STRUCTURE, REPETITION, & CONSISTENCY

Our Board & Train system provides the daily structure, repetition, consistency, and guidance dogs need to replace unclear or inconsistent patterns with stronger, more dependable habits. By reinforcing skills throughout the day, we help dogs develop a clearer understanding of expectations, strengthen communication, build healthier behavior patterns, and make better choices with greater reliability.

SKILLS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

We focus on skills that make daily life with your dog easier, clearer, and more enjoyable. From leash manners and household behavior to impulse control, boundaries, engagement, and obedience, training is practiced throughout the day so those skills become part of your dog’s normal routine.

BUILDING SUCCESS TOGETHER

Weekly owner lessons are an important part of the program, giving you the opportunity to stay involved and learn alongside your dog. You’ll practice the same communication, handling, structure, and expectations being established during training, helping create a smoother transition home and giving you the tools to confidently maintain and build on your dog’s progress.

PROGRESS THAT'S BUILT TO LAST

Training should provide a foundation, not a finish line. We work to establish skills thoroughly enough that they can be maintained, strengthened, and expanded over time, allowing your dog’s progress to continue well beyond the program itself. By developing strong habits, reliable responses, and a clear understanding of expectations, we help build skills that are better prepared to hold up as your dog transitions back into everyday life.

Our Board & Train program is tailored to your dog’s individual needs and your training goals. We prioritize the behaviors and challenges that matter most to you. Whether your goals involve better manners, improved obedience, greater reliability, or off leash freedom, training focuses on what will make the biggest difference in your everyday life.

How Much Time Does My Dog Need?

The length of the stay depends on where your dog is starting, what skills they already have, and what level of reliability you want to accomplish. We also consider your dog's temperament, learning speed, behavior, and your goals when recommending the most appropriate option.

Shorter stays are best suited for foundational obedience, household manners, clearer communication, and better responsiveness in familiar environments. As the length of stay increases, training can progress into greater distance, duration, distraction, public exposure, and stronger real world reliability. Dogs working toward dependable public obedience or off leash control and recall generally benefit from more time for proofing behaviors and generalizing skills.

Dogs working toward dependable obedience in everyday public settings will generally benefit from a longer stay, while dogs whose goals include off leash control and recall require additional time to build, proof, and generalize those skills safely.

All Board & Train stays have a 2 week minimum, with additional time recommended based on the individual dog and the level of reliability you want to achieve.

How Does Training Progress?

Training begins by building a strong foundation in communication, engagement, household manners, and basic obedience. Once those skills are understood, we gradually increase the level of difficulty by adding duration, distance, distractions, new environments, and greater independence from the handler. Essentially the progression looks like this:

Foundations → Household Reliability → Public Obedience → Real World Proofing → Off Leash Foundations → Off Leash Reliability.

Shorter programs focus primarily on establishing the foundation and improving reliability in familiar settings. Longer programs provide the additional time needed to generalize those skills into public environments, work through higher levels of distraction, and strengthen the dog’s ability to respond consistently in real world situations.

For dogs progressing into the 5 and 6 week programs, training then begins transitioning from leash supported obedience to off leash foundations and reliability. Skills are first strengthened on a long line before moving into carefully controlled off leash work as the dog demonstrates readiness.

Each stage builds on the one before it, so the goal is not simply to teach more commands, it is to make the skills your dog already knows more dependable, versatile, and practical in everyday life.

What Can I Expect at Graduation?

At graduation, you can expect to see overall improvement in your dog’s skills, responsiveness, manners, and understanding of expectations. The amount of progress will vary depending on your dog’s starting point, individual learning style, and the length of the program.

Your dog should leave with stronger communication, better engagement, improved impulse control, and greater reliability in the skills addressed during their stay.

You’ll also receive guidance on how to continue working with your dog at home, along with ongoing support after graduation to help you maintain progress, troubleshoot challenges, and continue building on the training your dog has received.

Stay in the loop throughout your pet's stay with real-time activity updates, photos, and videos through the Walkies Client Pet Journal.

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FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

Build communication, engagement, manners, and reliable basic obedience.

ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT

Strengthen those skills through increased distance, duration, distractions, and real world application.

OFF LEASH RELIABILITY

Progress towards greater freedom with dependable responses and reliability in more challenging environments.

Where will my dog stay during their Board & Train program?

Our Board & Train program provides a unique, in home training experience. Rather than staying in a traditional kennel facility, your dog is welcomed into our home and becomes part of our daily routine throughout their stay.

This allows training to happen in a comfortable, home like environment while giving your dog plenty of opportunities to practice the same types of skills they’ll need when they return home.

Will my dog be crated or kenneled during their stay?

Yes. For safety and to encourage healthy independence, dogs are crated or kenneled periodically throughout the day and overnight.

Appropriate confinement is also an important life skill. Learning to settle comfortably on their own can help build independence, confidence, patience, and healthy downtime between training sessions and activities.

Will I receive updates while my dog is away?

Absolutely. Throughout your dog’s stay, you’ll receive regular updates that may include progress reports, photos, and videos. You will also have the option to download the Walkies Client Pet Journal app to view live updates.

This allows you to easily follow along with their training, see what they are working on, and stay connected throughout the program.

How much training does my dog receive each day?

Training is incorporated throughout your dog’s entire stay rather than being limited to one or two scheduled sessions.

Dogs receive multiple focused training sessions throughout the day, along with opportunities to practice their skills during normal routines such as going through doors, walking, settling in the house, going outside, loading into vehicles, waiting appropriately, and navigating everyday distractions.

