The per-day math
How much is board and train per day?
Per-day math is a fair way to compare programs, as long as the days are counted honestly and the inclusions are noticed. Here is ours, with the arithmetic shown.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The short version
About $179 a day for Gold and Platinum, $214 for Silver, $238 for VIP.
Silver is $1,500 over seven days, which is about $214 per day. Gold is $2,500 over fourteen days and Platinum is $3,750 over twenty-one; both divide to about $179 per day, because Platinum is priced as exactly one and a half Golds. VIP is $10,000 over forty-two days, about $238 per day, with the Mini-Educator e-collar, transport home and unlimited in-home lessons folded into that figure.
The daily rate is only half the comparison. A Silver day buys loose leash walking, door boundaries and basic structure. A Platinum day buys behavior modification, field trips and the unlimited lessons that follow. A VIP day buys off-leash reliability and a handover in your own home. Same kind of day in the same house; different amount of program attached to it.
| Program | Length | Price | Per day, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Foundation | 7 days | $1,500 | $214 |
| Gold Board & Train | 14 days | $2,500 | $179 |
| Platinum Board & Train | 21 days | $3,750 | $179 |
| VIP Service-Dog-Level | 42 days | $10,000 | $238 |
The reasoning
Why the daily rate falls from Silver to Gold and rises again at VIP.
A week has fixed costs that do not shrink: the intake, settling the dog into the house, the first days of teaching, the go-home session. Spread those over seven days and each day costs more than it does over fourteen. That is why Silver, honest as a refresher, is the most expensive per day and the least program per dollar, and why we recommend it only as a starting point or a tune-up rather than as a way to save money.
VIP climbs because the days contain more. Off-leash work needs one trainer per dog for long sessions in public, a tool that is included in the price, transport home and a handover delivered at your house, plus unlimited in-home lessons afterward that would otherwise be $220 each. Divide all of that by forty-two and $238 is what it costs to build a dog to that standard.
A training day
What a day in our home contains, so you can see what the rate buys.
The day starts before sunrise in summer with a potty break and the first structured walk while the pavement is cool. Then crate rest, a formal session on place and stays, breakfast earned with a wait, and in Platinum a field trip to a store on 290 or a sidewalk in Bridgeland. Afternoons are indoor work in the heat months, evenings bring a second walk and door practice, and the day ends with a settled dog in a crate inside a house.
Between those blocks are the small moments that no hourly lesson contains: waiting at the threshold, ignoring the other dogs at feeding time, settling while the family eats. Those repetitions are the reason a stay changes a dog and a weekly lesson often does not, and they are what the daily rate actually pays for.
Take the all-in price of any program, including any deposit that is not credited.
Divide by the number of nights the dog is actually away.
List what is included afterward: handover, lessons, support.
Price those separately at local rates, roughly $160 to $220 per lesson.
Compare the per-day figures only after adding the after-care back in.
Houston specifics
Per day in Houston also means per summer day, per storm day and per drive.
From May to September every training day is reorganized around heat: outdoor sessions at dawn and dusk, indoor work through the afternoon, the back-of-the-hand pavement test before any sidewalk. Those days are not cheaper to run; they are longer. During hurricane season, June 1 through November 30, a storm day means sheltering the dogs in the house and calling families, which is part of what you are paying for even if it never happens.
Then there is the cost of the days you do not spend driving. A family in The Woodlands doing weekly lessons in Cypress spends 35 to 45 minutes each way; a family in League City spends an hour. The $250 transport service, with its included in-home lesson, is worth adding to the per-day math if the alternative is that drive twice.
- Summer days are longer, not cheaper
- Storm days are planned for
- Transport at $250 replaces the long drives
- Photo and video updates three times a week are included
What it means for your dog
The best per-day value depends on what your dog needs, not on the smallest number.
For a dog who needs obedience and manners, Gold is the value line: fourteen days at about $179 with a follow-up lesson and lifelong support. For a dog who needs behavior modification, Platinum is the same daily rate with the third week and the unlimited lessons that make it work. Buying Gold for a reactive dog to save on the total is the false economy we see most.
For puppies under four months, no daily rate applies; the bundle at $550 is four lessons and a coached household. For families who want off-leash reliability, VIP's higher daily rate is the price of that standard and includes the tool and the in-home follow-up. Our team will do the arithmetic with you on the free phone consultation, honestly, program by program.
- Manners and obedience: Gold, the value line
- Behavior modification: Platinum, same daily rate
- Off-leash standard: VIP, higher rate, more included
- Puppies under four months: the bundle, no daily rate
The programs
Four programs, with the daily math done.
Fixed prices for fixed lengths, so the per-day figure is honest.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
Is board and train charged per day or per program?
Per program. Silver, Gold, Platinum and VIP are fixed prices for fixed lengths, and the per-day figures on this page are simply those prices divided by the days. We do not sell extra days at a nightly rate; if a dog needs more time, our team discusses an extension with you directly.
Why is Platinum the same per day as Gold?
Because it is priced as one and a half Gold programs: $3,750 against $2,500, twenty-one days against fourteen. The third week adds behavior modification, field trips and unlimited follow-up lessons without raising the daily rate. It is the reason Platinum is our most popular program for dogs with real behavior problems.
Does the daily rate include food and boarding?
It includes the stay in our trainer's home, the training, the photo and video updates three times a week and the go-home session. You bring your dog's usual food so his stomach stays settled, along with his vaccination records. There is no separate boarding charge inside a program.
How does the per-day cost compare with boarding plus separate lessons?
Boarding a dog and buying lessons on top usually costs more per day than a program once the lessons are counted, and the dog is trained for an hour and kenneled the rest. In a stay the training runs through the whole day. Compare all-in totals with after-care included, not the nightly rate alone.
Is a one-week program the cheapest way in?
Cheapest in total at $1,500, most expensive per day at about $214, and the narrowest in what it covers: loose leash, door boundaries and basic structure. It suits a refresher or a first taste of structure. For a dog with real problems, Gold or Platinum delivers far more per dollar.
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Want the numbers run for your dog?
Ask our team on the free phone consultation. A $250 deposit reserves the dates and is credited to the program.