Blaine trainer on a 10-acre property whose board & train has the dog live with the trainers for 3–6 weeks, followed by in-home handoff visits and up to a year of support.
Program details are summarized from Real Life Dog Training's own website. Confirm current pricing, program length, and availability directly with the trainer before booking — and see what to check before you hand over your dog.
Real Life Dog Training is based in Blaine, MN. Full details are on their own site at reallifedog.training/services. Board and train clients commonly travel from surrounding areas, since the dog stays on site for the length of the program.
Published pricing for Real Life Dog Training is Price range: $2,000-5,000. Confirm directly with the trainer — program length, your dog's needs, and what's included (equipment, follow-up lessons) all change the final quote.
Two weeks is the common minimum for meaningful obedience results, and three to four weeks is typical for off-leash reliability. Serious behavior cases — aggression, severe reactivity, resource guarding — generally need four to six weeks or more, and many trainers set a minimum stay for those. Programs shorter than a week are usually best understood as a jump-start or a refresher, not a transformation.
It works when the handoff works. A good trainer can reliably teach your dog new skills in a few weeks, but dogs do not generalize automatically — the results hold only if you learn to maintain them. This is why the go-home lesson and follow-up support matter more than almost anything else in the program. Ask specifically how many follow-up sessions are included and what happens if the behavior returns two months later.
Ask: How many dogs are in your care at once, and who handles my dog? What training methods and equipment do you use, and what happens if my dog does not respond? Where does my dog sleep? Can I visit the facility before booking? How many follow-up lessons are included? What updates will I get during the stay? Vague answers to any of these — especially about methods and supervision — are a reason to keep looking.
Reputable programs are, but the industry is largely unregulated, so due diligence is on you. Visit in person before you book. Ask to see where dogs sleep and exercise, confirm the trainer carries insurance, ask about staff-to-dog ratios and overnight supervision, and check that they have a working relationship with a local vet. Be cautious of any trainer who will not let you see the facility, or who guarantees a specific outcome on a fixed timeline.
Locally run Off Leash K9 branch at 12763 Central Ave NE offering a 2-week Basic board & train and 3-week Advanced or Behavioral board & train programs in which the dog is boarded with a Pro Trainer, followed by owner lessons.
PetSuites' Stay and Study program is a board and train stay of 2, 3, or 4 weeks in which trainers build cues, distance, duration and distraction work, with regular progress reports. Pick-up includes a personalized transfer lesson and a go-home packet.
Offers an Adventure Board & Train for full board-and-train participants and extreme behavioral cases, alongside its Exploring Tails Camp boarding program, at 10921 Excelsior Blvd in Hopkins.
Standard 2-week board and train program with multiple daily training sessions, socialization and supervised care at the facility; puppy board and train programs are also offered.
A board & train program run from the trainers' home on 2.5 acres, about an hour north of the Twin Cities. Programs run 2 to 6 weeks and include daily training, weekly progress reports and two private lessons.
Board and train is accepted case by case. Dogs go to the facility with the trainer each day and return home with her at night, with several sessions a day covering crate manners, handling/grooming and stays.