How to spot board and train red flags

A program that sends nothing until pick-up, or only a polished clip at the end, leaves you judging a week or two of your dog's life by a few minutes of video. Ask how often you will hear, in what form and from whom, and whether the updates cover what is still hard as well as what went well. At Dogtown an update arrives every day of the stay, and its format is confirmed when you book.

Visits are a related question. The AKC advises owners to insist on visitation and use it, and Whole Dog Journal suggests finding out when you can watch training in action. Programs differ on visits for good reasons, such as a dog that unsettles each time its owner leaves again, so a no is not automatically a red flag. A no with no reason and no alternative is. Whether you can visit a Dogtown stay is confirmed at the consult.

The AKC's guidance on board and train is to be wary of anybody who guarantees results, and Whole Dog Journal calls any claim that problem behaviors will be eliminated a huge red flag. Dogs learn at their own pace, and a skill holds at home only if the household keeps practicing it, so no program controls the outcome alone. A promise of perfection usually means a method that suppresses behavior, or marketing that has not yet met many dogs.

Watch for its cousins too: lifetime tune-up offers worth reading closely to see what they actually include, before-and-after videos with no word on method, and pressure to pay a deposit the same day. AVSAB's guide ends with advice that fits all of these: watch for stressed or fearful body language, speak up, ask for other options and choose a different trainer if you do not feel heard. Dogtown does not promise results; it publishes its skill lists, its updates and its lessons.