Board & Train in Kansas City
Book a free phone consultationYou're not alone
They invite your dog into their home with their family. My puppy received boarding, training, and care, all in a loving family environment.
Training In Action
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How Board & Train Works at My House
This is the only board and train in Kansas City that happens in a real home. My goal isn't a robotic dog with a list of commands you have to drill. It's a dog who can regulate their emotions, an end to the unwanted behaviors, and coaching that teaches you how to keep both going. That's what most people actually want.
A Real Home, Not a Kennel
Most board and trains happen at a facility: your dog sits in a kennel, visits a few stores, and the training gets dumped on you at the end. Here, your dog lives in my home with my family and my own two dogs, out of the kennel, coming along to my appointments and practicing real life from day one.
What Your Dog Learns
Kennel and place skills, a reliable off switch, leash work, recall, and clear communication on the remote training collar. I also stop the unwanted behaviors and teach your dog where the crazy energy is allowed to go.
Weekly Sessions at Your House
Every week your dog is with me, I bring them back to your house for a session. You learn the skills in small pieces as we go, instead of getting hit with everything at the end.
Updates and a Real Handoff
It's never a ghost town while your dog is away. I send photo and video updates so you can watch the progress, and graduation comes with a clear go-home plan plus follow-up sessions to make it stick.
Who It's For
Almost any dog thrives here. The exceptions: dog aggression and human aggression cases, and potty training, which I'd rather teach you at your house where it actually happens. Those get better results with in-home sessions. Not sure? I'll tell you honestly on a free phone consultation.
From First Call to Lasting Change
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Free phone consultation
We start with your dog's background and story. Then I walk you through how I train, what we'll work on, and how it all works, including pricing, payment plans, and the package I'd recommend. I'm a coach here to teach and guide you, and I'm always here for advice and feedback.
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First session
We meet at your house. We go back over everything together, and I see it all in your world, where the behavior actually happens, so I get an even better understanding of what's happening and why. Then we start the foundation: building the behaviors you want, stopping the ones you don't. You leave with specific skills to practice: 10 to 20 minutes, 3 to 5 days a week.
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Follow-up sessions
Every 2 to 3 weeks. You do the work between visits, then we do three things: troubleshoot what came up and adjust, build on the skills you have or add new ones, and keep moving toward your goals. Dogs are moldable. Usually it's just that the human hasn't had the right information yet.
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Lifetime Support Guarantee
Every program includes call, text, and email support for as long as you have your dog. Any hands-on sessions down the road are paid, but I'll always be honest about whether you actually need one.
How Often Do We Train
Homework built into your life
You don't need an hour a day. You just need 10 to 20 minutes practicing specific skills that fold into your routine. No drilling: short, engaging work that's actually fun to do with your dog, practiced around real events. The doorbell stuff when the doorbell rings, the leash stuff on walks you already take.
Sessions are every 2 to 3 weeks on purpose: low pressure for your dog, for you, and for me. You get plenty of time to practice and feel confident. Three to five short reps a week isn't a New Year's goal, but a habit you can keep.
What every package includes
One-on-one, in-home training sessions, about an hour long.
A plan tailored to you, your dog, your household, and your lifestyle.
Every dog in your home included, with no per-dog charge.
Unlimited text, call, and email support between sessions.
Equipment guidance: what to use and how to use it.
I come to you, anywhere in the Kansas City metro.
Lifetime support: text, call, and email, plus another session if we ever need it.
Board & Train pricing
3-Week Board & Train
$3,500
Your dog lives with my family for three weeks and trains in real life, around my kids and my own dogs. The right fit for solid obedience foundations and moderate behavior problems.
- Your dog lives in my home, not a kennel
- 3 weekly sessions at your house during the stay
- 3 follow-up sessions after your dog comes home
- All training supplies included, remote collar and long line
- Photo and video updates while your dog is with me
- Lifetime support, including free future sessions
4-Week Board & Train
$4,500
Everything in the 3-week program plus a fourth week focused on public access: patios, stores, coffee shops. Built for tougher behavior cases and dogs headed for a go-anywhere life.
