The phone consultation is free, after that is $160.00 per lesson if you choose to continue, each lesson lasting up to an hour. I generally recommend weekly lessons at first, to address any backslide as it occurs and fine tune our methods as we go, but there is always wiggle room with the schedule as needed.
The overall length of time until conclusion can vary greatly, depending on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) your goals, the dog’s behaviors, energy level, reactivity, responsiveness, motivations, age, history, and more, but the main determining factor will be your follow through. Sometimes all issues can be addressed and resolved on the first lesson, sometimes even on the free phone consultation, and sometimes it’s an ongoing process of shaping behavior until you’ve achieved the desired results. In either case, repetition and consistency are key factors in how fast your dog will improve.
Another way of putting it is that there is “Active Training” and “Passive Training”. “Active Training” refers to when you’re actively working different commands over a short period of time, which you want to do throughout the day as often as you can, to familiarize them with the command, and condition them to respond to it. It’s better to work 10 sets of 2 minutes than 2 sets of 10 minutes, just as a rough example. Keep it short so they stay interested, and repeat as often throughout the day as you can. “Passive Training” refers to your dynamic with them the rest of the time. The boundaries you set, your consistency in sticking to them, the manner in which you enforce them, are all going to be factors as well. Which is why I recommend weekly to start, to ensure consistency with the boundaries, address any backslide immediately, fine-tune our methods as needed, and make sure things are on the right track in general.
Board and train services are also available. I charge $3,000.00 for two weeks of boarding, where they will stay with me in my home, learning the boundaries and some basic commands, but it is only a head start. Included in the cost are 6 free follow-up private lessons, to ensure that the established boundaries remain in place. Upon the dog’s return home they will very likely test a boundary to see if it still exists, and if it does not they may revert directly back to their old behavior, so follow through with the same routine is often crucial. I generally recommend at least 1 private lesson before committing to board and train.
