Home
Board and train
What do dogs learn in two weeks of board and train?

Advanced stay

What do dogs learn in two weeks of board and train?

The second week is where a cue that works in a training room meets the rest of the world. Here is what each addition is for, and how the AKC's city test shows the kind of reliability those additions build toward.

Enquire about training See pricing

A Jack Russell Terrier walks on a blue leash beside its handler along a dirt path.

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

The additions

The second week adds five things, and each one answers a different way cues fail

Proofing raises one difficulty at a time: how long the dog holds a cue, how far the handler moves away, and how much is going on nearby. Outings move that work into settings the dog has not trained in, chosen for its stage in the plan Gabriella Pope writes after the assessment, so ask her what your dog's plan includes. We do not promise a route, because the right setting depends on the dog and the season.

Neutrality is the skill owners notice most: a dog that can see another dog or a friendly stranger and carry on walking, rather than treating every encounter as an invitation. Confidence building and structured socialization run alongside, so a dog that hesitates gets support instead of being pushed through. The two coaching lessons split the handover, so the questions that only surface at home get a trainer's answer.

Advanced addition	The problem it answers	What it can look like by pick-up
Advanced obedience and distraction proofing	Cues that work only when nothing is happening	A sit or down that holds with more going on nearby
Real-world outings	Skills that never leave the building	Cues answered in settings your dog had not trained in
Neutrality and impulse control	Dragging toward every dog and person	Passing people and dogs without pulling to greet
Confidence building and structured socialization	Hesitation in new places or with new people	Quicker recovery after a surprise
Two scheduled go-home coaching lessons	A handover that ends before home raises questions	A second session after some practice on your own

A yardstick

The AKC's Urban CGC test shows what real-world reliability looks like

The AKC's Urban Canine Good Citizen test is taken in a town or city setting with streets, noise and sidewalks, and a dog must pass all 10 items. They include entering and leaving a dog-friendly building without pulling, walking through a crowd as people pass within about a foot, staying composed around horns, sirens and odd surfaces, waiting at a corner and crossing under control, ignoring food on the sidewalk, and holding a 3-minute down in a lobby.

Two weeks will not take a dog to that test, and the stay is not test preparation. What it does is lay the building blocks: proofing for the down, neutrality for the crowd, impulse control for the food and the doorway. Months of practice after pick-up do the rest. For the standard CGC, Dogtown's Canine Citizen Academy runs in blocks of 4, 6 or 8 weeks; ask us how the test itself is arranged.

Doorways entered and left without pulling
A crowd passing within about a foot
Food on the sidewalk ignored
A three-minute down in a lobby

At Dogtown

Where the second week's time goes depends on why your dog needs it

An adolescent with good cues indoors and no brakes outside spends most of the extra week on proofing and impulse control, the gap between a sit in the kitchen and a sit with a squirrel in view. A sociable greeter that drags toward every person and dog spends more of it on neutrality. A dog that hesitates in new places gets more confidence work and gentler outings. The plan shifts as the first week shows which of these is really driving the problem.

Some dogs need something other than a longer stay. Significant reactivity, deep fear, panic at being left or a bite history change through the owner's handling over weeks, so Gabriella Pope will point those dogs to React Less, Relax More, Focus & Flow, Polished Pup or Canine Campus, where Dean's List runs four weeks and Graduate six while the dog sleeps at home. Sessions start from $94.

No brakes outside: proofing and impulse control
Greets everyone at full speed: neutrality
Hesitates somewhere new: confidence work and gentle outings
Fear, reactivity or panic when left: a different program

Your practice

Your practice after pick-up climbs one cue at a time from the kitchen to a busy sidewalk

The coaching lessons hand you the method; a proofing ladder for a single cue shows how to use it. Take the sit: first in the kitchen, then while you hold a toy, then with the front door open, then on the driveway as a car passes, then outside a shop at a quiet hour, then at a crosswalk before you cross. Move up only when the sit comes on one cue and the dog's body is loose, and step back when it fails twice.

Cape Ann gives you a full ladder close to home. A side street off Main Street in Gloucester is an easier rung than Main Street on a summer Saturday, and a train platform is among the hardest; the MBTA's rider rules keep dogs that do not fit in a carrier off trains at weekday peak hours, so practice platforms off-peak. Academy days keep the cues working with a trainer, and the Pup Van can bring your dog from Rockport, Gloucester, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea for $10 each way.

01
Sit in the kitchen, on one cue
02
Sit while you hold a toy at your side
03
Sit with the front door open
04
Sit on the driveway as a car goes by
05
Sit outside a shop at a quiet hour
06
Sit at a crosswalk before you cross

At Dogtown

After the Advanced stay

Academy days, training programs and the Pup Van keep the second week's skills in use.

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

Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

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

Do dogs leave the building during the second week?

Real-world outings are part of Advanced, and where they go depends on your dog's stage and the season. Gabriella Pope sets them in the plan she writes after the assessment, so ask her to walk you through it. The principle stays constant: quiet settings first, busier ones only after a skill holds.

Is two weeks enough to pass the Urban CGC?

Not on its own. The Urban CGC asks for calm in crowds, at crossings, around dropped food and in public buildings, all in a real town setting, and that takes months of practice after the stay. The second week builds the pieces; your outings afterward put them together.

What if my dog is not ready for outings?

Then the plan adjusts. More of the second week goes to proofing inside the building and the turf yard, with confidence work at your dog's pace. If the first week shows fear rather than distraction, Gabriella Pope will talk with you about a different program instead of pushing on.

Does the second week mean more playgroup time?

Not by default. Structured socialization is planned, short and matched to your dog, in groups of 7 to 10 sorted by size and temperament when that suits it. A dog working on neutrality may spend more time watching other dogs calmly from a distance than playing with them.