- Your dog lives in my home, not a kennel
- 4 weekly sessions at your house during the stay
- 4 follow-up sessions after graduation
- Week four adds public outings: coffee shops, restaurants, stores
- Photo and video updates the whole stay
- Lifetime support, including free future sessions
Frequently asked questions
Which length is right for my dog?
Three weeks fits solid obedience foundations and moderate behavior problems. The fourth week adds public outings, coffee shops, restaurants, and stores, and is built for tougher behavior cases. We'll pick the right fit together on a free phone consultation.
Where does my dog actually stay?
In my home, with my family and my own two dogs, not in a kennel run. Your dog practices good behavior in real life, around the clock.
What happens after my dog comes home?
You get follow-up sessions after graduation so the training transfers to your house, plus lifetime support including free future sessions.
Not sure which program fits your dog?
Free phone consultationAn Investment in Yourself and Your Dog
Training your dog the right way is an investment: your peace of mind, your dog's future, and honestly your next dogs too. I know my training isn't cheap, but sometimes you have to invest to get the results you want. My program isn't right for everyone, and that's okay. If it sounds like a fit, let's schedule a consultation. If it's not, no hard feelings.
Meet Andrew
When you hire Good Dogz KC, you get me every session, not a rotating staff. You're paying for quality, educated information: not from somebody who's still learning, but from an expert who's been doing this with dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds for nearly seven years. I've worked with thousands of dogs, I've had hundreds of dogs board and train at my house, and I've lived with them around kids, around other dogs, navigating new places, new houses, and new people. I have a training program that works.
What I care about isn't an obedient robot. It's a calm dog and a household that finally feels easy. Obedience is a great tool, but it's skill-based; it doesn't manage how a dog feels under stress. So I start with the emotional side, helping your dog actually settle, and use clear, fair boundaries to get there.
If you're reading this, you already know you're the one who needs the education. It's not that you can't do it; you've never been taught the skill. So how could you teach it to your dog? My program starts with a foundation and moves into harder and harder things as we progress, keeping it low stress. Progress happens over time; it's behavior. And these are normal things: every dog owner is dealing with something, and all dogs, just like humans, have things they could use help with.
My job is to be your coach and your mentor. I'm never going to tell you "you have to do this." I'm a resource and a springboard: I'll give you advice, tell you honestly what's worked and what hasn't across the thousands of dogs I've trained, and I'll always be in your corner. My goal is to see you and your dog succeed. This is an investment, and it isn't cheap, but you'll learn a skill that lasts the rest of your dog's life and every dog after: from then on it's troubleshooting, not starting from scratch.
The dog that came back to us was better than we could have ever imagined! She is more fun to be around, listens to us when we give a command, is a pro at walks, and seems like a more confident version of herself.
Book your free phone consultation
Board & Train FAQs
What people ask when they're weighing a board and train.
Do you offer board and train?
I've had hundreds of dogs board and train at my house over the years, so I know the model inside and out. These days I've stepped back from the traditional send-your-dog-away version, and here's the honest reason: I get just as much done, often more, coaching you and your dog in your own home. A lot of board-and-train places keep your dog in a kennel most of the day and train for a small slice of it, and the skills don't always come home with the dog. The bigger issue is that it's usually not the dog who needs the education, it's the owner. If a true immersive program is genuinely the right fit, that's my Raise & Train. Either way, let's talk it through on a free phone consultation.
Won't my dog learn faster living and training with you full-time?
It feels that way, and a good immersion program does build momentum fast. But the catch with most board-and-trains is the handoff: your dog learns to listen to the trainer, in the trainer's world, then comes home to you, in your world, where the old habits live. That gap is exactly where the results tend to slip. When I coach you in your home, your dog is learning the new patterns in the place it actually has to hold them, and you're learning to run them, so there's no relearning curve when the program ends. If you want the deep-immersion route done right, ask me about Raise & Train.
