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Choosing a program

How to choose a board and train program

Board and train asks you to hand your dog to someone else for a week or more, usually without watching the training. That makes the choice weightier than picking a weekly class, and it is worth an afternoon of checking before you pay anyone.

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Hound mix working treats out of a snuffle bowl with a trainer’s help

Last reviewed October 9, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

Method

Method comes first, because you will not be in the room when it is used

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's guide to choosing a trainer opens with method. It calls positive reinforcement effective, humane and ethical, and calls methods that rely on force, intimidation or pain unnecessary and unethical. Its red flags include prong and shock collars, leash jerks, rolling a dog onto its back, rattle cans and water spray bottles, along with words such as alpha, pack leader and dominant on a trainer's website.

Ask every program for its methods and equipment in writing, as the AKC recommends, and read its website the way AVSAB suggests, because the words and the videos give the method away. Dogtown's training is fear- and force-free and built on positive reinforcement, with no prong, choke or shock collars at any stage. If your dog's trouble is fear, anxiety or aggression, AVSAB points you to a veterinarian with behavior knowledge, a veterinary behaviorist or a credentialed behavior consultant.

  • Green: treats, toys, praise, clicker or marker training
  • Green: preventing a habit and teaching a replacement
  • Red: prong, shock or choke collars and leash jerks
  • Red: alpha, pack leader, dominant, obey

Licensing

Check the kennel license with the town, because Massachusetts licenses programs locally

Under chapter 140, section 136A of the Massachusetts General Laws, a commercial boarding or training kennel is an establishment that boards, holds or trains other people's animals for pay while the owner is away. The only carve-out for individuals covers someone who does it temporarily and not in the normal course of business. The MSPCA puts it plainly: Massachusetts kennels should be licensed by the city or town where they are located, and boarding even one dog for a fee calls for a kennel license.

So ask which town issued the license and when the kennel was last inspected, then confirm with that town's clerk. The rules are also changing. Ollie's Law was signed on September 20, 2024 and took effect on December 19, 2024; MDAR's regulations for commercial boarding and training kennels were due in 2026 and, as of the March 18, 2026 advisory committee minutes, had not been released. Put the license question to us as well as to everyone else.

Updates and lessons

Updates and owner lessons tell you whether the training will reach your home

Two things separate a program you can follow from one you cannot. The first is updates: how often you hear, from whom and in what form. Dogtown sends an update every day of the stay, and whether it carries photos, video or a written note is confirmed when you book. A program that goes quiet until pick-up leaves you judging a week of training by the dog in the lobby.

The second is owner lessons. The AKC notes that dogs do not generalize well and that a program should teach you every verbal cue and hand signal your dog learned; Whole Dog Journal says a stay should end with a few private sessions in which the trainer works with you. At Dogtown, Foundation ends with one go-home lesson and Advanced includes two scheduled coaching lessons. Count the lessons in every quote you compare.

  • Updates: how often, from whom, in what form
  • Owner lessons: how many, how long, and when
  • Visits: what the program allows
  • References: past clients you can call
Jack Russell terrier in a harness walking on a loose leash beside its owner on an autumn path

The steps

Shortlist in six steps, and compare the answers side by side

Treat the search like hiring someone to work in your home, because in a sense you are. Write your goals first, so you can judge whether each program's skill list matches them, then gather the same facts from every program. AVSAB's final step is advocacy: watch for stress in the dogs you see, speak up, and choose a different trainer if you do not feel heard or supported.

Education is worth asking about, though the AKC notes that dog training is an unregulated industry and that certification is not mandatory. AVSAB names schools such as the Karen Pryor Academy and Jean Donaldson's Academy for Dog Trainers, and groups such as the Pet Professional Guild and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as backgrounds that make reward-based training more likely, while adding that credentials alone do not prove quality.

  1. 01

    Write down the three skills you most need and any behavior that worries you

  2. 02

    Read each program's website for method words, equipment and the dogs in its videos

  3. 03

    Ask for the methods and the equipment list in writing

  4. 04

    Ask which town issued the kennel license, then check with that town

  5. 05

    Visit, see where dogs sleep and spend the day, and meet the trainer

  6. 06

    Lay the answers side by side: method, license, updates, lessons, price and terms

Fit

Weigh the fit for your dog and your calendar, not only the program

Some dogs are better served by no stay at all. AVSAB directs dogs with fear, anxiety or aggression toward veterinary behavior help or a credentialed consultant, and a stay away from home is a poor first step for them. At Dogtown those dogs usually start in owner-present programs, such as React Less, Relax More over 8 weeks and 16 sessions, and the assessment with Gabriella Pope says so before anything is booked.

Distance matters too. Every program needs you back for the lessons, so a stay an hour away means several drives. From Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, the Pup Van covers a Dogtown drop-off for $10 each way; from farther afield, plan the trips up Route 128 to Eastern Ave before you book. Training sessions start from $94, and every stay is quoted after the assessment.

At Dogtown

Dogtown's training programs

Board and train is one of several force-free routes, and the assessment matches the program to your dog.

Australian shepherd sitting attentively during training Dog TrainingFrom $94 per session · Explore

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Is a licensed kennel automatically a good board and train?
No. A kennel license tells you the city or town licensed the premises. It says nothing about how dogs are trained, what equipment is used or how many lessons you get. Check the license and the methods separately, and get the equipment list in writing before you pay a deposit.
Do dog trainers need a certification?
Not by law. The AKC notes that dog training is an unregulated industry and that certification with a body such as the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers is not mandatory. Ask about education anyway, and look for the reward-based schools and organizations of the kind AVSAB names.
Should I be able to visit during a board and train?
The AKC advises owners to insist on visits and use them, and Whole Dog Journal suggests finding out when you can watch training in action. Programs handle this differently, so ask each one and get the answer in writing. Whether you can visit during a Dogtown stay is confirmed at the consult.
How do I compare a listed price with one quoted after an assessment?
Compare what each price buys: the length, the methods and equipment, the number of owner lessons, the updates and the terms. A low weekly figure with no lessons and a collar sold on top is not the cheaper option in the end. Dogtown quotes every stay after a short assessment, and sessions start from $94.
Can I ask Dogtown the same questions?
Please do. Our methods, updates, lesson counts and skill lists are published, and the details we have not published, such as overnight staffing or the deposit terms, are answered at the consult. Hold our answers to exactly the standard you apply to everyone else's.

More questions? Read the full FAQ

Sources

Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.

Keep reading

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Send the training form with your questions about methods, updates and lessons. We reply within one hour on business days.

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