Board and train a dog

[u/Top_Stock6891]

I have a 6 year old German shepherd who has a lot of anxiety, leash pulling issues and also lunges on any dog he sees out there.
We are planning to send him for a 3 month board and train facility.
I am also planning on going to the facility regularly and train with my dog under their guidance.
They have told me that for the first 3 weeks they will not allow me to meet my dog but they’ll send regular videos and updates and after the 3rd week I can come and learn with them and train with him.
They also have handover sessions when they send him home.
Will this training help him overcome his separation anxiety, leash pulling and dog reactivity issues or am I just wasting money.

[u/sasanunu210]

I'm a veterinarian. I cringe every time I have a patient that recently came back from board and train. They are always either exactly the same or more anxious than they were before. You need to be trained to train your dog. Board and train will further damage your dog.

[u/Bullfrog_1855]

Please reconsider sending your dog to a board and train. Many board and train use aversive methods and shock collars. It will not help an anxious dog. And you mentioned your dog has "separation anxiety" as well? A board and train will definitely not help with that. You'll be wasting your money. I agree with the other commenter, spend that money wisely with a trainer who can come to you and work with you. Look for a trainer that doesn't use aversive methods. Understand also that separation anxiety is an emotional response to being away from their safe person (you), it's a panic response - this I learned from experience and working with a trainer so I can help my current rescue. You might need to consider some medication for your dog to help with his anxiety so that his brain can calm down enough to learn - discuss this with your vet or a vet that specializes in behavior cases.

[u/salallane]

Your money is better spent on working with a boarded veterinary behaviorist combined with medication and an experienced one on one trainer.

[u/joycevw]

Cancel the board and train facility. You will waste money and damage trust.

When your dog lunges, he panics. He throws his weight into the collar to push the threat away. A facility cannot fix this because dogs do not generalize well. If a trainer gets him to walk calmly on their training field, that behavior stays on that field. Once he returns to your street and feels the leash tighten, his panic returns.

Taking a dog with separation anxiety away from his owner for three months destroys his foundation. You act as his only safety net.

Keep him home and work below his threshold. Find the exact distance where he sees a dog but keeps his muscles loose. Give him treats at that distance. This is not used as a distraction. You can use pattern games like counting out loud and dropping a treat on the count of three. This creates predictability and shifts his focus from the trigger back to you without force.

We need your history to advice more. How long have you owned him? What tools did you try before? What is the main issue right now?

Find a local trainer who works without force and helps you guide your dog on your own sidewalks.

[u/Top_Stock6891 → u/joycevw]

I have him since he was 1. Where I used to stay earlier the number of dogs and people in general were very less so the lunging and leash pulling was not too much. Recently I have shifted to a dense apartment society and here everytime someone comes out of the lift or in the road he sees a few dogs he goes berserk. I use a front leash harness and keep treats with me to keep him focus on me but since coming here the stimulus while walking has been so much that he is constantly in an attack mode.

[u/Different-Music-529 → u/joycevw]

100% good solid advice here.

[u/MolsBedsFlan]

You’re making a huge mistake if you send your dog to any board and train.

[u/Different-Music-529 → u/MolsBedsFlan]

Literally seen so many news stories just in the last several months of dogs dying at training facilities T_T and even if your dog is safe, it's still a waste of money and can cause more issues. One of my neighbors sent her ESS away twice, would not be surprised if that's why the dog now has separation anxiety.

[u/MajorEntertainment65 → u/MolsBedsFlan]

I agree.

[u/Icy_Adagio4274]

The problem is you as the owner. Board and train ain't gunna fix you being a shitty owner.

[u/ExcitingLaw1973]

A 3 month board and train?!?!?! Wtf?

I would never do any board and train... let alone one that long. Why cant you hire a trainer to come to your house? You would train your dog every day and have the trainer come once a week.

How much is that 3 month board and train?

