cases in our longer programs (8 weeks and up), we send dogs home on the weekends so owners can learn some of the cues and not be overwhelmed when their dog comes home. In a shorter program, the number of commands is reasonable to learn all at once.

Yes! We have countless protocols in place to keep all dogs safe: experienced handlers, strong gate systems with multiple doors to prevent escape, separate training spaces for different types of dogs, and a lot of knowledge. Your dog will be around dogs we feel will benefit their training journey, not hinder them.

We hear you! But we promise your dog will be just fine. Keep in mind dogs can’t learn when they’re stressed. Your dog being in a state of mind to learn is our number one priority. Our facility is designed with this in mind: It’s quiet, peaceful, and full of things dogs love. We have a variety of activities to please different personality types.

More generally, different dogs respond differently to a B&T environment. Most working breeds thrive from day one, as they are lacking structure and not satisfying their drive to work at home. Very fearful (afraid of their own shadow) type dogs settle in over the first few days and then their confidence blooms on our agility course.

Mostly we find dogs have developed an unhealthy codependent relationship with their owner. This results in them not being able to regulate their own emotions. The slight stress of moving them and shifting their environment is worth it in the long run as we can achieve dramatic results by moving them to a new environment where they can break patterns much faster.

After your evaluation, you’ll receive a breakdown of what you can expect from our services for your dog. This will include potential B&T lengths and focuses. Your program is booked once you and your Trainer agree on a length of time that’s appropriate for your dog and goals, and you pay the non-refundable deposit to book your dates.

Once the contract is signed, the deposit is satisfied, and your goals are approved, we schedule your 3 prep sessions. These prep sessions are required before your dog can begin their B&T. Your dog must be crate trained and adjusted to sleeping in the crate and crating up to 5 hours a day before their stay with us, which these sessions are designed to help with.

For dogs that struggle with crating, your dog may need additional sessions to prepare. We book according to the following schedule to ensure you have additional time to train, if needed:

Prep Session 1: Scheduled freely
Prep Session 2: Scheduled for one week after #1
Prep Session 3: Scheduled for one week after #2, with at least 2 weeks before your dog’s first B&T day

Once these are booked, you’ll prepare for your pup’s first day. After the program, we’ll have 3 post sessions to help you learn and maintain everything your dog has learned, ensuring they behave for you just like they do for our trainers. These are booked accordingly:

Post Session 1: Your pup’s last day
Post Session 2: Within 2 to 5 days of your pup’s last day
Post Session 3: 2 Weeks after the second post session

We want you to have the nest equipment- the same equipment we used to train your dog. Most program have a followup bill for any equipment you will need longterm to maintain the training we put on your dog.

Reimbursement invoices for equipment typically range between $200-$600 and are issued when your dog goes home- alongside with a full explanation and demonstration of the equipment.

We highly recommend you consider joining our on leash packs after your program ends, which can be organized alongside your program booking. Sending your dog out with our pack walks help keep their training sharp, while taking some of the stress off of you to maintain their results. If you’d like to take advantage of this option, please let us know and we’ll have your dog join their pack while they’re with us!

Other than pack walks, you’ll be welcome to return for refreshers or continue with private sessions. We also help our training families with regular boarding. While regular boards don’t include training in the same way a B&T does, boarding with us does help retain results, as we’re well versed in your dog’s commands and training. Our program is of no benefit to you if the training does not come home, so we take every step possible to make sure our results last.

Training is a journey, and we’ll be with you all the way.

Your dog will live at our in home facility. They sleep inside, in a crate, in a temperature controlled and camera monitored room.

Which part of the program your dog is in will influence their schedule.

The beginning is a learning stage, your dog will be on site at the facility only learning new commands in distraction free training spaces. They will have break time in their crate, individual dog runs with fresh bedding and water, or one of our fully fenced yards.

Mid-program we start moving things outside to make sure your dog can do their commands in general everyday spaces like the sidewalk of a quiet street.

Proofing is the final phase- this work includes field trips to parks, public spaces, and off-leash work around other trained dogs. The shorter programs do not get into the proofing stages, while dogs in longer programs spend the end of their time with us doing lots of field trips to make sure they perform in any environment.

We are well versed in handling dogs with special diets and medications. Your trainer will coach you on diet during your prep sessions. Part of getting your dog ready for a program is creating a high food drive, we will wean your dog off super high value treats and foods for a time. We want to make these distinctive rewards during the training program.

