Training overview
Canine Academy’s Manners Camp series starts with Manners 1. Manners 1 – available via board and train or private lessons -introduces your dog to basic obedience while getting rid of unwanted behaviors like jumping, leash-pulling, and excessive barking. In this program, you’ll work 1:1 with a trainer to master a subset of basic obedience commands that are particularly useful for a well-mannered house pet. At the end of the program, you’ll have a usable set of skills to communicate with your canine companion for life. While there is no such thing as a quick fix in dog training, our program is designed to give you fast results, along with the support that you need to establish long-lasting habits for lifelong success.
Training Results
At the end of the program, your dog will have useful and reliable obedience skills around typical household distractions. You’ll have an understanding of how to reinforce your dog’s training for life.
Recommended For
We recommend our Manners Camp for dogs and puppies older than 6 months. For dogs younger than 6 months, Puppy Foundations or Puppy Socialization may be recommended as a starting point. Manners Camp participants must be social dogs.
Canine Academy staff will work with you to understand your dog’s disposition and training needs, ensuring that Manners is the right program to meet your goals. If they learn, at any point, factors about your dog’s disposition that would make them a better candidate for another Canine Academy program or different training method, we will work with you to make those adjustments.
Skills Learned
In our Manners Camp 1, your dog will learn the following skills, with the aim of becoming a polite at-home companion. During the program, your dog will practice the following skills under typical household distractions. For example, strangers or friends entering the home, familiar and unfamiliar dogs nearby, food, toy, and noise distractions are used to proof your dog’s skills.
- Recalling to handler and sitting within petting distance
- Maintaining recall until released
- Walking close enough to handler to maintain a loose leash
- Performing an autosit when handler stops moving
- “Placing” with all 4 paws on a defined boundary
- Maintaining a pace command until release, for up to 30 minutes
- Sitting in current spot
- Maintaining sit command until release
- Ceasing unwanted behavior (such as barking, chewing, chasing, stealing).
Further, your trainer will ensure you the owner can:
- Use basic obedience skills to communicate with your dog
- Anticipate and redirect distractions and unwanted behavior from your dog
- Build healthy habits for lifelong success
Not sure where to start?
Take our behavioral assessment and a member of our team will reach out to discuss how to achieve your specific training goals
How Manners Camp Works
Canine Academy’s Manners Program is available in two formats: Stay and train, or private lessons. Once your dog has completed Manners 1, he or she may enroll in Manners 2 to continue their journey to go-anywhere companion. You may participate in a stay and train program for Manners 1 and a private lesson program for Manners 2 and vice-versa.
Stay and Train Format
During a 5-6 day stay on campus, your dedicated trainer will work 1:1 with your dog, while providing progress updates and focusing on the distractions most important to your family. The Canine Academy Care Team will shower them with walks, playtime, and belly rubs when they are not in training. At the end of the program, you will work with your trainer during a hands-on lesson designed to provide you with the confidence and tools needed to continue reinforcing your dog’s new skills at home.
Approximately 1 week after you bring your dog home, you’ll have a follow-up phone call with your trainer to ensure a smooth transition back to life with your family.
Lesson Based Format
Over the course of 3 weeks, you’ll meet 1:1 with your trainer weekly to introduce basic obedience skills. Your trainer will assign daily homework for practice between lessons. This homework is designed to build your dog’s impulse control around distractions. Your trainer will help you build skills and learn to troubleshoot in order to build reliable skills.
Pricing & Enrollment
The stay and train package includes a stay at our facilities with a dedicated trainer, a customer go-home lesson and access to our training and support library, a follow-up phone call with your trainer, and a remote e-collar you will take home with you.
The lesson package includes 3 one-on-one lessons with a dedicated trainer, access to our training and support library, and a remote e-collar you will take home with you.
Please contact us for pricing and enrollment dates. Financing is available for this training program – click here for more information!
Board and Train Frequently Asked Questions
When does my dog get breakfast?
Breakfast starts at 7:30am. Our dedicated care team arrives bright and early to feed each dog his or her preferred food, dispense any required medications, and start everyone’s day right with a consistent morning routine!
What does my dog do when not in training?
When not in training, your dog will be hitting the trails or socializing our in our play field.
Each dog on our campus gets an individual morning walk through our private nature trails. Hot sniffs and doggy curiosity abound when our Care Team is at the other end of the leash.
For dogs that can’t wait to see their doggy friends, a nice long opportunity to run free and chase toys is as fun as any day at the dog park. For dogs that have a more solo style, individual enrichment and extra ear scratches are on the menu.
How much time does my dog spend with their trainer?
Every day, your dog will spend about 2.5-3 hours with their trainer, broken into two separate sessions with time to rest in between.
Does my dog get to rest during the day?
Yes! All of that mental work is exhausting. Your dog will get nap time opportunities in between training. Our kennels provide a nice, quiet place to get some R&R, let their new skills marinate, and get their brain and body ready for more play and training.
When does my dog get dinner?
Dinner is served at 6:00pm, along with any required medications or supplements and plenty of time for a potty break.
Will my dog get an evening walk?
Yes! Evening enrichment time entails either another walk or a second chance to hang out with friends in the play field. After a full day of play and work, evening enrichment usually has our dogs doing more sniffing and exploring than running and chasing!
When does my dog go to sleep?
At 10pm, each dog gets his or her final potty break before getting tucked in for the night. Bedtime routines include getting plenty of belly rubs before our Care Team leaves our sleeping dogs in the hand of our on-site manager each night.