After the program
Graduate boarding with refresher work: what it is for
Your dog finished its program, came home, and now life needs you elsewhere for a few nights. Graduate boarding exists for exactly that gap. It is open only to graduates and existing clients, priced per night, with refresher work available if you want the stay to do double duty. Here is what it suits, what to ask before booking, and where it stops.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
When it fits
Trips, renovations and a slipped standard.
Travel is the obvious use: a work trip, a wedding, a family visit where your dog cannot come along. Renovations are less obvious but just as fitting, since saws, open doors and strangers in the house can unsettle a calm routine. Some owners also book a stay because the place command, the heel or the recall has gone soft, and they want a structured reset alongside the boarding.
Before booking, ask the questions that matter for your dog. Which skills from its original program should the refresher focus on? Will you get a short handover at collection so you can keep the work going? Does the refresher add to the nightly rate? Those details are not published, so raise them at booking rather than assuming, and share anything that has changed since your dog graduated.
- Graduates and existing clients only
- $65 + GST per night
- Refresher work is optional
- Ask what the refresher covers
Not a second program
Where a boarding stay ends and a new program begins.
A board and train program has a defined curriculum, daily one-on-one training, a handover lesson and free follow-up sessions. Graduate boarding is a stay first, with refresher work as an option layered on top. It is built to maintain what your dog already learned, not to teach a new skill set, such as moving from on-leash manners to reliable off-leash work.
If the gap is bigger than a refresher, for example new reactivity, fear that was not there before, or a goal your dog never trained for, a stay is the wrong tool. Sudden behaviour change also deserves a vet visit before more training. In those cases, book a consultation so we can look at what changed and recommend the right step, which may well be a smaller one such as Private Training at $150 + GST per session.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
How much is graduate boarding?
Graduate boarding is $65 + GST per night. It is available only to graduates and existing clients.
Can any dog stay in graduate boarding?
No. It is reserved for dogs who have graduated from a program and for existing clients, so we already know the dog in our care.
Does graduate boarding include training?
Refresher work is optional during the stay. Ask at booking what it would cover and whether it adds to the nightly rate.
Is a refresher stay the same as doing the program again?
No. A program has a set curriculum, a handover lesson and follow-up sessions, while graduate boarding is a stay with optional refresher work. If your dog needs new skills or has new behaviour concerns, a consultation is the better starting point.
Keep reading
Plan a stay or a step
Not sure whether a refresher stay or something more fits? Book a consultation and we will give you a straight answer.
From real owners
Rated 5.0 on Google.
Real Northline dogs