Send your dog away for a month and pay a lot of money for training?! What makes board and trains worth it all? I have seen some unbelievable rehabilitations and changes in dogs due to B&T’s and it’s why I wanted to offer them in the first place. Many trainers do not because it is exceptionally time consuming and limits them from working with a variety of dogs. That’s why I made my model such that during the months I take a few B&T dogs, I limit my private sessions significantly so I can dedicate the proper time to my temporary live-ins.
Every board and train starts with a consultation if you are not an existing consult and includes 2 post-consults. Afterall, I can upgrade your dog during a month but if it returns to a household that cannot uphold the new rules and boundaries, the dog will return to its previous ways.
A real diagnosis
Removing a dog from its primary environment will show a lot of different behaviors. It’s why I train primarily in my facility instead of home visits: both have their benefits but getting a dog out of its cozy environment to train adds extra levels of good stress the dog will have to work through.
Clients most often can tell me about their dog’s bad behaviors in the home, which gets added to their notes. In addition to those behaviors, I get to immediately see what bad behaviors emerge in new environments. Imagine how fast you can change your dog’s bad behaviors in your home if they can learn to regulate themselves in new places?
Exposure to different places
There is virtually no limit to the places I take board & trains once they’ve shown me they can handle it. Remember, all dog training needs to be customized and starts with meeting the dog exactly where they are. Over exposure to stressful situations too early is a sure way to set a dog back on its progress. Remembering that dogs learn in context, you need to practice your obedience in several different locations each week. Most clients do not have the capacity to designate that much time to their furry friend. In a single week and depending on your dog’s abilities, I might take her to Home Depot, Cabela’s, a brewery, coffee shop, 3 parks, and to sit outside Central Market on a busy Saturday morning. All with the intention of practicing calm and stable behaviors in addition to obedience.
Consistency
Throughout your day with the usual hustle and bustle of your routine, it is very hard to stay 100% consistent with your dog. Every time you tell your dog to lay on their place, are you going to be able to fix them every single time they get up? 4 weeks of unrelenting consistency does wonders for a dog, even if they return to a household that is much less consistent.
Stable Dogs
You know why it’s hard to reform reactive dogs? Because we are constantly surrounded by other reactive dogs! It is very frustrating when you go to take your dog out on a relaxed walk and every dog you pass is barking and thrashing on a leash attempting to interact with your dog. Boarding your dog in a place where there are stable dogs that choose not to interact with them is hard to come by. Neutrality towards other dogs makes up the majority of what we strive for in socialization. Adding in a stable dog laying on a cot nearby when a B&T dog is practicing obedience is a great distraction that starts to build a bridge in the dog’s understanding that not all dogs are a threat.
Unlimited Resources
Maybe not unlimited, but do I have a large arsenal of tools that help with dog training? Absolutely. And the knowledge to do so. Dogs all progress at different levels and having an environment that can meet them at their speed is imperative to getting the most out of your B&T. You wouldn’t want to part ways with your dog for a month only to find out that your trainer couldn’t take your dog to the next level due to their lack of knowledge.