Frequently Asked Questions 

The short answer is that we didn't start Hope Gables Canine to churn out high numbers of dogs. We're very selective on the number of dogs we accept into our Board & Train programs (hence why you had to wait to get your dog in with us) so that we can ensure that your dog will get the level of attention he/she deserves. Our program is limited to 4-5 Board & Train dogs TOTAL per month. We have sufficient bandwidth to dedicate to this number which is proven each month through the results we're able to achieve for our clients. There will be multiple training sessions per day Monday-Sunday, and in between, your dog will be either having playtime, rest time, or adventure time out in a public environment, such as a park, store, or downtown area. And btw, this is all training, too! Even rest (as some dogs don't know how until you teach them ☺️)

We provide top-of-the-line Ruffland Kennels which are industry-rated to be highly safe, crash-tested, and virtually indestructible. These kennels are not your traditional cheap wire kennels and as such can tend to look smaller due to their uniquely shaped molded walls. Additionally, most wire crates are 1x-3x larger than they should be. Owners will tend to buy larger sizes because they feel it is "fairer" to the dog but this is not the case. An improperly sized kennel encourages pacing, restlessness, whining, accidents, and anxiety. Rest assured your dog will have plenty of room to rest and stretch their legs, and we will be choosing a kennel that is appropriately sized based on these standards. The Ruffland Kennels provide a den-like experience which promotes calmness which speeds up the acclimation process even if your dog has never been inside a crate before. Kennel time is also limited to short rest periods during the day, and at night for bedtime. Your dog will be kept very active during the day.

Yes and no. Remember that daycare and dog park environments are actually breeding grounds for bad behavior. So we don't foster the same. What we do foster is a structured environment where dogs respect each other's space, and no one feels like their space is being unfairly violated. This is how you ultimately, and properly, socialize dogs. So while the dogs are trained in the same room together, it is not a free-for-all. They learn to co-exist, respect each other, and some build bonds through that, and others simply enjoy their individuality and that's okay, too. Your dog will never be put in a situation with another dog that is not compatible with them, or is known to have aggressive tendencies.

Progress updates are routinely sent via e-mail in a thread that we'll be creating during the first 24 hours of your dog's drop-off date. The first update will come the following morning after the first night of their stay and then (1) thorough update will be sent routinely each Friday. These updates will include photos and or videos where applicable. We feel that weekly updates better reflect your dog's progress as progress happens over the course of time, and not as quickly as daily, or any more frequent than on a weekly basis. Additionally, updates will become more interesting over time for this reason. Don't panic if you don't see your dog doing the things you hoped in the first 1-2 weeks as this phase of their training is very foundational but fundamental to their overall growth. Rest assured your dog is kept busy and if you don't hear from us on a particular day, or set of days, it's because we're remaining hyper-focused on achieving the training goals that you have for us to accomplish!

YES! We check on our Board & Train dogs as late as 12AM-1AM in the morning. This is a big differentiator between a boarding environment such a ours versus your traditional facility which most only monitor the dogs remotely via camera even if they say there is "overnight staff". Additionally, there are always multiple team members at the house Monday-Sunday covering all shifts and time periods.

We've never had a dog forget their owner, regardless of which age they were sent to us. This is also why we have a 6-month age requirement or older before a dog can enter into our Board & Train program. This ensures that your dog has had sufficient time bonding with you as their owners as well as acclimating to their own home first and foremost before being sent away.

We typically recommend against lessons or visitations before pick-up day unless your dog has been sent to us for a severe behavior for which we feel getting you involved in the training sooner than later may be more beneficial. In general, we would like to avoid creating any anxiety in your dog by their owners coming and going in between the program and having to put your dog back into a re-acclimation period which effectively loses valuable training time as we need every day of their program to get them to a place where we feel comfortable sending them back home. Think about it from your dog's perspective. Would it be better to have to part ways once at the very beginning? Or multiple times throughout their stay?