Dana’s 5 Week Board & Train

Why Dana Came To Us

Dana came to us for a 5 week Board & Train because everyday life had started to feel harder than it needed to be for her owner Susan. She was pulling on the lead, her recall around distractions was pretty much non-existent, she needed help with crate training, she struggled to settle around the house, and although she was the friendliest girl, she was also a lot and I don’t mean that badly at all.

Dana is a lovely dog, she’s affectionate, social, happy, and wants to be involved in everything, but when you’ve got a strong dog who is constantly switched on, and wanting to get to the next thing, struggling to come down, it can make normal life feel really difficult.

Training Had To Be Practical

For Dana’s owner, this was even more important because she walks with crutches, meaning this wasn’t just about wanting Dana to look a bit tidier on the lead or have a nicer recall for the sake of it. This was about safety, confidence and making sure her owner could actually enjoy her without feeling like she was having to physically manage her all the time.

When you’ve got a Rottie on the end of the lead, you can’t rely on physical strength and to be honest, you shouldn’t have to. The dog needs to understand how to work with the person on the other end of the lead, not pull them from one place to the next.

Looking At The Whole Dog

As with all of our residential's, we didn’t just look at the individual problems and try to fix them separately. Lead pulling, recall issues, not settling, being too full on around people and dogs… they’re usually all connected and are symptoms of the bigger picture.

So the first thing we did with Dana was build the relationship, we played with her, got to know what motivated her, helped her settle into our routine and started giving her more clarity in normal everyday life. She lived as part of the family while she was here. She spent time around my dogs, came along to 1-2-1s, joined us at classes, went into different environments and learned through the routine of day to day life, not just through formal training sessions.

That’s the part of Board & Train that people don’t always see and yes, there is training, of course there is. But there is also all the time in between:

• How the dog is in the house

• How they settle after being out

• How they cope when another dog is nearby but nothing is happening


• How they travel


• How they handle people coming and going


• How they respond when the exciting thing is not for them

Lead Walking That Works In Real Life

That is where so much of the work happens, with Dana, lead walking had to be practical. It wasn’t about creating some perfect heelwork picture that only works in a training field. It was about teaching her how to move with her handler, how to take information, how to stop using her body to get where she wanted to go, and how to understand that the person holding the lead matters too.

She could still enjoy her walks, still sniff, explore and be Dana, but she needed to listen when asked.

Recall And E-Collar Communication

Recall was another big focus because Dana’s recall around distractions just wasn’t reliable when she arrived, if something was more exciting, that was where her brain went, so we spent a lot of time building value in coming back, building engagement and teaching her that she could listen even when the environment was busy or interesting.

We built the recall properly, then layered in the e-collar so Dana had clear communication at a distance too and for her owner, that tool made sense. When you walk with crutches, you don’t always have the same physical options, you can’t just move quickly, step in, shorten the distance or manage things with your body in the same way someone else might. So having a clear way to communicate with Dana, especially when she was further away or distracted, was really important, the e-collar gave us that extra line of communication.

Not as the whole training plan, but as part of the bigger picture, once Dana understood what we were asking and once the foundations were there. The dog needs to understand the communication, the owner needs to understand how to use it. And it needs to make life clearer, not more complicated.

Crate Training And Settling

Crate training and settling were also a big part of Dana’s stay, Dana naturally wanted to be involved in everything, and that’s lovely until the dog can’t switch off. Some dogs don’t need more stimulation, they need help learning how to come down and they need ALOT of sleep. So we worked on teaching Dana that calm is part of the routine too, the crate gave her a clear place to rest, and the settling work helped her understand that she didn’t have to follow every movement, get involved in everything or constantly wait for the next exciting thing to happen and although that might not look as impressive as a recall video or nice lead walking clip, but honestly, it’s one of the biggest things for everyday life.

A dog who can settle is easier to live with, and a dog who can switch off is less frustrated and doesn’t need to be managed every second of the day.

Learning Around Neutral Dogs

Dana also spent a lot of time around my own dogs, which was really good for her. She is friendly, but friendly dogs still need boundaries and to learn that other dogs existing near them doesn’t always mean play, greeting, excitement or getting involved. My dogs are very neutral, so Dana had the chance to learn from that. She could be around them, walk near them, settle near them and exist without everything becoming a big event and that was a really important lesson for her.

Taking The Training Into Real Life

Throughout the 5 weeks, we took Dana into lots of different environments, she came with us to training sessions, group classes, walks and normal everyday places, so we could practise around the kind of distractions she’ll actually come across at home because the goal was for her owner to have skills that transferred back into their real life.

The Handover

That’s also why the handover mattered so much, Dana’s owner came ready to learn, and I really appreciated that. She listened, asked questions and wanted to understand how to carry the work on properly. That makes such a difference because Board & Train can build the foundations, but the owner has to keep them going.

Dana is still Dana, she’s happy, friendly, affectionate and full of character, we haven’t taken that away from her, and we wouldn’t want to, but now she has more structure and clarity. She's able to settle, understand the lead, recall, the crate, other dogs and the world around her.

And hopefully, for her owner Susan, that means life together feels safer, calmer and more enjoyable. We can’t wait to see them keep building on it at home.