Before you book
Why does board and train work when I could not train my dog?
The question assumes an answer we will not give, so let us start there. A board and train is not a smarter version of what happens at home, and we cannot promise it will succeed where an owner's efforts stalled. What we can describe is what it changes: who teaches, how often and in what setting. Daily one-on-one training inside a structured routine is a different delivery, and delivery is the place to look.
Last reviewed September 28, 2026
What changes
What the program changes is who teaches, how often and in what setting.
Three things are different. The teaching is done by a trainer, one-on-one, never in a group class. It happens every day, as daily one-on-one training, rather than whenever time allows. And it happens inside a structured routine, with socialization and enrichment built in, so the dog is living the routine it is learning. None of that makes a program smarter than an owner. It is a different way of delivering the same teaching, and that is all we claim.
The owner is not written out of the program. Visits during a board and train are gently discouraged because they interrupt the routine, but we post social-media updates and check in personally by phone or email. Then the handover lesson brings the owner in properly: it is where we teach the cues and any tool the dog was trained on, and every board and train includes it along with free follow-up sessions.
- Daily one-on-one training
- One structured routine, lived in
- Updates while the dog is away
- Handover lesson and follow-ups included
After the handover
The handover and follow-ups are where the owner's part begins.
Every board and train ends with a handover lesson and includes free follow-up sessions afterward. Some programs list more: On-Leash Foundations includes lifetime phone and email support, and Advanced Off-Leash and Behaviour Rehab each list two free follow-up sessions. What happens at home after that is partly up to the owner, who keeps asking for the cues and holding the routine the dog came home with. We will not predict how that goes for any particular dog, because we would be guessing.
A board and train is not the only shape the work can take. Day Training is $650 + GST per week, Monday to Friday, with the dog home every night and a weekly one-hour go-home session. Private Training is $150 + GST per one-hour session with a written weekly plan customized to your home, built for hands-on owners who want to do the training themselves. A program is recommended at the consultation, and a smaller program is what we recommend when it covers the need.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Does board and train work if I failed at training my dog myself?
We cannot promise that it will, for any dog. What a board and train changes is delivery: daily one-on-one training by a trainer inside a structured routine, then a handover lesson and free follow-up sessions so the owner is taught what the dog was taught. Whether that fits is what the consultation is for.
Is it my fault my dog is not trained?
We do not think in those terms, and it would not help if we did. Dogs learn from repetition and clear signals, and fitting both into every day around a working week is hard, which is a scheduling fact rather than a character flaw. A program supplies the daily training; the owner still supplies the relationship.
Will I have to keep training my dog after board and train?
Yes, in the sense that the cues and routine the dog learned need to keep being used at home. The handover lesson is where the owner is taught them, and every board and train includes free follow-up sessions afterward. We will not call that work lighter or heavier than teaching; it is different work.
Is private training better than board and train if I want to learn myself?
Private Training is $150 + GST per one-hour session with a written weekly plan customized to your home, and it is built for hands-on owners who want to do the training themselves with a professional reading over their shoulder. A board and train puts the daily training in a trainer's hands, then teaches the owner at the handover. Neither is better in the abstract; the consultation is where we recommend a program, and a smaller one when it is enough.
Keep reading
Ask what actually changes
Book a consultation. We will describe what a live-in program, Day Training or Private Training each involves, and recommend the one that fits.
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