Choosing a trainer
Do dog training camps work?
The word camp sounds like summer and campfires. In dog training it usually means your dog lives with a trainer for a set number of weeks and trains every day. Whether that works has less to do with the weeks away and more to do with the day your dog comes home, and what you were taught to do next.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
What makes one work
The handover is where a camp earns its fee.
Training a dog away from home is the easier half. The harder half is moving those skills into your kitchen, your hallway and your evening walk. Every board and train we run ends with a handover lesson, where you practise the cues yourself with your dog beside you, and includes free follow-up sessions afterward. Puppy Fundamentals includes one within 60 days, while Advanced Off-Leash and Behaviour Rehab each include two.
A working camp also keeps the owner in the loop while the dog is away. With us, that means social-media updates and personal phone or email check-ins, while visits are gently discouraged during the program. You should leave knowing which tool your dog wears, why it was chosen, and how to fit it. Puppy Fundamentals and On-Leash Foundations send a slip lead and training collar home, and the off-leash programs include a remote collar.
- Handover lesson with you practising
- Free follow-up sessions afterward
- Updates while your dog is away
- Tools explained, fitted and taught
Where camps fall short
Camps tend to fail after pickup, not during the weeks away.
A dog who walked nicely for a trainer can slide when the old house rules return. If the couch, the door rush and the leash pulling are all allowed again, many dogs learn that the new behaviour belonged to someone else's house. Behaviour may also wobble for a while once your dog is home. If it persists or escalates, that is a reason to use your follow-up and reassess with us.
Fit matters as much as follow-through. A camp built around obedience works on cues and manners, while Behaviour Rehab is the program built for anxiety, reactivity and aggression, planned and priced at $4,850 to $5,760 plus GST after a full assessment. Owners who would rather practise every day themselves may prefer Private Training or Day Training. Nobody picks a program before the consultation, and when a lighter one is all the dog needs, that is the advice.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Are dog training camps the same as board and train?
Yes, the terms usually describe the same thing: your dog lives with the trainer and works daily for a set period. Ours run from two weeks for On-Leash Foundations to five or six weeks for Behaviour Rehab.
Will my dog forget everything after a training camp?
Skills can fade when nobody keeps them going at home. That is why the handover lesson and follow-up sessions matter as much as the weeks away, and why we teach you the routine, not just the cues.
Can I visit my dog during board and train?
Visits are gently discouraged during the program. You get social-media updates and personal phone or email check-ins instead.
Who should not send their dog to a training camp?
Owners who want to learn alongside their dog every day may prefer Private Training at $150 plus GST per session, or Day Training at $650 plus GST per week with the dog home every night. The consultation is where we say honestly which option fits, and a smaller one gets recommended when it is enough.
Keep reading
Find out if camp fits.
Book a consultation and we will tell you whether board and train suits your dog, or whether something smaller makes more sense.
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