In Home Board & Train
Our Board & Train dogs get to spend their stay learning and living in one of our amazing trainers homes! We are excited to offer our Board & Train programs to dogs all the way from puppyhood to adulthood, and to work with all kinds of behaviors from basic obedience to reactivity.
Our Board & Train programs are custom built for each dog, so the specifics of your dogs exact stay will vary. Before your dogs stay you will set a training plan with your trainer that includes specific goals for your dog, and their schedule for their Board & Train. Each of our dogs will typically get 2-3 formal training sessions during the day, for five days out of the week. For each week of their stay they will get two days off from formal training (their brains need rest too!) and typically around one field trip per week of their stay (depending on if this is the right service for your dog). Every dog will receive incidental training throughout every day to reinforce good household manners, and daily exercise is a given!
For the most effective Board & Train experience we highly recommend a minimum of two weeks for your pups first stay with us. Follow up stays may be shorter, and we are more than happy to create custom length programs to match with your travel if you will be out of town during your pups stay.
Before scheduling your Board & Train we do require beginning with an Initial Virtual Session. During this first session, you will discuss the issues you are having with your trainer. They will outline the causes for these behaviors, and set goals with you that we would like to reach. Together you set a training plan for your dogs Board & Train that will include what to expect after the stay, and scheduling. After all of that talking, we will make sure to have some time to start training exercises at the end of the lesson. The cost for the Initial Virtual Lesson is $150. This is additional to the cost of your Board & Train. This Initial Virtual Session will not only give us a chance to solidify the training plan, but also ensure that a Board & Train is the right fit for you and your dog. It also gives you a chance to meet your trainer, and see the space where your dog will be staying over Zoom.
After your Initial Session your Board & Train will be scheduled, as well as your follow up lesson. To secure your Board & Train stay, a 50% deposit of your stay will be due after your Initial Virtual Session., along with payment for that session. Depending on which trainer your dog will be staying with, your dog will either be picked up from your home at the beginning of their stay, and dropped back off there at the end or you will meet your trainer at a designated spot in between your home and theirs. This will be set up with your trainer during your initial session. The first lesson after your dogs stay will be in person (outside, socially distanced, and masked) at your dogs drop off. Follow up lessons may be virtual or in person, again this will depend on your dogs needs. One follow up lesson will be included for each week of your dogs stay. This means a two week Board & Train will include two follow up lessons, and so on.
We have different Board & Train options for puppies, adults and for dogs who need special behavioral help. There are details on all of the options below! Board & Train spots are limited, so make sure to try and get set up as soon as possible!
While it can be great to get a Board & Train done while you are out of town, you do not have to be going on a trip to utilize this service! If you are heading out of town, please know that we will do our best to accommodate any trip dates you have coming up, however our Board & Train spots are very limited and typically book out at least a month in advance. Our Behavior Board & Trains especially will often book out a few months in advance. It is typically recommended to plan pretty far ahead if you would like to tie the Board & Train in with a trip.
Puppy
Board & Train
Open to puppies 12 months and under.
This program will focus on teaching good household manners, house training, crate training and your puppy being able to settle around the house. Field trips out into the world will be focused on creating positive interactions with the world and socialization. We will also likely start some basic obedience skills such as sit, down, stay, loose leash walking, leave it and recall.
$170/day
($2550 for two weeks)
Adult
Board & Train
Open to dogs over 6 months.
This program is highly customized. In general we will focus on good household manners, polite greetings, counter surfing and door dashing prevention, general obedience skills, and anything else you need help with! Field trips will be focused on extending your goals out into the real world, and creating real world focus in your dog.
$150/day
($2250 for two weeks)
Behavior Board & Train
This program is for our dogs dealing with reactivity, or any other serious behavior issues. Training plans will be entirely customized to your dogs needs. Field trips may be utilized to expand your dogs world a little further, and give them the opportunity to work with neutral triggers.
