In Angier K9’s Board & Train, your dog stays and trains with our team, and you join three full owner lessons so the work comes home with you. Here is what that looks like, step by step, from the first conversation to Go-Home day.
1. It starts with a free consultation
Every plan begins with a free, in-person consultation, about an hour long, usually at your home or a place you choose. We meet The Dog In Front Of Us: their needs, personality, history and what motivates them. We talk through your goals, and we recommend a suitable direction, so you leave knowing the next step.
Wondering what to bring? Our guide on how to prepare for your consultation walks through it.
2. Your dog stays and trains with our team
Play is central to how we train. Chase & Catch, Possession Games, Flirt Pole, Personal Play and other games help us discover what your dog loves and bring that motivation into the lesson.
A large part of the learning happens on walks: parks, busy downtown areas, dog-friendly stores and other everyday locations. We choose the setting and the level of distraction around your dog’s needs and readiness.
3. Useful skills for real situations
Every Board & Train builds practical communication alongside the skills your dog needs:
- Sit, Down, Place, Stay, Recall, Heel, Let’s Go and Out
- Verbal markers: Ok! and Ah-Ah!
- Loose-leash walking and handler focus
- Door, crate and household manners
- Confidence, impulse control and public neutrality
- Appropriate off-leash work as the dog progresses
Additional skills are sometimes taught, depending on the needs of the case. Some dogs need focused behavior modification alongside obedience, and we also offer protection and service dog training.
4. You can watch the work
We record the majority of each dog’s training sessions, and public training updates let you follow along while your dog is with us. Current families can find their dog’s videos on the Client Updates page.
5. Three full owner lessons
Learning starts during training. Every Board & Train includes three full owner lessons, at around 2½ weeks, around 3–3½ weeks and on Go-Home day. We coordinate the dates with you during the program.
In those lessons we teach your dog’s commands, handling, equipment, expectations and daily maintenance, and how to use play, your dog’s positive motivators, the verbal markers and practical walks to keep teaching at home. See what owners learn in the lessons.
6. Go-Home day, and after
On Go-Home day your dog comes home with you, and the third owner lesson connects everything to your house and your routine. Every Board & Train also includes recorded training to revisit and free ongoing support with no end date: call or text the main line, answered by a trainer. How training support works.
See it for yourself
Explore thirty-nine family stories on this site, in their own words and recordings. Start with Bandit, who walked off leash through the downtown Raleigh crowds on his go-home day, or browse every family story.
Still comparing trainers? Here are eight questions worth asking any dog trainer.
Every plan starts with the dog in front of us. Book a free consultation with Angier K9, and let’s talk about your dog.