We understand many dogs have food allergies- especially to chicken. For that reason we do ot keep chicken treats or wet foods at our facility. We source mainly turkey proteins as we’ve found these to be the least inflammatory and acceptable to a variety of stomachs.

We send an update once a week. Our main focus is spending training time with your dog, so we do not send lengthy updates or encourage you to text or call regularly. Remember, time we spend giving you an update is time that comes out of your dog’s program. We appreciate you trusting us with your dog.

If there is a medical issue, we call immediately to discuss veterinary care choices.

If your dog is discovered to have additional behavioral problems we were not initially aware of, we will call to discuss either prioritizing one issue over another or adding time to your program.

Dogs come to us for bad behavior. : ) We have yet to meet a dog we couldn’t handle!

There have been instances when a dog had an undiagnosed medical issue that was discovered at our facility. In this case, we send dogs home to recover if we feel their medical situation is impeding their learning progress, and return when thy are well. The only other occasion we’ve sent dogs home is when they did not complete their preliminary crating practice and were to stressed to train in this environment.

A. When you sign up for your Board and Train, we write a custom program for your dog that utilizes every day they are with us. We do not send dogs home early. They all are doing well by the end of the program, but we want to proof them in as many environments as possible to make sure the training results last.

If your dog is discovered to have more issues than previously known or is struggling, we will call to discuss options with you. Once you have realistic expectations of what to expect, you can decide to keep your dog here for longer time. If you are torn between a longer and shorter program we strongly encourage you to make this decision before sending your dog to us.

Good dog training is like making a layer cake. Imagine you’ve already baked a 3 layer cake, and then you decide you want a 7 layer cake. Can you do it? Yup. Will it look as good as if you had started knowing you were making a 7 layer cake from the beginning? No. A dog here for 3 weeks who adds 4 more weeks in the middle of his program will only get 4 weeks learning the more advanced commands instead of the full 7. It’s much harder for us as trainers, and so we do not offer the same discounts on additional time if you add to your program once your dog is with us.

When we started in 2014 we used to work dogs with only their specific trainer, and we found it much harder for the dog to work for different people when they went home. Dogs get very dependent on body movements, they can become almost “addicted” to a handler if they only work with one person.

This is a critical issue since Board and Train is about transferring your result home- to you! For this reason our Board and Train cases are handled and trained by our entire facility team. Your case is overseen and tracked by your trainer. We’ve found that dogs working with a variety of people helps them not become dependent on one person. They better generalize their commands and routines to everyone around them and understand to work for whomever is holding the leash.

You’ll have your (3) post sessions to help you transfer your dog’s result home and learn their commands. Often clients choose one or both of the following:

• joining our pack walks to maintain their results and have additional support maintaining their dog’s training. Our team meets monthly to review pack pup progress, this is also a great way to not only sustain, but build on, your dog’s training.

• Additional Private sessions to further them along their journey and build more skills.

Foundational Board and Trains include a video series explaining the commands that you can revisit if you ned a reminder. You will also receive a written handout with suggested schedule recommendations. Your trainer will go over any meical of specific behavioral information that’s unique to your dog in your sessions.

Many of our client return to us to keep their dogs training looking sharp or to add new skills like off leash control. Refresher programs typically do not have a minimum length and are often much shorter than your first foundational Board and Train. Refreshers lengths are agreed upon based on the goals you are trying to achieve.

Yes! Once your dg has trained with us we welcome them back for boarding anytime.

Since we started in 2014, we’ve never had a dog fail to listen to their owner after returning home.

Your dog will be responsive to anyone who knows her commands and how to give them. They will be extra responsive to people who practice with her regularly. We understand the program is of no value to you if your dog does not retain results at home. We’re lucky to be 100% a referral business for a good reason; we’re about getting you results. This is why we have so many sessions built into our programs - to teach you everything you need to know to maintain you training and have your dog grow beyond that point in the future.

Will they always be slightly more responsive to your trainer? Yes. But this is the case with or without a Board & Train. Some of you have done private sessions and have already witnessed this: as professional trainers, we spend countless hours learning how to communicate with dogs - how to read their body language, how to influence them, motivate them, and predict when they will and won't listen. Because of this, your dog will always look sharper with a professional. Our diligent clients get to a level where this disparity vanishes, but this takes time.

Dogs who are only bonded with one or two people will quickly transfer that bond when removed from their home environment. Frequently this is magic; as soon as you leave, your dog is in our lap.

We cannot bond with your dog when you’re there in the same way, because - for certain breeds, and particularly fearful dogs - they will not bond with a large group of people. This bond will transfer back to you when your dog returns home.