Board and Train Obedience

Board and Train Obedience

New dog owner? Too busy to train your dog? We can help! Our comprehensive board and train obedience program teaches your dog all the basics and goes far beyond what pet shops or other companies offer. This is an investment in your dog, and you will enjoy the results for many years. In addition to a broad set of commands, your dog will learn good manners, including not jumping up on people, walking on a loose leash, and paying attention to its family and not other dogs or distractions. See the full list below.

Waiting list in Effect!   Contact us to reserve your board-and-train spot!

Our Program is Different

This board and train obedience program is different as Ralf was trained by one of the best dog trainers in the world with a record to prove it. Our program is motivational, engaging, and fun. Your dog will enjoy it, and you will enjoy the weekly training videos. You can follow the progress along.

In our training, we consider your dog’s genetics, intelligence, and emotions. We create the best possible learning environment and identify your dog’s innate genetic, breed-specific needs. This allows us to develop activities for you and your dog that will keep him/her biologically fulfilled and out of trouble. Did you know that most dog “misbehaviors” are simply displacement activities for unfulfilled genetic needs? With our program, you will never have to worry about that because you will know how to fulfill your dog daily. This keeps your buddy happy and healthy, builds the strongest bond possible, and is fun. This has nothing to do with walking your dog. It goes much deeper than that.

To do it the right way, our board and train obedience program is six to eight weeks long. This allows us to get to know your dog, become friends, and teach through games for superior learning results. You will love it! We don’t just force your dog into submission as fast as possible. Unfortunately, that is still too common these days. We treat your dog like a fellow creature with love and compassion.

Your Dog’s Experience in Training Matters

Your dog will stay in the home of one of our experienced trainers and not be stored in a kennel. He will be part of our family during training and get lots of personal attention. We work in motivational, gentle ways. Your furry family member will enjoy the training. Expect to come out for a few sessions with your dog starting halfway through the program. This will help you see your buddy and enjoy some of the progress midstream. It will also help with getting the best results down the line when your dog comes home. At the end of the board and train obedience program, we further help transition your pup successfully from us to you.

Is Your Dog Ready?

This program teaches your dog new skills and is only available to dogs without behavioral issues. If your dog has behavioral issues like fear or aggression, we can help you resolve those as well, but that will have to be done separately first. Resolving such issues has nothing to do with obedience training and requires customized behavior training.

Board-And-Train Program Benefits:

  • Get the dog you always wanted!
  • Imagine your dog walking next to you on a loose leash and staying by your side in crowds.
  • Enjoy your dog coming back to you when you call.
  • Get compliments for your dog sitting down next to you when you stop and calmly waiting for you to continue.
  • Have confidence that your dog won’t pick up that medication you just dropped.
  • You’ll receive regular updates during training, and we’ll set up a personal YouTube playlist with training videos of your dog. We’ll add one new video per week, sometimes more. Those videos will remain online after training for you to view, download or share with anyone you like. A great memory!

Program Structure

The first part of the board and train obedience program is spent building the right relationship and foundation. Too many programs fail to allow the dog to get fully comfortable, be ready to learn, and lay a solid foundation. As a result, the dogs don’t learn reliable behaviors. The training fell short if you have to hold a treat in your hand for your dog to sit. Foundational training means we teach your dog a marker system that allows you to better communicate with your dog in daily life and make sense to your companion. Too often, our dog and we are talking past each other. We will change that. Learning these basics first improves your relationship by allowing you to provide clarity to your dog, and your companion will appreciate that. Part one usually takes around two weeks.

The second part of the program focuses on all outlined commands and behaviors. In addition, your dog also learns to understand the collar and leash. They should be informational tools and not frustrating restraint devices. Part two takes usually around three to four weeks.

The third part of the program focuses on proofing everything to increase reliability in the face of distractions. Part three takes usually around two to three weeks.

During Board-And-Train Your Dog Will Learn:

  • Respecting you and your family just as much as it already loves you.
  • Rules and behaviors that keep it out of trouble.
  • Paying attention to you and following your commands.
  • Signal words (aka markers): yes, okay, good, ah-ah, no.
  • Command behaviors: sit, down, stay, come, leave it, off, out, and kennel.
  • Walking in a heel on a short leash next to you AND walking loosely on a 6-ft leash, both without pulling.
  • Ignoring dogs and other distractions.
  • Stopping and sitting when you stop.

You will receive free lifetime support for the dog the program was purchased for.

How to Get Started

Our availability is limited, and we usually have a waitlist. However, most dogs can start within one to two months of contacting us. To secure a training spot, you must make a 50% non-refundable down payment at the time of booking. That, together with signing the training contract, locks in your training spot. Both are done electronically, and we accept cash, check, credit card, or PayPal payments. Contact us today to get started by clicking below.

