Puppy Board and Train | Frequently Asked Questions

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Board & Train is a send-away multi-week training program that will teach your puppy a list of new obedience commands or behaviors that your puppy does not already know. Your puppy will return home with confidence, knowing a full repertoire of behaviors and commands that they did not know prior to enrollment! It includes intense training progression and is suited to meet new training goals or accomplish specific owner requests for improving puppy behavior.

We implement POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT training techniques.  Unlike other B&T programs, we absolutely REFUSE to utilize painful e-collars (or shock collars, prong collars, choke chains, etc.) as a method of obedience training. You can expect your puppy to be positively reinforced and playfully encouraged on a consistent basis using their food, toys, bones, or attention as feedback to reward desirable behaviors.   

We advocate for humane training techniques and science-based methodology. We are one of the ONLY companies in the Denver area that uses positive reinforcement techniques in a B&T program. Please do your research as you consider sending your dog away for boarding and training to ensure a safe and enjoyable time for your fur-baby.

Our Board and Train program is based out of our personal home which is located near the intersection of Iliff and I-225, about 5 minutes northeast of the Denver Tech Center. 

Yes. Happy Hounds Dog Training, LLC is licensed by the Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) which requires a facility to undergo annual inspections to ensure a safe and secure environment for your pet. We are insured through Liberty Mutual's Commercial General Liability insurance with additional coverage for animals that are within our care.  

Not necessarily. Puppies get vaccinations ever 3-4 weeks, usually at/around 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks. They will not be 'fully vaccinated' until they are 16 weeks old, which is when they receive their Rabies vaccine as well. For puppies under 16 weeks of age, we require that your puppy is current on their age-appropriate vaccinations for distemper and parvo. If your puppy is over 16 weeks old, they need to be 'fully vaccinated'. Our home is a controlled environment - all dogs that come here must be healthy and current on the required distemper/parvo vaccines, and we recommend leptospirosis and bordatella (kennel cough vaccine).   

Plan to bring along the boarding contract (which you will receive at the time of confirmation) in addition to your puppy's crate, food, food bowl, leash/harness, and KONG or other approved chew item. We have spare crates that your puppy can use upon request if you prefer to leave your crate at home.  

ONLY if your adolescent puppy already completed training with us (either in-home or Board & Train). While we do not accept new puppies into Board & Train after they hit 5 months of age, many of our dedicated puppy owners opt to use Board & Train as a great way for their puppy to receive more advanced and progressive training at or above 5 months of age. So, if your puppy has graduated from any of our training programs, ask Jenn about advanced Board & Train options!

Puppies under 6 months of age do NOT need to be spayed/neutered. Adolescent puppies 6 months and older must be spayed or neutered and fully recovered from surgery prior to enrollment.   

We pre-schedule drop-off in accordance with your schedule anytime between 8am-8pm any day of the week. Board and Train puppies are delivered home to their owners and get a completion session upon drop off. We typically schedule these sessions between 10am-5pm, but will work with you to coordinate the best time for the puppy to return home with a delivery session.

The two-week program is measured as 15 days. The three-week program is measured as 21 days. In these programs, your puppy arrives and departs on the same day of the week. 

For example, if your puppy arrives to us on a Monday, they would return home on a following Monday either two or three weeks later. If they arrive on a Friday, they would return home on a Friday two or three weeks later. 

Longer programs can be customized to any length. 

Of course! Puppy owners can expect to receive video updates of their puppy's training progress via YouTube links sent every few days; they will also receive photos and text updates on the reg. And don't forget to follow us on Instagram to see more of your puppy during their stay! @HappyHoundsDogTrainingDenver 

Puppies in Board and Train receive up to six training sessions daily as they master polite behaviors and develop obedience skills in different environments. Your puppy will also enjoy regular field trips for critical exposure to new places. Foundations like potty training and crate training are reinforced around the clock! 

Puppies will learn commands including sit, down, stay, come, wait, release, targeting, kennel up, leave it, drop it, leash walking, and more. The number of behaviors and specific commands learned will be directly dependent upon the length of enrollment and whether the puppy has received any prior training. Please visit our Board and Train page for more details on specific training expectations. All puppies will benefit from positive socialization, confidence-building opportunities and improve upon potty training and crate training!  

Puppies are only crated during the day if/when they are unsupervised. They are not left in a crate during the day for any more than 2-3 hours at a time and this will not happen more than once per day if the trainer needs to step out for any reason. We believe in positive crate conditioning, so you can expect your puppy to experience calm, structured, and temporary crate time usually once per day in order to boost reliability of positive crate conditioning. 

Your puppy will sleep overnight in the comfort of a personal crate in our designated training room. Please bring along the anything you put inside the crate so we can mimic the way you do it at home (blankets, towel, bed, toy, etc). ​  

DEFINITELY. During your completion session, you will be equipped with the knowledge and ability to maintain your puppy's newfound skills through daily practice in your home. We want YOU to become your puppy's trainer by establishing effective communication and reliable obedience through regular training together. Without daily practice and continued reinforcement of expectations, your puppy's behavior will regress.  

NO. We encourage you to enroll in an in-home training program first so that we can assess your puppy's behavior in the context of your home and get you started on a training plan. If your puppy progresses through in-home training, then Board and Train could be a great option for them in the future. Please call Jenn to discuss this further.  

For consistency, we do not allow puppies on our furniture. However, dogs are contextual learners so just because they learn to stay off OUR furniture, this will not necessarily teach them to stay off YOUR furniture. Furniture expectations are best accomplished through private in-home training that takes place in your home.  

We are adamant about reinforcing 'four paws on the floor' so, during their stay with us, your puppy will NEVER be rewarded for jumping. That said, it will be important for YOU and your family to learn how to give appropriate feedback for jumping up, because if your puppy is prone to jumping, it is likely because you have unintentionally rewarded the behavior and the behavior will resurface once the puppy returns home. Board and Train owners can expect to receive context-specific counseling on puppy jumping during their delivery session. We also have a FREE article for you to reference on how to prevent and resolve jumping HERE!

Puppies interact with the world with their mouths; this is normal puppy behavior and it is to be expected while your puppy is teething (from 8 weeks to 6 months of age). Trying to teach your puppy "no bite" is like trying to teach your puppy to "stop teething" - it's an unreasonable request and your puppy will not learn this kind of cue in Board & Train. Rather, Jenn will teach your puppy WHAT they should put their mouth on and will NEVER reward your puppy for biting on human hands, clothes, shoes, hair, etc. They will also be provided with an abundance of appropriate options (including toys, chews, and even other puppies!) so that they have outlets for teething and mouthing. Owners repeatedly exclaim how much LESS their puppy is mouthing on humans after completing Board & Train with Happy Hounds!

That said, it will be important for you and your family to learn how to appropriately interact with your puppy once they return home in order to prevent this behavior from re-surfacing.  Board and Train owners can expect to receive context-specific counseling on puppy biting during their delivery session.

First, remember that barking is normal dog behavior. Second, we keep the puppies very well exercised, engaged, and occupied here so they will hardly have time to bark during their stay with us! If you have a puppy that is prone to excessive barking in your home, please enroll in private, in-home training so that the behavior can be addressed in the context which it occurs.