Choosing a trainer
How to tell a good board and train from a bad one
Board and train websites tend to have the same photos: a dog in a sit-stay, a dog on a hike, a dog looking adoringly at a person. None of that tells you what you are buying. The things that do are boring and checkable, and they are found in the price list and the inclusions, or in the silence where the price list should be. Here is the checklist, and our answers against it.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
Checkable signals
The things you can verify before you hand over a leash.
Start with money. A provider that publishes a price for each program, and lists what is in it, has nothing to hide about the deal. Check that the inclusions name a handover lesson, where you are taught to run the dog yourself, and at least one follow-up session after the stay. Then check the front door: is there a consultation before a booking is taken, and for a dog with anxiety, reactivity or aggression, is there a full assessment before anyone is accepted.
Next, tools. If a slip lead, prong collar or remote collar might go on your dog, a good provider says so up front, introduces it properly, and spends time teaching you to use it before you leave. Ask where the dog sleeps and what a day looks like, and listen for an answer with nouns in it. Last, promises. Nobody can promise how a dog will behave once it is home, and a provider who does is selling you the photo, not the dog.
- Published prices and inclusions
- Consultation before any booking
- Assessment for behaviour cases
- Tools taught to the owner
Our answers
Where we stand on each signal, and what to do with silence.
Our prices and inclusions are on this site, from $1,865 + GST for two weeks of On-Leash Foundations to $4,850 to $5,760 + GST for Behaviour Rehab. Every board and train includes a handover lesson and free follow-up sessions, one or two depending on the program. The consultation comes first and recommends a program; when a smaller one covers what your dog needs, that is the recommendation. Behaviour Rehab begins with a full assessment, and dogs with bite histories are accepted only after it.
Tools are matched to the dog, introduced properly, and taught to you: slip lead and training collar come home with the puppy and on-leash programs, and the off-leash programs include a remote collar with owner education on using it. Where do dogs sleep? In clean, comfortable accommodations, with fresh water, exercise and enrichment every day. We promise no results. If a provider will not answer one of these questions, ask again in writing, and if the silence holds, let it answer for them.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
What should I look for in a board and train?
Published prices with inclusions, a consultation before any booking, a handover lesson, follow-up sessions, and a straight answer about where the dog sleeps. For a behaviour case, a full assessment before acceptance. If tools are used, they should be introduced properly and taught to you.
What are the red flags of a bad board and train?
Prices only given over the phone, no consultation before a booking, behaviour cases taken without an assessment, tools that appear on the dog with no explanation, and promised results. A provider that avoids saying where the dog sleeps belongs on the same list.
Can a board and train promise results?
No, and a provider who does is describing a product, not a dog. What can be promised is the process: what the program works on, what you are taught, and the follow-up afterward. We publish those and leave the outcome to the dog and the practice that follows.
Is a cheaper board and train worse?
Not on its own. Price tells you less than whether the inclusions are listed, whether there is a handover lesson, and whether the provider will recommend a shorter program when that is all the dog needs. Here, that recommendation comes out of the consultation.
Keep reading
Run the checklist on us
Book a consultation and ask every question on this page. We would rather be checked than trusted blindly.
From real owners
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Real Northline dogs