Board and Train: Good Option or Not?
Lately there has been an increase, in my area anyway, in “Board and Train” businesses (B & T). You give them your dog for one, two, or three weeks, and get back a dog who is . . . what? Much better behaved? Perfect on leash walks, never jumps up, and only barks on cue? Or, no different than before a month later? Which is it? When I started in this field, in the Olden Days before electricity (or was that just before cell phones and TikTok?), these kinds of opportunities were relatively common. There were certainly options for taking your dog to a dog training class, but many, if not all, were punishment- based.
Prong collars and hard leash jerks were so common that I started Dog’s Best Friend Dog Training classes soon after opening in 1989, because so many dogs coming in for consults had behavior problems caused by rough handling in classes. Over time, positive-forward classes became more and more popular, punishment-focused classes faded away, and “board and train” was less common. But B & T is becoming popular again, and I thought it would be useful to have a discussion about its advantages and disadvantages. I would especially love to hear if you have had any experience with it yourself. Here’s my take on it:
The Advantages of Board and Train:
Let a Pro Get Things Started Dog training is a science, a sport, and an art. Being a really good trainer means understanding how animals learn, how to use your body and voice to communicate clearly, and having enough experience to trust your gut when it tells you to go slow with this dog but speed up with another one. Training a dog who has never been trained, if you’ve never done it yourself, is a bit like getting on a horse, first time, on a steed who has never been ridden. Well, not the getting slammed into the ground when the horse bucks you off part, but you get the idea.
Having a good trainer, who knows how to use positive reinforcement and avoid punishment when at all possible, has great timing and body awareness, and sees each dog as an individual, can get a dog started with a great foundation, relatively quickly. Priming the pump as it were.
Shop It Out: We’re busy! We’re all so busy! What a joy to send your dog to camp and have her come back with an entirely new skill set! Not only that, but people don’t come hard-wired to know how to train dogs; we primates do all kinds of things naturally that don’t make sense to a dog. We assume they will walk beside on leash because they love us and that’s what our friends do. We say “Come!” while walking toward the dog and “tell” the dog in canine-speak not to move forward toward us. A professional trainer’s job is to do the training, so you can relax for a bit after working all day at your real job.
Going to Camp: Depending on the set up, board and train operations might allow your dog lots of opportunities to mix with a variety of dogs, and learn different play styles. Perhaps your Border Collie has never seen a Frenchie and freaks out the first time he meets one. (Ask me how I know.) Maybe your LabraDoodle plays a little rough and could use a pro to help him learn to be more polite?
The Disadvantages of Board and Train
Who Trained You? If dog training (and handling), is a science, a sport, and an art, who taught you how to use positive reinforcement effectively? (It ain’t rocket science, but it’s not just giving out cookies and saying “Good job!” either.) Did you learn how your body language affects your dog’s behavior? Your tone of voice? How’s your timing, without practice?
Two to three weeks does not a trained dog make. Think about it—asking a dog to walk beside you quietly while ignoring all interesting things is a college-level accomplishment for a dog. How would you be at solving quadratic equations after just learning to count a few weeks ago? That means you will still be training your dog for months, at least, to come. Or forever, because, your behavior drives a lot of your dog’s behavior, and if you haven’t both learned and practiced dog training skills, a few weeks of training is going to fade away fast. If the B & T option doesn’t include a LOT of training, feedback, and coaching for you, I worry about its long-term effects.
Time is Not on Your Side: As alluded to above, there is just so much the most brilliant dog can learn in two to four weeks. Sending your dog away for training could be a great way to get your dog started on some basics, but the last thing I’d want to do is swamp a dog with too much too fast. When our Skip came, for example, I spent the first month on him learning his name, house training, and coming when called. That was it. I didn’t need him to learn a raft of tricks and cues, I wanted him to learn to trust me, learn about me, Jim. Maggie, the farm, living in a house, etc. I’d much rather a dog get a solid foundation on a few things first, rather than the litany of sit, lie down, heel, stay, four on the floor, walk politely on leash, etc etc, that so many people expect.
Context is Everything. Sort of. Almost. Ever seen someone you thought you knew well in a new context and couldn’t figure out their name? Ever been asked to solve a math problem while trying to figure out which way to turn off the highway? Context matters in two ways: First, just because a dog learns to stay for two minutes in a trainer’s backyard doesn’t mean they’ll be able to do it in your living room. That’s why class instructors work so hard to teach owners the importance of training in different environments, and often set up “field trips” to a variety of situations.
Board and train places need to explain explicitly the importance of context, AND they need to explain to you that you will need to work on the other aspects of context–distance (from you), duration (of stay for example), and distraction level. Asking a dog to come when he is chasing a squirrel has little relation to coming when called in from the backyard at dinner time.
How Deep are Your Pockets? I was checking on prices for B & T and admit to being stunned. One place asks for $2,800 for two weeks, another three weeks for the same amount. Some added an extra $500 to spend a half day with you teaching you to handle your dog. In contrast, family dog training classes cost around $140-50 for 5-6 weeks of training for both you and your dog. Of course, these classes last about an hour, just once a week, but nonetheless, the out-of-pocket cost is literally about 5% of the cost of B & T.
What Happens in Vegas? What do you know about how your dog is being treated? What kinds of methods—especially punishment-based ones—are being used on your dog? I’ve noticed that some of the B & T’s I’ve looked at even mention “’the cost of the electric collar is extra.” Punishment-based training is having a moment, becoming more common lately, sad to say, in spite of the innumerable studies that show how much damage it can do. (See, for example, the position statement of the American Veterinary Society.) We can speculate why (gist for another post for sure), but the fact is that more and more trainers, at least in my area (yours?) are touting the benefits of electric collars, prong collars, and “letting your dog know who is the leader.” Glowing testimonials on websites aside, how do you know, really and truly, how your dog is being treated when she is away? Especially when there is a lot of pressure on the trainer to get fast results.
