Board & Train Camp + Coaching
Struggling with your dog’s training or behavior? Let us give you and your dog the skills you need to enjoy life together, with a fully customized, positive reinforcement Instinct Camp + Coaching program.
A Life-Changing Learning Experience
Forget about old-fashioned, boot camp-style dog training programs that rely on harsh methods and leave you out of the process. Instinct Camp + Coaching programs blend the learning power of positive reinforcement board & train camp with personalized private coaching sessions to create lasting behavior change. Together, we’ll help you and your dog build the skills you need for a happier, more peaceful life together.
Camp + Coaching Programs are perfect for:
- Leash manners
- Impulse control
around food, toys, and doorways
- Stay/Settling skills
- Coming when called
- Polite manners during greetings
- Leash Reactivity
toward other dogs, people, or objects
- Confidence building
- Comfort with handling, petting, and grooming
…and more!
Note: Board & Train Camp + Coaching programs are not suitable for working on potty training goals or separation anxiety issues, or for behavior issues that are highly specific to a certain person or location (try Private Coaching instead!).
Daniela M.
Here's How It Works
You won't find a board & train program like ours anywhere else in the country. Why? We place just as much emphasis on what happens before and after camp, as what happens during camp. We are committed to healthy, long-term behavior change.
1. We Teach Your Dog
Your dog stays full-time at our 24/7-staffed facility and learns through daily, positive training & behavior modification sessions with their trainer. They enjoy lots of play and individual attention with our care team. We give frequent updates on progress throughout their stay.
2. We Teach You
We include private coaching sessions for you, to bring you up to speed on everything your dog has learned and help you make continued progress in your own environment. Between follow-up sessions, your trainer will stay in frequent communication to answer questions, troubleshoot any issues, and celebrate your successes.
3. You Become Instinct Alumni
After camp, you & your dog get lifetime access to free and low-cost alumni classes, bi-weekly Zoom support Q&A’s, and our alumni-only Facebook group. So you can continue making progress long after your program ends.
8 Important Facts About Instinct Camp + Coaching
1. It’s fantastic…when it’s the right fit.
Board & Train Camp + Coaching can be a truly life-changing program for dogs and their humans, but only when it’s the right fit for all involved. We will determine whether Camp + Coaching – or another program – is the best option for you and your dog during your kickoff consultation. When it comes to program suitability, we consider not just your training goals, but your dog’s individual behavior profile and issues, your home environment, family/relationship dynamics, your own personal outlook on training & behavior, and more.
We want you and your dog to have a positive, productive experience with us; that can only happen if we select a program type that is well-suited to your goals, your dog, and your situation.
2. Your involvement is required.
This program is not structured like a traditional “boot camp”, where owner instruction is often limited or not provided at all. Instead, the included coaching for you begins before camp, then continues during camp, and long after your dog goes back home. Why? Our goal is to help you create lasting behavior change, in a way that protects and enhances their dog’s long-term behavioral health. That takes time and significant, ongoing involvement from you.
3. We move at your dog’s pace.
Our goal is to help you make as much progress as possible toward your goals while your dog is at camp; we will troubleshoot and work hard as a team to do so. But we won’t add more pressure to your dog or force them into situations or circumstances they aren’t ready for, in an attempt to meet expectations about how fast your dog “should” learn. That’s why we provide extensive post-camp support via collaborative coaching sessions and lifetime free alumni classes.
4. We want you to understand your dog better.
Our goal is not only to make progress toward your goals, but to help you learn a whole lot about your dog in the process. As your coach communicates through your dog’s Collaborative Coaching board, and as you participate in coaching sessions, you will gain invaluable insights into your dog’s learning style, their strengths and their challenges, and how they perceive the world around them.
5. We use positive methods, and do not use aversive equipment such as electronic collars, prong collars, and slip chains.
If you currently use this equipment with your dog, please know there is no judgment cast your way– we KNOW how much you love your dog! If you are curious to learn more about why and how we do things differently here at Instinct, we welcome the opportunity to have that discussion with you in a safe, supportive manner.
6. We work and problem-solve using a team-based approach.
Coaches communicate regularly with our senior behavior leadership team, and with your dog’s other care providers as necessary, about program design and execution during and after your dog’s camp.
7. We are not the cheapest option available.
Our facilities are staffed 24/7, with a very low staff-to-dog ratio. Instinct team members are employees, not independent contractors; they have access to benefits such as worker’s compensation, paid sick time and vacation, healthcare, retirement savings plans, and more. We help with continuing education and certification costs. Our team members at every level make a fair, living wage; they are also highly skilled, dedicated, and committed to helping our clients succeed.
8. We are here to support you and your dog.
If you are trying your best, we will move mountains to help you and your dog live a happier life together (seriously).
Programs & Pricing
Camp + Coaching
Includes pick-up lesson, plus 1 in-home, post-camp coaching session for each week of camp completed
$1900 + tax/week
Ready to get started?
The first step is booking a kickoff consultation to start working toward your goals!
Instinct New Jersey & Pennsylvania
Serving Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Union, Morris, Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren, Ocean and Monmoth counties in NJ and Rockland County, NY.