Board and train · Your part
What do I need to do after board and train?
The go-home session hands you a trained dog and a set of instructions. This page is the plain list of what those instructions ask of you, who in the house needs to do them, and what to leave alone until the dog is ready.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The short version
Routine, handling, management and a lesson: four jobs, and none of them takes long.
The routine is the day you were given at handover: when the dog walks, eats, rests and sleeps, and where the crate and place bed live. The handling is how you give commands: one word, said once, followed through, with the leash held the way you practiced. Management is what stops the old habits from getting a rehearsal, such as a leash on in the house for a door rusher or the crate when nobody is watching.
The lesson is the safety net. Book it for the second or third week home, not months later, so a small wobble is fixed in an hour at your own door. None of this is a big daily time commitment; it is mostly doing ordinary things, the door, dinner and the walk, the new way.
- Run the routine from handover
- Give each command once and follow through
- Manage what the dog is not ready for
- Book the follow-up lesson for week two or three
Who does what
Everyone who gives the dog a command needs the same words and the same rules.
A dog learns that rules apply to whoever enforces them. If one adult asks for a wait at the door and another lets the dog barge through, the dog learns that waiting is optional with the second person, and soon with the first. So the whole household needs the handover, ideally in person at the go-home session, including teenagers and anyone who walks the dog.
Divide the jobs clearly and write them on the fridge if that helps. One person might own the morning walk and another the evening, but both walk the same way, on the same side, with the same words. Children can run place and sit with supervision and are great at rewarding calm. Guests get told the rules before they walk in: no greeting until the dog is on place and released.
- Every handler learns the same words
- The same rules at every door
- Children help with supervision
- Guests hear the rules before they walk in
The first fourteen days
Two weeks of doing it exactly as taught is what turns the training into your dog's normal.
Most dogs test the new rules in the first days home, a jump at the door, a pull on the first walk, and the household's answer decides whether the test becomes a habit. Keep freedom small at first: the crate or place when you cannot supervise, the leash on for doors and guests, and no new places or big gatherings until the house routine is steady.
In a Houston summer the walk may need to be short and early, so place work carries more of the day. If your dog comes home near July 4 or New Year's Eve, plan a quiet indoor evening with the crate covered and the leash on for trips outside, because a newly trained dog is still a dog that can bolt from fireworks.
Set up the crate and place bed exactly as shown at handover.
Walk twice a day at the position and with the tool your dog trained on.
Ask for a wait at every door and release it with the word you were taught.
Put the dog on place for meals, guests and the doorbell.
Keep the leash on in the house for any habit that is not solid yet.
Book the included follow-up lesson for the second or third week.
Text our team the first time something slips.
What to hold off on
Some freedoms are earned, and giving them too early is how progress unravels.
Hold off on the dog park, off-leash hikes, free run of the house while you are out and big family gatherings until the basics are steady at home. None of those are forbidden forever; they are harder tests, and a dog should pass the easy ones first. Our trainers tell you at handover which freedoms your dog is ready for and which can wait.
Hold off on new tools, too. Changing from the equipment your dog trained on to a harness from the pet store, or buying an e-collar online, undoes the handling you just learned. If you want to change anything, ask our team first, and if the answer is yes, a lesson is the place to learn it.
What we do at Best Dog University
Every program leaves you with a lesson or more, and a number to call.
The one-week Silver program at $1,500 closes with a go-home session and nothing after it, which is why it suits a refresher. The two-week Gold at $2,500 leaves you one more lesson and lifelong support. Platinum, three weeks at $3,750, leaves you unlimited private lessons and lifetime support, which most families use in the first months. VIP, six weeks at $10,000, adds an in-home handover and unlimited in-home lessons directly with our team.
Private lessons are also available at $160 at the training home in Cypress or $220 in your home for anyone who wants more. Families from Katy or Tomball are about 25 to 35 minutes from the training home, central Houston about 30 to 45, so an in-home lesson is often the easier choice for the door or the couch that causes the trouble.
The programs
Programs that include follow-up after the stay.
Gold includes one lesson, Platinum unlimited lessons, and private lessons are there for anyone who wants more.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
How much time do I need to spend training each day?
Less than most families expect. The training lives inside things you already do: the walk, meals, the door and the evening on the couch. A few focused minutes on place and recall on top of that keeps the skills sharp. Consistency matters far more than the number of minutes.
Can I skip the follow-up lesson if everything is going well?
You can, but it is the best-value hour of the program. Even a dog that seems perfect benefits from a trainer watching your handling, because small habits in your timing or leash hold creep in within weeks. Book it for week two or three and use it to raise the standard.
Should I keep using the crate after board and train?
For the first weeks, yes, whenever you cannot supervise. It keeps the rest routine and stops old habits getting a rehearsal while the new rules settle. Plenty of graduates go on sleeping in theirs by choice for life. Our trainer will tell you at a lesson when your dog has earned more freedom.
What if my partner will not follow the rules?
Then the dog learns two sets of rules, and the looser one wins. Bring every handler to the go-home session, and if one person missed it, book a lesson so they learn it from a trainer rather than secondhand. Rules the whole house keeps are the only ones a dog keeps.
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