--- title: "Board and Train in Baltimore, MD | DW Dog Training" description: "Board and train in the Baltimore, MD area. Your dog lives in my home, not a kennel. $3,600 for two weeks on-leash, $4,800 for three weeks on and off leash." url: "https://www.dwdogtraining.com/board-and-train/" lang: "en" image: "https://www.dwdogtraining.com/og/board-and-train.jpg" --- # Board and Train Your dog comes to live with me for two or three weeks and learns in a house, not a kennel. $3,600 for two weeks on-leash, $4,800 for three weeks on and off leash, all training equipment included. [(443) 429-0445](tel:+14434290445)[See all the programs](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/services/) ![A close vertical of a dog's front paws and lowered head on a floor](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/board-and-train/a-close-vertical-of-a-dog-s-front.jpg) A close vertical of a dog's front paws and lowered head on a floor Price From $3,600 All training equipment included. Payment plan available. Length Two or three weeks Where In my home, not a kennel Catchment Within an hour of Baltimore ## What board and train actually is Board and train means your dog lives with me for two or three weeks and works every day while it is here. Two weeks of on-leash work is $3,600. Three weeks covering on and off leash is $4,800. All training equipment is included in both, there is a payment plan, and the weeks end with lessons that hand the work over to you. The reason people call about it is usually time rather than technique. They know what their dog needs to learn. They also know that between work, the school run and everything else, nobody in the house is going to do the same thing at the same door twenty times a day for a fortnight. I will. What it is not is a drop-off. Your dog comes home to the people it lives with, and if those people go back to doing what they did before, the dog goes back too. That is why the handover matters more than the boarding, and why I would rather talk you out of this program than sell it to a household with no intention of keeping it going. ![A dog lying under a table with chair legs framing it](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/board-and-train/a-dog-lying-under-a-table-with-chair.jpg) A dog lying under a table with chair legs framing it ## What it costs Published, not quoted. All training equipment is included in the program price, and a payment plan is available. ### Two weeks, on-leash **$3,600** The standard program. On-leash obedience, house manners, and the behavior work your dog actually needs. Most dogs come for this one. ### Three weeks, on and off leash **$4,800** Everything in the two-week program plus off-leash reliability. Pick this if you want the dog trustworthy with no leash attached, and understand that off-leash is a progression rather than a switch. ### A la carte **$175** per hour Plus $60 per day for boarding. For owners who want something narrower than a full program, or more time after one. ## In my home, not a kennel Most board and train programs run out of a kennel or a training facility. Mine does not. Your dog lives in my house, on a normal household routine, because that is the environment the training actually has to work in. A dog can look flawless in a kennel and fall apart in a living room. Training in a home means the doorbell, the furniture, the kitchen, and the coming and going are all part of the work rather than a surprise waiting at the end of it. It also puts a natural cap on numbers. This is a house, so there is a limit to how many dogs can be in it and still get the individual attention that is the whole point of sending one here. You are entitled to ask any trainer where the dogs actually sleep, how many are there at once, who is with them overnight, and what licensing applies where the dogs are housed. Anne Arundel County publishes commercial kennel licensing requirements, and the rules differ by county and city across this area. Ask me those questions on the phone. Ask anyone else them too. ![A dog standing in a hallway with a lead hanging on the wall behind, unclipped](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/board-and-train/a-dog-standing-in-a-hallway-with-a.jpg) A dog standing in a hallway with a lead hanging on the wall behind, unclipped ## What the weeks cover Which of these gets the most attention comes out of the evaluation and what I see in the first few days. 01 ### On-leash obedience Loose-leash walking, sit, down, place, and coming when called. The everyday skills that decide whether living with your dog is easy or exhausting. [Obedience training](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/dog-trainer/) 02 ### House manners Doors, thresholds, counters, furniture rules, and settling when the house gets busy. Learned in a house, which is why they carry over to yours. 03 ### Crate and settle routines A dog that rests calmly when asked, in a crate or on a bed, rather than pacing or barking through the evening. 04 ### Real household distraction The doorbell, deliveries, cooking, visitors, other dogs. The things that undo training happen at home, so they get worked at home. 05 ### Off-leash work Three-week program only. Recall on a long line first, proofed against the specific things that pull your dog, and tested where failing is safe rather than where failing is a road. 06 ### Your handover lessons The part that decides whether the rest survives. You learn the handling, the timing, and what to do when your dog tests you in the first week home. ## How it runs 1. 01 ### A phone conversation You tell me what your dog is doing and what you want changed. I tell you whether board and train is the right program, or whether in-home lessons or Kick Start would serve you better. That second answer is an honest one, not a sales call. 2. 02 ### An evaluation before anything is booked $100, in your home, face to face. It rolls into the training fee if you go ahead, and there is no obligation to go ahead. For a residential program I want to have met the dog and seen the household first. 