$180/day
($2700 for two weeks)
Maryland
Board & Train
Our Board & Train dogs get to spend their stay learning and living in one of our amazing trainers homes! We are excited to offer our Board & Train programs to dogs in the Baltimore area. We have programs designed for puppies, adolescents, and adult dogs to work on their basic obedience and becoming the best companion for their people!
While we do have a general structure for our Board & Train programs, we do customize that structure based on each dog. We work with the dog in front of us each day, so it's always possible that we wont quite get to something in the program, or that we might go beyond the program! It all depends on what is best for your pup. Before your dogs stay you will set a training plan with your trainer that includes specific goals for your dog, and their schedule for their Board & Train. Each of our dogs will typically get 2-3 formal training sessions during the day. During their stay each dog will get some rest time and enjoy yummy enrichment puzzles. They will also get a day or two with no formal training (their brains need rest too!) and get to go on field trips as outlined by the program they are enrolled in. Every dog will receive incidental training throughout every day to reinforce good household manners, and daily exercise is a given!
For the most effective Board & Train experience we highly recommend a three week program for your pups first stay with us. Two weeks is the minimum we offer for a first stay, but a three week stay will allow us to make the most progress! Follow up stays may be shorter, and we are more than happy to create custom length programs to match with your travel if you will be out of town during your pups stay.
Each Board & Train begins with a Virtual Consultation. During this first session, you will discuss the issues you are having with your trainer. They will outline the causes for these behaviors, and set goals with you that we would like to reach. Together you set a training plan for your dogs Board & Train that will include what to expect after the stay, and scheduling. After all of that talking, we will make sure to have some time to start training exercises at the end of the lesson. This Virtual Consultation will not only give us a chance to solidify the training plan, but also ensure that a Board & Train is the right fit for you and your dog. It also gives you a chance to meet your trainer, and see the space where your dog will be staying over Zoom.
After your consultation your Board & Train will be scheduled, as well as your follow up lessons. To secure your Board & Train stay, a 50% deposit of your stay will be due after your Virtual Consultation. Your dog will either be picked up from your home at the beginning of their stay, and dropped back off there at the end or you will meet your trainer at a designated spot in between your home and theirs. This will be set up with your trainer during your initial session. The first lesson after your dogs stay will be in person at your dogs drop off. Follow up lessons may be virtual or in person, again this will depend on your dogs needs.
All of our Board & Trains receive weekly video updates and a full report at go home including step by step instructions for each skill they have learned, and links to instructional videos for those skills.
We have different Board & Train programs for puppies, adolescents and adult dogs. Unfortunately we are not able to offer this service for dogs with behavioral concerns at this time. There are details on all of the options below! Board & Train spots are limited, so make sure to try and get set up as soon as possible!
While it can be great to get a Board & Train done while you are out of town, you do not have to be going on a trip to utilize this service! If you are heading out of town, please know that we will do our best to accommodate any trip dates you have coming up, however our Board & Train spots are very limited and typically book out at least a month in advance. It is typically recommended to plan pretty far ahead if you would like to tie the Board & Train in with a trip.
Beginner Dog
This program is the best fit for puppies under 10 months, and adolescent dogs without much formal training under their belt.
This program will focus on teaching good household manners, house training, crate training and your puppy being able to settle around the house, as well as starting basic obedience behaviors. Field trips out into the world will be focused on creating positive interactions with the world and socialization.
In this program we will work on:
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Waiting at doors
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Counter surfing
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Learning to settle
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Learning to be confined
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Sit
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Down
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Learning their name
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Touch
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Socialization and confidence building.
We will also start creating foundations for strong leave it, coming when called, loose leash walking and stay skills.
This program also includes a consultation lesson before the program begins, 4 field trips to unique locations, 3 follow up lessons to transfer the training to your home, and full access to our Starter Kit Virtual Course.
3 weeks: $3900
2 weeks: $2700
Intermediate Dog
This program is a great fit for those who have graduated the Beginner Dog program, adolescent dogs with some foundational skills, or adult dogs who need a bit of a refresher course.
