Board & Train
You simply won’t find a more customized board and train program than this! We tailor our training to your specific goals, while keeping you directly updated on your dog’s process on a daily basis.
What is it?
Board and train can be an effective tool to stop difficult behavioural problems by removing the familiar rules and environment that can reinforce problem behaviours. While it would be wonderful if everyone had the time and ability to train their dog themselves, we understand that this is not always possible. A board and train can be a more beneficial solution to both you and your dog. Due to limited space priority will be given to more serious behavioural issues, although anyone can request a board and train for basic obedience and behavioural modification. We frequently take out of town clients into our board and train program, and have no issues creating a remote follow up program for you to continue once your dog has returned home.
Our board and train dogs:
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Are fully immersed in a structured, training-centered environment.
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Receive customized training based on your needs.
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Live's at the training facility,
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In personal suite overnight and for brief daytime periods to decompress. Crate Free.
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Are taken in small numbers, ensuring safety and that training goals are met.
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Can come to us as at an early age, versus waiting for problems to arise later on.
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Receive a complimentary follow-up session after completion of the program. (If out of our service area, this will be conducted virtually.)
Program options include two-week, three-week, and four-week durations, and are suitable for puppies and adult dogs. We do require a 14-night minimum to ensure we have the time to implement lasting results.
REVIEWS
Professional, insured carers make sure your dog has a vacation as great as yours!
"Kris is amazing! After working with other trainers who specialize in dog reactivity and making no progress I was a little skeptical of trying another trainer.
I am so glad we went to Dog Zone Services! Kris is extremely personable, she explains all the exercises in detail and will follow up with an e mail with the exercises we covered during the session. We have seen a huge improvement (Our regular boarding place also commented on the improvements) in Mavis' reactivity and the confidence she has given both Mavis and myself for training is amazing.
I would absolutely recommend Dog Zone Services to any one looking for a trainer!"
"Kris gave us some very useable tools to help us with some of our pups training needs. She explained everything very clearly and reinforced with email handouts so we could put in the work. Our dogs absolutely love her and have shown some major improvement, we can’t wait to try some of her other services and have her back in the future to further our pups on their training."
We contacted Kris during a crisis, because our dogs just couldn't seem to get along, and had a pretty major scrap. Kris helped us to understand what both our reactive dogs body languages meant, she gave us HOPE! Hope that has been channeled into more successes than failures. Our younger dog Stella started out being afraid of everyone and everything, which in turn caused her to be reactive. She graduated from private classes to group with visual barriers, to group class with no barriers. She plays well with other dogs and has the ability to be distracted from her triggers. The changes in her since starting with Kris are immense! I recommend Kris all the time. She is a true miracle worker, and I look forward to doing more classes in the future.
PERKS OF OUR BOARD & TRAIN PROGRAM:
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Small numbers
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Customized training - you'll see recommendations below, but we will customize the training to suit your needs. We will let you know if your specific goals are workable within our program!
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No excessive crating.
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Stay in the loop of your dog's training with regular updates from your trainer, including progress videos.
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A commitment to the use of humane training techniques.
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A training transfer session with your pup's trainer upon pick-up, as well as customized follow-up materials.
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All board and train clients receive a one-hour complimentary follow-up session after the board and train (Must be scheduled at the time of booking the board and train and used within 10 days of pickup).
BOARD & TRAIN PRICING
1
21 Night Program:
Recommended if your training needs include:
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Foundation Behaviours: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Place
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Impulse Control: Wait, Drop, Leave It, Leash Walking, Focusing with Distractions
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Advanced Obedience
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Leash Pulling and Lunging
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Jumping. (there will be extra follow-up work necessary to ensure this behaviour is maintained within your home environment)
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Socialization
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Potty Training (we will create a strong foundation for potty training, but there will be follow-up work required in your home to ensure 100% success)
2
28 Night Program:
Recommended if your training needs include:
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Complete Puppy Training Foundation
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Foundation Behaviours: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Place
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Impulse Control: Wait, Drop, Leave It, Leash Walking, Focusing with Distractions
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Leash Pulling and Lunging
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Jumping (there will be extra follow-up work necessary to ensure this behaviour is maintained within your home environment)
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Socialization
3
35 Night Program:
Recommended if your training needs include:
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Complete Puppy Training Foundation
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Foundation Behaviours: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Place
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Impulse Control: Wait, Drop, Leave It, Leash Walking, Focusing with Distractions
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Advanced Obedience
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Modifying Leash Reactivity
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Leash Pulling and Lunging
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Jumping (there will be extra follow-up work necessary to ensure this behaviour is maintained within your home environment)
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Socialization
This length of stay is recommend for dogs experiencing behavioral issues such as leash reactivity.
In addition to what's included in all of our programs, this option also includes a virtual check-in with your dog and trainer halfway through the program.
Payment plans available.
What to Expect After a
Board & Train Program
Bringing your dog home after a board & train is an exciting step but it’s also a transition period. Training is a journey, not a one-time event, and the work truly starts once your dog is back in your home environment. Here’s what every owner should know:
The Adolescent Phase
If your dog is in the adolescent stage (often between 5–18 months), you may see behaviors like:
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Ignoring cues they previously understood (“sit,” “come”)
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Testing boundaries with jumping, mouthing, or selective listening
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Higher arousal levels, making it harder to settle or focus
This phase is completely normal and temporary, but it requires extra patience and consistency.
Training Timelines & Realistic Expectations
Board & train sets a foundation. During their stay, your dog learns skills in a controlled environment, away from home triggers. But no behavior is fully “proofed” in just a few weeks.
Dogs need hundreds of repetitions across different environments before a skill becomes reliable everywhere.
Think of board & train not as a “finished product,” but as a strong starting point: the groundwork is laid, and now it’s your turn to reinforce and grow those skills at home.
The 72-Hour Decompression Period
Returning home is a big emotional event — even happy excitement is stress to a dog’s body. Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol don’t drop instantly. It often takes around 72 hours (three days) for dogs to fully settle back into a balanced state.
During this period, it’s normal to see:
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Increased restlessness or clinginess
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Lower patience or impulse control
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Sensitivity to triggers or routine changes
Keeping things low-stimulation, structured, and predictable during this window helps your dog decompress smoothly.
Proofing in Your Home Environment
Dogs don’t automatically generalize behaviors. They don’t think “sit means sit everywhere.” They think, “sit means sit in this place, under these conditions.”
When they return home, everything is different : sights, smells, energy, routines. The same behaviors must be re-taught and reinforced in this new context.
Start at level one again: short sessions, clear guidance, high reinforcement. Just like learning to drive in an empty parking lot before heading into rush-hour traffic.
Avoiding Learned Irrelevance
If cues are given at home without consistent guidance or reinforcement, they lose meaning. The dog learns that listening doesn’t matter. Not out of stubbornness, but through experience.
To prevent this:
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Manage the environment : use leashes, crates, or pens until habits are solid.
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Work one dog at a time if you have multiple dogs.
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Reward the right choices : food, play, praise, or access.
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Be consistent : match what was taught during training.
This keeps your cues valuable and prevents old habits from returning.
The Role of the Owner
Board & train is a team effort. We lay the foundation; you maintain and grow it. Your consistency in the home environment is what turns training into lifelong habits.
Every dog makes mistakes, especially while young. Patience, structure, and practice are the keys to turning what they learned here into real-world reliability.
These are examples of the goals that can be met during the package listed. Typically, not all of the above goals will be relevant for one dog. We take into account your dog's age and temperament when setting realistic goals with you for your dog's stay. Our board and train program is totally customized to your goals, and we will prioritize the goals that are relevant to you and your dog.