What are the potential benefits of residential dog training and how does it
work?

Residential training means your dog going to a training facility with kennels
or like my own service coming to live with a trainer in their house, typically
for 1- 8 weeks. This type of training has become much more popular and
successful, there are many different options that are
available. So, why choose a residential training course over other
types of training for your dog?

What are the benefits of sending your dog to a
residential training programme:

  1. Your dog is being trained and well cared for by a professional in a
    homely safe environment
  2. If your dog is staying in a trainers home, they can eventually relax and
    settle in, they will become familiar with the space that surrounds them,
    they will adapt to this quicker than if they were to stay in a kennels.
  3. A similar environment to their home life signifies that your dog is most
    likely to display the same behaviours, issues, and problems that you are
    experiencing. (Both good and bad) These are such things as counter surfing, stealing objects, barking at the door, sleeping habits and
    toilet training.
  4. Kennel based residential training would not be applicable for working on
    some of these training challenges because of the momentous differences in the
    environment.
  5. The dog trainer is highly qualified and knowledgeable in dog behaviour,
    so the learning rate for the dog is much quicker and much more
    effective, so each demand can be taught the correct way and therefore when the dog struggles to meet those demands the trainer is quickly there to reinforce those correct behaviours.
  6. Your dog trainer will spend a lot of time with your dog, so they quickly
    build up a trusting bond and the trainer will be able to work out what is
    motivating your dog and what doesn’t, as well as your dogs needs.

What is involved in residential dog training?

Your dog trainer should spend around 2-4 hours of training, not all in one go,
but by doing multiple sessions throughout the day. This should include
training sessions on the dogs’ specific behaviours, going for long walks, so
this will include whether the dog will have such issues like high prey drive
and is easily distracted outside, also play sessions to help breakup the day but
also by building up trust and becoming more personal with the trainer and the
dog. This can be more successful and achieved than group classes.

Residential training works mostly well for

owners who:

  1. Do not have as much time as they would like to train their dog.
  2. Are struggling with challenges they are having with their dog as
    they are quite complex.
  3. Have tried other ways of training but have not had much success.
  4. May not be physically able to train their dog.
  5. Cannot achieve reliable obedience with their dog.
  6. Owners who are going away on holiday and want their dog to
    benefit from learning whilst away.

However, some dog trainers do not own a dog of their own, so they may have
other dogs there training or a family friends dog staying there, but this will be
really beneficial as this is great for helping with socialization, this can
certainly help towards dogs who are either over excited, nervous or easily
distracted by other dogs, the trainer will be able to teach your dog how to
behave appropriately around other dogs and people.

Considering, residential dog training is not just a quick fix, and it doesn’t
happen overnight, owners will need to continue the training once there
training is finished. Owners will be required to continue training their dog
once the dog returns home. It is so important to be consistent.
Aftercare is also important as the owner should receive lots of help whether it
will be the trainer doing 1-2-1 sessions, over the phone or online, this will
help maintain your dog’s training.