Should I Board-and-Train my Dog or Get Private Coaching?

Posted on October 31st, 2018 by FetchMasters in Behavior Modification, Positive Dog Training

Potential clients frequently ask about the best options for training their dogs: private coaching, board-and-train or group classes. If you have decided to invest in dog training to improve your pet’s behavior, those are the primary options out there.

We offer only two of them: Board-and Train and Private Coaching. We found through exprience that group classes did not lend themselves to the performance levels and time-frames we are accustomed to achieving.

Both our board-and-train and private coaching options are designed to meet the needs of our ideal clientele. Either is effective at creating behavior change, and many dog owners will benefit from both types of programs at some point in their dogs’ lives. Let’s look at which of these options will help you reach your more immediate goals.

Board-and-Train

Your dog will stay in our professional board-and-train facility, and receive one-on-one training several times throughout the day to improve its skills. Our training is done without the use of harsh, punitive methods or equipment. Being treated harshly while away from home in a strange environment can be tough on a dog. We find that our positive approach helps dogs to more quickly feel comfortable, and thus progress more rapidly.

Board-and-Train may be the best option if any of the following apply to you:

• You are nervous about handling your dog because of its size, strength or difficult behavior.
• Your dog is at risk of losing its home because of complaints by neighbors, property managers, or someone within the home.
• You do not have time to train and practice with your dog on a regular basis, and you just need somebody to do the grunt-work for you.
• You are going on vacation and would like to make productive use of your dog’s time in boarding.

In a nutshell, our Board-and-Train programs will develop your dog’s skills more quickly than is typical with private coaching. Additionally, our Board-and-Train programs can give you relief from particularly difficult-to-live-with behaviors while the dog learns more appropriate ones.

Best of all, our Board-and-Train programs include three Private Coaching sessions to help transfer your dog’s new skills to your family and environment.

Private Coaching

If you prefer a hands-on approach to training your dog and have the time to commit to regular practice, Private Coaching has a lot of appeal. Dog owners within our service area enjoy the convenience of our professional trainers coming to their houses. Those outside our service area can come to our training facility for Private Coaching.

The benefits of Private Coaching include:

• Developing a better understanding of how to train a dog.
• Building a better relationship with your dog through the training process.
• More directly addressing location-specific problems such as counter surfing, fence fighting, cat chasing, etc.
• Less expensive than Board-and-Train.

Private Coaching allows you to be part of the whole process. You will understand more about why your dog behaves the way he does, and how to change those behavioral patterns. This is a necessary part of the training process (which partially is why our Board-and-Train programs includes three Private Coaching sessions). You will work on solving your dog’s behavior problems together with your professional trainer in the locations where those problems occur.

Two Great Options – No Wrong Choice

Our Board-and-Train and Private Coaching programs both are designed to help you be successful with your dog. So there isn’t really a wrong choice for most dogs. As previously mentioned, many owners might find that both options are useful at various points in their dogs’ lives. Your choice should be guided by your preferred learning style, circumstances, and scheduling availability, and of course your budget.

Either way, we will help you achieve your goals. For more information about FetchMasters, our programs and our pricing, please fill out our online contact form.