The fact is that what happens to your dog away from home doesn’t stay there. One moment of fear can have a profound effect on a dog, for the rest of its life. Many dogs are super resilient, yay for them and either their genes or their upbringing (probably both), but many are not, and one bad experience can pollute their life for years to come
My Take on This: First—I’m not objective. I started a consultant/training class business, Dog’s Best Friend Training in 1989, sold it to the amazing Aimee Moore 17 years ago, and am proud as a peacock about how it’s been helping dogs and their humans for 35 years. (35 years? What the what?!) Here are some of the kick ass trainer/consultants who have been with the business for well over twenty-five years, catching up just last week at the farm:
Shannon Skolaski, Chelse Wagner, me, Julie Vanderloop, and
owner Aimee Moore
Here was the whole crowd — blast from the past! — in 2006, consultants, trainers, and volunteers (and Lassie!).
So . . . I have an obvious bias. But I am extremely cautious about B & T for a lot of dogs, for the reasons stated above, and because trainers like us too often see clients who have had bad experiences.
On the other hand, I can see how some B & T options could be a good choice. Perhaps you get a new dog when, through no fault of your own, your life suddenly blows up and you need it to get a jump start with people you trust as if with your life. Perhaps there is no way you can manage to socialize a new puppy because X or Y has happened. Or, perhaps, you know the trainer/owner well, they know the value of positive reinforcement and the dangers of punishment, have warned you not to expect miracles, and are committed to making sure that YOU get the training that is essential for the next months and years of your dog’s life. Not to mention that the cost is not going to eat into your dog food/toy/veterinary/house sitter budget.
What’s important to know is that dog and dog training have become big, bigger businesses since the pandemic. I see a lot of claims out there that make me shake my head. Basically, I’d say Buyer Beware for both classes and Board and Train. Just remember, you can walk out of a class at any time, but your dog can’t do the same if you are miles away and oblivious to what is happening.
If you’re interested in a B & T option, I’d recommend getting an in-person tour of their entire facility, watch them interact with the dogs, do a quick check with the Better Business Bureau, check out social media (with the obvious cautions), ask for very specific details about their training methods and what they promise, ask for a detailed account of how they are going to handle YOUR need to be a dog trainer/handler, etc. As I wrote this, I realized I’d recommend the same for anyone joining a class. It’s just that the stakes are higher for B & T’s, since you and your dog will be miles apart, and they can’t text you. (Yet.)
Please join in here! This post has already gained from conversation with some good friends (thank you!), and I’d love to hear your perspectives: Your experiences, if you’ve tried a B & T, if you have one yourself, if you’ve taken your dog to both, and any other perspectives/info you can share.
MEANWHILE, down on the farm: First, Ms. Turkey would like to say hello.
This is a crummy photo because it’s through the kitchen window, but Ms. Turkey has been cruising the yard every day for a week now, and we suspect she has a nest in our woods somewhere, like she has in the past few years.
But this is the first year she’s discovered the feeders, and I am wondering if she will decide to bring her chicks here once they have hatched.
Of course, if she does, next year we’ll have 10-15 full-grown turkeys pooping all over our yard, so maybe I should hope she’ll keep it to the woods.
Speaking of baby birds, the Phoebees in the carport fledged almost a week ago. One morning they were looking down at me, a few hours later they were gone. Here they are the day before.
The saga of the breeding birds continues. The house finches got off four lovely youngsters; I got to watch them feeding their wing-flapping teenagers for several days out the living room window. The Mourning Dove babies must be close to hatching, and the bluebird babies are long gone. I just discovered a wren has taken over the house and lay a bunch of lovely, tiny, speckled eggs. Now that she’s layed eggs, I’m not going to destroy them–wrens are native birds and it’s not legal or ethical to harm her.
However, wrens have no such compunctions. They are famous for invading blue bird nests, killing the eggs or hatchlings, and taking it over. That might be what happened here. One excellent site suggests putting up a second nest near by; each one situated to emphasize the slightly different preferences of each species. I should note that we have an occupied wren nest in the front yard, and there was one in a pile of wire and wood about 100 yards from the former bluebird nest. Apparently, we are a high rent wren district. I love having them, but wrens can nest in a variety of places, they don’t need a cavity in wood as much as BBs do, so we’re going to put up another house soon for the blue birds.
Continuing the nature special, we got to see Brood XIII Cicadas! I’m so jazzed to have gotten to see them, in a prairie of some dear friends. We hadn’t seen a one, the word is “there are none around the Madison area,” but these guys showed up last week in a good friend’s prairie, and we got to get a good look. There was probably a forest here long ago?
Maggie and Skip would like to remind me that this blog is supposed to mostly be ABOUT DOGS and are sick of listening to me clack on about fluttery things. Maggie, as always, has a lot to say, as is clear in this photo. Please provide a caption!
In closing, after learning about the current prices for B & T, and I am considering starting one at the farm. For $4,999 a week, your dog can learn to eat sheep poop, roll in sheep poop, lift each paw up on cue to be cleaned off of mud and poop, and track dirty sheep-poopy paw prints in the house when Trisha gets distracted and forgets to do her job.
Kidding aside, let’s have a good conversation about classes versus B & T, and, I should add, just watching videos and learning dog training on your own. Reading your comments will be one of my many delights this week. Thank you for joining in!