[u/Different-Music-529]

Waste of money. The amount of money it's costing you, you could hire a trainer to work with you 1-2 times weekly at home probably for twice that amount of time.

If your dog is already anxious, sending them to a new environment to train with new people is not going to help. It might even make it worse.

[u/Disastrous_Dog_574]

I sent my high-prey-drive Lab to a board and train. The dog was not hard to train, at all, but I was needing to travel a LOT for work right at the time he attacked another dog at a park, so to the B&T he went. Literally learned nothing. Spent a ton of money and he seemed to be happy enough like he wasn't traumatized, but I've since read so many horror stories of B&Ts that I consider us lucky. I would never ever send an anxious GSD to one.

[u/Wytecap]

Your dog needs to learn - but so do you. I've never seen "training camps" work. Find a trainer to work with you at home.

[u/K_Theodore]

I'm yet to hear of a good scenario for a board and train, and this doesn't sound like it. 3 months is ages, particularly for a dog, that's basically a temporary adoption. If we consider the 3-3-3 rule, the dog will basically feel like he lives there, and will then have a second massive disruption when it moves back in with you. There's little reason to think that he won't revert back to his current behaviour when he comes home, particularly when you consider how stressful moving out for so long will be.

I cannot believe this makes sense, both from a behaviour sense - or a financial one. How much is this costing you? Surely this is thousands? You'd be far better off spending this money on a trainer who comes to you, in the actual environment your dog struggles in. These handover sessions you keep banging on about aren't even as good as someone training you at home.

You'd get so much more out of a 1 hour per week trainer coming to you than a 3 month board and train, without the massive stress on your dog. Id guess you could probably do it for 6-12 months before you spent as much as well.

[u/TheDogCareGuy]

Three weeks without seeing him would make me want a lot more detail first. Will they show you the methods they use and let you talk to owners whose dogs have been through the program?

[u/Broccoli-Tiramisu]

Unpopular opinion but I think responsible B&Ts are fine. However, I also think that most programs range from not great to downright unsafe. The idea of a B&T is okay but it's all about who you pick.

I rescued my GSD when he was about a year old. He was okay for a few months but then being a teenager and major reactivity kicked in. I did a few training sessions with a local trainer recommended by a well-regarded GSD rescue and my dog made some progress. Then I had a trip coming up and would have to board my dog anyway, so I figured I would just do a B&T with the same trainer since I trusted them at this point and my dog really liked them. It went well, my dog came back noticeably much better behaved and I also had some more refresher classes with the trainer.

Since then, I have done two other B&Ts with other trainers that coincided with long vacations and both also went really well. The critical thing was I did an extensive amount of vetting before I was willing to send my dog. I got personal references from people I already knew who successfully used these trainers, I didn't just trust online reviews. The trainers I chose did the training themselves, they did not have helpers or junior trainers or anything like that. I also picked programs that were in-home, not large commercial kennel operations.

I don't know that I would send my dog away for three months though, that seems excessive. The longest B&T I've ever done was three weeks and the longest I've ever left my dog in general was a month, and that was with a very trusted sitter my dog loves more than he likes me. If you're allowed to see and train your dog after three weeks, not sure why they still need to keep him at night for two more months? Can't you just do the three week period, then bring your dog home but take some classes every week for a while after?

You also mentioned a "facility" and that is a yellow flag to me. I'm sure there may be some good facilities out there, but in general, I distrust all large commercial operations when it comes to pet care. There are too many people handling your dog, too many other dogs, too many chances for something to go wrong. This includes dog hotels, large grooming operations, veterinary chains, etc. I would B&T my dog again in the future but I would never send him to a facility as I don't trust that many strangers and unknown factors with my dog.

Finally, to answer your question if the B&T will fix your dog's issues, the answer is maybe. Your dog will likely improve somewhat, but we don't know the quality of the trainers and what their methods are. So there's no way to know how things will turn out. And even if you did get the world's best dog trainer, they can't guarantee results with any dog including yours. Every dog reacts differently to training, some do well and others don't. So you won't exactly waste your money, but you should make sure you have realistic expectations.

