How much exercise does my dog get during board and train?

We do not publish an hour count for exercise, because the right amount for a seven-month Labrador and a nine-year-old beagle is not the same. What we publish is the building and the programs. Dogtown has indoor play floors, an outdoor turf yard with pools and platforms, a supervised dogPACER treadmill and a sniff room. Both programs include daycare integration when appropriate and enrichment, and Advanced adds real-world outings in its second week.

Within that, a day alternates effort and recovery: a short training block, then movement or play, then something calm, then rest. An overtired dog listens worse, not better, so the plan guards downtime as carefully as playtime. Gabby sets the mix at the consult from what you tell us about your dog's normal day, and the daily update reports how your dog moved, played and rested.

A Foundation week works on basic obedience and leash skills, place, stay and recall, impulse control, and crate and household manners. Much of that is physical in small doses: loose-leash walking around the yard, recall games on a long line, settles between bursts of play. A puppy's week leans further toward naps, and a senior's toward gentle movement chosen for comfort, which our page on the exercise and rest schedule covers in detail.

Advanced adds the outings. Taking the same skills somewhere busier is harder work than any lap of the yard, because new smells, people, traffic and other dogs all compete for attention, so an outing counts as the day's biggest effort and is followed by an easier afternoon. Where outings go depends on the dog, the season and the plan, and it is settled at the consult rather than promised in advance.

The plan starts from the dog you describe. A dog that runs five miles with you every morning and one that strolls the block need different days, and heat changes the picture for some: a 2020 study of UK dogs by Hall, Carter and O'Neill found that dogs with a short-nosed skull shape and dogs over 50 kilograms were at greater risk of heat-related illness. Humid Gloucester summers move play toward shade and the yard's pools, and nor'easter days move it indoors to the play floors and the treadmill.

Send us the details before the consult using the steps below, and read the daily updates with them in mind. A dog that comes home pleasantly tired, eats, sleeps and greets you normally has had about the right amount. One that is wired, sore or flat needs a conversation, and the front desk takes messages through the Dogtown app. Our board and train page explains what each program covers day to day.