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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Patricia is known the world over for her clear and engaging books and DVDs on dog training and canine behavior problems. You can also “meet” Patricia in person on her seminar DVDs, from The Art & Science of Canine Behavior to Treating Dog-Dog Reactivity.
I am a professional trainer working in Bombay, India. My experience has been that dog owners look at Board and train mainly in dog reactivity cases. These range from prong and electric setups to leaving the dog free in safe areas to just roam and chill. I have recommended positive forward kennels for clients who are getting married( have you ever seen a big fat Indian wedding ) , or going on a trip etc. very rarely have I seen an improvement that lasts more than 6 months. Unless the family is involved and invested in the process , behavior modification fails. The dog goes back home, the owners fall into the same old patterns and the dog reacts.
Your mention of shock collars made me wonder what you think of invisible fences. Perhaps you have written a column about them that I haven’t seen.
Our horrendous experience with B&T: Years ago we tried it with our border collie mix. We saw no difference in her behavior when she came back home. When we called the trainer to discuss the experience, we learned that they had been calling our dog by the wrong name.
Board and Train was a lifesaver for us. We rescued an 8 month old standard poodle who had been tethered beneath a deck and often left with insufficient food. She was a wild child who never made eye contact and would bolt out of the house at any opportunity.
Our first stop was at the vet’s. She was 10 lbs underweight, rife with fleas and ticks, and had an ear infection.
Once a week training classes had no impact on her behavior. She never finished her food. We began to wonder whether we were the right placement. B&T was our last resort.
And it worked, where nothing else had! We had several additional one on one sessions with the trainer. If we had not gone this route, who knows? I’m just glad we did.
My husband died 20 months ago.
Lucy will be 11 in November. She now finishes her food, and no longer bolts out the door. She makes eye contact when she wants something. She is incredibly gentle taking treats from my hand.
But she still follows me from room to room, and prefers to come inside when I do—the imprint of the six months she spent in her first home.
And reading your posts is always one of the delights in my week! I agree with all of the pros and cons you iterated on board and train. I would also reinforce that those concerns (except the obvious if not being with your dog) are true for classes as well. Many classes don’t really train the people. I always feel like that is the more important part of the equations. I do occasionally work with someone who does board and train with puppies. She sends almost daily very detailed videos to the owners. Explaining what and how and what they will need to do to keep the training going. Each puppy goes home with a 45-an hour video reviewing everything and giving next steps. And she communicates with them before during and after answering questions and giving guidance. Owners who live close enough often come to visit and get a bit of face to face training during their time. So I think that’s a job well done!
The B & T have exploded in our area as well. The saddest part is that 2 really good trainers went this way because they wanted the money. One now uses e- collars and the other in her quick method to train now tells the pet parents that a dog cannot learn unless it cries out. As a veterinarian, I see the aftermath. I have yet to meet a dog from a B & T that is not anxious, and a few have become dangerous. Our county ends up with many of these dogs and has to euthanize because they cannot be rehabbed. Very few clients blame the B & T. They blame themselves or the dog. I have only one client that blames the training method. He has his dog now muzzled trained and works very hard to undo the abuse. When I first started as a vet 30 years ago, I saw a lot of harsh training practices. 5 years later, our area had only positive reinforcement trainers. Now 3 of those places have closed. I never thought the world would go so backwards. And I also never thought that as our area became more affluent that our treatment of our dogs would go to abuse. But I guess I just don’t understand human behavior. I guess it all just stems from greed.
We’re extremely lucky in our area to have a professional organization of R+, force free, fear free trainers, some of whom offer limited (e.g., 1 or 2 dogs at a time) B&T options. I don’t have any personal experience with the B&T options, but I know a number of these trainers personally; and I would trust them implicitly with my dog. That being said, as the “training resources and networking point person” for a small rescue group, I always share info on R+ group or in-home training options for our adopters for all of the reasons you mention. Since dog training and behavior modification aren’t regulated industries in this country, there are still far too many B&T providers who relay on aversive, punishment-based methods that the owners never see….or understand. The trainers have flashy websites and tout their guarantees of a perfectly behaved dog. Unfortunately, too many owners who have tried and failed to train their dog themselves fall for these claims because they’ve “tried everything” without success. These owners are easy prey for the punishment-based B&T trainers.
Two of my sons adopted pandemic puppies… both of whom had socialization issues. Although all of my offspring grew up surrounded by dogs, participated in training (including Obedience Trials), and were familiar with all the work that went into housebreaking et al, they really struggled with training their pups. Both opted for B & T. Finn went to a local trainer with excellent reviews. They received daily updates and videos, but soon realized poor Finn was not only miserable, but getting worse instead of better. They ended the contract, brought him home, and decided to let another brother adopt him since someone was home all day and there were two small children as well. Finn blossomed in his new home. Sometimes it is just not the right home for a dog, and we have to be smart (and kind) enough to see this. My other son’s pup, Axel, was the wildest puppy I had ever encountered in my long life of dealing with dogs! He screamed and flung himself around any time he was crated, crapped all over the crate, and generally behaved as if he was possessed by Satan himself. His B & T was a daily thing… dropped off at 9 AM, and picked up at 4 PM, with a session for my son and the trainer for half an hour each day. It was ridiculously expensive, but Axel soon showed improvement. After that, he went to doggy daycare every weekday, where trainers there continued working with him. At the age of three, he is still a high energy boy, but is pretty well behaved. So, bottom line… reviews are not all you should be basing your decision on. Monitor what’s going on with your dog when he’s away from you. There is no substitute for hands on training by YOU. I highly recommend Puppy Kindergarten classes and group training with a qualified trainer.
When I was training, I was often asked if I would do board/training particularly for adolescent dogs who were “problem children “. I always declined. I have to admit I told one owner who was adamant about having me “fix” her dog (without her participation) that, in my experience, it was rarely the dog that had the problem.
