“Hi there. My name is John, and I have a 14-month-old Golden Retriever who has recently started guarding resources. He also pulls like a freight train on leash, and he’s constantly jumping on us, shredding things he steals in the house, and now counter surfing. We have three children and work full time, so we don’t have time to train him. When can we get him in for board and train?”
“Good afternoon. I’m Jane, and I’m a volunteer for Last Chance Dog Rescue Organization. We have a 4-year-old German Shepherd in our foster program who is aggressive toward strangers on walks, won’t let anyone other than family in the house, and is now lunging and barking at other dogs. She also bit the owner when she saw another dog on her last walk, so now the owner is afraid of her and refusing to keep her in their home. We need a board and train for her immediately. Can you help us?”
These are made up scenarios that represent hundreds of inquiries I’ve received over the years asking me to take dogs into my board and train program that I am unwilling to take. Why? Because “Good Dog” isn’t a software that can be uploaded into a dog, thus changing behavior forever. That simply isn’t how behavior works.
Behavior is dependent upon the environment, and it is always adapting to that environment. It is 100% contextual. Quality dog training is about understanding what in the environment cues a dog to behave a certain way, and what in the environment maintains that behavior or causes that behavior to increase or decrease in the presence of that cue. It’s also about understanding how dogs feel about things in their environment that cause them to seek safety in or from things and changing those feelings (and then maintaining them) so that the dog feels safe all the time.
For example, I can teach a dog who has a history of lunging and snapping on leash when he sees other people how to calmly observe them, feel safe, walk past them, and even to tolerate fairly populated places, like the local hardware store or a busy park. However, when I hand the leash over to the dog’s owners, if they haven’t learned to observe their dog carefully, to read their dog’s body language, to ask for trained behaviors the dog knows and feels comfortable with, and to reinforce those behaviors at the right times; the dog will not behave the way they do with me. If the owners go back to their own old behaviors that they were doing when the dog was lunging, like pulling up on the leash (whether intentionally or on accident), scolding their dog, moving erratically, holding their breath, or any other perfectly normal thing that people do when they are worried their dog is going to react, they can be certain that the dog will revert right back to the behaviors that previously worked for the dog in that context.
The same is true for resource guarding. Dogs will learn not to guard resources from me because they have no reason to. I don’t take their stuff. I give them better stuff. There are actual methods for gradually building the dog’s trust in these concepts, but even if I teach a dog with a prior bite history when someone attempted to retrieve the sock that the dog stole how to simply hand me the sock instead, as soon as that dog goes home, the moment the owner tries to reach for the next sock, the dog will guard again because that is the behavior that works for the dog in that environment. Success is dependent upon changing the environment, and, in this case, it means specifically changing the behavior of the people involved.
I very rarely take dogs into my board and train program that belong to rescue organizations. This is not because I don’t value the work done by rescues (I do! I’ve only ever owned rescued dogs!) but because of two very important factors:
1. Dogs that need board and train due to severe behavior issues should not be adopted out to the general public. It’s heartbreaking. These dogs didn’t choose their genetics or the history that taught them to feel their feelings and behave the way they do. However, they are not safe for the public, and the amount of management and continued training that goes into keeping one of these animals is an unreasonable ask of someone who just wanted to adopt a friend and family member. It is unethical to place a massive project dog that is a large bite risk into a home. I could write an entire blog post on this subject alone as this paragraph barely cracks the surface.
2. It doesn't matter how much work I do or how successful I am with a dog in my program if they don’t have a home to go back to where the owners or caregivers haven’t learned what is necessary to maintain all the great new behavior. If the dog goes back to the environment that caused their behavior in the first place, the dog will revert to the old behavior. This is a waste of the rescue’s precious monetary resources and results in putting yet another dangerous dog into a home.
Behavior always happens for a reason. Sometimes it takes a professional trainer to sleuth out that reason and provide joyful motivation to behave differently or to remove the reasons for undesirable behavior. But long term behavior change is only possible if the dog’s home can support that new behavior. Success is dependent upon training the people and upon their continued vigilance. Learning is always happening throughout the life of any animal, and it is up to the owner or caregiver to ensure the dog is continuing to learn what we want them to.
Board and train can be a wonderful tool. Sometimes it does take that professional level of timing and observation to get the process of behavior change started. In the beginning, we may need real precision to get our foot in the door. But once the dog has some new skills on board, it is entirely up to the dog’s long-term care providers to maintain that training and to further it.
So when you are considering enrolling a dog in a board and train program, ask yourself realistically what your expectations are. Are you hoping that by paying sufficient money you can have the Good Dog software package uploaded into your dog’s brain? Or do you recognize that board and train is just the beginning of your dog’s behavior change, and your own training, or that of whoever will be caring for the dog, is actually the most important component to changing a dog’s behavior? If you are ready to take on the learning necessary to support your dog’s behavior change, then board and train may be an amazing opportunity for both you and your dog, and I very much look forward to working with you both!
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