Puppy Board & Train and Day School

R for Relief & Results

Your puppy wasn’t programmed with all the rules! How to pay attention, how to act around other people and other dogs… and how to deal with all the chaos and excitement in life!

Imagine not having to worry about your puppy being afraid of situations, play biting everyone, stealing things, peeing in the house and barking like crazy when they’re alone!

Our unique home-based puppy Board & Train or Day School programs teach your pup the rules of modern family living.

Why choose Board & Train or Day School?

  • You are busy? Your dog’s bad habits are growing faster than you have the time to train? You need quick results? You need a break? You need to focus on other important items on your checklist?
  • Our Board & Train and Day School programs get you faster results because we’ll do the training for you.
  • Your dog will come to stay with us in a home while learning the rules of YOUR house.
  • Training is customized to your goals and lifestyle so you can count on your puppy listening when it really matters!
  • All programs include multiple training sessions, adequate play time, appropriate nap time, field trips, individualized care & attention.

What is the difference between Board & Train and Day School?

  • The puppy stays at the trainer’s home (not a kennel) for 3-5 days every week for Board & Train. The number of weeks & days depend on the program.
  • Day School is similar, except your puppy will come home at night. Spend your evenings enjoying a better behaved and relaxed pup. The current school time is 8.30 AM to 2.00 PM.

Choose the Board and Train program that fits your goals:

Puppy Socialization, Problem Prevention & Foundation Manners (Puppies 10 to 16 weeks)

This program focuses on life skills — calmness, problem prevention and more in your house, backyard and neighborhood walks. The program includes:

Appropriate Socialization: Safely and appropriately introduce different people, dogs, sounds, objects and more in a way that helps your puppy gain confidence and have fun.

Prevention of Fear, Phobias and Aggression: Confidence building when alone (preventing separation issues), being comfortable in the crate, in different situations and other problem prevention exercises.

Solutions to Common Puppy Problems: Destructive chewing, play biting, stealing things and other behaviors normal for puppies.

Settle Calmly: While I make or eat dinner at home, reply to emails or watch TV.

Basic Manners: Come, Leave-it, Drop-it (in house, backyard and on neighborhood walks)

Self Control: Walk on a loose-leash, greet people politely, wait at the door until asked to step out, wait in the car until asked to hop-out and more.

Body Handling and Grooming: Teach the puppy to be comfortable being groomed, handled, and restrained — all of which are extremely important for vet or grooming visits and day-to-day hygiene.

Tuition: $5100 for up to 3 months of foundation training

  • Board & Train: 3 days a week for 6 weeks (OR)
  • Day School (no overnight stay): 3 days a week for 8 weeks.
  • Troubleshooting & Check In lessons: 45 minute Zoom session every training week
  • Homework videos will be emailed on a weekly basis.
  • 15-30 minute daily homework practice.

PLUS! Ongoing support for your peace of mind:

  • Maintenance Sessions: 2 sixty-minute private sessions
  • Free Enrollment in a Group Class that fits your goals
  • 3 months of ongoing support after the completion of the puppy’s training program (call or email if you have a question!)

Note:

This program does not cover Public Manners, Fear & Aggression.

Calm & Confident Puppy Program (For puppies between 10 to 16 weeks)

All puppies are different. Some can be bold and adventurous. Others timid and shy. Puppies can exhibit fear when confronted with unfamiliar people, dogs or situations. It is important that you respond to this correctly to help him grow up to become a well adjusted dog. This program is for shy, fearful or nervous puppies who need confidence building & also for overly exuberant puppies to build calmness. We work on behaviors in the house, backyard and neighborhood walks. The program covers:

Confidence & Optimism around people and dogs: Giving them tools to overcome their fears, while building confidence, optimism and coping tools.

Basic Manners: Leave it, drop it, come (in the house, backyard and neighborhood walks).

Self Control: Walk on a loose-leash, greet people politely, wait at the door until asked to step out, wait in the car until asked to hop-out and more.

Settle Calmly: While I make or eat dinner at home, reply to work emails or participate in a work meeting.

Body Handling & Grooming: Teaching your dog what ears, paw, side, chin, muzzle mean. Co-operate during a veterinary exam or a grooming appointment.

Tuition: $6000 for up to 3 months of intense training

  • Board & Train: 5 days a week for 4 weeks (OR)
  • Day School (no overnight stay): 5 days a week for 6 weeks
  • Troubleshooting & Check In lessons: 45 minute Zoom or in person session at the trainer’s hime every training week

PLUS! Ongoing support for your peace of mind:

  • Free Enrollment in a Group Class that fits your goals
  • 3 months of ongoing support after the completion of the training program (call or email anytime you have a question!)

Note:

  • Additional weeks may be required depending on some habits your dog may have developed that need a longer time to be replaced with new behaviors.
  • This program is not for puppies who bark or lunge on the leash. Please check the “Leash Reactive” dog program if your puppy barks or lunges on the leash.
  • This program does not cover Public Manners.

Public Manners Program (Foundation Manners Program Graduates)

You’ve already completed the Foundation Manners Program and you are ready for more freedom! This program teaches your pup to mind his own business “about town” — in public places, downtown areas, parks, shopping complex etc., The program covers:

Walking on a loose leash (building calmness and confidence): in busy down town areas, shopping complex, around the park etc., and minding their own business.

