Board and train, West University
Board and train in West University: small lots, sidewalks and Rice Village patios
West U is the most walked neighborhood in Houston, and a dog that lunges there rehearses it thirty times a day. The stay for a West U dog is built around one skill above all: seeing a dog on a narrow sidewalk and looking at you instead.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
- Drive to the training home
- About 35 to 45 minutes to Cypress via 610 and 290 outside rush hour.
- Pickup and delivery
- $250 door-to-door pickup and return across West U, Southside Place and the Rice area, with the first lesson in your home. Included in VIP.
- The go-home session
- On your own block with transport and for every VIP graduate; in Cypress for drop-off families.
- Where we train near you
- the sidewalks, stores and trails around Cypress during the stay · your own block and Colonial Park for the go-home session · the Rice Village patios for the settle · the edge of Hermann Park for recall on a long line
- Homes and yards
- Small lots with short front walks, sidewalks on every street, dogs on every block; doodles, Labs, goldens and small breeds.
The stay, from West U
Up 610 and 290, or the transport with the handover on your sidewalk.
West U families drop off in Cypress, about 40 minutes up 610 and 290, or add the $250 transport so the go-home session happens on their own block: out the front door, ten feet to the sidewalk, past the first neighbor's dog, on a slack leash. That is the exam, and it is why most West U families take the transport. Between field trips the dog lives in our house, trains every day, and the family hears from us on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The last field trips for a West U Platinum dog use busy sidewalks and a Rice Village patio at a quiet hour, so the density has been met before the family holds the leash.
The free phone consultation; program and dates set
Pickup at your door, or drop-off in Cypress
Day one in the crate and the house; the program from day two
Field trips around Cypress, then busy sidewalks and a Village patio
Updates Monday, Wednesday and Friday
The go-home session on your own block
Unlimited lessons with Platinum, lifetime support
What a West U dog learns
Neutrality at close range, a settle at the Village and a calm exit onto a busy sidewalk.
The West U problem is density: the front door opens onto a sidewalk with a dog on it, the walk passes twenty dogs, and the patio at Rice Village has a dog under every second table. A merely excited dog becomes a lunging one because every walk rehearses it. Platinum builds neutrality from distance on quiet streets to real sidewalks with real dogs at closing distances, the settle under a patio table, and a calm exit through the front door, with unlimited lessons afterwards on your own block. Gold covers the manners for the dog that pulls but does not lunge. VIP takes the dog to off-leash reliability where Houston's rules allow.
- Walking past dogs on a narrow sidewalk without a scene
- A settle under the table at Rice Village
- A calm exit through the front door
- A recall on a long line at the edge of Hermann Park
Programs and prices
Platinum most often, Gold for the puller, VIP for the finished dog.
Platinum at $3,750 is the West U program, because the sidewalks demand neutrality and the unlimited lessons afterwards happen on your own block; with the transport it is $4,000 door to door. Gold at $2,500 covers the manners for the puller. VIP at $10,000 includes the transport and a handover on your own block. Dates are reserved with $250, credited to the program.
| Program | Length | Price | Door to door |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2 weeks | $2,500 | $2,750 |
| Platinum | 3 weeks | $3,750 | $4,000 |
| VIP | 6 weeks | $10,000 | Included |
West U specifics
Small lots, the Village, Hermann Park and the summer sidewalk.
West U lots are small and the walk is the dog's whole outdoor life, so the walk gets most of the stay's attention. Rice Village patios are the settle exam and the pet stores on Kirby and Bissonnet are the neutrality environment for a dog not ready for the Village. Hermann Park's edges are where the recall on a long line gets proofed. The sidewalk is a heat problem by mid-morning from May to September, so summer walks are early and late and the store aisles carry the afternoons; the dog you pick up in August has done its neutrality work in the hardest season.
- The walk as the whole curriculum
- Rice Village patios as the settle exam
- Hermann Park for the long line
- Early and late walks in summer
The programs
Programs West U families book.
Platinum for the sidewalk, Gold for the puller, VIP for the finished dog, the bundle for puppies before the sidewalk teaches them.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
How does a stay work from West U?
Your dog lives in our home in Cypress, about 40 minutes up 610 and 290. Drop off yourself or add the $250 transport for pickup, return and the go-home session on your own block, past the neighbors' dogs. Updates arrive Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
My dog lunges at every dog on the sidewalk. Lessons or a stay?
A stay. Reactivity needs daily structure and controlled exposure at distances the dog can hold, which is what three weeks of Platinum provides. The unlimited lessons afterwards teach you the handling on your own block.
Do the field trips include Rice Village?
The last field trips for a West U Platinum dog use busy sidewalks and a Village patio at a quiet hour, so the density has been met before the handover. The go-home session for transport families can include the patio you actually use.
Should a West U puppy start with the bundle?
Yes. The Puppy Development Bundle at $750 in your home sets the greeting rule and the walk before the sidewalk teaches the puppy that dogs are the point of it, which in West U happens on the first walk.
Keep reading
Free consultation · 10% off this fall
West University families start with a call.
Tell our team what your dog does on the sidewalk. The free phone consultation is a direct call, and the reservation deposit is $250.