I have always felt most of the training class was to educate the pet parent to understand their pupper and how they see the world. Of course the dogs benefit from the socialization aspect and the opportunity to see and do new things but the owners benefit more. They also get an opportunity to socialize with like minded people. They get to commiserate with their human classmates when they are having problems and bounce ideas off the group. Lots of times they arranged play dates with the puppies at each other’s homes. Friends were made among the humans and the pups.
For me, having the pet parent actively involved in training is the only way to go!
B&T would absolutely terrify me, unless I could move in too. I’m the one who needs the training.
My Berger Picard and me have been under the expert, thoughtful care of Julie Vanderloop of Dogs Best Friend for quite some time. Sydney was a pandemic puppy with social problems from the day I brought him home from the breeder. Berger Picards are herding dogs and Berger Picards are stubborn.
Because of the pandemic it was hard to find help with Syndey but I knew from having taking classes with DBF years ago,( WITH Trish McConell and my rescue dog Maggie) that I had a problem with my new 4 legged friend. The pandemic made it impossible to find help. I got Syd into puppy daycare with the vet clinic but he failed miserably not getting along with other dogs and then puppy kindergarten that had finally opened after the pandemic started to cool down…..by then Syd was 8 months old We were kind of in the class but off to the side behind a closed dutch door simply because Syd wouldn’t stop barking and growling at some of the same dogs that had been in puppy daycare. I removed us from that class because it was impossible for the instructor to teach the class. Next I tried a B&T which he was released from because he bit another dog. That trainer recommended a behaviorist.
I was on a waiting list with Dogs Best Friend for a behaviorist. I finally got a call from Aimee that Julie was available and to meet her at McKee Park for a first meeting. What a relief to FINALLY get some help! I was ready to use the shock collar on this pup. I’m so glad I didn’t. Syd was now 9 months old
At first Syd and I would meet with Julie once week at McKee Park and eventually decreased to twice a month. Julie had recommendations of which type of harness and leashes and collars would work best for Syd. She would point put body language on Syd when walking around McKee Park when he would react to other dogs AND people walking or playing at the park. ( Silly me, I’m still trying to catch these body language signs!) She also recommended food choices, and the exercise requirement for this herding dog which is beyond anything my other herding dogs required. Syd would excel at Fast Cat competition but I’m still too chicken to place him in that type of surrounding unless I had Julie by my side.
The advance and retreat method of training takes time and lots of patience. Syd’s recall is not so great but not for the lack of trying over and over again. This dog gawks and ponders over things too long and getting his attention is what we are working on currently. The other day at the vet office for a nail trim and anal gland express the vet tech mentioned how much more relaxed Syd has been the last couple months. But she pointed out that as she was walking him past a crate with a Dalmatian inside Syd stopped and stared and cocked his ears for the longest time a if he had recognized a old friend. So, we still have work to do.
As I told Julie, 3 years of age seems to be when the Berger Picard starts to mature mentally. Fingers crossed!
Many thanks to Trish and her wonderful dog wisdom and Julie for her knowledge and patience and to Dogs Best Friend and to my vet office too. To you all I’m grateful!
Mary Lou N: Not surprised to hear such great things about Julie and DBF, but love love hearing it!!!
Dog’s Best Friend ROCKS! They’ve helped us with 5 dogs (in classes…Shannon is awesome!) home visits (thank you, Chelse!) and help over the phone with a difficult situation (with the amazing Amy!) We took each of the 5 dogs through 3 sets of classes, and we learned tips and tricks to help our dogs become well-behaved. As tempting as it sounds to send a dog off to “Training Camp,” I feel that being taught how to work with our dogs by a professional was so much more helpful than having a professional do all the work away at camp. The ability to ask questions during class is crucial.
Nana-Mary–music to my ears about how great Dog’s Best Friend is! I hear it a lot, but never get tired of it!
Re: wrens – I didn’t realize they were so mean to blue birds! We usually have at least one (pair?) every year. I think they build many nests to fool their enemies, so perhaps not all your nests are being used.
Just watched a series about boarding schools for kids. Same thing – do your homework!
Best to Ms. Turkey.
I’m really glad that you’ve raised this as I have never been comfortable with B&T even though lots of KPA colleagues in the US offer it.
I offer a walk and train option in addition to regular training, but I will not train a dog one-to-one unless I am training the client on an equally regular basis as well. I don’t take the dog in, but work in the area where the dog lives. I appreciate that this is easier in a big city than in a rural area.
I have one client who has been with me for 4 years who worked her way through my courses from puppy onwards and we now have one session together and one where I take dog out and train per week. We are now working on sports for fun.
I know that it can be difficult to get clients to co-operate with “handover” sessions as many really just want that non-existent magic wand waved and a quick fix. The added danger is that the trainer will be blamed for the dog still not managing in context and that the client will not have absorbed sufficient skills to manage.
I am especially concerned when puppies are sent for B&T and all those precious early bonding and learning opportunities are squandered for dog and owner.
On a personal level, I want to live with my own dog but not necessarily anyone else’s and I also worry about trainer/behaviourist welfare if it is difficult to switch off from a challenging dog that is in one’s home.
I’m a retired trainer. Positive reinforcement . I did mostly classes and in-home training with owners present. I did not have the facility for BT so I tried going in to the owners home while they were at work and training their dog while taking some video. Then I’d work with the owners later. The pros for me of BT or working with the dog alone was that dogs are easier to train than humans. I could get the dog to understand cues pretty quickly. Then separately teach the owner how to use the cues. Then work with them together. Dog training is a lifelong endeavor. It is not accomplished in a few weeks . But BT can give the dog a jumpstart and then the trainer HAS to train the human end of the leash as well.
