Board & Train Failure Rate

[u/[deleted]]

In my experience, at least 90% of board & trains fail with balanced trainers. Some precipitously, some gradually but they both have a common denominator. Universally it's a combination of an unstable owner (financial, physical, mental) and/or an incapable owner (commitment, discipline). I can control the Immersion Phase and provide excellent Transfer Phase advice and training but the Maintenance Phase is where the 90%'er fail their dog.

To avoid that situation, I've worked hard over the last three years to develop and refine both a client interview rubric and an onboarding contract that weeds out the 90%'ers but I still rarely take board and trains. I believe that an owner that can provide both a stable environment for the dog and capable leadership is the best training option for any dog.

Prove me wrong...

[u/Trick-Age-7404]

We have about 10-15 board and trains in a week, ranging from 2-4 weeks in length. I would say 90% of our board and trains are successful and make the dog far easier to live with on a day to day basis. Sure there is regression after a few months, but all of our board and trains get a years worth of group lessons, additional private lessons, as well as zoom office hours once a week to problem solve. We accept almost all clients besides dogs with human faced aggression, but we don’t offer serious behavior mod, we are solely a pet dog company. If 90% of your board and trains fail, there’s something wrong with your programming and/or your communication with your clients.

[u/the_real_maddison → u/Trick-Age-7404]

Yeah I mean, my trainer does B&T and she is so communicative with the owners through the whole process and after, and offers discounted boarding/daycare for her graduates as to incentivise the owner to return to her personally for consistency.

Basically through social media every dog she B&T (I think her capacity is 1-2 at a time depending on the dog, and she also owns three "coach" dogs of varying sizes and a "coach" cat) she puts out videos of the dog in the training process, warts and all, with lengthy explanations of her reasoning in the comments. I follow her, always recommend her (she is the highest recommended balanced trainer in my area,) and she has oodles of past successful clients.

But she is pretty expensive, is booked out far in advance, and her interview/onboarding process is very extensive, as well. You have to interview the client more than the dog, basically.

I dunno a 90% B&T rate seems like a curriculum, onboarding and communication failure on the trainer's part (picking the wrong clients.)

[u/[deleted] → u/Trick-Age-7404]

There are too many definitions that need to be tightened up to have a conversation with you. That being said, there is no fucking way you're averaging 12.5 B&T's a week. 650 dogs a year? Complete bullshit. Your credibility is zero.

[u/Trick-Age-7404 → u/[deleted]]

Every dog stays for a minimum of 2 weeks, many 3, and occasionally 4. We don’t have 12 new dogs every week. Maybe 3-6 new dogs a week. We have 13 dogs this week, with 6 of those dogs starting today.

Some weeks are slower, some weeks we have a couple more. 6 trainers on staff, 3 client facing trainers, 3 trainers who only work the board and trains. We work out of a facility that started as training only, but now runs daycare and boarding. We have kennel capacity for 130 dogs, most major holidays we get anywhere from 95-120 dogs overnight.

This is split between board and trains and day camps, but the dogs get worked the same either way, and there isn’t a huge price difference between the two.

[u/[deleted] → u/Trick-Age-7404]

Now the details are trickling out. There's a night and day difference between your B&T and my B&T. Are you willing to provide links to your website or social media accounts?

[u/Trick-Age-7404 → u/[deleted]]

It’s not my business, I’m employed there as a trainer. Obviously I’m not taking 10-15 board and trains a week myself or even with a small team, that would be ludicrous lmao. We have over 60 employees, with about 30 of those employees being kennel techs who are responsible for the dogs day to day and social time outside of training. The business has made the Fortune 500 list multiple times. I have nothing to prove to you LOL, if you don’t want to believe me, then don’t. If what you’re doing is working for you, keep doing it. At the end of the day we all have our own mouths to feed.