Schedule a free Consultation

Services and Area

We are located in Southern California and train dogs nationwide. Happy Dog Training currently offers local dog training services in the following counties. Riverside County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County. In addition, we offer our board-and-train program nationwide and all virtual training services worldwide.

Do you want your new puppy trained right from the start? Are you looking for help for your fearful dog? Do you need to resolve a severe aggression problem? You came to the right place! We are experienced, professional dog trainers. Ralf has trained over 1500 dogs in over 18 years, and Sarah has trained over 1200 dogs in over 11 years. Consequently, we can help you with any dog training goal.

What We Offer

For many of our clients, we train their dogs from puppyhood, getting them off to a great start. However, we also have extensive experience training rescue dogs from all imaginable backgrounds and circumstances. Our Board-and-Train program is our most popular.

We can help you, regardless of your dog's challenges or training goals. Being a professional dog trainer means having experience, knowledge, and skill. Further, we developed a highly effective training program to specifically help fearful dogs gain more confidence and become the best possible version of themselves. Building Confidence is our second most popular training program.

Last but not least, we are experts in dealing with all types of aggression in dogs and are often the trainers of last resort after many other programs have failed. Most of our aggressive dog clients previously spent significant money on half-baked solutions without much improvement. This is different from us. We will give you an honest assessment of what goals are realistic for your dog. We will tell you what can be resolved reliably and what likely needs to be managed before we start.

Our flagship product is our board and train program. But our virtual dog training and coaching services have become quite popular over the last couple of years. Our setup enables us to deliver online dog training services from our indoor and outdoor training areas. This allows us to help clients worldwide.

Other Resources

Also, check out our Free Dog Training tips on Separation Anxiety in Dogs, Potty Training aka Housebreaking, and Leash Handling for expert solutions to common challenges.

Additional Services: Presentations and Q&As on Dogs | Professional Service Dog Training

Contact Us and Start Training

Finally, once you're ready to move forward, please use our dog training contact form to schedule a free phone consultation or book a paid, in-person consultation.

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About Ralf and Sarah

Happy Dog Training is the pet dog training business of Ralf Weber and Sarah Gill. We are certified professional dog trainers in Southern California. We are specialized in advanced obedience training, all forms or behavioral challenges and service dog training. For behavioral training, we are known for our work with aggressive and fearful dogs. Our service dogs, through Total K9 Focus, have a nationwide reputation for their reliability, longevity and performance.

Ralf Weber, MS, TWC CPDT, IACP CDT, CDTA

Certified Professional Dog Trainer Ralf Weber is lead pet dog trainer of Happy Dog Training. Ralf is a long-time dog owner of German Shepherds. During his career, Ralf has worked with over a 1500 dogs of many different breeds. Moreover, Ralf has a thorough understanding of all aspects of canine training. This includes evolutionary psychology, ethology, and, most importantly, learning science. Ralf is specialized in resolving dog behavior challenges—especially fear and aggression. Apart from this, Ralf trains dogs in basic and advanced obedience, service dog tasks, and GRC Dog Sports. Ralf is further certified in a broad range of other canine training areas. Last but not least, Ralf is the author of the behavioral book If Your Dog Could Talk: Understand Your Dog Like Never Before.

Ralf loves helping people have a better relationship with their dogs. He is a certified professional dog trainer in the Training without Conflict™ methodology by Ivan Balabanov (TWC CPDT). Ralf is also a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals and also holds their basic and advanced dog trainer certifications (IACP CDT, CDTA). In addition, Ralf is an AKC-approved evaluator for the AKC Puppy Star, CGC, and Advanced CGC programs and is also certified in canine first aid by the Red Cross.

Sarah Gill, Certified Professional Master Trainer

Sarah Gill, is a professional service dog trainer and handler. Sarah entered the world of professional service dog training after a car accident. As a result, she had to use a wheelchair for almost two years, trying to maneuver in a house not designed for it. No one expected Sarah would walk again. This opened her eyes and became a driving force behind pushing herself to defy the odds. When she regained some stability, Sarah attended a dog training school and learned how to train service dogs. Sarah completed her Master Trainer Certification and gained further experience by training new trainers. However, the school wasn’t accommodating to those with physical difficulties and PTSD. Hence, Sarah moved home to Dallas. In 2019, Sarah teamed up with Ralf and moved to California.

Sarah started this journey because she had a trained dog to mitigate her disabilities. But Sarah needed additional tasking for a new diagnosis. The only option she could find was getting a second dog for the new diagnosis. She knew there had to be a different way to address this. Sarah's passion is changing the ways of the service dog training industry.