Fast Results or Lasting Skills? The Truth About Two Week Dog Training Programs

It’s no secret we as Americans are an Amazon Prime society – I want it and I want it now! Everything is available at the push of a button from clothes, cars, even houses can be bought sight unseen. This mentality has oozed into our dog training world. No matter which realm of dog training you are interested in, they have programs offering jam-packed results with fast turnout. So, let’s talk about what’s at stake for you, your dog, and the pet industry as a whole.

The history of Board and Trains - and why they work

Board and Train or in-kennel programs have been around for over 100 years. However, the upsurge really took off in the early 2000s. Add social media platforms over the last 15 years, and the boom of popularity is what we have grown to love today. Why? Because it absolutely works. Professional dog trainers are able to build a bond with your dog to produce a solid foundation of skills to help create a well-rounded dog with basic obedience skills. Trainers are typically pulling out your dog multiple times a day, building a bond with your dog, teaching your dog commands you agreed upon, and proofing that skill before the end of the stay. Owners will then have to dedicate time to the upkeep of the training. For many of us with busy lifestyles, the Board and Train programs are a life saver.

My concern is that these training programs are becoming shorter and shorter. Are the dogs truly able to learn, generalize, and retain in such a short timeframe?

Most of the dogs we get for Board and Train programs at Highland Canine have behavior issues, ranging from just high energy, shyness or fearful, to full-on aggression. We do get some easy ones from time-to-time where I would be comfortable with the progress that could be made in two weeks, but these situations are very rare. The first few days, your dog is trying to adjust to a new environment and someone new handling them. The first week is just bonding time, perhaps teaching a few basic commands with bait and lure, and very little pressure. Keep in mind that a trainer should be getting this dog out multiple times a day, but it’s not ideal to put a lot of pressure on a dog in the first week. During the second week, most dogs are much more comfortable and want to work; this is where the real teaching goes on for basic obedience courses.

This is where I start to get confused. In two-week programs – when do you get the proofing work in? For example, working them around distractions and other dogs – that’s typically what that third week (for some Board and Train programs, four weeks) comes into play. What if you still don’t have the best bond or teaching with the dog by week two? I feel like trainers are putting more stress on themselves and rushing, so could you imagine how that affects the dog?

The negative consequences of rushing through a training program

Rushing a dog through training too quickly can have a number of negative effects on your dog. It’s no secret that dogs need time to process what they have learned and associate it with a positive or negative outcome of behavior. If your dog is pushed too fast, this can result in unwanted anxious behavior. Some stress is good for the dog, but there has to be a balance. Dogs are contextual learners, meaning that if you for example teach them to sit inside your home, then ask them to sit outside in the yard, they may not understand because it is a different setting. That’s why you need short quick multiple sessions of training with gradual proofing. The lack of this gradual proofing would result in apprehensive behavior with no true understanding of what’s being asked. Try and roll that over to the pet owner when the dog has no true understanding of the commands, and the result is failure.

So let’s look at the relationship problems that can result with too much pressure and pushing too fast. With some of our young dogs, ‘too much, too soon’ can cause them to shut down, or just stop working for you altogether. All enthusiasm is lost. If the dog is pressured or corrected with training tools unfairly (because they don’t know it), trust can break down. They simply have no trust in you as the trainer and/or the pet owner (if continued at home). The goal here is to build the dog and open the lines of communication – not shut them down. The bottom line is dogs trained too fast, under too much stress and confusion, are not reliable dogs.

At Highland Canine we have a School for Dog Trainers, where we offer courses on how to be a dog trainer. I have talked to many of my former students and even mentors in the field. There are a few that have a two week board and train but then offer a handful of one on one private lessons with the owner. I could see that approach working in some areas (Metro areas). However, many of our clients don’t just live down the road, so commuting for private lessons could be challenging. Most simply say they couldn’t imagine getting it all done in two weeks – some cases require them to ask their client for extended time. For example, a three week basic obedience with a shy dog, many trainers need an extension of at least one week to get more proofing and foundation work completed to hand off to the client. Most trainers said they could barely get it done in three to four weeks, and couldn’t imagine trying to cram it all in sooner.

In conclusion

In closing, I am all for wanting to get your pet back to you as soon as possible, but I also want to give you the best I can do with your dog. In most cases, I don’t think I can do that with integrity in two weeks with the majority of the dogs we have come through our Board and Train programs.