Self control about town: leave it & drop it about town, recall away from squirrels and other dogs at the park.

Minding your own business in public places: Being calm, ignoring other dogs and people, settling at a coffee shop or restaurant.

Polite Greeting: People and dogs in public places.

Tuition: $6000 for up to 3 to 4 months of intense public manners training

  • Board & Train: 4 days per week for 4 weeks (OR)
  • Day School (no overnight stay): 4 days per week for 6 weeks
  • Transfer Lessons: One 60-minute transfer lesson per training week. This is during school hours (8.00 am to 1.00 pm).
  • 30-minute daily homework

Additional Free Perks included in the package for overall support:

  • Maintenance Lessons: Two 60-minute private sessions
  • Free Enrollment in the “About Town Public Manners Impulse Control” class
  • 3 months of ongoing support after the completion of the training program (call or email anytime you have a question!)

Board and Train Bay Area

D for Dogz Training has board and train programs that are offered in the South Bay Area of California. The puppy/dog lives at the trainer’s home while learning the rules of your house.

Board & Train and Day School FAQs

It’s the best option for busy Silicon Valley professionals – between work, school, kids, homework, family, friends, and other commitments, it’s hard to find time to learn to train a puppy. Our certified, experienced dog trainer will spend dedicated time with your puppy to get the training results for you in a fraction of the time and will provide continued help and support for stronger, lasting results.

You wouldn’t hire a lawyer to learn to argue your case and neither would you hire a mechanic to learn to fix your car’s engine. Why hire a trainer to learn how to train your puppy? Leave it to a certified professional to assist you in achieving your doggie-goals, while you focus on other critical things in your life.

Ah! We’re so glad you asked this question.

We can guarantee to give you the tools and the training needed to maintain your puppy’s new learning when he/she comes back home. That way you can continue your puppy’s learning as he/she grows, knowing they have had that awesome start! Think of training your new puppy as “learning to swim” or “learning to drive a car”. Training is a process and it involves doing the work alongside the trainer to maintain and build on your puppy’s newly learned behaviors. Our training programs will install the skills in your puppy but we need to partner with you to practice on a daily basis, when the puppy is home with you.

We can NOT guarantee your dog will be well trained for the rest of his/her life or will be perfect when he/she returns to you (as training always requires maintenance, just like when people learn skills!).

While no training program can guarantee that a puppy will be well-trained for life it makes the process a lot easier and often more fun. — it sure gives you a foundation you can build on. Training is a process. It’s important to do the work with your puppy and continue to build the behaviors your puppy learns.

Guarantees by other trainers are just marketing strategies and often times involve using shock collars and other aversive training methods which work quickly but are not reliable. Please do your research thoroughly before choosing the trainer for your puppy.

That’s an extremely valid question and concern. Our board & train programs are designed keeping the “ease of transfer” of your puppy’s new learning back at home. That’s why the puppy stays with the trainer at her home from Monday through Thursday and goes home for the weekend. We will share your puppy’s new learning with you so you can practice over the weekend.

We also do troubleshooting the following week to ensure we help you through any challenges from the practice work.

These programs build a reliable foundation for your puppy’s training right from the start. It saves you time and effort during the initial learning, while making ongoing training much easier for you. The trainer will share the puppy’s newly learned behaviors and daily homework practice.

You will still have to do the homework and invest time working with your puppy to ensure the learning transfers easily. Investing 15-20 minutes a day in doing the homework gets you more reliable results.

The Board & Train and Day School day for your pup is divided into:

  • Multiple individual training sessions with the trainer
  • Play & Learn time with other dogs
  • Nap time between training and play time
  • Field trips based on the behaviors we are working on
  • Working with Training Assistants to generalize the learning
It depends on the program your puppy/dog is enrolled in. If it’s puppy socialization, problem prevention and foundation manners it’s a 6-week program. If your puppy/dog is shy or overly exuberant and needs confidence building or installing calmness it’s an 8-week program at the foundation level. Foundation obedience is a 4-week program.

If your goal is to address more complicated behavioral challenges, such as fear or leash aggression, the foundation program for board & train is 8-weeks, since it takes time to change previously learned behavior and the emotional responses that cause it.

We also offer customized programs if you are traveling and need the puppy to be with us over the weekend.

It’s not a kennel; it’s a home. Your puppy/dog will come to stay with us in a home while learning the rules of YOUR house. If you are at an easily commutable distance, you can take advantage of “acclamation time”. Visit with your puppy/dog for 30-minutes and then do a slow transition by doing a 2 hour, 4 hour and a 6 hour drop off visit.

If commuting is a challenge, you could consider a 2-night boarding (boarding rates apply) so we can focus on getting your pup comfortable staying at our home.

“I cannot offer a strong enough recommendation for D For Dog’s puppy board & train program. If I could give them A HUNDRED STARS, I would.”

What Our Clients Say

“I cannot offer a strong enough recommendation for D For Dog’s puppy board & train program. If I could give them A HUNDRED STARS, I would.”
Monica Worline, Mom of Noe, a Bernedoodle Puppy (Board & Train Client)
“We were desperately looking for a professional trainer for our very rambunctious Labrador Retriever puppy. After a very thorough research, we hired Kaajal from D For Dog. I am extremely impressed with the outcome.”
Mollika Majumdar, Mom of Buffy, a Labrador Retriever Puppy (Day School Client)