Board and train vs daycare

Why a training stay still includes some daycare

Board and train at Dogtown uses play as part of the day rather than the whole day. Between short training sessions there is rest, enrichment for the brain and, if the free evaluation shows your dog is ready, time in a playgroup of seven to ten dogs matched by size and temperament. Our page on board and train with daycare explains how the two fit together.

The difference is that the play serves the plan. A dog learning impulse control can practice waiting at the gate before going out to the group. A dog working on calm greetings can practice them with known, matched dogs instead of a crowd. Play becomes a reward and a chance to practice, not just a way to burn energy.

Signs your dog needs training, not more daycare

If daycare is already part of your week and the problem at home has not changed, more days are unlikely to fix it. Exercise takes the edge off, but it does not teach a dog what to do instead.

Watch for these patterns. Any of them suggests a training program would do more than another daycare pack.

• Your dog comes home tired but still pulls, jumps and ignores recall
• Daycare reports notes about mouthy play, gate rushing or guarding toys
• Your dog seems more wound up after daycare, not calmer
• The goal is a specific behavior, such as walking nicely past other dogs
• Your dog did not pass a daycare evaluation and you want to know why

The verdict: choose daycare if, choose board and train if

Choose daycare if your dog is social, reasonably well mannered and mainly needs exercise and company while you work. Choose board and train if you need a behavior to change: leash manners, greetings, settling, recall or the general unruliness of an adolescent dog.

The two work well in sequence. Train first with the one-week Foundation program, then use daycare to keep your dog social and exercised. If a daycare turned your dog away, our page on dogs who did not pass the daycare evaluation covers what a stay can and cannot do about that.

If you want something in between

There is a middle ground for dogs who should sleep at home. Dogtown Academy is structured daycare with a daily training session, and Canine Campus is hybrid day training where your dog goes home at night. Both are run through the sister site, dogtowndaycare.com.

These suit owners who can practice in the evenings and want more training than ordinary daycare provides. Our comparison of Academy and board and train goes through that choice in detail.