How each one works
With in-home training, a trainer comes to your house for scheduled lessons. You take part, learn the handling, and practice between visits. With board and train, your dog stays at a trainer’s home or facility for a period, often a few weeks, and the trainer does the daily work.
Canine Afloat offers in-home lessons and a mobile day school, not overnight board and train. If you are weighing a board-and-train program elsewhere, the questions further down will help you compare it fairly.
| What you are comparing | In-home training | Board and train |
|---|---|---|
| Where your dog lives | At home throughout. | With the trainer for the program. |
| Who practices day to day | You, with coaching. | The trainer, then you after the handoff. |
| Where skills are learned | In the rooms and routes you use. | At the trainer’s location, then transferred home. |
| Your time | Lessons plus short daily practice. | Little during the stay, more afterward. |
| What you can observe | Every lesson. | Updates and whatever visits are offered. |
| Time apart from your dog | None. | Days or weeks. |
Where the skills are learned
Dogs do not automatically carry a skill from one place to another. A dog who settles nicely at a facility has learned to settle at that facility. The cue still has to be practiced in your kitchen, with your doorbell and your family.
In-home training starts in the place where the behavior happens, so that step is built in. A board-and-train program needs a deliberate plan to move the skills home afterward.
Who does the work
In-home training takes more of your time during the program. You are the one practicing, a few minutes at a time, between lessons. The benefit is that you finish knowing how to handle your own dog.
Board and train takes less of your time up front, which is why it appeals to busy households. The work comes afterward: you still need lessons in what the dog learned, and you still need to practice, or the new habits fade.
What you can see
In your own home you watch every minute of the training and can ask questions as they come up. When your dog is away, you rely on the trainer’s reports.
That makes method and transparency especially important for any stay-away program. Ask exactly what will be used with your dog, and ask to see it.
Questions to ask a board-and-train program
If boarding suits your situation, these questions help you compare programs.
- What methods and equipment will be used, and can I watch a session?
- Where will my dog sleep, and how much of the day is training, rest, and time alone?
- How many dogs are there, and who is working with mine?
- Will I get regular updates, including video?
- How many handoff lessons are included, and are they at my home?
- What happens if the skills do not hold up after my dog comes back?
A middle path
If you want a trainer to do some of the practice but want your dog home each night, a day program is worth a look. Canine Afloat’s mobile day school takes dogs on a few-hour training outing in small groups, with updates on what was practiced.
A useful next step
Choose in-home training when the problem lives at home and you can practice a little each day. Consider a stay-away program only when you are happy with the methods, can see the work, and have a clear plan for the handoff.
Sources & further reading
Put a plan into practice.
Tell Emily what you are working on and find a comfortable place to begin.
Explore in-home training
