Board + Train
Most board and train programs solve for one thing: obedience in a controlled environment. The dog comes back doing a perfect sit. Then you walk them into your kitchen, the neighbor's dog barks through the fence, and four weeks of work unravels in four minutes.
We believe in building calm confident dogs - in real world environments.
Behavior sticks when it's built in context — in real environments, with real distractions, by someone who understands what's actually driving what they're seeing. At SCC, your dog doesn't go to a facility or a kennel. They come home with me. They live in my house, train in real-world environments, and spend four weeks building skills that don't evaporate the moment life gets loud.
Board & Train is available now. Spots are limited.
We offer board + train for puppies and adult dogs
Puppy Board & Train — $3,500 Ages 5–12 months | 4 weeks | Trainer's home
The developmental window between 5 and 12 months is the most efficient time you will ever have to shape a dog's behavior. The neural pathways are more plastic, the habits haven't calcified, and the work you do now sets the ceiling for everything that comes after.
Four weeks covers foundational obedience, impulse control, leash manners, socialization protocols, and the household rules that make a dog genuinely easy to live with. We build engagement first — because a dog that wants to work with you is a dog that can learn anything. Everything else follows from that.
This is the fastest path to a well-behaved puppy. It is also the best investment you can make before problems have a chance to develop.
Adult Board & Train — $4,000 Ages 12 months+ | 4 weeks | Trainer's home
Adult dogs arrive with history. The behaviors that are making your life difficult didn't appear randomly — they developed because they worked, at least once, for the dog. Understanding that is the starting point.
Before a single training session begins, I read what's already there: what's driving the behavior, what environment it appears in, what the dog is getting out of it. Then we build something more durable alongside it. Not suppression — replacement, with a behavioral foundation that holds when you're not standing there with a treat.
The specific behavioral challenges you came in with are the program. We don't run a fixed curriculum — we work the dog in front of us.
What’s included in both programs
Daily training sessions, documented throughout
Weekly video progress updates: you follow the process, not just receive the result
Written training plan at exit: what was worked, what to maintain, what comes next
1–2 hour owner handover session : this is where you learn to work what your dog just spent four weeks building; the leash handoff is not the end of the program
30 days of text, voice, and video support after your dog goes home
1-hour tune-up session as needed
B&T client rates on SCC follow-on programs, events, and branded gear
A few honest notes…
Capacity is strictly limited. I take very few board and train clients at a time — the program only works as designed if your dog actually has my attention. When spots are full, we have an active waitlist I would be happy to add your dog to. Coming soon: facility board + train. We will have a few more slots open for board and train at our new facility.
Not every dog is a board-and-train candidate, and not every problem is one either. When you reach out, I'll tell you honestly whether this format is right for your situation. If it isn't, I'll point you toward what is.
Pickup and dropoff within approximately 30 miles of Alexandria, VA available for $50 each way. Confirm your address at inquiry.
Payment plans and rescue adopter rates available — ask when you reach out.
Book a free consult
Questions? Email kayla@sonorancanine.com
Psychiatric Service Dog Training
PSD preparation — including the PSD Candidacy Assessment, Done-With-You 16-week program, and PSD Board & Train — is a specialized track with its own process and page.