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What is a go-home lesson?

Go-home lessons

What is a go-home lesson?

Of everything in a board and train, the go-home lesson is the part owners are most tempted to rush. This page explains what the session is for, why trainers watch the owner as closely as the dog, and what you should leave with, including a worked example of a one-page cue sheet.

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Trainer teaching an Australian shepherd the place command on a cot

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

The handover

A go-home lesson moves the training from the trainer's hands to yours

For one or two weeks your dog has learned from people who give each cue once, reward within a second and behave the same way every time. The go-home lesson is where that consistency is handed to you. It is a coaching session rather than a demonstration, because watching a dog sit for someone else teaches you very little, while running the cue yourself, with someone correcting your timing, teaches a great deal.

The ASPCA's advice on choosing a board and train or day-training program makes the same point from the owner's side: make sure the program teaches you the skills to maintain your pet's behavior after the training ends. A program without a handover leaves you with a dog that knows cues you have never seen it perform. That is why both Dogtown programs include one, and why we strongly advise against skipping it.

Foundation, one week: one go-home lesson
Advanced, two weeks: two scheduled go-home coaching lessons
Where: at Dogtown, with you handling your own dog
Who: every adult who walks, feeds or sets rules for the dog

Why you are watched

Why the trainer watches you as closely as your dog

Dogs read far more than words. In a 2004 study, Zsófia Virányi and colleagues played dogs a tape-recorded cue to lie down, spoken by their own owner, while the owner either faced the dog, faced another person or was out of sight. Dogs followed the cue more readily when the owner was attending to them than when the owner faced someone else or could not be seen. Where you look and how you stand are part of the cue.

So the lesson coaches the parts of handling owners rarely think about: facing your dog when you ask, saying the cue once rather than three times, marking the instant the behavior happens and getting the reward to the dog quickly. Small changes there often make a bigger difference than any new skill. If your dog answered the trainer and hesitates for you, these are the details the trainer adjusts first.

Face your dog when you give the cue
Say the cue once, then wait
Mark the instant the behavior happens
Deliver the reward quickly, where the trainer showed you

A cue sheet

A worked example: the one-page cue sheet you should leave with

Every family should go home with the cues written down, because memory blurs within days and every adult remembers them a little differently. The table is an example of the format, with typical entries; your dog's sheet will use the exact words and signals the trainer taught. If you are not handed one, write it yourself during the lesson and ask the trainer to check it before you leave.

Notice the last column. The sheet records not only what to say but where to practice this week, starting with the easiest place. That order matters as much as the cue, because a skill asked for too soon somewhere busy becomes a skill your dog practices getting wrong. Pin the sheet where the whole household sees it, and keep it until the second lesson or the first follow-up.

Skill	Word	Hand signal	Marker and reward	Release	Practice this week
Place	Place	Point to the mat	Yes, then food on the mat	Free	Kitchen, then living room
Down	Down	Flat hand lowered	Yes, then food between the paws	Free	Quiet rooms only
Wait at doors	Wait	Open palm	Yes, then the door opens	Free	Back door first
Recall	Name, then come	Arms open	Yes, then a high-value treat	Go play	Hallway, then yard on a long line
Loose leash	Let's go	None	Yes, then food at your side	Go sniff	Driveway, then your street

For you and your dog

Before, during and after: how to get the most from the lesson

Treat the lesson at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester as an appointment, not a collection. Pick a window you can stay through without watching the clock, such as the weekday 4 to 6:30 PM slot, and book nothing straight afterward. The night before, read back through the daily updates and note what you want to see: the skill that wobbled midweek, the cue you are unsure how to give. Bring the collar or harness and leash your dog will actually wear at home, not a new set bought for the occasion.

During the lesson, ask to run each skill more than once, and ask the trainer which mistake you are most likely to make with it at home. Afterward, start the same evening with two or three easy cues in a quiet room. With Advanced, list what slipped at home to bring to the second coaching lesson. After Foundation, private sessions from $94 are there if you need more help, booked through the training form.

01
Choose a pick-up window you can stay through
02
Reread the daily updates and list your questions
03
Bring the everyday collar or harness, the leash and everyone who handles the dog
04
Watch each skill once, then run it yourself with coaching
05
Fill in or check the cue sheet before you leave
06
Start that evening with two or three easy cues indoors

At Dogtown

After the handover

Private sessions and Academy days at 210 Eastern Ave pick up where the go-home lesson leaves off.

Australian shepherd sitting attentively during training

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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 a go-home lesson take?

We do not publish a fixed length. It varies with the program and the number of skills to hand over, so ask when the dates are set, and keep the time after it clear. With Advanced the coaching is split across two scheduled lessons, which keeps each one manageable for you and your dog.

Can I record the lesson on my phone?

Ask the trainer at the start. Where it is fine, film your own handling as well as the demonstration, because seeing your timing from the outside is the fastest way to fix it. A clip of the recall or the place cue done well also gives everyone at home the same picture to copy.

What if I cannot make the go-home lesson date?

Message the front desk through the Dogtown app as soon as you know, and move the lesson rather than drop it. A dog collected without it goes home knowing cues nobody in the house has seen. If a storm or a travel delay is the reason, our snow-day question page covers the options.

Is the go-home lesson the same as a private session?

No. The lesson is part of the program and hands over what your dog learned during the stay. A private session, from $94, is booked separately, for a problem that shows up later or for more coaching. With Advanced, the second scheduled lesson often does the job a first private session would.

Who should come to the lesson?

Everyone who walks, feeds or sets rules for the dog, and above all the person who handles it most. Older children who help with the dog can watch and may try a cue if the trainer agrees. A regular dog walker or sitter is worth bringing too, so the dog hears a single version of each cue.

Plan the handover before the stay

Tell us who will come to the lesson and which pick-up windows suit you. The dates are set with Gabby at the consult.

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