This helps training become part of your dog’s lifestyle rather than something they only understand during a formal training session.

Will my dog go on outings during their program?

Depending on your dog, their individual needs, and the length of their stay, training may include outings to public locations.

These outings allow us to work on confidence, engagement, manners, neutrality, appropriate social behavior, and reliability around real world distractions.

Not every dog is ready for the same environments at the same stage of training, so outings are selected based on what will be productive and appropriate for the individual dog.

Will my dog socialize with other dogs?

Socialization does not necessarily mean allowing dogs to freely interact or play with every dog they encounter.

Healthy socialization includes teaching dogs how to remain calm, neutral, confident, and appropriate around other dogs, people, environments, sounds, surfaces, and everyday situations.

Interactions with other dogs are carefully managed and are based on each dog’s temperament, history, behavior, and training goals. Safety and appropriate behavior always come first.

Can Board & Train help with behavior problems?

Yes. Depending on the dog and the severity of the behavior, Board & Train can be an excellent environment for addressing behavioral challenges alongside obedience and communication.

Behavior problems are not always caused by a lack of obedience alone. Issues such as reactivity, anxiety, frustration, poor impulse control, overarousal, or difficulty settling can sometimes be connected to underlying gaps in communication, structure, confidence, or the dog owner relationship.

Because of this, the training plan may not always look like it is directly addressing one specific behavior. Sometimes the most important progress comes from strengthening the underlying skills that help the dog make better choices overall.

Dogs with aggression, anxiety, reactivity, or other behavioral concerns may require a specialized Behavior Modification program rather than a standard Board & Train program.

Why choose to Board & Train instead of private lessons alone?

Private lessons can be a great option, but much of the training still has to be implemented by the owner between sessions.

Board & Train gives the dog a concentrated period of consistency, structure, repetition, and professional guidance throughout their entire day. This can create a valuable reset for dogs that need stronger foundations, more intensive training, or a more consistent learning environment.

At the same time, our weekly owner lessons keep you actively involved so the program does not become a situation where the trainer learns how to handle the dog but the owner is left trying to figure everything out afterward.

Our goal is to combine the intensive benefits of Board & Train with the owner education that makes those results practical at home.

Is every dog trained the same way?

No. Every dog is different, and we believe their training should reflect that.

We tailor our approach to your dog’s personality, learning style, motivation, strengths, challenges, previous experiences, and individual needs rather than relying on a one size fits all training formula.

Progress may look different from one dog to another, but our overall focus remains the same: developing clear communication, reliable skills, and practical behaviors that work in everyday life.

What training methods do you use?

We tailor training to the individual rather than forcing every dog and owner into the same method.

Our goal is to create clear communication so the dog understands both what is expected and how to succeed. Training may incorporate motivation, rewards, structure, boundaries, guidance, repetition, and appropriate training tools depending on the dog, the program, and the skills being taught.

We also make sure owners understand how the training works so they can communicate with their dog consistently once the dog returns home.

Am I involved in the training process?

Yes. Owner involvement is an important part of every Board & Train program.

One private lesson per week is included so you can become familiar with the training process, understand the techniques being used, and begin practicing directly with your dog before they return home.

We believe one of the biggest factors in long term success is making sure the owner is part of the process rather than simply handing over a trained dog at the end.

Why include weekly owner lessons instead of teaching everything at the end?

Because training has to work for both ends of the leash.

A dog may learn beautifully with a trainer, but long term success depends on the owner understanding how to communicate with their dog once they return home.

Weekly lessons allow you to learn gradually alongside your dog rather than receiving a large amount of information all at once at the end of the program. You get time to practice, ask questions, understand why we are doing certain things, and become comfortable handling your dog before their training program is complete.

Will training change my dog’s personality?

Our goal is not to remove your dog’s personality.

Training should help create clearer communication and give your dog a better understanding of what is expected while allowing their individual personality to remain intact.

A playful dog can still be playful. An affectionate dog can still be affectionate. An energetic dog can still enjoy being energetic. Training simply helps teach your dog when certain behaviors are appropriate and how to regulate themselves when needed.

What happens when my dog comes home?

Coming home is an important part of the training process.

Your dog will be returning to a familiar environment where old routines, habits, and patterns may still exist. Your consistency during this transition plays an important role in helping their new skills become the new normal.

We’ll teach you how to continue the structure, communication, expectations, and training your dog has learned so that the progress made during Board & Train carries over into your everyday life.

Will my dog be perfectly trained when they come home?

Board & Train can create an incredibly strong foundation, but training is not something that permanently ends at the completion of a program.

Dogs are living animals, and their behavior is influenced by consistency, environment, reinforcement, lifestyle, maturity, and the people handling them. Your dog will still need opportunities to practice and maintain what they have learned.

Our goal is to give both you and your dog the strongest possible foundation and the tools needed to continue progressing together.

Do you guarantee results?

We are committed to putting significant time, structure, and individualized training into every dog we work with, but no ethical trainer can guarantee the future behavior of a living animal.

Training results can be affected by temperament, genetics, previous experiences, health, environment, owner consistency, and continued practice after the program.

What we can provide is a clear training plan, professional guidance, owner education, and continued support designed to give you and your dog the best opportunity for long term success.

What happens after my dog's Board & Train is complete?

Our support doesn’t end when your dog goes home.

Board & Train graduates receive continued training support to help owners maintain progress, troubleshoot challenges, and continue developing their dog’s skills after the program.

Graduates may also receive additional benefits and discounts on qualifying future services, giving you opportunities to continue training, boarding, and working with us as your dog progresses.