Board & train
Board and train for Australian Cattle Dogs
A heeler was bred to move cattle by biting low and ducking the kick, so the ankle nip at a running child and the lunge at a passing truck are not quirks: they are the job description with nowhere to go. Many Cattle Dogs arrive at a live-in program fit, clever and under-employed. The program's task is to give that drive a shape the dog can carry back into a household.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
Heels and tires
The nip, the chase and the engine behind both.
Many heelers nip what moves: ankles, pant legs, the back of a running child's shoe. The daily sessions work that from two sides. Heel and place give the dog a task for its mouth and its eyes when motion starts, and distraction training proofs both around joggers, bikes and strollers. On-Leash Foundations, two weeks at $1,865 + GST, covers heel, place and everyday distractions for the heeler who is mainly a leash problem.
Tire chasing is the heeler's other signature, and the dangerous one. Functional Off-Leash, three weeks at $3,030 + GST, works on recall around distractions and basic behaviour modification, with a Micro or Mini Educator collar included and taught to you. Advanced Off-Leash, four weeks at $3,940 + GST, adds off-leash heel and sit, down and stay at distance. Behaviour Rehab, 5 to 6 weeks and customized after a full assessment, covers reactivity and aggression work for the heeler whose herding has become a bite.
- Heel past joggers and bikes
- Recall off a passing truck
- Place while children run
- Owner taught the remote collar
Home with a job
A heeler keeps the training only if it keeps the job.
The dog that comes home has practised heel, place and recall every day inside a structured routine, and the handover lesson teaches you to run it the same way. For a Cattle Dog the routine is the payoff: a predictable morning walk in heel, a place command through dinner and homework hour, and recall games that pay better than a rolling tire. In the off-leash programs the Educator collar comes home too, along with the owner education on using it properly.
Management comes first. A heeler who chases cars stays leashed near roads until recall is proven, children are never used as practice targets, and a nip is interrupted and redirected, never punished into a growl. Our Cattle Dog training guide covers the method. Nipping can flare briefly when a household routine changes; if it persists or escalates, have a professional reassess. The program is chosen at the consultation, and when a smaller one covers your heeler's problem, that is the one we recommend.
The programs
Programs and prices
E · 3-week board & train
Functional Off-Leash
Everything in the on-leash program, then the next level: reliable off-leash recall even around distractions.
Includes handover lesson, follow-ups, Educator remote collar
SE · 4-week board & train
Advanced Off-Leash
The full four-week build: from functional foundations to advanced reliability in public environments and around higher-level distractions.
Includes handover lesson, 2 follow-ups, Educator remote collar
S · 5–6 week board & train
Behaviour Rehab
Kaitlin's specialty, and the work she loves most.
Includes assessment-built plan, 2 follow-ups, deep owner education
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Is board and train a good fit for an Australian Cattle Dog?
It fits when the problems are heel nipping, chasing motion and a dog with more drive than the household can direct, because daily one-on-one work inside a structured routine gives that drive a shape. It fits less well if nobody at home will keep the routine afterward. The consultation sorts out which case yours is.
Which Australian Cattle Dog training program handles tire and car chasing?
Functional Off-Leash works on reliable recall around distractions and basic behaviour modification, with the Educator collar included, and Advanced Off-Leash adds off-leash heel and commands at distance. Until recall is reliable, a heeler near traffic stays on a leash. Which tier fits is decided at the consultation.
Does board and train for an Australian Cattle Dog stop the heel nipping?
The program works on it directly, through heel, place and distraction training around moving people, and the handover lesson shows you how to interrupt and redirect at home. We describe what the program works on, not a result, because the behaviour depends on what the dog practises after it leaves. A heeler with a bite history is a Behaviour Rehab conversation, after a full assessment.
My heeler already growls at strangers. Is that still an Australian Cattle Dog board and train case?
A growl is the dog telling you something, and punishing it only removes the warning. It moves the conversation to Behaviour Rehab: 5 to 6 weeks at $4,850 to $5,760 + GST, customized after a full assessment, with reactivity work at the dog's pace and in-depth owner education. Dogs with bite histories are accepted after assessment, and a sudden change in temperament is worth a vet visit first.
Keep reading
Give the heeler a job.
Tell us what your Cattle Dog nips, chases and ignores. Book a consultation and we will recommend the program that fits, no bigger.
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