Thanks for having this discussion.
For many years I held group training classes for pups and for beginning adult dogs. I trained people. I observed and taught basic dog behavior and simple conditioning skills based on PR methods.Get it, Mark it, Reward it. The dogs were always the easy part. I would not send a dog to BnT…and know of none locally I’d trust…there may be exceptions. There is a very string correlation of the growth of ” force” trainers…eg ” balanced”..
and strong authoritarianism in this and other countries. The ” tactical” word is super popular in some, growing, circles. Scary times.
After my sweet Chloe died in 2021, I decided to get a puppy from the same breeder I’d gotten Chloe from. I picked the puppy up in July when she was ten weeks old. While she was adorable, by the end of August I was ready to call the breeder and return her. Whereas Chloe had been housebroken in a week this one, Kaylie, couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. She destroyed everything she saw whereas Chloe had never chewed anything of mine. Complicating things was the fact I started to have a lot of pain from a shoulder that eventually needed replacing. I seriously looked for B&T places but ultimately decided it was too many unknowns as to how she would be trained. What “saved” us was 1) sending Kaylie to doggie day care three days a week granting me time to work, 2) signing up for training classes once a week which I did for thirty weeks (a whole other level of misery in one case since in the second round of classes she would spend the entire time barking in excitement which was embarrassing for me and annoying to the other attendees), and 3) realizing I had gone and gotten this pup and it was on me to make it work. I also ended up tethering her to me for a couple of months. Today at three, she is the dream dog—calm, happy, confident and pretty well trained.
If you’d like to see both brood XIII & XIX, take a trip down to Springfield, IL. They’re at the end of their adult phase here & starting to die off, though.
But seriously, I’d love to run (more likely be a counselor at) a basic training (non-military) doggie camp for people AND their dogs. Short training classes on one or two things throughout the day interspersed with fun stuff like dock diving or FastCAT, or just plain old relaxing.
My Bella was three when she was rehomed/rescued into my care. She had been allowed to run free in the mountain wilderness of Alaska. High prey drive and impulsive. Her outside name was “Run like the Wind”. She had no training. Inside she was perfect. Super stable emotionally and socially. 1/2 standard poodle and 1/2 German shepherd. It was in short time that I realized I needed help. Board and Train saved her and I. Yes I vetted very carefully the trainer. Yes it required my participation and training. I train Bella every day, I maintain contact with the trainer and this will continue forever. Bella has a great life and a lot of freedom now. This would not have happened without the B and T foundation that I built on and continue to build on every day. This is not a one and done. Owners need to take responsibility for continued training and growing. So yes- be careful when choosing B and T AND understand it’s on you to continue the training.
I forgot to add that I would never do board & train away from me with my dogs just because I don’t like being away from my dogs for extended periods of time anymore. As far as recommending it for someone else, it depends…
Like many trainers, I strongly believe it’s as much, if not more, about training the person to communicate with their dog than about training the dog to do certain things. It’s also about finding out what people expect of their dogs & what amount of effort they are willing to put into getting that expectation, then working on finding a middle ground where the behavioral expectation and the amount of effort they are willing to put in match.
Board and Train has been an option as a surrogate foster to house and continue (appropriate) training/socialization when our local border collie rescue has absolutely no room in the inn for a foster dog, so we’ve used the board and train facility as we arrange for a proper long term foster home.
Otherwise I agree with you Dr. McConnell: I prefer the person learns, and then teaches their dogs alongside them.
As with many things, “It depends” is probably part of the equation.
I have a friend who signed their belgian sheepdog up for board and train and it was a disaster. They were both very busy professionals and thought that this might be an easy way to train their rescue belgian sheepdog that they had gotten. The dog came out of B&T a different dog. The dog cowered and they had issues with the dog urinating in their house again. Unfortunately, they didn’t ask any of us, their friends, what we might’ve thought about board and train. We found out about it after it had happened. I started asking this questions and how they could fix some of the problems. They said that they would never do anything like that again and it took them quite a while to get their sweet, gentle BSD back to being normal again. I found out that they took the dog to a facility that’s known for harsh corrections and the use of electronic collars when training. In the St. Louis area we also have a lot of places that are popping up that do B&T. I’ve been training my own dogs since around 1990 and I’m pretty familiar with most of the training places in our area. We do have quite a few training facilities in the St. Louis area, some are good and others are not so good. I’m just not really a fan of board and train. I’m also not a fan of dog parks. When someone takes your dog away from you for training, unless you know this person extremely well and know exactly how they train, you don’t know exactly how they are training your dog behind closed doors when you are not around. I can only think of two of my very good friends that I would ever trust leaving my dog with. I just choose to do training on my own in group classes. Sadly, a lot of the new places that are popping up in our area are going back to old school hard-core training. For instance, starting puppies off on shock and prong collars in a puppy class is not the way to start off a new puppy in Training.
I have had a journey from merely “having” a dog (then another) to working with a dog (now 2) and trainers. While our dogs’ manners could be better, they are sweet dogs who love dog sports. One (now 8) is rather “OCD” and needs the “go-fast, be away from me” Agility balanced with the “be calm, be with me” Rally. The other (almost 6) is somewhat “ADHD”. We have learned it all together. We have worked with a private trainer to help the younger dog’s separation issues and his “you can’t hurt me” aggression switch. I have learned so much about dogs in the process. I now coach Rally for a few others in our very rural area, reminding them we are trying to do college level stuff (Rally) while learning a very complex language (body language). We could never hope to be such good partners with our dogs if we handed them off to someone else — it would be like sending your kid to learn another language, then try to talk to them when they get home — it just can’t be one sided.
