Our Board and Train program is our best program for getting results quickly. You drop off your dog, and we do the work for you! Your dog will come to the FPK9 home away from home environment for 3 to 5 weeks and stay with us for a minimum of 21 days of multiple sessions.
We put in hundreds of repetitions, and that’s what it takes to teach all the behaviors the correct way. We have programs specifically for puppies, for friendly but untrained dogs, for service dogs, and for behavioral cases such as aggressive and fearful dogs. Board and Train includes reliable on-and-off leash obedience, behavior modification, development of proper socializing skills, and much more. Our goal is to develop a dog who is obedient, confident, and can happily perform the instilled training with anyone and anywhere, at any time.
At the end of board and train, your dog will be better equipped to adapt and socialize with new dogs, people, and other environmental factors. Owners will see improvements on specific issues as well as overall obedience conditioning.
We begin with the same personalized engagement to develop further into disciplined obedience. Following extensive proofing, you are then brought into the last week of training to transfer over the knowledge and skill sets needed to maintain your dog at home.
Shaping attention, positioning, and other obedience commands is the platform and stamp for further training. All exercises are conducted within a leash distance on leash. Commands are conditioned in most environments. This is not accomplished with long monotonous sessions where your dog is numbed by repetitive boredom, but through high-powered short sessions.
This allows intensity and absorption of learning to merge. Commands we work on are a reliable recall such as Here, Down/down-stay, Attentive heeling/loose leash walking, Sit stay, and Place Command.
A FREE phone consultation is available for all dogs.
Each puppy comes to us with different personalities and at various stages in training. For this reason, we feel that a one-size-fits-all approach to puppy training is not effective. This is why we offer our customized Puppy Head Start program.
At the end of the board and train program, your dog will be better equipped to adapt and socialize with new dogs, people, and environments. Owners will also see improvements on specific issues and overall general obedience.
Whether it is be fear, anxiety, leash reactivity, or aggression, our goal is to change the way your dog reacts to what is the triggering unwanted behaviors. Carefully controlling your dog's environment, we can help reintroduce these triggers in a less stressful way.
During the Basics program, your dog will learn the necessities to be a good hunting companion. Your dog will learn how to deliver bird to hand, retrieve long land and water marks, and be steady to the shot. Your dog will also be introduced to any hunt scenario you wish.
“Hi, I rescued a German Shepherd/Husky mix. My husband is a cop so I went to the police station and talked to the local police department for help finding a trainer. One of the k9 officers recommended Dillon. I met Dillon and the k9 officer at their competition practice Tuesday evening and Dillon evaluated my dog right there on the spot. We ended up signing up for private lessons and started meeting 3x a week for a half hour each. During this time I decided it would be best due to my work schedule to do a 2 month board and train. Dillon took Max everywhere with him. Through his training I can see his fear of men becoming less and less. As a rescued dog, I was not sure how he was treated prior to becoming part of our family. Max had no boundaries or rules. Dillon has helped the transition process with helping Max learn in such a short period of time. Dillon is always answering all of my questions and has even provided articles and videos. We still see Dillon at his local public group classes that he holds twice a week. I recommend Dillon to my friends and family.”
An evaluation is important for our professional trainers to observe any inappropriate or unwanted habits, and to gather a baseline of your dog’s behavior, especially in public (we recommend doing evaluations here at our location). This also gives us a chance to discuss training goals, while creating realistic expectations for our students and clients.
Once the evaluation is complete, Dillon will be able to recommend an appropriate training program/package.
An evaluation enables us to make sure that the dog coming in to train with us will not pose a risk to any of our staff or students during their stay. If your dog is a behavioral case, we want to experience firsthand exactly what it is that we need to be prepared for. All breeds, issues, and sizes are welcome. We typically operate on a 2-week lead time.
The first step to enroll in any one of our Board and Train programs or private lessons is to schedule a complete behavioral assessment and temperament test. This allows us to observe your dog’s behavior, discuss your goals for them, and briefly work with your dog so that we can recommend the best course of action. Contact us now to schedule this.
Food, feeding instructions, as well as a paper copy of your dog’s vaccination records.
The best age to start the training is between 8 to 12 weeks of age because that’s the puppy’s critical socialization window. It’s when puppies are super impressionable, therefore socialization, exposure, and confidence building are very important. That said, if you do early socialization yourself, then anytime in the two-to-six-month age range is great. Puppy training makes a huge difference so the more you do, the better!
Yes. We are happy to accommodate any special diet requests, raw food diets, medication needs etc.
We guarantee we’ll do our job, and we guarantee your dog will be trained, but we can’t control you and we can’t make you follow-through once the dog is home. Ninety-nine percent of our clients do an amazing job with their dogs once their dogs are home. They follow-through, they ask questions if they have them, and they see great success.
Occasionally, we have clients who think their dog is a robot and will obey commands regardless of inconsistency or lack of follow-through on their part. Dogs aren’t robots and they aren’t perfect. We are doing the hard work. All we ask is that you maintain it.We give you specific, customized, written and verbal instructions to help you do so! Listen to your trainer, and your dog will do great
Some other trainers seemingly disappear after the dog has gone home. They don’t return your calls or follow-up with you. We’re not them! We care about you and your dog. We put a lot of hard work into your dog’s training and want to make sure we’ve done and continue doing everything possible to help you succeed. Follow-up lessons are included in most of our board & train programs, and after that we are always available by phone or email to answer any questions you might have.