3. 03 ### Settling in Your dog arrives and spends the first days learning the routine of the house before the real work loads up. A dog still worried about where it is cannot learn much. 4. 04 ### Daily work, where it matters Structured sessions every day, then the rest of the day living in a house and practising it. The neighborhood and local parks come in as your dog is ready for them. 5. 05 ### The handover, then support You come and learn the handling, and take the leash yourself while I watch. After the face-to-face training you have lifetime trainer support, so if something shifts a year from now you can still call. ## Why the handover is not optional A dog does not automatically perform the same way for a different handler in a different house. This is the most common way a residential program disappoints someone, and it has nothing to do with how well the dog was trained. Your dog will read you differently than it reads me. It knows what I will do if it ignores a cue, because it has spent two weeks finding out. It does not know what you will do. So the first week home is a negotiation, and the training holds or unwinds depending on how that week goes. That is what the handover lessons are for. You learn the timing, the equipment, and the specific ways your dog will test you, before it tests you. Then you have my number for as long as you own the dog. ![A dog sitting upright beside an open crate door](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/board-and-train/a-dog-sitting-upright-beside-an-open-crate.jpg) A dog sitting upright beside an open crate door ## Questions people ask **How much does it cost to board and train a dog for 3 weeks?** Three weeks is $4,800 and covers on-leash and off-leash training, with all training equipment included. Two weeks of on-leash work is $3,600. There is a payment plan, and the evaluation is $100 which rolls into the fee. **Is board and train worth it for dogs?** It is worth it when the behavior needs consistency a busy household cannot give it every single day, or when you want a lot of progress in a short window. It is not worth it if nobody at home intends to keep the work going, which is why the handover lessons matter as much as the boarding weeks. **What is the best age to send a dog to board and train?** Most dogs do well from about six months, once they have the focus for structured work. Younger puppies usually get more out of puppy training and socialization first. Older dogs are welcome; age matters less than health and temperament. **Where does my dog actually stay?** In my home. Not a kennel, not a run, not a facility. That is the whole point of how I do this: your dog lives in a house, with a routine, the way it will need to live in yours. **Will my dog listen to me when it gets home?** That depends on the handover more than on the boarding weeks. Your dog will test you in ways it stopped testing me, so you get lessons where you take the leash yourself before your dog goes home, plus lifetime trainer support afterwards. **Can you take a dog with a bite history?** Sometimes, and it depends entirely on the specifics. Tell me exactly what happened, to whom, and how many times, on the phone. I would rather turn a dog down than take one I cannot keep everyone safe around, and I will tell you straight which it is. **Do you guarantee results?** No, and be careful with anyone who does. What happens depends on the dog, its history, your household, and whether the handling continues after the dog comes home. What I promise is a straight assessment, including telling you when this is not the right program. ## What a client said > If you're looking/have been looking for someone that is skilled enough to hack into your dog's brain, and make you fall in love ten times over with your dog post training, then please choose Denise Willis! Her and trainer Shelby worked wonders with my Australian Shepherd puppy, Lia. Lia is now the best version of herself as a "working dog", and they are the ones responsible for the foundation of this success. Denise is very attentive to making you, the owner, feel at ease with the training process, and she always makes herself available to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Lia and I are SO grateful for Denise and Shelby! 5 stars all the way!!! Katelyn S. ## Dogs I have worked with ![Lia, an Australian Shepherd, wearing a muzzle and an e-collar during training.](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/lia-australian-shepherd-muzzle-ecollar.jpg) Lia, an Australian Shepherd, came to grow into her role as a working dog. Her owner Katelyn wrote the review above. ![Gigi, a small cavachon, sitting during her board and train stay.](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/gigi-cavachon-board-and-train.jpg) Gigi, a cavachon, was here in November 2022 for socialization and board and train. ![Kasey, a corgi mix, lying calmly after her board and train program.](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/kasey-corgi-mix-board-and-train.jpg) Kasey, a corgi mix, arrived nervous and went through board and train. ![Nala, a chow mix, on a leash during reactivity work.](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/nala-chow-mix-reactivity-board-and-train.jpg) Nala, a chow mix, came for reactivity work through board and train. ![Ridgely, a terrier mix, holding a stay outdoors.](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/images/ridgely-board-and-train-stay.jpg) Ridgely, a terrier mix, worked on off-leash obedience. Her owner called her a runner and a track star. ## Talk to me about your dog Board and train is a real commitment of money and time, so it is worth a conversation before you book it. Call me at [(443) 429-0445](tel:+14434290445), 6 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week, and tell me what your dog is doing. [Call Today](tel:+14434290445)[Send a Message](https://www.dwdogtraining.com/contact-us/) 6 AM - 7 PM, 7 days a week ยท Baltimore, MD area