I also always answer “how long does it take to train a dog?” with “a lifetime”. It’s an ongoing process, unless you’re talking about one specific “trick” type response. Not what they want to hear.
In 2005 I ‘rescued’ a corgi. He had been in a B&T situation and was the best behaved dog I’ve ever owned. So much so that I thought corgis had quite the different personality that my next two dogs have (LOL at myself). No idea where they worked with him but he had no fear or reactivity – and taught me that yelling at a corgi generally caused him to yell back at me. While I am a definite supporter of positive training, I’ll admit that I’ve popped the leash a few times and have utilized Rattlesnake Aversion training (we are in SoCal) on my two current dogs. Still, I prefer working with positive techniques. Our ‘puppy’ (<2 y.o. Cardigan) has his UCGC and our close to 8 y.o Pembroke excels in rat sports and scent work. People reading this blog probably all know that a high energy dog needs work. Got into dog sports in my 60s to help our Pemmie with her energy levels and haven't looked back. Now in my 70s and loving scent work as I don't have to run over bracken and ditches to retrieve my dog from the rat (NASDA Trailing and Locating) — but still do that as it's my dogs' favorite. And all the training has been done with positive methodology.
The first dog I had as my very own was officially fully trained – and we still needed to complete two weeks of intensive team training together before I got to take him home. Mind, he was a service dog and was held to a higher standard than a pet. Still, I don’t see how this would work without some type of team training to follow it up.
Now I have Nanuk. As much as I love him, he’s a difficult dog. I’ve had him for over three years, and he’s still not to the point where I can take him to regular classes – only private lessons. It took us two years to find a trainer who helped us make real progress. Shortly before I found her, I had a consult with a hot-shot veterinary behaviorist. She said that we should consider boarding him with her for a while if her other suggestions weren’t enough for a break through. It was never presented as a substitute for private lessons, just a way to speed things up a bit. Her arguments were similar to your pro-list – she said that an expert trainer who devotes significant time each day to a dog could make faster progress than individual sessions 1-2 a week. I ended up decided against it, partially because of the price, but also because I did not want to be dogless for a few weeks, did not want Nanuk to go through the trauma of another separation he would think was permanent, and did not fully trust the behaviorist. Her assessment of Nanuk was not just radically different from my own, but from every other trainer and vet who has ever worked with him.
Not long after this consult, I looked up a trainer whose book I enjoyed and saw she offered board and training – but with a twist. Both the human and the dog stay there and have a mixture of vacation and intensive training. If I had had the resources, I probably would have given it a go.
Anyway, now Nanuk has a mix of private lessons and my own self-study (books, on-line resources, etc.). Ria gets these plus group classes. I’m fairly happy with that arrangement. I desperately need expert help, especially with Nanuk, but if the trainer had to teach me everything about body language, learning theory, etc., we wouldn’t have much time left to actually work on our specific problems.
Group classes provide a lot of time to practice waiting around, not being the center of attention, and being in the presence of other dogs without actually interacting much with them. These things are much more valuable than I thought! They’re also much, much cheaper than individual sessions. On the other hand, individual sessions are centered more around what I find important. Plus, Nanuk is still too reactive to handle that environment.
Down here in sunny Florida there are many B&T locations. I always caution folks about going that route because I have had to “clean up” many dogs after their month long stay. Several of these dogs had very significant harmful fallout from what I can only assume is harsh punishment tactics. One dog came back to the owner 15lbs lighter!! No one notified the owners that the dog was not eating or were they withholding food to make the dog “comply”? One puppy came back terrified of other dogs, and we came to find out he was picked on by the older dogs in play group “so he would learn the pecking order”. I am by no means a fan of B&T. I’m sure you can find some good ones, but I don’t know of any. You have no control or knowledge of what is going on with your dog when you are not there to be involved. And an owners involvement is crucial to the continued success of the training.
Maggie says, “Send Skip to b&t!”
Ha! In spite of one of his nicknames, not to be printed here, Maggie adores Skipper-De-Do-Dah!
Re cicadas, when they were at their loudest the St. Louis area experienced a couple of nasty hail storms. Didn’t wipe them out but definitely thinned their ranks.
Our only B&T attempt was bait-and-switch. They–a chain “pet resort”– talked a good R+ game but when we went for our session the dogs had prong collars on! One of them was anxious to begin with and came home more so. The other, blessed Kira, got switched from positive puppy class to 2 weeks with this jerk (can’t resist) to positive re-training again; fortunately she was an easygoing soul and forgave me for the craziness.
When we were there I kept imagining grabbing my dogs and just taking them home but I didn’t quite have the nerve. I’m sure the pups wished I had.
I get asked about B&T from dog owners on a fairly regular basis. In my area of northern NJ there are several options and the only one that doesn’t rely on punishments – and the increasingly trendy “e-collars” – is operated under the auspices of a veterinary behaviorist.
I received a heartbreaking call the week before last from a guilt-ridden woman who told me that she sent her 7 month old black lab to a well-known B&T as a 90 pound, typically over-exuberant example of his breed. She said that one month later she got back a 77 pound, anxious and reactive dog who
is distrustful of every human not in the immediate family. Along with an e-collar with the instructions that she should make liberal use of it as her dog was very stubborn.
I would never leave my dog with a trainer and just go home and carry on while he was subjected to heaven knows what. Never ever. I know myself well enough to know for certain that I would end up in jail if someone harmed Aki. And if I paid for it?! I would have to go Quentin Tarantino on them. Anyway, I’m convinced that that the point of training is really to teach the humans to work with their dogs, not the other way around. Aside from the real potential for abuse, board and train simply doesn’t make sense to me.