This program will also focus on creating good household manners, and creating really strong basic obedience skills to make living with your pup as easy as possible.
In this program we will work on:
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Strengthening our Sit & Down skills
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Stay
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Loose Leash Walking
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Coming When Called
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Place
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Learning to be confined and settle
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Leave It
-
Waiting at doors
-
Counter surfing
During a three week stay we will also work on taking these skills out and about to nearby parks and around the neighborhood.
This program also includes a consultation lesson before the program begins, 2 field trips to unique locations (3 trips for the 3 week program), 3 follow up lessons to transfer the training to your home and a 10% discount on the more advanced Virtual Course of your choice.
3 weeks: $3700
2 weeks: $2500
Advanced Dog
This program is the best fit for dogs with a lot of training experience who are really ready to take their skills to the next level.
We have three different paths that you can choose from for our Advanced Dog Program; Family Dog, Adventure Dog, and City Dog.
Family Dog is focused on continuing good household and neighborhood manners. In this program we will work on creating really strong skills for park trips and walks around the neighborhood, as well as calm behavior around the home. This program also includes 2 field trips.
Adventure Dog is focused on creating a strong foundation for off leash skills and good manners for hiking and camping with your dog. In this program we will spend a lot of time in the woods!
City Dog is focused on creating that really cool "about town" dog who can go pretty much anywhere with you. In this program we will take a lot of field trips and work on our skills in dog friendly stores, shopping centers, and at dog friendly restaurants.
No matter which path you pick these programs all include 3 follow up lessons to transfer the training to your home, and a 10% discount on our more advanced Virtual Courses.
3 weeks: $3500
2 weeks: $2400
Follow Up Stay
Our Follow Up Stay's are only open to dogs who have completed any of our other programs.
This is a great option for our previous students who might need a little refresher, or a fun place to stay while their humans go out of town! Our Follow Up Stay's are completely customizable in length and in skills to work on. Just as with our other programs we will start with a virtual lesson to set our goals, and there will be one follow up session included per week of your dogs stay.
$150/day
It is important to remember that a Board & Train is a jump start. There will still be work to do when your pup comes home to reinforce the training and make sure that everything transfers. Transfer lessons will help with that and we are happy to continue to support you as much as we can after a Board & Train to make sure that everything transfers smoothly. If you are concerned about the transfer process, make sure to let us know and we can help you come up with additional plans to make it as smooth as possible.
Meet our Trainer
Meggan Porter
KPA-CTP CPDT-KA
Meggan's love of dogs started at an early age. Being born into a family who was in equal parts allergic to and afraid of dogs, meant that she was forced to find creative ways to share her life with dogs as a child. Her passion for dogs has carried through all the way into adult life, and she now makes sure her home is stuffed to the gills with dogs by specializing in Board & Trains and Day School held in her home.
Meggan is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy, and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed. She is dedicated to making dog training easy and accessible to clients by pursuing continuing education through webinars, seminars, and conferences, as well as reading. Meggan has been working with dogs since 2008 in a variety of different settings. She has been a receptionist at a vet clinic, a kennel technician at a boarding facility, as well as a shelter, and a head trainer at a training facility and a kennel.
She currently has 3 resident dogs. She has a sweet old mixed breed, a non stop Border Collie, and a shockingly chill husky mix. She also shares her home with a grumpy old cat, a very tolerant husband, and a very happy toddler. Her family recently moved to Baltimore, MD, back to where Meggan grew up!
Meggan likes to focus on teaching dogs to make the right choices without being told what to do, and on mentally stimulating dogs. She specializes in teaching lazy household manners that translate well back to our clients homes, as well as refining obedience skills. She also loves taking dogs on field trips to teach good manners on trails, build foundations for off leash skills, and help her students feel comfortable in stores and on patios. Meggan's goal is to help owners understand their dogs better and help create as many good pet dogs as possible.
