Boarding and training a labradoodle puppy

[Amy Snyder]

Hello,

I am new to the site and have a 4 month old mini labradoodle named Chester.  I'm wondering if anyone here has ever sent their puppy to a trainer's home to "live in" for four weeks of  training.  I am on the fence and would like to hear any feedback out there.

[Adina P]

A handful of folks here have done so.
Curious, what are some of the reasons you are considering this vs. training him yourself with classes or in home trainer?
Also, what does the trainer promise you'll get at the end of the 4 weeks?
Truthfully, 4 weeks is such a short time, and at this age I can't imagine the 5 month old puppy you'll get back will be terribly more obedient than he is now. Good training takes far more time and the work you'll have to put into it to keep it up won't be any less than if you started yourself now.

[Amy Snyder]

Hi,
I'm a newly divorcing mom of three, and I just feel overwhelmed at the thought of training on my own.
The trainer promises he'll come back socialized with other dogs, sit, stay, walking on leash, etc... She said he will basically meet all the requirements necessary to meet the standard for a therapy dog at one year of age if we keep up the training at home. It is a lot of money, and I'm conflicted!

[Amy Snyder]

Thank-you all so much for the input. I think you're right that I need start the training here at home so Chester will learn to know what I want from him. Sometimes it is so helpful just to bounce an idea off of others to get clarity!

[Adina P]

For several thousands of dollars I would expect a fully trained dog. To me a fully trained dog would be able to perform ALL obedience commands on or off leash without me having to input more than a couple weeks of training. That dog would, essentially be a "finished" and "completely trained" dog. That will NOT happen to a 4 month old in 4 weeks. The work you will have to put into that dog to end up with a well trained, obedient adult dog will not be significantly less. At 4 months they just don't have the maturity and attention span to be completely finished training in a few weeks. Plus dogs typically go through a "teenage" phase between roughly 6-9 months and in that time period they tend to get a little naughtier and act like they forgot most of what they've learned. What you do during that time will make a bigger impact than 4 weeks at 4 months of age. And what you do AFTER that time will also be very important. I'm not saying it should take years to get a fully trained dog...but it certainly takes MORE than 4 weeks and it's not gonna happen to a 4-5 month old. I would research trainers locally and take the classes that you learn have the best results. It may take a few classes and LOTS of practice on your end. But if you do it on your own (with the aid of an instructor/teacher) then the bonding you get from that will be amazing!

[BG and Gavin]

The part about meeting the requirements for a therapy dog sounds like a lofty and unreasonable promise. I would be suspicious. I am no expert, but therapy dogs need extensive training and it takes a certain kind of dog to do that type of work - not all dogs are cut out for it. It takes a certain type of energy, intelligence, tractability and frankly alot of those factors are inborn to a certain extent. Do you feel comfortable revealing how much it costs? I would figure at that age the most one could promise is crate training, a good start on potty training and socialization and some exposure to basic commands. But again I am by no means an expert. We have worked consistently with our guy through three levels of training and alot of practice and I am just now really starting to see the "coin drop" with regard to commands, house manners, leash waling etc. and he is 8 months old.

[Amy Snyder]

Thank-you for your response. It is several thousand dollars, and the more I think about it, the more crazy it sounds. I'm going to need to eat my Wheaties, be patient, and train here at home!

[Ellen]

I didn't consider sending Riley away to be trained because I have a lot of fun taking him to training classes and seeing him progress. Honestly, the hardest part of training for me was to remember to spend a couple of minutes each day training and to train consistently. Several thousands of dollars seems like a lot to spend. Do you know anything about the trainer's training techniques (e.g., positive training)? Have you talked to others who have sent their dogs to this trainer?

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

We did training ourselves and while it is a time commitment, it really strengthens your bond with your pup.
I have had 3 different friends send puppies to DIFFERENT "boot camps" and things like you are talking about. All 3 have not been satisfied and regretted spending the money. But that could just be their situations (one was a goldendoodle too...).