Vacation, or boot camp?

Click here to see more information about my Board and Train programs

​​Board and Train: Hand your misbehaving dog off to a trainer for a few weeks, and get him back all trained!

In the last year or two, the number of inquiries trainers get about doing Board and Train have skyrocketed. Board and Train is certainly not a new idea; service dogs and police dogs have been trained this way since their inception nearly a hundred years ago. 

​But for a lot of dog owners, it’s difficult to think about your dog being away from you for any period of time. Board and Train is definitely worth it for certain dogs, to improve their quality of life and the quality of their families’ lives; but is it right for YOUR dog?

Training Goals
Board and Train programs work best with teaching dogs TO DO behaviors: sit when I say “sit,” lay down when I say “down,” etc. So think about what behaviors you want your dog to do. Do you want your pet dog to learn obedience cues? Board and Train can help with that that. Do you want your service dog prospect to learn tasks like retrieving dropped items? Board and Train is great for that, too. 

Do you want your dog to stop jumping on the counters? This is a DON’T DO behavior, and these *don’t* work well in Board and Train. Stop pottying in the house? Stop barking at the neighbor dogs in the backyard? Stop jumping on guests? These are all DON’T DO behaviors. A good trainer would easily prevent these behaviors from happening during the Board and Train period, but that doesn’t mean your dog won’t go right back to doing them again when he comes back home. The best option for these behaviors is to do lessons with a trainer to learn how to prevent them from happening at your house, too.

Examples of
​TO DO Behaviors:
- Sit, lay down, go to your bed
- Come when called
​- Walk on leash at my side
​- Sit to greet strangers

​Examples of
​DON’T DO Behaviors:
- Ignore cues
- Run away when off leash
- Pull me down the street
- Jump on strangers

​
​Your Dog’s Temperament
In Board and Train, the trainer has a relatively very short amount of time to teach your dog many potentially complicated behaviors and concepts. Your dog will get the most out of his Board and Train time if he’s comfortable in the new facility and happy to be around the new people and other dogs. 

This guy is super comfortable at Board and Train

If, however, your dog does not like other dogs or new people, dropping him off at a facility full of dogs and strangers will cause him to be very stressed; stressed dogs have a hard time learning. You can mitigate this stress by making sure that the facility holds a very small number of other dogs, with a very small number of human staff as well, but ultimately if it takes your dog several days to feel comfortable in that place, that’s several days of training time you’ve lost. 

Board and Train is an especially bad idea for dogs with separation anxiety; dogs who cannot be left home alone. Dogs with separation anxiety are insecure about their owners leaving, so dropping them off at Board and Train will just add to that insecurity. Moreover, all Board and Train facilities will have to eventually put your dog in a crate or kennel while the trainer(s) leaves, so your dog will need to be comfortable with confinement before Board and Train.  

Your continuing education
Dogs don’t generalize well. Just because he learns “sit” at the Board and Train facility, doesn’t mean he will automatically do “sit” when you take him back home. You need to learn how he was trained to do the behaviors so that you will understand how to get him to do the behaviors for you. Follow up lessons with the trainer will be very important too, so make sure those are included in the Board and Train. 

Even after the lessons are over, you will still need to continue training with your dog to help him remember the skills. Board and Train teaches dogs behaviors, but it will still be up to you to maintain those behaviors. 

​Trainer Qualifications
Board and Train programs have traditionally had bad reputations because dog owners can’t trust the trainer with their dogs. Trainers can get very quick results by relying on punishment methods for training: using training collars, withholding meals, yelling at or hitting dogs, etc. The majority of Board and Train facilities still use these methods. But those quick results don’t last long-term; plus, they cause dogs to have more anxiety, and potentially aggression and other serious behavior issues, in the future. 

Click here to read my previous blog post about finding a reputable dog trainer.

​Insider Business Info:
Training with Electronic Collars is more expensive than training without these aversive tools. The collar itself costs hundreds of dollars, which is of course transferred to you whether you want to use the collar long-term or not.

​A professional trainer should treat your dog even better than you do; they should have years of formal dog training and continuing education. And they should never rely on training tools or methods that cause pain or discomfort to dogs in their care.

​Health 
Dog health issues can actually cause a surprising number of behavior problems.  Plus, any amount of stress will exacerbate underlying health problems. It’s a good idea to mention problem behaviors with your vet before starting a training program.

Along with health, also consider your dog’s age. Board and Train is not appropriate for young puppies. Building a good relationship with your dog is the first, most important, step in having a wonderful life with him, so the best thing for young puppies is to stay at home and get to know his new family. Most reputable Board and Train programs will not take puppies less than 6-12 months old. 

Soapbox Time
Vets are very good at diagnosing and treating health problems. They have had years of schooling and training in animal medicine.

Vets are not good at treating behavior problems. Except in rare occasions, they have not had any​ schooling or formal training about animal behavior. 

​Puppies aren’t for everyone, so if you can’t care for a puppy, consider paying the breeder to keep the puppy with his dog family for a few extra weeks or months until you’re ready for him. Or, consider getting an adult dog instead of a young puppy.

First/Last Resort
Board and Train can be an excellent option for owners who don’t have the time to learn HOW to train behaviors, and simply want their dog to know them. I personally have spent hours on seemingly simple behaviors, like “lay down,” because sometimes dogs just have a hard time understanding. The best part of Board and Train is that your trainer can take the time necessary to teach these behaviors, fast tracking the training for you. 

Many dog owners go into a Board and Train program with the idea that if it doesn’t “fix” their dog, then it’s time to rehome the dog. But Board and Train will not change your dog’s personality, his exercise needs, his likes and dislikes, etc., AND you will still need to keep up training to maintain the skills he’s learned. It would be a good idea to seriously analyze exactly why you don’t want to keep your dog, before deciding whether or not Board and Train will make you change your mind.

​Still not sure if Board and Train is a good option for you and your dog? Contact me with any questions and we’ll figure it out!