Before you book
What if my dog does not settle during board and train?
Handing over the leash and driving away is the hard part of a board and train for many owners, and the worry underneath it is specific: what if the dog paces, hides, or will not eat for someone new? This page answers that worry in order: what to do if it is happening now, what is included while the dog is away, and what we suggest doing beforehand.
Last reviewed September 28, 2026
Happening now
The check-ins are the channel for this worry.
Every board and train comes with social-media updates and personal phone or email check-ins, and the check-ins are where we suggest raising a settling concern, in specific terms: what prompted the worry and what an answer would need to cover. We have not published a rule for when we would call, so we suggest asking about that directly at the consultation rather than assuming one. A concern raised plainly is easier to answer than one held back.
Eating less, withdrawing or pacing in a new place can have more than one explanation, and we do not treat any of them as routine. If an appetite change or anything else raises a health question, we suggest asking a vet. Every board and train includes daily one-on-one training, a structured routine, socialization, enrichment, individual care, and clean, comfortable accommodation with fresh water and daily exercise. That is the setting, and we do not put a timeline on how any dog takes to it.
- Raise it in a check-in
- Be specific about the worry
- Health questions go to a vet
- No settling timeline promised
Before day one
What we suggest doing before the leash changes hands.
Two things tend to make a new place easier for a dog: a crate it already rests in, and some calm time apart from the owner. Both are worth practising only as far as the dog stays comfortable. The welcome package includes a crate-training guide, and crate comfort is part of the Puppy Fundamentals curriculum. If closing the crate door or leaving the house brings on real distress, we suggest raising that at the consultation and asking for individual guidance.
The consultation is where we recommend a program, and a worry about settling belongs in that conversation. Behaviour Rehab is the program built for anxiety, reactivity and aggression; it runs five to six weeks, is planned and priced after a full assessment within $4,850 to $5,760 plus GST, and includes in-depth owner education and two free follow-up sessions. We recommend a smaller program when it is enough. If being apart is the hardest thing for a particular dog, we suggest saying so plainly.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Do dogs get homesick at board and train?
Dogs respond to a new place in different ways, and we do not attach a schedule to it or treat any change as routine. Every board and train includes a structured routine, individual care and updates, with personal phone or email check-ins for raising anything that worries you. If a change in appetite or energy raises a health question, we suggest asking a vet.
Can we visit if our dog is struggling to settle?
Visits during a board and train are gently discouraged because they tend to interrupt the routine the dog is living in. The personal phone or email check-ins are the channel for that worry, and we suggest using them in specific terms rather than waiting it out. How a hard stretch would be communicated is a fair question for the consultation, since we have not published a fixed rule for it.
Should the dog be crate trained before board and train?
Familiarity with a crate can make a new place easier, and the welcome package includes a crate-training guide, with crate comfort also part of the Puppy Fundamentals curriculum. We suggest practising only as far as the dog stays comfortable. If the crate itself causes distress, that is worth saying at the consultation so the guidance fits the dog.
What if the dog is too anxious for a board and train?
Behaviour Rehab is the program built for anxiety, reactivity and aggression: five to six weeks, planned and priced after a full assessment within $4,850 to $5,760 plus GST, with in-depth owner education and two free follow-up sessions. We suggest describing the anxiety at the consultation in detail, including what happens when the dog is left, since that is where we recommend a program.
Keep reading
Ask about settling first
Worried about settling? Book a consultation and ask how check-ins work, what is included, and which program we would recommend.
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