Board and Train

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.

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.

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.

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