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Foundation week
What do dogs learn in one week of board and train?
A skills list is easy to read and easy to misread. This page turns each line of the Foundation list into what you can expect to see at pick-up, and uses the AKC's own puppy test as a yardstick for how far one week can go.
The list
One week of Foundation covers six lines, and each one arrives at pick-up as a starting version
Read the right-hand column as the target for the go-home lesson, not a promise for every dog. A puppy that took three days to settle will reach less of it than a confident young dog that was working by day two. What matters is that you leave knowing which cues are solid in our building, which are emerging, and which depend on your practice. The trainer tells you at the lesson, and the daily updates through the week show how the list moved.
The order matters too. Attention, sit and down come first, because place, stay and loose-leash walking borrow from them. Impulse control is threaded through everything, waiting at doors, at the bowl and while the leash clips on, rather than taught as a separate block. Daycare integration and enrichment fill the gaps between training blocks, and a dog joins a matched group of 7 to 10 only once it is ready.
| Foundation line | What it means in practice | What you should see at the go-home lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Basic obedience and leash skills | Sit, down, attention and a loose leash | Quick responses to one cue, and slack on a quiet stretch |
| Place, stay and recall | Settling on a cot or mat, holding a position, coming when called | A short stay with the trainer a few steps away, and recalls on a line |
| Impulse control | Waiting at doors, at the bowl and for the leash | A pause at an open door until released |
| Crate and household manners | A calm crate and polite greetings | Walking into a crate on cue, four paws down to say hello |
| Daycare integration and enrichment | Group time when ready, puzzles and the sniff room | Notes on how your dog handled a group, if it joined one |
| Daily updates and a go-home lesson | A report each day and a handover at the end | You running every cue with the trainer coaching |
A yardstick
The AKC's puppy test shows why one week is a beginning, not a finish line
The AKC's S.T.A.R. Puppy program asks owners and puppies to attend a class for at least six weeks before the test. Its 20 steps include walking on a leash in a straight line for 15 steps, walking past people 5 feet away, sit and down on command with a food lure allowed, coming to the owner from 5 feet when called, coping with distractions 15 feet away, and a short stay while the owner walks 10 steps and returns.
Those are modest distances, and the AKC still builds six weeks around them. A Foundation week covers similar ground in concentrated form, with trainers supplying hundreds of repetitions, and many dogs show the beginnings of every item by pick-up. Dependability across places and people is what the weeks afterward are for. Dogtown also runs AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy as a separate program, 6 weeks and 12 sessions for puppies from 8 weeks to 6 months.
- A loose leash for 15 steps in a straight line
- Walking past people 5 feet away
- Coming from 5 feet when called
- A short stay while the handler walks 10 steps away
At Dogtown
What a week teaches depends on whether your dog is a puppy, a young dog, an adult or a new rescue
Puppies usually show the clearest change, because there is little to undo, though their blocks are shorter and their naps longer; we confirm the youngest age we take at the consult. Young dogs often move fastest of all and are ready by the end of the week to start testing cues outside. Adults missing basics make steady progress but bring old habits home with them. New rescues may spend much of the week settling, which is the right priority.
The assessment with Gabriella Pope sets the goals for the week, so tell her which line matters most at your house: the leash, the door, the crate or the greeting. If the honest answer is that your dog knows its cues indoors and loses them outside, she may suggest the two-week Advanced stay instead. If fear or reactivity is the real issue, a week away is the wrong tool, and she will say so.
- Puppy: clear progress, short blocks, plenty of sleep
- Young dog: fast learning, ready for outside practice next
- Adult with old habits: steady progress, more home practice
- New rescue: settling first, so less of the list in seven days
Your week
Your part of the week is the go-home lesson and a short list of what to practice first
At the go-home lesson you hold the leash while the trainer coaches your timing on every cue from the list. Ask three things before you leave: the exact cue words and hand signals, the reward that worked best, and which cues are solid versus still new. Then start with two cues in your kitchen, not ten cues on the beach. The first few days home decide whether the week's work travels.
Booking follows the usual Dogtown path. The free evaluation runs on weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file and a current city or town dog license. Drop-off falls in a window, weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM or 4 to 6:30 PM, and the Pup Van serves Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea at $10 each way. The week itself is quoted after the assessment.
- 01
Circle the cues marked solid and practice those first
- 02
Star the ones marked new and keep them indoors for now
- 03
Write the exact words and hand signals where everyone sees them
- 04
Stock the reward the trainer used
- 05
Book the next step: Academy days, Canine Campus or private sessions
At Dogtown
After the Foundation week
Academy days and training programs give the week's cues daily practice with a trainer.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Will my dog know every skill on the list after one week?
Is Foundation the same as AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy?
Can I choose which skills get the most time?
What if my dog only gets partway through the list?
How much does a Foundation week cost?
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
Next step
Plan your dog's Foundation week
Tell us which skill matters most on the training form. We reply within one hour on business days.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
