Board and train · Gear
What equipment does my dog come home with after board and train?
Families often expect a box of gear at handover. The more useful thing is knowing what your dog trained on, why, and how to use it. Here is the list, who provides what, and what to leave in the drawer.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The short version
The gear is simple; the handling is what you really take home.
You send your dog with a flat collar with an ID tag and a standard six-foot leash, and those come home with it. During the stay our trainer chooses the tool that suits your dog, a flat collar, a slip lead, a prong collar or, in VIP, an e-collar, and your dog trains on it. At the go-home session you learn to use that same tool, fitted correctly, with the same timing, before you leave.
For Gold and Platinum, if a specific tool was used, our team tells you what it is and how to get one; ask on the consultation call if you want to know in advance what will need buying. In VIP the Mini-Educator is part of the program and goes home with your dog, along with an in-home handover on how to use it.
| Item | Where it comes from | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Flat collar with ID tag | You send it | Worn at rest; the identification if a gate is left open |
| Six-foot leash | You send it | The walk is taught on a standard leash, never a retractable |
| Slip lead or prong collar | Only if your dog trained on one; our team tells you what and how to get it | Fitted and taught at the go-home session |
| Mini-Educator e-collar | Included in VIP | Taught in the in-home handover |
| Crate and place bed | Set up at your home | Placed the way you were shown at handover |
Why the same tool matters
Switching equipment after a stay is one of the fastest ways to lose the leash manners.
A dog learns the walk as a set of signals through a specific piece of equipment. Change to a harness it can lean into, or a retractable leash that pays it for pulling, and the signals it learned vanish. Keep the tool it graduated on, fitted the way you were shown, and the walk you saw on video is the walk you get on your street.
That does not mean the tool is forever. Many dogs graduate from a slip lead or a prong back to a flat collar as the habit matures, and our team will tell you when your dog is ready. Ask before you change anything, and learn the new setup in a lesson rather than from a pet store label.
- The same tool, the same fit
- No retractable leashes
- No front-clip harness swaps without asking
- Many dogs move back to a flat collar later
Setting up the house
A crate, a place bed and a leash by the door do most of the work.
A crate, sized so the dog can stand, turn and lie flat, goes where you were shown, often in a bedroom for the first weeks. A raised place bed goes in the room where the family spends its evenings, because place is the command you will use most: at meals, when guests arrive and when the doorbell rings. Keep the leash by the front door for the first weeks, clipped on before the door opens.
In a Houston summer, check fit and skin more often. A collar on a sweaty neck can rub, so take training tools off between walks, look for redness and never leave a prong or an e-collar on a dog unsupervised. In hurricane season keep a spare leash and collar with tag in your evacuation bag.
Set the crate up in a quiet room, in the air conditioning, as shown.
Put the place bed in the room where the family spends evenings.
Hang the leash by the front door and clip it on before the door opens.
Fit the training tool the way you practiced at handover.
Take training tools off between walks and check the skin in summer.
Pack a spare collar with tag and a leash in your hurricane bag.
What we do at Best Dog University
Every program teaches the tool; VIP includes the e-collar.
Silver, one week at $1,500, Gold, two weeks at $2,500, and Platinum, three weeks at $3,750, all end with a go-home session where you learn the equipment your dog trained on. Platinum's unlimited lessons are also where a family learns to move a dog down to a lighter tool when it is ready. VIP, six weeks at $10,000, includes the Mini-Educator e-collar, transport home and an in-home handover.
You do not need to buy anything before the stay. Our team confirms what to bring when you book, and advises on equipment during the stay and at the go-home session, so you buy only what your dog actually needs. Families who bought the wrong tool online before calling are common, and the money is better spent after the trainer has met the dog.
- Nothing to buy before the stay
- Equipment advice during the stay and at handover
- The e-collar included in VIP
- Lighter tools later, taught in a lesson
The programs
What each program sends home.
Every program teaches the equipment your dog trained on; VIP includes the Mini-Educator e-collar.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
Do I need to buy training equipment before the stay?
No. Send a flat collar with an ID tag and a standard six-foot leash, and our team advises on anything else during the stay and at the go-home session. Buying tools in advance often means buying the wrong one. VIP includes the Mini-Educator e-collar.
Will my dog come home on a prong collar?
Only if your dog needs one and you have been taught to use it. A lot of graduates go home on nothing heavier than a slip lead. If a prong helped your dog, you learn to fit it high and snug and to use it as brief, even pressure, and our team tells you when your dog can move back to a lighter tool.
Does the place bed come home with my dog?
Ask our team on the consultation call. What matters is that you have a raised place bed at home, set up where the family spends its evenings, because place is the command you will use most. Our trainer will show you where to put it and how to use it at the go-home session.
Can I use a harness after board and train?
Ask our team first. Switching from the tool your dog trained on to a harness it can lean into often brings the pulling back within days. For some dogs a harness is fine for specific activities once the walk is solid. A lesson is the place to decide and to learn the change.
Keep reading
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Ask what your dog would come home with.
On the free consultation call our team will explain the equipment your dog is likely to train on. When the program fits, a $250 reservation deposit holds your dates and comes off the price.