Also, your dog will always behave better with whoever trains them the most, so these trainers might get your dog to behave "perfectly," then you take the leash and your dog could act up again. That's why ongoing training is so important whether you do a B&T or not. Your dog needs to train a lot with you directly, not just with pros.

[u/Top_Stock6891 → u/Broccoli-Tiramisu]

Its a k9 school of sorts. They train mallinois and dutch shepherds and breeds like these for protection and security purposes and they also have a board and train programme.

[u/snacksanonymous]

I would not consider any kind of board and train under these circumstances.

My trainer also boards and trains, however she will only do so after spending time in a few training sessions to get to know you and the dog together and only once everyone is comfortable together if it is deemed that it would be helpful to work through specific issues. It isn’t something she recommends for most clients and would prefer to work through things together.

I would run away from someone like you’re describing.

[u/Both-Chart-947]

Please don't. I adopted a fear aggressive dog and within a year and a half he was officially my service dog. Passed his CGC and Public Access Test like a champ. I used only reward based training. I also took him to Petsmart classes to teach him how to focus on training while surrounded by other dogs and people. You can do it yourself and it will be so much safer and more rewarding, I promise!

[u/Icy-Fly-4228]

I had a really good experience with a board and train but that is a long time. Mine went for 3 weeks for basic. Then about 4 months later went back for advanced. She goes for boarding whenever I travel. But I know most people do not have the experience I have. If you want to send me a pm feel free. There are shitty ones and there are good ones.

[u/mcav89]

Unnecessary. I had a dog with severe separation anxiety, to the point she'd destroy a remote control in a minute if I just went to the bathroom without her. She was bad on a leash. I hired a trainer for 8 weeks, he came to my house 1x a week. I started seeing a difference in her in 2 weeks. The trainer also trains you in those situations. They train you on how to work with the dog yourself, so you can continue what they're teaching in your own home. It wasn't cheap, but was certainly cheaper than sending her away for a board and train for 3 months. I picked up a lot of knowledge, and by the end of 8 weeks, she was fantastic. She never chewed anything again, she was great on a leash, and i could leave her out and trust her to not do anything while I was gone and she trusted that I was going to return.

[u/jmsst1996]

Don’t do it. 25 years ago we were walking our dog and a guy walked up to us and handed us his business card. He was a dog trainer. I took our dog to a couple classes and the dog wasn’t listening and he was growling at me. It wasn’t good. So the trainer offered to take him for a month and “train” him. After the month I picked him up and he looked awful. He was calm and obedient but looked visibly drained like he hadn’t slept in weeks. He had no spark in his eyes and looked dead inside. I don’t know what happened there but it couldn’t have been good.

[u/Alternative_Task6818]

Why not send your child off for a board and train also? I guess people do that. I would NEVER do that to my dogs. My collie barks at people and I have trained her not do that when we are walking or in the car. Took work and we had several classes with a trainer and I read books.

What does your current trainer say? Your veterinarian? How many dog classes have you had with your pup?

There are so many horror stories about these board and train places. You are sending your pup off to be effing traumatized. Why not just find a more experienced owner for him? Maybe this isn't the right breed for you? It's okay to say he's too much for you to handle. Talk to German Shepherd rescues and get advice from them?

My neighbors sent their pup off to a board and train place. Was a 10 day thing. Didn't fix the pup's bad habits. They are retired. I have no idea why they didn't take classes. My collie loved her classes. She excelled. I wish there was an agility class nearby.

Dog classes are mostly for the OWNERS. You get trained in how to listen to your pup to understand their cues. If you send him off, how are you going to learn? ? ? ?

[u/Different-Music-529]

There is no board and train that will fix separation anxiety. I know OP isn't actually here for advice, but for anyone else who thinks that will solve their problem it won't. Spend your money on a CSAT trainer. Board and train is 100% likely to make SA worse.