About our training program
Training your dog should not feel like a mystery, a gamble, or a race against the clock. At Dog Days, we built our program with one goal in mind: real behavior change that supports your dog for life. That means understanding how dogs actually learn, how their emotional needs shape their progress, and how to set both dogs and owners up for long term success.
A lot of in-facility training programs promise quick results or total transformations in a short period of time. In our professional experience, those approaches do not give dogs what they truly need. Here is a look at why we structured our program the way we did and why it produces results that are more durable, humane, and realistic for everyday families.
Why we do Dog-Only Lessons
Dog only lessons are one of the most overlooked tools in effective training. When a dog works directly with a professional, the trainer can focus on timing, reinforcement, environment, and pacing without the added challenge of the dog constantly checking in with their owner. Dogs have spent millennia learning to read their humans. Owners, understandably, vary widely in their ability to read canine body language or deliver the kind of precise timing that separates confusion from clarity.
Dog only lessons speed up training because they let the trainer build a strong foundation first and teach the dog what success feels like before the owner steps in.
Dog only lessons allow us to:
• set the learning pace according to the dog’s emotional and physical state
• choose the best environment for the skill being taught
• build solid foundations before increasing real world difficulty
• prevent pressure, confusion, or overwhelm
• create clarity, confidence, and early success
By the time owners arrive for their private lessons, the dog already understands the behavior. The owner is learning how to use, maintain, and strengthen the skill, not how to become a dog trainer from scratch. This creates a smoother, faster, and more enjoyable learning process for everyone.
Why our program uses 4, 8, and 12 packs
Dogs are not machines. You do not “program” them once and expect the results to last forever. Skills evolve, environments change, and dogs benefit from refreshers throughout their lives.
Our 4, 8, and 12 pack structure gives you:
• flexibility
• room for real progress
• breathing space between lessons
• the ability to continue training as your dog grows
• support during different life stages
This structure works for puppies, teenagers, adults, and seniors. It allows for ongoing training without pressure, burnout, or overwhelming commitments.
Why daycare and boarding support training
Most problem behaviors in pet dogs, especially young dogs, come from a basic mismatch between what dogs were built for and the lives they actually live. Dogs were designed for long hours of movement, purposeful tasks, problem solving, and structured social interaction. Modern households, through no fault of their own, cannot always meet those needs.
A well run daycare fills a huge part of that gap. Our team monitors for overstimulation, encourages rest, balances group play with low stimulation time, and provides outlets that meet natural canine needs. This alone improves emotional regulation, reduces reactivity, and increases focus.
When that structure is paired with training, the results become even stronger. A dog who is properly exercised, mentally engaged, and emotionally supported learns more clearly and retains skills more easily. If a dog is boarding while training, we stay thoughtful about their acclimation, comfort, and rest. We never overwhelm a dog in a new environment. Training is shaped around their emotional wellbeing first.
Why we do not offer traditional board and train
Traditional board and train programs often expect dogs to adjust instantly to a brand new environment while undergoing multiple training sessions a day for weeks at a time. Many of these dogs are adolescents without fully developed immune systems or adults without any prior exposure to the unique bacteria and viruses of group care settings. They often end up sick or stressed for much of their stay.
Physiologically, many dogs go into survival mode. Cortisol and adrenaline spike. Appetite changes. Sleep becomes disrupted. Learning becomes cloudy. It is similar to humans trying high intensity strength programs that seem impressive in the moment but do not build lasting strength because the body is overwhelmed.
Even when a dog performs skills well for the trainer in that environment, those skills often fail to transfer back home. The abrupt transition from a high pressure training bubble into normal family life creates confusion and the progress fades quickly.
We believe dogs deserve better. Training should support emotional health, honor the dog’s pace, and build skills in environments that resemble the places they will actually live and thrive.
What makes Dog Days trainers different
One of the most important decisions in designing our program was choosing the right trainers. The truth is that most facility based training programs struggle with an issue that is rarely talked about openly. To keep margins workable, many facilities offer pay rates that cap the level of expertise they can hire. In the dog training world, once a trainer reaches a reputable stage in their career, they usually have the skills, experience, and communication ability to produce real results. At that point, they often leave facility jobs to start their own successful solo businesses.
It is a natural progression. Skilled trainers want to work directly with clients, control their schedule, maintain their standards, and be compensated appropriately for the value they bring. Facilities, on the other hand, often end up cycling through inexperienced or underqualified trainers who receive minimal mentorship. Even when those trainers grow into talented professionals, they almost always move on.
We wanted something different for our clients and for the dogs in our care.
So we reached out to highly respected local trainers who already had strong solo businesses and offered them a chance to collaborate with us. We did not ask them to lower their rates, compromise their ethics, or change their training philosophies. Instead, we invited them into a program that aligns with their values and respects their expertise.
Our margin on training is extremely slim. In some cases, it is close to zero. We did this intentionally. Our return on investment is not financial. It is the ability to offer a training program that truly elevates the value of Dog Days as a whole and provides exceptional care to our community.
Because these trainers believe in our standards, our transparency, and our commitment to dog welfare, they were proud to join our program. Their experience, integrity, and skill are at the core of why our training works the way it does.
Our intention is simple
We want training to be humane, effective, sustainable, and supportive of real life. We want your dog to feel confident and capable. We want you to feel informed and empowered. We want training that respects the dog you have today while helping you build the skills for the dog they can become.
Your dog deserves training that understands both their brain and their heart. That is why our program looks the way it does and why we are proud of the thoughtful, balanced results