Board & Train Welcome Letter

Welcome to The Academy of Canine Behavior’s Board & Train Program!

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Thank you for taking part in our Board and Train Program. We will be making every effort to make this program successful for you and your dog. The following is some information for you about how the program works.

During your dog’s stay here, they will have a “Primary Care” person. This person will be assigned your dog from their first day here. This person will track your dog’s health and care throughout their stay. The person assigned is a trainer but will not be the only trainer working with your dog.

Your dog’s trainer will be assigned on a daily basis. This decision is normally made by our head trainer each morning. This decision is based on the feedback from the previous day’s training. Because each dog is an individual, it is important to stay flexible in scheduling
trainers. Each trainer is also charged with the responsibility of staying flexible with that day’s lessons. It is very important that your dog get what it needs THAT day. If someone trains to a schedule instead of to the individual, it can create problems instead of solving them.

It is not uncommon for a dog to take the proverbial “two steps forward and one step back” during the first part of training. We see this the most during the first two weeks. Because of this, we can not accurately give you a day by day update on your dog. What may be totally accurate one day can be completely different the next day. The reality is that the dog is inconsistent at first. Again, this is “normal”. As the dog progresses through the learning curve we expect to see that he becomes progressively more consistent in his response to training. That is what we are working toward.

If you wish to call us from time to time to see how your dog is doing, that is fine. We will be happy to discuss how the dog is doing as far as eating and adjusting. We will not be able to give you a detailed training update until your first visit at two weeks. At that time we will share
your dog’s total training experience to date. The exception to this would be any dog that is not changing satisfactorily. With those dogs it will be necessary to keep ongoing communication open between you and us. Very few dogs meet this criterion.

This first visit is scheduled about two weeks into the month of training. By this time we find most dogs are getting comfortable with the training and they are really starting to understand. We have two main goals that we are trying to accomplish at this first visit. We use this visit to start getting the dog comfortable with the idea that it can work with you there. This can be a big hurdle in the training. The second goal is to help you feel comfortable with the progress your dog has been making. We will answer your questions and demonstrate the training. You do not work your dog on this visit.

The second visit is normally scheduled for the following week. This is a hands on, working visit. We encourage as many of the family members as possible to be at this visit. By the end of this visit, we would like to see you and the dog working as a team. We expect to see you get more comfortable with the basics of what the dog knows.

The third visit will be about one week after the second visit. By the end of this visit we would like to have you and the dog working as much as possible as a team. After this visit, you should be thinking about how you will be applying the training in your home when the dog comes home.

The going home visit is scheduled at the end of the 5 weeks of training. This is also a working visit. You will be given a sheet of instructions for what should be done when you get home with the dog. It is important to us that when the dog goes home, you are comfortable with your role when you get the dog home. We see this whole process as a partnership between you, your dog and us. Everyone has to carry their part of the responsibility.

We ask you to schedule a follow-up working visit with us approximately 10 to 14 days after you have taken the dog home. You would bring the dog back out to our facility to work with a trainer. This will give us the chance to see how it is going for you and the dog. We would again use this visit to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

A common concern is what do we guarantee. Because each dog is an individual, this is not a black and white issue. We do guarantee that each dog will be worked on a regular basis. This work will be designed around your dog’s special needs. We will also work with you and
the dog’s whole “family” to help you understand the training. We have found that the training your dog has received with us holds, provided that the family remains committed.

Once the dog is home, we will continue to be here as a support and resource to you. We hope that should any problems arise, you will immediately contact us. We will do what we can to help you resolve any difficulties, but we can only help if we know you are having a problem.

Again, thank you for taking part in this program. We feel confident in this program and hope you will join the many clients that have been happy with the results.