Many of our clients continue sending us updates and happy stories months and years after their dog has graduated. We’re in this for the long haul and want you to know you can always count on us. We’re here for you!
Yes! This helps us to further generalize the dog’s training and allows us to answer specific questions clients have in regards to their home set-up and environment. In everything we do, we strive to set dogs and their owners up for success.
Both. We generalize our training, meaning once we’ve taught the dog the commands he or she needs to learn, we have him or her work for multiple handlers in multiple locations around a myriad of distractions. Generalization is a key aspect to training that many other trainers don’t do. Our handover process is very smooth. We ensure that the training transfers so everyone is happy, and the dog can be successful at home
No. In all our years of training, no dog has ever forgotten his owners. They may not realize their owners are in the room right away, during midway lessons for example, but once they see/smell them they are always happy to see them.
The way we train is fun for dogs, so in their minds their whole day is fun! Depending on the dog’s specific training goals and needs, we will do a combination of obedience, agility, urban agility, treadmill training, clicker training, and more. Many owners see how much fun their dog is having and wonder, “Will he want to come home?!”
As much as he/she needs! We work with dogs often throughout the day. For example, a puppy might receive 15 short training sessions in one day plus a field trip and play time with other dogs! A rehab dog may do longer sessions to work through behavioral issues but will still be worked with often throughout the day. On average, board & trains do multiple sessions per day for a total of 1.5 to 3 hours of training (sometimes more).
That depends! If your dog is overweight then yes, we will put your dog on a diet. If your dog is underweight then no, we will increase your dog’s food intake to help your dog gain weight. If your dog is a good weight, we will maintain your dog’s weight. Our in-home board & train is different from a stressful kennel atmosphere. Dogs aren’t surrounded by loud, barking dogs and overworked/underpaid kennel workers. They are part of our packs and have a great time visiting us for training!
In the rare case that something happens to your dog, we take care of your dog like one of our own! We contact you so that you can take your dog to the vet, or we get your permission to take your dog to the vet ourselves. We’ve trained hundreds of dogs in board & train, and we’ve had zero accidents ever happen. We would like to keep it that way, which is why we are selective as to what dogs we take on for training. Since we are selective, are able to keep a close eye on dogs. This is how we keep dogs safe and healthy! We always know where they are, what they’re doing, what their stool looks like, if they’re eating and drinking enough, etc.
Absolutely! We send post to social media and, in some cases, we text photos and videos to our clients. We want you to always know how your dog is doing. That said, we do ask that you don’t ask for daily, detailed updates. We are busy training and want to use our time wisely. You can always ask for a quick update, but lengthy updates are usually sent weekly.
Yes! Any programs longer than two weeks offer midway lessons. This is an opportunity for you to visit your dog, spend time with, and learn from the trainer. For programs shorter than two weeks, we do not offer midway lessons, but if you really need to see your dog we can make it happen!
In our program, your dog stays at our licensed facility attached to our vet, where our staff is able to attend to him/her. We’ve found this is the best way for dogs to get around-the-clock care and individual attention, as a trusted individual is with your dog 24/7.
A FREE phone consultation is available for all dogs.
We do appointments by scheduling only as we are not open to the public. No dog is permitted on our property without undergoing a complete behavior assessment and temperament test.
"Before finding Full Potential K9, I was incredibly stressed out about training my dog, Jameson. He would bark so much while I ate that I actually would dread dinner time. He would jump up on countertops, pull on the leash while on walks, and whine/ bark nonstop in the crate. Since I was about to start law school, I knew I had to resolve the continuous circle of stress I was going through with Jameson, as I would try and teach him and nothing would stick. After I reached out to Full Potential K9, Dillon was extremely professional and eager to begin working with Jamo. Right away he asked what problem areas Jameson had and we scheduled a consultation. I cannot stress enough how shocked my mom and I were within ten minutes of Dillon working with Jameson during the consultation. He was completely relaxed, not jumping, and actually just laid down because he was so mentally drained from just a few minutes of training- clearly I was doing it wrong before!! Dillon came and picked Jameson up and I felt entirely comfortable knowing that he was going to be well taken care of for the duration of his three week training program. I was able to see pictures and videos on Full Potential K9's Instagram, as well as text Dillon directly for updates, of which he sent plenty. Dillon provides a one-on-one lesson before pickup and patiently walks through everything he taught your dog. It was evident right away how well he did with Jameson. Jameson was in "place" and didn't move off even after seeing me for the first time in weeks! (I promise he loves me!) I walked around the backyard with Jameson on a leash to work through the "Let's go" command, practiced using the training collar, and got a full download of what I need to do in order to ensure Jameson's awesome behavior continues at home. After getting home, I did just as Dillon instructed and so far am enjoying my dog so much more than I was before. Dillon has also checked in multiple times to make sure the transition went smoothly. I'm able to sit with him outside and not worry about him pulling/jumping/barking. I actually moved into a new apartment building while he was at training and Jameson makes me proud every time we walk around! People have commented on how well behaved he is while we're on the elevator! All in all, I cannot recommend Full Potential K9 enough. 100% worth the investment for both you and your dog so that you can enjoy life together more!"
