Have a new puppy and don’t have time to train?  Wish your adult dog had better manners? Going on vacation and want your dog to be educated and stimulated while boarding. Want to leave your dog for the day for training by one of our expert staff?  Or come for a one-on-one lesson?

We can help!

When your dog stays with us for Board and Train or Day Training, our goal is to create a fun, stress-free environment where your dog will enjoy learning. We take a unique approach to training your best friend by offering only force free methods. Force free dog training differs from traditional methods because it avoids using negative reinforcement. Instead it uses your dog’s natural motivators and positive reinforcement to teach them new skills. We prioritize welfare, safety, and your dog’s emotional well-being in our training program. By emphasizing positive reinforcement, your dog will think each training session is just a game. The skills your dog learns become inherently fun, making listening to you at home super fun as well!

Each individual dog is different, and we tailor our training program according to your dog’s unique needs. After your dog’s evaluation, we draw up a plan that addresses the challenges you and your dog are facing. To ensure good carryover at home, videos will be recorded and put into a private playlist for you to view at your leisure. We will also have 3 follow-up private lessons that are included in the initial board and train price. They will be scheduled during your dog’s evaluation. Since negative reinforcement is not used, and your dog learns mostly through positive reinforcement, we offer more follow up lessons than most board and train programs so you can feel confident implementing your dog’s new skills into your home. The reason for more follow ups is because clear and consistent communication on the human end is integral to maintain the new skills your dog learned with us. By offering more than one lesson, we are able to troubleshoot any issues that may come up after your first lesson.

For Day Training, your dog will be dropped off between 8am-12pm and picked up between 5pm-6pm. The exact pickup time will be scheduled at drop-off. A 30 minute follow up lesson is included when you pick up your dog, and your video playlist will be ready for you to view at home.

We do not accept dogs with major aggression issues.

Board and Train, 2 week minimum:

• $2,000 for 2 weeks
• $2,700 for 3 weeks
• $3,200 for 4 weeks

Day Training, sold in packages:

• $625 for 5 sessions, must be completed within 5 weeks
• $1,150 for 10 sessions, must be completed within 10 weeks
• $1,575 for 15 sessions, must be completed within 15 weeks

General outline of board and train program (it will vary dog-to-dog)

1. Acclimation – every dog will take time to acclimate to a new environment. The time it takes your dog to become comfortable enough to focus on training varies greatly depending on socialization history, temperament, and age. Some dogs will be ready to train in an hour, some will take days.
2. Engagement – in order to learn, dogs must be focused and motivated. This is the first skill we teach all dogs. Basically they are learning “how to learn”.
3. Foundation skills – name recognition, eye contact, impulse control, clicker training.
4. Basic commands – sit, down, stay, come, loose leash walking, recall, go to a mat and more.
5. Adding distractions – just like humans, dogs can’t learn, focus, and listen in highly distracting environments. Once your dog has mastered his new skills in a quiet environment, we will slowly introduce distractions so your dog can listen in environments such as a park, busy streets, stores and more. With your permission and once your dog is ready, we can take your dog on field trips to practice in specific environments!
6. Mild behavioral issues (no aggression) – this includes barking at other dogs, strangers, difficulties with doing nails/other routine handling, and being too “crazy”.
7. Tricks and more fun – dogs love tricks! We teach our training dogs tricks and occasionally scentwork so your dog is provided with additional energy outlets that you can use at home.

Our Trainer, Rylee Rose, CPDT-KA, FDM

When Rylee came on board at Petra’s Dog Resource Center, she started helping Petra with training. She quickly learned that dog training is extremely fun, rewarding, and is something she wanted to focus on and pursue throughout her life. It’s very exciting to learn how to communicate with each individual dog, it makes them less anxious when staying in the kennel, and the dogs (and Rylee) absolutely love it! She is always interested in expanding her knowledge — she has completed a number of detailed courses, is regularly learning more through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, reading books written by well accomplished trainers, and of course working with Petra who has been an invaluable resource. Additionally, each individual dog is a learning experience because they are all different! Rylee is FDM and CPDT-KA certified. The FDM certification is from completing Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional Course which focuses on opening a new lens on how we view our dogs as pets, how they fit into modern society, and the challenges that follow by considering their learning, environment, genetics, and self-experiences. CPDT-KA is through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers ensuring that she has over 300 hours of dog training experience and has passed a lengthy test about instructional skills, learning theory, canine behavior and much more. For fun, Rylee enjoys training her cat! If the cat can do it, so can your dog!