The Dark Side of Board and Train Programs: The Hidden Dangers of Rushed Training

Many pet owners are attracted to board and train programs for quick dog training fixes. These programs promise fast changes, in short periods but this quest for immediate results might unintentionally expose our best friends to traumatizing experiences. With the combination of extremely short turn around times and financial incentives, trainers in these programs often resort to a extreme measures of punishment to address unwanted behaviours until a desired result is achieved, increasing the risk of emotional distress for our beloved pets.

The Toll of Over-Punishment: Hidden Dangers and Long Term Effects

Understanding the widespread use of aversive methods in board and train programs is essential. Because of extremely short training timelines, there is little room to adjust the pace to the individual dog. This creates an environment of “keep up or face escalating consequences.”

Punishment based training aims to make dogs want to avoid undesirable behaviours. While it can produce fast visible changes, it often comes with significant drawbacks, including dependency on constant punishment, suppressed emotions, and serious welfare concerns. This demand for rapid and continuous change is why many board and train programs require the use of tools designed to cause pain, fear, or discomfort, such as prong collars, e-collars (shock collars), slip leads, and choke chains. These tools are favoured precisely because they can deliver quick behavioural suppression.

However, the cost is frequently the dog’s emotional and physical health. These methods can cause significant distress, anxiety, fear and injury. Moreover, for punishment to remain effective long term, the threat must be consistently maintained. If the threat disappears or the dog practises the unwanted behaviour again in the future, the old habits tend to return. Under pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines, some trainers escalate the intensity of punishment in hopes of forcing compliance. This dynamic can create genuinely traumatic experiences and, in tragic cases, has contributed to the injury or death of far too many dogs.

The Dark Side of Financial Incentives: Hidden Risks and Dangers

Board and train programs can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars, to tens of thousands, for just a few weeks of work. This high price point makes it remarkably easy for individuals to launch and sustain a dog training business with only a handful of clients per month. Unlike traditional training models that rely on repeat business and ongoing client relationships, board and train programs require no recurring clients. Once the dog is dropped off and the fee is paid, the transaction is essentially complete.

This business model creates a troubling incentive structure. Trainers know they will likely never see the dog or owner again after the program ends. As a result, there is little motivation to prioritize the dog’s long term well being. Instead, some trainers may jeopardize the dog’s emotional health in pursuit of fast behavioural changes. If the dog emerges traumatized, or worse. The trainer faces no real consequences, they have already been paid in full.

This dynamic raises serious moral and ethical concerns within the dog training industry. The substantial financial rewards can create a clear conflict of interest, where profit takes precedence over humane, thoughtful behavioural rehabilitation. Under pressure to deliver rapid transformations, some trainers resort to increasingly harsh methods, knowing that any fallout will be the owner’s problem to deal with later.

For these reasons, it is strongly recommended to stay far away from trainers who push board and train programs as a first option.

Frequent Tragedies: A Sobering Reality

Just to name a few incidents, alarming cases have captured national attention in recent years. For example, footage from Cypress Arrow K9 Academy showed trainers tethering a dog and whipping it with a horse whip during a board and train session, described as a "last resort" and without the owners consent.

In a separate case, Jason Daniels paid $15,000 for a board and train program at Professional K9s in Garland, Texas, only to tragically lose his Dutch Shepherd puppy, Leia. She succumbed to heat stroke and severe dehydration while under their care. Daniels had to push for a necropsy after the facility initially reported her death. The necropsy revealed one of the worst cases of dehydration the veterinarians had seen, with Leia's eyes sunken in, hemorrhages on her vital organs, blistered foot pads, and her body covered in vomit and feces.

In 2025, a particularly horrifying case emerged in Irvine, California, where trainer Kwong “Tony” Chun Sit and his girlfriend were charged after at least 11 dogs died in their care at Happy K9 Academy. Many of the dogs suffered from heat stroke, with one dying from blunt force trauma. The pair allegedly tried to cover up the deaths by impersonating owners and cremating the bodies at different facilities.

Other cases highlight even more disturbing control issues. In various other disputes, trainers have refused to return dogs promptly when owners attempted to pull them early due to concerns about their condition, sometimes citing contract terms or demanding additional payments before releasing the animal. In one Arizona case in late 2025, a board and train operator withheld two dogs from their owners near the end of the program, refusing to release them until the owners paid an additional $2,800 on the spot, despite no signed contract authorizing the trainers to hold the dogs as collateral. The owners eventually paid out of fear for their dogs safety, only to find the animals extremely thirsty, hungry, and distressed upon pickup, with little to no actual training provided.

These distressing events, and many others, underscore the urgent need for heightened awareness and scrutiny within the dog training industry.

Mitigating Risks: Ensuring a Safe and Effective Experience

To make board and train programs safer and more effective, pet owners must take several proactive steps. First, insist on real time monitoring of your dog. Relying solely on selected video highlights is not enough, demand continuous live streaming that is accessible day and night for complete transparency and peace of mind.

Second, we strongly recommend choosing trainers who reject punishment based techniques and aversive tools such as prong collars, e collars, slip leads, and choke chains. Prioritize professionals who focus on the welfare of your dogs. They typically use titles such as force free, positive only, or LIMA (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive), and many hold veterinary degrees in behaviour or certifications from reputable organizations. These trainers emphazise building trust and cooperation rather than fear and suppression. Their approaches support long term behavioural and emotional health while also providing better long term results.

Unfortunately, these basic standards remain rare across much of the dog training industry. In many countries with stronger animal welfare laws, such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and others that have banned aversive tools, board and train programs are far less common. Once the use of pain and fear inducing equipment was restricted, the intensive, short term model lost much of it's appeal, as trainers shifted toward more humane, relationship based approaches that require greater time and owner involvement.

These examples highlight the urgent need for a significant cultural shift in the industry, one that prioritizes the physical and emotional well being of dogs over speed and profit.