When I saw the title I cringed! My first reaction was who is going to train the owner? Owners and dogs learn together under the experienced guidance of a professional trainer.
But then I did remember back to desperate thoughts I had about my first rescue. I would have loved someone to take him, train him and give him back as a perfect well adjusted dog – ha – it didn’t happen and it took years of dogged patience and love to get there!! But I’m glad I did it.
I think you’ve presented a very balanced argument and I can see how it might work for some situations. But personally I am on the side that owners need to do the work with their dog, to build their relationship and learn together with their dog.
It was made popular by TV shows years ago like Dog Borstal in the UK but I’m glad to say that it’s not very prevalent over here at the moment.
I am an R+ trainer and have been for 10 years and I love it. I am an old guy (62) and I get a bit choked up when I think about how we “trained” our family dogs when I was growing up.
It has been brought to my attention that a board and “train” facility (electronic collar users – I refuse to call them trainers) in my area makes you sign a contract in which it stipulates that as a client, you are prohibited from writing a bad review should you be dissatisfied with their work or something goes wrong during the time they have your dog (injury, worse behavior, etc.). Am I wrong, or is that not a huge red flag?
John, “You are prohibited from writing a bad review, sign here” is a red flag
so big you could wrap the entire state in which it resides in it. Holy mother of Puppy Love.
I’m a R+ trainer in NYC and demand for board and train has been on the rise. Although, it’s not my prefered format for training, a dog spending a week or two with a professional trainer while their humans are away on vacation, have other obligations or need a head start on some basics is overall beneficial. Myself and the other trainers at our school do not market B&T as a “fix your dog” service, but one where we perform the same training & management that we advise our clients do at home; on leash supervision, confinement training, short training sessions each day, appropriate exercise, play and socialization etc. Clients receive daily updates and videos of the training sessions, a full report at the end of the stay, recommended homework, a 1 hour lesson to transfer the training and we also welcome them to reach out with follow-up questions. There are certainly trainers offering B&T who sell unrealistic expectations, rely on punishment and have very little concern for the dog’s enrichment, but same goes for private training. Choosing the right trainer is important.
Some of the R+ trainers I have worked with do B&T for dogs they are familiar with. I think this is a great boarding option if I have to leave my dogs. It is much better to think of them in the hands of their beloved trainer than at a random place where I don’t know the handlers. I don’t expect them to come home much changed in their behavior, but I know they love learning and having training sessions will be more enrichment for them than just sitting around waiting for me to return. I am sure they would also love going to a B&T where they got to roll in sheep poo and I would be happier on vacation imagining their joy. But I wouldn’t send them to a place where I didn’t know and trust the trainers.
For at least a decade, I offered board & train as well as classes and private sessions. The dogs lived at my farm, with my own dogs, and were carefully selected for that reason. The owners were given clear information on what they could expect in terms of behaviors, provided with both video proof and a demonstration in person. And most important, there were lessons for the family so they could make good use of what the dog knew. Since I could work in many small sessions throughout the day, it was easy as pie to teach sit, down, stand, stay, come, heeling, loose leash walking, wait, hand signals, crating, relaxing in the presence of other dogs as well as cats, chickens, horses & other animals, and basic house manners. While it sounds like a lot, these are not hard for an average dog to master if the lessons are short, sweet & positive. Took about 3 weeks, and I usually spent the first 3-5 days just getting to know the dog, playing some games, figuring out how they moved through the world, and what would be most effective. Sometimes I started with all off leash work in a safely fenced placed, and only added leash later. It was mostly really pleasant work for a trainer and decent money, plus I handed the client a happy dog who had a nice solid foundation – they just needed to know how to put to good use what the dog knew. So much easier on the dog than having a non-professional fumbling with trying to teach the same thing. If the client was unwilling to learn how to work with the dog, nothing much I could do about that, though of course the dog remembered. One client opted to forego any training sessions despite that being part of the contract. (They picked the dog up when I was not home, and my poor husband did not realize he should not have let them have the dog without me present and without the client paying me!) Anyhow, 6 months after I trained the dog, I had to take the client to court to get paid. That was fun, and it came down to the judge asking me if I had trained the dog, and I assured him I had. The client countered by saying the dog knew none of the long list of cues I had claimed to have taught the dog. Smart judge asked the client, “If she can prove to you that the dog knows it, will you pay her?” and sent us off to the client’s house for the demo. God bless the little Bichon who was delighted to see me, and when I asked, “Remember this?” with joyful prancing happily demonstrated her on- & off-leash heeling, sit, down & stand stay, recall and all again with only hand signals. She had forgotten nothing. I do understand the horrors perpetuated by bad trainers using punitive techniques. Clients need to be educated, both on finding a good trainer and on realistic expectations for their dog. But it is rather tiresome to have B&T bashed by people who have never done it themselves or known skilled trainers who do. It can be done well. Depends on the trainer, as dog training always does. What would be helpful educating JQP on what a good board & train looks like!
I worked at a dog daycare (they have their own problems) and a dog was sent to an “ecollar camp” for 3 weeks. This boy who was playful and interacted quite well with most dogs came back and fought with all of his previous friends. He came back on a prong collar. I made it clear to my boss I wouldn’t be walking anyone on these horrific tools. Guardians want a quick fix which fixes nothing and the dogs pay the price, every time. It’s not right.
There was a case where I live where a dog got very ill, was kept in what looked like a metal crate in a shed of some kind, couldn’t walk and could barely drink so she was rushed to the vet and died. This all happened at a board and train. The footage of where they kept her looked like she was in a dungeon somewhere. This innocent dog suffered and nothing was ever done about it.
