Board & Train
More than obedience. We’re building a dog you can confidently live life with.
Sometimes your dog doesn’t need more love, more exercise, or more treats. They need clear communication, consistent structure, and the opportunity to practice good choices every day.
Our Board and Train programs are designed to give your dog focused, immersive training while they stay with one of our trainers. We work on the skills that matter most in real life—not just obedience in a training room.
From reliable recall and off-leash skills to calmness, impulse control, and public manners, our goal is to help create a dog who is more responsive, more confident, and easier to live with.
And just as importantly, we’ll teach you how to maintain that progress once your dog comes home.
What we work on
Every dog’s program is tailored to their individual needs, but our Board & Train programs commonly focus on:
Obedience & Reliability: Building a strong understanding of foundational commands and teaching your dog to respond reliably—even when distractions are present.
Reliable Recall: Developing a recall you can actually trust, with progressively more challenging environments and distractions.
Off-Leash Skills: Teaching your dog how to stay connected and responsive without relying on a leash to manage them.
Socialization & Calmness: Helping your dog learn how to calmly exist around people, dogs, and everyday distractions without feeling the need to engage with everything around them.
Impulse Control: Learning to wait, think, and make better choices instead of immediately reacting to whatever catches their attention.
An “Off Switch”: A well-trained dog shouldn’t have to be constantly entertained or managed. We teach dogs how to settle, relax, and simply hang out.
Public Manners: Because good behavior shouldn't disappear when you leave the house. We work on appropriate behavior in real-world environments and around everyday distractions. This includes working through any reactivity.
Training Doesn't Stop When Your Dog Comes Home
One of the biggest differences between our Board & Train program and simply sending your dog away for training is that you are part of the process. While your dog is with us, you’ll have ongoing communication with your trainer so you can follow their progress and understand what they’re learning.
Your program also includes:
- A Midpoint Private Lesson: Halfway through the program, you’ll meet or call with your trainer to begin learning the skills your dog is developing.
- A Go-Home Private Lesson: Before your dog officially comes home, we’ll work with you one-on-one to make sure you understand how to communicate with your dog and continue the training.
- 50% Off Your Next Group Class: Your dog’s training shouldn’t end when Board & Train does. Continue building reliability and practicing around new dogs, people, and distractions with 50% off your next group class.
How Long Does My Dog Need?
There isn't one perfect length of time for every dog. Some dogs benefit from a shorter obedience-focused stay to polish skills they already understand. Others need more time to build reliability, work through distractions, develop off-leash skills, or address more significant behavioral challenges. Typically these will be between 1-3 weeks in length.
We offer multiple Board & Train options, including programs with and without e-collar conditioning.
When you submit an inquiry, we'll learn more about your dog, your goals, and what you're currently struggling with. From there, we'll help determine which program is the most appropriate fit.
We don't believe in putting every dog through the exact same program.
What You Can Expect
Your dog will receive structured training throughout their stay, with opportunities to practice skills in different environments and around real-life distractions.
But we're not trying to create a dog who only behaves perfectly for their trainer.
We're building skills that transfer home. The ultimate goal is a dog who can:
- Listen when you ask
- Come when called
- Make better choices around distractions
- Calmly coexist with people and other dogs
- Settle when nothing is happening
- Enjoy more freedom
- Behave appropriately in public
- And actually be easier to live with day to day
Ready to see what Board & Train could do for your dog?
Fill out our Board & Train Interest Form and tell us a little about your dog, what you're struggling with, and what you'd love to be different.
We'll review your information and follow up with program details and the best options for your dog.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
“We cannot recommend Amber and the board and train program enough! Amber worked wonders with our retriever mix puppy and 5 year-old mini schnauzer, teaching them proper dog etiquette both inside the facility and out in public. Amber was so communicative throughout their stay, sending daily training videos, descriptions and updates and answering any questions. She tailored both dogs’ program to address their individual needs- especially working wonders to help us learn to manage our adult schnauzer’s anxiety, barking and jumping. Our family is so grateful to her and the program for giving us the tools to enjoy our pups even more now!”
We rescued our dog years ago and have worked through many things. He learned the basics quickly but his reactivity and over excitement in certain situations were still an issue. Going on walks, dogs and people walking by the house, golf carts were all a problem and car rides were unbearable! After consulting with Amber we decided 2 week board and train was the best option. The results have been amazing. The car ride home from the board and train was the quietest most settled car ride we ever had with him. We have successfully walked the neighborhood while much more under control and stayed calm even when dogs have had reactions to him while walking. We have more work to do but the training has given us a foundation to help him keep working through those reactive/excitement issues. I highly recommend them for your dog training.
“We had a wonderful experience with The Good Dog's 2 week Board and Train program! We left our dog for two weeks, and the improvement has been incredible. He now listens much better to commands and stays calm in situations that used to make him overly excited. He walks so nicely without pulling like he use to and doesn't lunge at passing cars anymore. The trainer was knowledgeable, caring, and clearly invested in his success. We're so happy with the results and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for effective, compassionate dog training!”