One of the most common services offered by dog trainers is a Board & Train program – where the client leaves their dog with the trainer to receive daily training, at the end of which the client picks up a fully trained, perfect dog at the end of their stay… or so we hope. But is that how it really works?
We wanted to take a moment in this article to discuss the pros and cons of board & train, what type of clients might benefit the most from such a program, and how to get the most out of one if you choose to go that route with your dog.
To get to the TLDR of it all – in our experience, these are the types of situations where a board & train might be recommended:
- The client has limited time or desire to train the dog at home daily and would like the trainer to do the initial work.
- The dog has severe behavior problems that require a professional to address.
- The dog needs to learn a specialty skill that only a professional can provide (such as hunting/field training, service dog work etc.)
- The client has physical limitations that make training the dog themselves impossible.
- The client is going out of town for an extended period and would like to get the dog some constructive training while they are away.
For many owners, a board & train can sound like the perfect solution if you have limited time to work with your dog, or if you’re dealing with issues that you feel like you don’t have the skills or expertise to manage. And in many cases, that is the biggest benefit of a board & train — training and behavior change takes time, effort, and consistency. If the client can’t provide that for their dog, then a board & train with an experienced dog trainer can do the initial heavy lifting and make it easier for the owner to pick up where they left off and maintain what was established.
That said, dog training is a process of establishing a relationship, not installing software on a computer. The trainer is working to teach your dog certain commands & concepts, more constructive coping skills to navigate situations that cause them stress or anxiety, and building the trust & communication that makes behavior modification more successful. Once the board & train is completed, we then hope to transfer that relationship from the trainer to the owner through follow-up lessons and home management instructions. We want the client to learn how to “talk the talk” and “walk the walk” so their dog understands that they should listen to their owner the same way they listened to the trainer and expect similar responses. That may also require that they adjust how they manage the dog at home to match the structure that the trainer used to achieve improvement (we’ve all heard the phrase “nothing changes if nothing changes”… this is particularly true in dog training).
But all relationships take work and continued effort to maintain. Training is never really “completed”, but rather continuously maintained and expanded to keep the dog on the right path. Without consistency, dogs will always revert to whatever behaviors or instinctual reactions that worked for them in the past.
The bottom line? A board & train is only as good as the follow-up instruction you receive and then apply at home. This is why we are careful to explain to our clients that any expectations they have about the results of training should be tempered by their honest willingness to work with their dog after they come home and follow our instructions for care and management, especially as they transition back into the client’s home from what was probably a much more structured setting with the trainer.
Board & trains are understandably costly. If you come across a dog trainer who claims they will completely fix your dog in 1 or 2 or even 3 weeks – pick up your wallet and walk the other way. There is limited progress that can be made in 2 or 3 weeks with a dog even with the best of trainers, and anyone promising you wildly impressive results like total off leash control in one or two weeks is either lying to you, or willing to push your dog well beyond what we would consider to be fair or humane treatment. But 2 or 3 weeks is certainly enough time to start setting more positive patterns of behavior, teach the basic obedience commands, and set the foundation for further behavior modification if needed.
All board & trains will require that you continue training your dog after bringing them home to see the full benefits.
The board & train program we offer is called TagAlong. Typically, new clients will be required to book for a minimum of 2 weeks for their first TagAlong, although 3 weeks is ideal. Our 2- and 3-week TagAlong packages come with private lessons to follow up the training after you bring your dog back home. The TagAlong program is also unique in that we have individual trainers who will take care of your dog for their entire stay in their own homes, rather than boarding your dog at a facility or kennel. That way we can simultaneously work on your dog’s basic obedience and home behavior at the same time, while providing an immersive and a less stressful environment. You can learn more about our TagAlong program here.
As dog trainers, we value highly the process of building the training relationship with our dogs, and we believe every dog owner would greatly benefit from experiencing it for themselves – which is why we love offering private lessons and group classes that teach the process of training to the client directly, so they can learn in-depth how to communicate with their dog. That said, we understand that not every pet owner has the luxury or ability to complete the training process on their own. TagAlong board & trains can be an excellent option for those clients, assuming they understand the realistic limitations and complete the follow-up training to ensure continued success.
