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Stress, explained

Is board and train stressful for dogs?

Any honest answer starts with yes, a little. The useful questions are how much, for which dogs, and what a program does about it. This page covers what stress looks like, what the research measured, how Dogtown's suite and routine are set up, and which dogs we would not book.

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White and tan hound mix nosing through a snuffle mat on the Academy deck

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

Definition

Stress is the body's response to a challenge, and some of it comes with any stay

Stress, in the animal welfare sense, is the set of physical and behavioral changes a body makes to meet a challenge, from a faster heart rate to a rise in cortisol. It is not always harmful. The AVSAB points out that cortisol, the stress marker most often measured in dogs, rises with positive excitement as well as with distress, which makes it hard to read on its own. A dog greeting its favorite person and a dog cornered by a stranger can both show a cortisol rise.

What matters is how intense the stress is, how long it lasts and whether the dog can recover. Merck's Veterinary Manual lists boarding kennels, along with vet clinics, car rides, loud noises and being left alone, among the common things dogs fear. Its glossary adds that emotional arousal can substantially affect an animal's ability to learn. A dog that is too stressed in a training stay is not only unhappy; it is learning very little.

  • Appetite: eating normally by the second day, or not
  • Rest: lying down and sleeping in the suite, or pacing
  • Recovery: how quickly the dog settles after a door bangs or a dog barks
  • Engagement: taking food and offering behavior in sessions
  • Body: panting, trembling or a tucked tail without heat or exercise

The research

The research shows arousal rises in a kennel, and that adjusting takes time

The most relevant study used owned dogs rather than shelter dogs. Part and colleagues, writing in Physiology and Behavior in 2014, compared 29 dogs at home and in a boarding kennel. Besides cortisol, a urinary breakdown product of adrenaline and noradrenaline rose and the dogs' surface temperature dropped in the kennel, and previous kennel experience made no difference. Dogs were also more active there. The authors read all of this as arousal rather than proof of distress, which is the honest way to describe a dog's first nights anywhere new.

Shelter studies show the time course, with caveats. Hiby and colleagues followed 26 dogs entering a rehoming kennel and saw panting and paw-lifting fall, and drinking and grooming rise, over the first ten days. Stephen and Ledger found shelter dogs' urinary cortisol stayed above home levels for most of a month. A shelter is harsher than a planned stay, with no owner coming back, so treat these as a ceiling rather than a forecast. We found no study of stress during board and train itself.

A cream-colored dog sleeping on its back on a blue cooling mat on a pale floor beside a potted plant.

At Dogtown

A suite, a fixed routine and a slow start are how Dogtown keeps stress down

Predictability is the main tool. A board and train dog sleeps in an overnight suite with 24/7 monitoring and follows the same order each day: meals at set times, short training blocks, rest, enrichment and, once Gabriella Pope judges the dog ready, a playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament. The first days ask very little. Training gets harder only when the dog is eating, resting and offering behavior on its own.

Enrichment gives a stressed dog something steady to do with its nose and mouth. A lick mat at $5, a puzzle game at $7, the sniff room at $7 and a frozen Kong at $6 are the same add-ons any overnight guest can have, and many dogs find sniffing and licking settling. Pack your dog's usual food, pre-portioned, and one comfort item it sleeps with. The daily update reports eating, rest and settling, not only the skills worked on.

  1. 01

    Offer a meal somewhere unfamiliar, such as a friend's porch, and see whether your dog eats

  2. 02

    Time how long it takes to settle after a doorbell or a dropped pan

  3. 03

    Notice how it sleeps on the night after a busy day

  4. 04

    Watch its body on a short drive to somewhere new

  5. 05

    Book the free evaluation, weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM, so our building is not brand new

  6. 06

    Bring all of it to the consult, where it shapes the plan or the advice not to board

Who should not board

Some dogs should not do a stay at all, and the assessment says so before you book

A board and train is the wrong choice for some dogs, at least for now. A dog that panics when confined or left, with drooling, damaged nails or bent crate bars in its history, needs a home-based plan first. So does a dog that will not eat away from home, shuts down around strangers or is in the middle of a fear period. A dog with a complex medical routine may do better without nights away; medication handling for a stay is confirmed at the consult, case by case.

For those dogs Dogtown suggests another route. Canine Campus trains by day and sends the dog home each night, starting with Freshman, about 10 training and adventure days over two weeks. Brave & Balanced builds confidence for young dogs from 4 months, and Level 3 programs such as Focus & Flow, 6 weeks and 12 sessions, work on fear with you there. Private sessions start from $94. Noise-sensitive dogs should also avoid a stay over Gloucester's July 3 fireworks.

  • Panic when confined or left alone
  • Will not eat away from home
  • Deep fear of people, places or noises
  • In a fear period right now
  • A complex medical routine that needs close watching

At Dogtown

A calmer stay

Overnight suites, enrichment add-ons and the training team work together to keep a stay predictable.

Australian shepherd sitting attentively during training Dog TrainingFrom $94 per session · Explore Golden retriever resting on a cozy bed in a Dogtown boarding suite Overnight StaysFrom $78 · Explore Black lab enjoying a lick mat Enrichment Add-OnsNewFrom $5 · 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.

How long does it take a dog to settle into a board and train?
It varies too much to promise a number. Shelter studies show behavior changing over the first ten days and hormone levels staying raised for weeks, though a planned stay is gentler than a shelter. We judge settling by eating, resting and how fast the dog recovers from surprises, and training waits until those look normal. The daily update tells you where your dog is.
Do dogs lose weight during a board and train?
They should not, and you can check. You send your dog's usual food, pre-portioned, and the daily update reports how it is eating. If your dog is a picky eater or has a sensitive stomach, say so at the consult. Weigh your dog before drop-off and after pick-up if you would like a number, and raise any concern straight away.
Is a training stay more stressful than an ordinary overnight stay?
No study compares the two. Training adds structure and a person paying close attention, which may reassure some dogs, and it also adds demands. A dog that already handles Dogtown overnight stays well has a head start. A dog new to time away should do the free evaluation early so the building is not brand new on drop-off day.
Will other dogs stress my dog during the stay?
Only if it is put somewhere it cannot cope, which is what the evaluation is for. Playgroups are 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament, and a board and train dog joins only when Gabriella Pope judges it ready. Some dogs never join a group during a stay and spend that time on enrichment and rest instead.
Can stress stop my dog from learning?
Yes. Merck's Veterinary Manual notes that emotional arousal can substantially affect an animal's ability to learn, so an anxious dog absorbs little however good the trainer is. That is why the first days of a stay ask so little, why sessions stay short, and why a dog that cannot settle is pointed toward a program that keeps it at home.

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

Board and train at DogtownWhen not to choose board and trainDecompression before trainingFear periods and training Board and train All guides

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