978 491-5922 Book now
  1. Home
  2. Board and train
  3. Is board and train good for adolescent dogs?

The teenage case

Is board and train good for adolescent dogs?

Adolescence is when many owners first look up board and train, and with reason: the puppy that came when called now runs the other way. This page makes the case for a stay at this age, sets out its limits and gives a quick way to tell whether your teenager is a good candidate.

Enquire about training See pricing
Chocolate lab leaping into the pool

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

Why this age

The teenage months are when many dogs lose their homes, which makes them worth getting right

A Purdue University extension paper on unwanted pets summarizes a study of dogs taken in by 12 shelters in four regions of the United States in 1995 and 1996. Only 9 percent were younger than 5 months, almost half were between 5 months and 3 years old, and about 37 percent were older than 3. That middle band begins with adolescence. The study is old and the band is broad, so treat it as a pattern rather than a forecast, but anyone who has lived with a 40-pound nine-month-old will recognize it.

What changes in those months is not what the dog knows but what it can manage around temptation. The cues are usually still there; the urge to chase, jump or bolt simply wins more often. That is a reliability problem, and reliability is built by practicing known cues under rising distraction, one notch at a time. A stay concentrates that practice into two weeks with a trainer, then hands it back to you while the habits are still young.

What Advanced does

Advanced spends its second week on the adolescent problem: cues that fail around distractions

The two-week Advanced program includes everything in the one-week Foundation program, then adds advanced obedience and distraction proofing, real-world outings, neutrality and impulse control, confidence building and structured socialization. The first week firms up the basics in the building; the second asks whether they hold when something more interesting is going on. Daycare integration in a matched group of 7 to 10 can be part of the plan when appropriate, and group play is itself practice at leaving fun when called.

Advanced ends with two scheduled go-home coaching lessons rather than one, which suits a teenager whose reliability will wobble at home before it settles. Foundation is the better fit for a younger or calmer adolescent that is missing the basics altogether. Gabriella Pope decides between them at the assessment, after the free evaluation on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30. Our adolescent dogs page goes into the method skill by skill, and our board and train page compares both stays.

  • Knows sit, down and come at home but loses them outside: Advanced
  • Missing the basics altogether: Foundation
  • Pulls, jumps and bolts through doors but is confident: Advanced
  • Worried by new people or places: a confidence program first

Good candidate?

A good adolescent candidate is confident, healthy and going home to a family that will practice

The teenagers who gain most from a stay share a profile. They eat, sleep and play normally away from home, bounce back quickly from a surprise and enjoy people. Their problems are about impulse and reliability: jumping, pulling, mouthing, door-dashing and a recall that works only indoors. And someone at home will attend both coaching lessons and keep daily practice going, because a two-week stay starts work that the rest of adolescence finishes.

Some adolescents should not start with a stay. A recently adopted teenager needs time to settle into your home first. A dog in its second fear period, which the AKC places between about 6 and 14 months, may find two weeks of novelty too much right now. Sudden changes in behavior call for a vet visit before any training. Whether an intact dog joins playgroups, and what happens if a female comes into heat, are decided at the free evaluation and the consult.

  1. 01

    Does your dog know its cues at home but ignore them outside?

  2. 02

    Does it eat, sleep and play normally away from home?

  3. 03

    Has it lived with you for more than a few months?

  4. 04

    Is it free of new fears and sudden behavior changes?

  5. 05

    Can someone attend both coaching lessons and practice daily?

  6. 06

    Mostly yes: send the training form with its age and whether it is intact

After the stay

The stay starts the work, and the rest of adolescence finishes it

Expect your dog's reliability to keep wobbling for months after pick-up, and treat each dip as a reason to step back a level rather than a sign the stay failed. The same cues from everyone, every day, matter more at this age than at any other. Calm & Connected, written for adolescents, new rescues and adults, carries the work forward with you on the leash, and Dogtown Academy days, $89 full or $69 half, add a training session to a day of play.

Cape Ann's calendar sets the tests. Gloucester's beaches reopen to dogs on October 1, with Good Harbor off-leash on even-numbered days and Wingaersheek on odd ones, and a long line beats trusting a teenage recall there. Late June brings St. Peter's Fiesta crowds and July 3 brings the fireworks, both worth avoiding with a dog still learning to cope. For daycare or Academy days afterward, the Pup Van picks up in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea at $10 each way.

  • Same cues from everyone, every day
  • A long line, not off-leash, until recall holds outdoors
  • Gates and leashes for jumping and door-dashing
  • A follow-up when a dip lasts more than two weeks

At Dogtown

From stay to steady adult

Advanced board and train, then Academy days and the Pup Van, to carry an adolescent through to adulthood.

Australian shepherd sitting attentively during training Dog TrainingFrom $94 per session · Explore Dogtown trainer playing with a small doodle on the outdoor turf Dogtown AcademyNewFrom $69 · Explore

Every price on one page

Pick-up & drop-off

The Pup Van comes to you.

Pup Van pick-up and drop-off is available for $10 each way in the Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea area. Not in the area? Ask us for pricing.

  • Rockport
  • Gloucester
  • Essex
  • Manchester-by-the-Sea
Book with pick-up Ask about your area
The Dogtown Pup Van: a navy van with dog portraits, the Dogtown logo and the phone number on the side

Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

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

Is six months too young for the Advanced program?
It depends on the dog more than the date. Advanced is written for adolescents who need real-world reliability; a younger or less settled dog may do better with Foundation first. Gabriella Pope decides which at the assessment, after the free evaluation on a weekday morning.
My dog was great at five months and now ignores me. Will a stay help?
Often, because that gap is exactly what distraction proofing works on. A stay will not finish adolescence, though. Expect reliability to keep wobbling for months, and plan to practice the coaching-lesson routine daily so the gains keep pace with the growing dog.
Do you take intact adolescents for board and train?
Whether an intact dog joins playgroups during a stay is decided at the free evaluation, so tell us at the consult whether your dog is intact and, for a female, the dates of her last heat. When to spay or neuter is a conversation for your vet, not your trainer.
Should I wait until my dog is two?
Waiting gives habits more time to set. If your teenager is confident and healthy and the issue is reliability, now is usually a good time. If it is fearful or in a wary spell, wait a few weeks or start with a confidence program such as Brave & Balanced or Calm & Connected.
Is board and train better than group classes for a teenager?
They do different jobs. A stay gives concentrated practice with a trainer; classes teach you alongside other dogs and their owners. Many adolescents do well with a stay followed by owner-handled work such as Calm & Connected. Our comparison of board and train with group classes sets out the trade-offs.

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 DogtownBoard and train for adolescent dogsAdvanced board and train: 2 weeksBoard and train vs group classes Board and train All guides

Next step

Turn the teenage wobble into reliability

Tell us your dog's age, sex and the cue that has gone missing. We reply within one hour on business days.

Book online Customer inquiry Call 978 491-5922
  1. 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
  2. 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
  3. 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
New customers FIRST15 15% off your first daycare visit · use at checkout

Follow along

Daily photos and report cards.

@dogtowndogdaycare on Instagram

Call Book now