Originally Posted by
IRISHWISTLER
Funny how folks that are so anti- "board and train" have never had any, or have had very limited personal experience in doing so. The K9's I work with are hand selected by me by an assessment conducted by me in the presence of their owner(s). I decide to either accept or reject the recruit. I only train gun dog / hunt test prospects and I use a success based training model that results in highly confident and motivated retrievers that live to work and hunt. Generally, the first 6 to 8 weeks of training for dogs that I accept for training is spent entrenching progressive to formalized obedience, that being foundational to all continuing gun dog related training. I work with the client in designing an individualized program that will meet their objectives for their individual dog(s). Dogs I work with receive the highest level of care and are often taken on "field trips" off of the home training grounds to provide more stimulating experiences and to work under varying conditions of distraction in proofing their obedience. I also like to expose them to a number of differing cover types and environmental conditions to make them highly adaptive working dogs. The dogs I work with are not motivated by fear, are never hit or struck, and are monitored carefully for any condition or injury that may happen infrequently to any working dog. Dogs experiencing any such condition or injury are immediately discussed with their owner(s) and are brought to a veterinarian for proper care.
One cannot judge every "boarding training" facility / program based on their limited or absent experience with others. I do highly concur that training any dog should include training of the owner / handler and that such training should also include instruction in maintaining the training level achieved. I also concur that any owner considering either home training programs or a board and train program do their due diligence in selection of those services.
Irishwhistler