Many clients who reach out to us have real reservations when it comes to sending their dog to a board and train program. They’ve heard or read horror stories from other trainers who’ve neglected, injured or mistreated dogs in their care, and they’ve heard that training doesn’t transfer to the owners. While this may sadly be true for other companies, it isn’t for us. Since our start in 2014, we’ve had nothing but great success with our board and train program. Here are six myths you might be worried about (and why they’re not true!)

  1. Dogs are in kennels all day.

    In some boarding facilities, dogs are left in a kennel run for approximately 23.5 hours per day. They are taken out twice a day to train for 15 minutes.

    Not at Valor K9 Academy! In our program, we don’t have kennel runs. Dogs in our program live in our trainers’ homes. Yes, they are crated off and on throughout the day but they also get several hours of exercise, playtime and training each day, so their time in the crate is spent resting and decompressing. Think of it as a summer camp for dogs. We work hard to provide your dog with ample activities to make their stay with us both fun and educational. Dogs love coming to stay with us, and they love to learn! We often have board and train dogs come back for boarding, and they always get super excited to see us and come back to their “old stomping grounds.”

  2. Dogs aren’t supervised.

    At other places, dogs are left in a daycare or unstructured environment when they’re not in training. This is the worst thing for dogs! Leaving a dog to his own devices is like leaving a toddler unsupervised. They’re bound to get into trouble. And when a dog isn’t supervised carefully, that’s when accidents happen. Lots of owners have reported picking their dogs up from board and train and finding injuries the trainer didn’t know about. Why didn’t the trainer know about the injuries? Because he wasn’t supervising the dog.

    Not at Valor K9 Academy! We monitor dogs closely, and EVERY TIME they are out of the crate they are closely supervised: while pottying outside, while playing with other dogs, while hanging out in the house. In fact, we even inspect their pee (for hydration) and poop (for any issues) to spot problems BEFORE they arise. We are all about supervision and safety for dogs entrusted to us. If anything goes wrong, we are the first to know about it, and we take action the appropriate action immediately.

    dog training boise

  3. Dogs don’t get proper training.

    Sadly there are trainers that are nothing short of scam artists. They promise you the world and they don’t deliver. After you pay, you get next-to-nothing from them. How do we know all this? Because many of our clients have gone to other trainers before us, and left disappointed and robbed of their time and money.

    Not at Valor K9 Academy! We deliver on our promises. In fact, we front-load our training as part of our training methods, so that we can get ahead of any issues that may arise. If we have a dog who’s nervous, we invest the time upfront to set that dog up for success. If we have a dog who’s not super motivated, we work with the dog to help him learn the behaviors, skills and commands he needs to learn in a manner that works for him. If we have a super energetic dog, we work hard to meet that dog’s needs to make sure he’s in an ideal state of mind to best learn the tasks in front of him. We work hard, day in and day out, to set our students dogs up for success. We send home dogs TRAINED and OBEDIENT to meet or in some cases exceed our clients’ expectations.

  4. Training doesn’t transfer.

    Generalization is a real thing. It’s part of the science behind how dogs learn. I had a client in Boise tell me that she paid five thousand dollars for her dog to go to training, and after a month her dog’s training didn’t transfer to her home. The trainer did ONE HOUR of training with her, the owner, and basically said “Good luck” at the end of the hour, he walked out the door, and she never heard from him again.

    Not at Valor K9 Academy! And I’ll tell you why. 1) We generalize our training. What your dog learns in our training room, we then practice in every area of our house, indoors and outdoors, and in new locations such as parks, parking lots and pet stores. This is what generalization is all about. Taking what your dog has learned and applying it in new places so your dog knows “What you’re doing for me here, in this room, you also have to do here, and here, and here, and with her, him and the children of the family.” Generalization. We GENERALIZE our training so that your dog is SUPER OBEDIENT and that makes your dog successful at home. We also spend SEVERAL hours with our clients making sure they understand their dog’s training, we work with the owner in their home, and we break down their learning into multiple training lessons not just one. Then we offer follow-up lessons with every board and train to make sure the client and their dog are doing well at home. And our trainers are always just a phone call away should questions or issues arise. We go the extra mile in every regard to set up our clients and their dogs for success.

  5. Don’t send your puppy for a board and train, it’s a waste of money.

    Most other trainers think of puppy training as a joke. They introduce them to a few dogs, work on a few behaviors and call it good. The puppy goes home mildly better than he was month before. After all, what else can 30 minutes of training in a chaotic kennel atmosphere get you?!

    Ready for it? NOT AT VALOR K9 ACADEMY! We want alllll the puppy clients, because we believe puppy training is incredibly important. Getting the right puppy and starting with early training is a recipe for success! We do 10-15 sessions of training per day or more to set up the puppy for success. (Puppies thrive with short 2-10 minute training sessions!) In fact, we do 2-3 hours of training on average per day with our puppy students. We work hard and provide them with a vast array of training experiences such as socialization and exposure to new people, places, sights, sounds, surfaces and animals to build confident, go-anywhere, do-anything dogs, and then we introduce all the basic commands, teach them fun activities like treadmill and flirt pole, and work on their manners, crate training and potty training. We do it all…and then some! We work hard to give your puppy a good foundation. And that foundation is invaluable for helping to raise a well-rounded dog.

  6.  My dog will forget me!

    Not so! We’ve trained thousands of dogs and not ONE has forgotten his/her owner. So rest assured, your dog will not forget you, he will be happy to see you, and he will always remember the good time he had with us!

    Here at Valor K9 Academy, our standard is excellence. We are committed to customer service, quality training and integrity. Our board and train program is typically booked 3-6 months out, as it’s a super popular program for us, and we strive to exceed our clients’ expectations. We work hard for you, so you can reap the benefits of a well-trained dog in a short period of time. The board and train program is a GREAT way to get lasting success with your dog’s obedience and behavior.