Never, ever in a million years would I leave my dog with strangers and have no idea what was happening. The scary thing is, “trainers” who use punishment can also claim they are positive trainers. One man in the park was deliberately standing on a leash and stomping on it when the dog inched forward, he also had a choke chain on the dog’s neck. He called himself a positive reinforcement trainer. Guardians are being manipulated and deceived all for the sake of profit. It’s unacceptable.
We live in a world where shelters, rescue groups, training organizations are completely ok with using shock, prong and choke collars, yelling at the dogs, spraying them with water bottles to “deter” behaviour. Science and research has clearly indicated how problematic this all is for dogs and their well being. Looking at these devices and what they are used for is horrific, you don’t even need the science to observe and wonder how the hell did we get to this place in the training world to think it’s ok to treat a sentient being this way.
Board and trains shouldn’t exist, more support should be given to guardians in ethical ways by shelters and rescue groups and there needs to be a strict governing body in place because dog training has become a money-maker for largely men who take pleasure in dominance and control over an innocent being and nobody regulates a thing. This to me is absolutely terrifying.
Certified Professional Trainer here. Also fear free certified. I was hired to do a few board and trains and decided I personally do not care for them. I bring a dog into my home and they get to live like they would at home. But here is where I find the glitches. It takes the new dog up to a week just to decompress enough that I can do some training with them that will “stick”. I use no compulsion based training methods so it is the dogs choice what they can take in and learn in my home and then that skill has to transfer to the owners home. AND the owner will need to practice the skill sets we’ve started. The dog is not going to remember these skills unless they are trained well enough and long enough to become habitual. Instead, I prefer teaching human and canine together so they can both understand what is being asked. If the human doesn’t get it, how can the dog? What I find when I explain this theory to potential clients, they do understand the concept.
On the other hand, some people are just too busy or to lazy to want to do the training with their dog. They want to send them off for a few weeks, they do not care how the training is done as long as the dog comes back trained. When I explain the difference between intimidating or hurting a dog for them to learn or learning in joy, I have had people tell me they do not care if their dog is intimidated and only learns to fear the human. It accomplished their goal of stopping the dog from exhibiting a certain behavior. They do not care if the dog learns anything except to be scared of their human.
It is not the way I train so they either move on or they set up some sessions with me. I can talk and talk until I am blue in the face about the damage that can be done to a dog’s general well being using punishment based methods.
I have finally decided that I can only help the people that really want help. I have to move on from the others because nothing I can say is changing their mind.
As positive forward trainers, we can change the world one person at a time. But it does get exhausting fighting the battle of compulsion based training and trainers who have not actually learned how to be trainers.
I’ve been a professional trainer/consultant for 35 years too, and I agree that B&T is having a moment in California as well, which is a shame. At best it is training in a vacuum, and leaves out half the relationship (the owner) and at worst, it can cause lasting trauma and create issues. Dogs that do well tend to be emotionally stable and resilent.
It has been useful for aging clients with large, unruly dogs, but often it’s a great way to throw away $3,000+.
I generally advise clients to watch the trainer training a dog (not necessarily heir own), and if they won’t let you, don’t hire them.
What struck me about the original post was the comments about the punishment training.
My first experience in training my own dog was with a trainer that I un-affectionately called “gag and drag”. My poor golden had to not only struggle with a person who was training for the very first time, but he had to endure the harsh treatment including a prong collar. I hated every moment. I wholeheartedly believe that he would have been an amazing obedience dog if he had been trained as we train now. I am fortunate that he was a very forgiving dog. He loved me and I loved him and the only time he endured the harshness was in class when I would get caught not jerking on the leash.
Fast forward through 3 other dogs – corgis – who were trained less harshly and were successful in basic obedience and very successful in agility. And now currently after losing those great girls I have another corgi who has thrown every challenge she can at me while being so incredibly devoted and loving that she seriously nearly reads my mind. Can a dog love you too much? She was the one who picked me from the litter. I wasn’t even sure I could love another dog again after losing my girls. She was the dog I never knew I always wanted/needed. I have learned through this dog to be a better ME so my dog can be a better her. She needed me to pull myself together, set aside my grief and see the dog in front of me. I have learned that loving dogs is different with each one and she means the world to me. But she needed me to know what she needed too.
It is through desperation that I went looking for books on a more positive way to train. After a fear outburst in an obedience class I had people giving me every possible piece of advice, most often including punishment and harshness. One actually told me to hang her from the leash until she passed out. My happy go lucky dog had changed and become very fearful and wanted keep other dogs at a distance that was larger than most dogs. She loved people but was unhappy with most dogs except for 1. I wracked my brain with what had changed.
I was beside myself and ready to leave any training and showing. I was resigned to go nowhere with her. My loving dog who was scared and prepared to scare off what was around her was not going to endure harsh and punishing treatment. Thankfully my obedience trainer begged me to trust her and we started over. We have plenty of ground to cover but she is making progress. I also learned to observe. I actually go in and watch the room before I bring my dog in. I learned to watch for her subtle signals that she is uncomfortable or anxious. I am amazed that I didn’t see them before.
I was always uncomfortable with the training in the early days, and even when it wasn’t as harsh I wasn’t always comfortable with the way things were done. I was laughed at that I wanted my dog to trust me not fear me. And especially now. I am eternally grateful for those who understand and embrace NOT using punishment training. They saved me from quitting all the things that we now enjoy again. I do have to say that “The Other End of the Leash” was the first of many books I read and it turned me around. It gave me hope! The things I believed in were supported throughout the book. Board and Train aside, Training in general needs to be appropriate first! Where and when and who does the training is secondary to how, hands down!