Keeping High Standards for Board and Train
We frequently get asked why our board and train programs are three weeks long while other companies promise to have your dog trained in as little as seven days. It can be hard to leave your dog with someone for three weeks, and it’s only natural to want them home as quickly as possible.
It is certainly possible for a dog to learn basic commands in one week. Sit and down and heel are not that complicated to teach to a dog. However, when these commands are rushed, sometimes it isn’t possible to use the best training methods. The dog might still be confused on aspects of a command, and they definitely have not yet generalized it to multiple high distraction environments.
We spend the first week of our program working on showing your dog obedience commands, how to walk nicely on a leash, what corrections and rewards mean, and appropriate social skills with people and dogs.
The second week is spent building distance and duration in all of the commands. Instead of doing a down stay for thirty seconds, dogs will be able to hold one for 15-20 minutes at a time. Instead of doing a place while I’m 15 feet away, they can hold a place while I go out of sight.
Week three is spent building on the foundation and taking training on the road. We go to local parks, hardware stores, sit outside of coffee shops, walk around horse shows, and a bunch of other places where we can expose your dog to distractions in the real world. At the end of this week, you start your transition lessons so that you can take over and handle your dog like a pro.
When your dog graduates from a Kentucky Dog Training board and train, they have not just learned a handful of new words. They will have learned to perform commands reliably in busy environments. They will have a solid communication system, so that you will be able to show your dog right versus wrong. You and your dog will have all of the tools in your toolbox to handle whatever life throws at you.
