Foundation · 1 week
One-week Foundation board & train
A one-week stay for puppies, young dogs and dogs missing the basics: obedience, leash skills, place, stay, recall, impulse control and household manners, with daily updates and a go-home lesson.
What is Foundation board & train?
Foundation is the shorter of Dogtown’s two board-and-train programs. Your dog stays with us at 210 Eastern Ave for one week and trains through the stay with our training team, led by Gabriella Pope, our Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist.
It is built for the dogs who need a good start: puppies, young dogs and older dogs who never got the basics. Training is fear- and force-free, and the week ends with a go-home lesson where you learn to ask for every skill yourself.
Who it’s for
- Puppies and young dogs starting out
- Dogs who never learned the basics
- New family dogs who need house manners and a routine
- Owners who want a head start before practicing at home
The skills
What your dog learns in Foundation
These are the skills the program covers. Gabby agrees the priorities with you at the assessment, so you know what is being worked on before day one.
Basic obedience
Sit, down and the everyday cues that make a dog easy to live with, taught with food, play and clear markers.
Leash skills
Walking without towing, so a walk is something you both enjoy rather than a tug of war.
Place, stay and recall
Going to a bed or cot and staying there until released, holding a position, and coming when called.
Impulse control
Waiting at doors, for the food bowl and before greeting people, instead of acting on the first impulse.
Crate and household manners
Settling calmly in a crate, and the house habits that make the hours at home easier.
Daycare integration and enrichment
Time in a small, matched playgroup when your dog is ready, plus enrichment that works the brain as well as the legs.
How the stay runs
The shape of a 1 week stay
Short training sessions
Short, focused sessions rather than one long drill, so your dog stays keen.
Rest and enrichment
Down time between sessions, plus enrichment that tires the brain as well as the body.
Playgroup when ready
Time in a small group of 7–10 dogs matched by size and temperament, if the evaluation shows your dog is ready.
A daily update
An update each day so you can follow the week as it happens.
Every dog is different, so the exact rhythm of the day is set by the plan, not a fixed timetable.
After the stay
One go-home lesson
At the end of the week you take the leash. The trainer walks you through each cue your dog has learned, shows you how to ask for it and reward it, and answers your questions, so the skills keep working once your dog is home.
Training only lasts if it is practiced. A skill your dog is no longer asked for, or rewarded for, fades over time, so the go-home coaching is about you as much as your dog.
Included
Every Foundation stay includes
An overnight suite
Your dog sleeps in a quiet suite with comfortable bedding and 24/7 monitoring.
Daily training
Training every day of the stay, planned around the goals agreed at the assessment.
Daycare integration
Time in a small playgroup of 7–10 dogs matched by size and temperament, when your dog is ready.
Enrichment
Brain work as well as exercise, in a 10,000 sq. ft. facility built for dogs.
Daily updates
An update every day, so you can follow along while your dog is with us.
Go-home coaching
One lesson with Foundation, two with Advanced, so the skills keep working at home.
Your dog’s trainer
Gabriella Pope
Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist
“Training rooted in trust, communication and consistency, for happier dogs and confident owners.”
As a Dogtown Trainer, Gabby uses relationship-based, fear- and force-free training centered on positive reinforcement, mindfulness and clear communication. She focuses on the why behind behavior, whether fear, frustration, reactivity or sensitivity, to create personalized plans that build confidence and lasting change.
How it works
From enquiry to go-home lesson
- 01
Send the enquiry
Tell us about your dog and what you would like to change. We reply within one hour on business days.
- 02
Assessment with Gabby
A short assessment to agree the goals and choose Foundation or Advanced.
- 03
Free evaluation
A temperament test on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, which also shows whether your dog is ready for a playgroup.
- 04
The stay
Your dog trains every day, sleeps in an overnight suite and you get a daily update.
- 05
Go-home lesson
You learn every skill yourself, with the trainer beside you, before the leash goes home.
FAQs
Foundation questions
Is one week long enough?
How old does my puppy need to be?
What does Foundation cost?
More questions? Read the full board & train FAQ
Next step
Is Foundation right for your dog?
Send the enquiry and we reply within one hour on business days to set up a short assessment with Gabby. The evaluation is free.
- 01Send the enquiryReply within the hour on business days
- 02Assessment & evaluationPick Foundation or Advanced
- 03Train & go homeDaily updates, go-home coaching
