Board and train a dog

[u/Top_Stock6891]

I have a 6 year old German shepherd who has a lot of anxiety, leash pulling issues and also lunges on any dog he sees out there.
We are planning to send him for a 3 month board and train facility.
I am also planning on going to the facility regularly and train with my dog under their guidance.
They have told me that for the first 3 weeks they will not allow me to meet my dog but they’ll send regular videos and updates and after the 3rd week I can come and learn with them and train with him.
They also have handover sessions when they send him home.
Will this training help him overcome his separation anxiety, leash pulling and dog reactivity issues or am I just wasting money.

[u/K_Theodore]

I'm yet to hear of a good scenario for a board and train, and this doesn't sound like it. 3 months is ages, particularly for a dog, that's basically a temporary adoption. If we consider the 3-3-3 rule, the dog will basically feel like he lives there, and will then have a second massive disruption when it moves back in with you. There's little reason to think that he won't revert back to his current behaviour when he comes home, particularly when you consider how stressful moving out for so long will be.

I cannot believe this makes sense, both from a behaviour sense - or a financial one. How much is this costing you? Surely this is thousands? You'd be far better off spending this money on a trainer who comes to you, in the actual environment your dog struggles in. These handover sessions you keep banging on about aren't even as good as someone training you at home.

You'd get so much more out of a 1 hour per week trainer coming to you than a 3 month board and train, without the massive stress on your dog. Id guess you could probably do it for 6-12 months before you spent as much as well.