What is Raise & Train, and how is it different from board and train?
Raise & Train is my deep-immersion program: your dog lives and trains with me for at least two months, one dog at a time, and I only take it on selectively. It's a much bigger commitment than a stint in a kennel, closer to raising the dog than boarding it, which is why it starts at $10,000 and runs by application. You cover your dog's food and training supplies. It isn't right for everyone, and I'll be straight with you about whether it fits or whether in-home coaching gets you there for a fraction of the investment. That's a conversation for the free phone consultation.
How do I figure out the right option for my dog?
Start with a free phone consultation. Tell me about your dog, what's going on, and what your life looks like, and I'll give you my honest recommendation: in-home coaching for most families, or Raise & Train if a full immersion is truly the fit. There's no script and no hard sell, and if I'm not the right person, I'll tell you that too. Then, if you want to move forward, I send an invoice and a scheduling link and we get started.
Do you use e-collars / "shock collars"? Is that safe?
Yes, I use an e-collar. It's a communication tool, like a tap on the shoulder: a leash for when your dog is off leash. It's not punishment and it's not a forever tool; it's there to help your dog build boundaries while we train. It has three core functions: a low-level stim that guides your dog like a leash (come back to me), a higher adjustable level, and a vibrate that teaches your dog to move away from things they shouldn't get into. I use it for recall, off-leash walking, boundary setting, and stopping unwanted behaviors like barking or digging. The level is Goldilocks, like a hot stove: your dog has to notice it's on, but it can never be painful, and it can't be so low they don't care. Just enough for them to pick a different choice. Pair that with a positive path that still gets them what they want, and your dog learns there are two avenues to the same result. Over time their brain naturally rewires toward the behaviors we want.
Will this actually work for my dog? Is my dog too far gone?
That's up to how hard you want to work for it. All dogs, just like humans, can change; how far they go depends on how committed you are. I've had really hard behavioral cases do phenomenally well because the owners put in the work: they invested in themselves, invested in their dog, spent the time, and succeeded. If you want results without putting anything in, you'll fail. That's why I build training into your everyday life. I'm a busy father with kids, my own dogs, and client dogs, so I know exactly how important your time is: 10 to 20 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week. You don't need an hour a day and you don't have to train every day. You just have to be consistent over time, with guidance and expertise on what to do next. And for what it's worth, rescues with unknown histories are most of my work, and age isn't a wall (dogs aren't even mentally mature till around three).
We tried training before and it didn't stick.
Common, and it makes sense. Group classes teach your dog a cue ("sit," "stay"); they don't teach you how to hold a boundary. And for a lot of dogs, a group class is just too much: they're past their threshold and can't pay attention. It's like taking your kid to a playground and trying to teach them math. That's not setting them up for success. Group classes are great for dogs that can already handle that environment, but if your dog hasn't learned that skill yet, you're going to fail. That's why I start training in your house: fewer distractions, so we can practice and build a solid foundation. Then we work your neighborhood as your dog gets confident, then bigger and more chaotic environments: more stimulation, more dogs, more real life. Laying the foundation is everything.
How often are sessions, and how much homework is it?
Sessions are every 2 to 3 weeks, on purpose, so you're never overwhelmed and the change has time to stick (it's reps in real life between sessions, not a cram). Homework is about 10 to 20 minutes a few days a week, built into your normal routine and practiced in the moments the behavior already happens (the walk, the doorbell, dinnertime), not an hour of drilling sits and downs. As for sessions and cost: packages are 4, 6, or 8 one-hour in-home sessions, most people start with 6, and all the dogs in your home are included. When you're ready, you can either schedule a free phone consultation, or pick your package up above and sign up right away.