DOG TRAINING
IN AUSTINBoard and train, thirty minutes up I-35
Austin families skip the commute: drop your dog with Henry in Georgetown for board and train, or book in-home sessions if you're in north Austin.
Training That Comes To You
WORKING WITH DOGS
IN AUSTIN
Austin is where board and train earns its keep. Henry's place is about 30 minutes up I-35 in Georgetown, and for a lot of Austin families that distance is the whole point. You're not fighting I-35 and MoPac twice a week for training appointments — you drop your dog with Henry, he lives and trains in a real home setting for 30-45 days, and you pick him up dialed in. In-home sessions are available in north Austin, where the drive from Georgetown is reasonable. For households downtown, in Mueller, or in central Austin, board and train is the program we offer, and it's usually the easier call anyway.
Austin is a dog city, but it's a hard one to raise a dog in. So much of life here happens in apartments and condos — downtown, around Rainey Street, up by the Domain — where there's no yard, the walls are thin, and there's a neighbor's dog on the other side of every one. That breeds barking, leash reactivity, and dogs that never learned to settle in a small space. Add the huge number of rescues coming out of Austin Pets Alive and the city shelter, plenty with unknown histories, and you've got a lot of good dogs who simply need structure. Board and train gives them a clean reset, away from the triggers, before they ever come home.
At A Glance
- Drive Time30 minutes to north Austin on I-35; 45 or more to downtown from Georgetown HQ
- In-Home SessionsTraining happens at your home, the place behaviors actually need to stick.
- Neighborhoods ServedWells Branch · Tech Ridge · The Domain · Great Hills · Avery Ranch · Mueller · Hyde Park · Downtown & Rainey Street
North Austin — Wells Branch, Tech Ridge, the Domain, Avery Ranch — is about 30 minutes from Georgetown on I-35 or MoPac, and inside the no-travel-fee in-home service area. Central and downtown Austin is 45 minutes or more each way, which is why board and train — with the in-home handoff session at your address — is what we offer there.
Programs Available In Austin
FIND THE RIGHT PROGRAM
In-home training is $1,500 for five sessions; board and train runs $3,800–$4,800. See all pricing
How We Train In Austin
RESET IN GEORGETOWN, HAND OFF IN AUSTIN
For most Austin dogs the plan runs in two places. The first 30-45 days happen in Georgetown, where the dog lives in Henry's house on a full daily routine — structured walks, place and crate work, obedience reps, and controlled exposure to other dogs and people at a pace the dog can handle. The point of doing it outside Austin is distance from the triggers. A rescue that lunges at every dog in a Mueller hallway can't learn a new default in that hallway; it needs somewhere calmer to build the skill first.
The second place is your home. Every board and train ends with an in-home handoff session, and for Austin dogs that happens where you actually live and walk. For a downtown or Rainey Street condo that means the elevator, the lobby, and the sidewalk stretch to the closest patch of grass. For a Mueller or Hyde Park family it's the neighborhood loop. North Austin dogs — Wells Branch, Tech Ridge, Great Hills, Avery Ranch — are inside the in-home service area, so those households can choose the five-session in-home package as a standalone program instead.
Off-leash goals in Austin get handled carefully. The city's off-leash culture at Auditorium Shores and the Walnut Creek trails is a lot of pressure for a dog with a shaky recall, so we prove the recall in Georgetown and on long lines first, and only introduce those environments once the dog has earned it. Nobody's dog should learn recall by failing at it in front of forty other dogs.
- 01Evaluation and honest routing
Henry tells you whether board and train or in-home makes sense for your dog, your building, and your schedule.
- 0230-45 days in Georgetown
Full daily structure in a real home, away from the apartment triggers, with regular progress updates.
- 03In-home handoff at your Austin address
Elevators, lobbies, your block — Henry brings the dog home and coaches you where you'll use it.
- 04Earned off-leash and lifetime support
Walnut Creek and Auditorium Shores only once the recall is proven, plus lifetime online consulting.
Local Knowledge
WHY AUSTIN DOGS
The honest truth about training a dog in Austin is that the environment is working against you. Auditorium Shores and the Ann and Roy Butler trail along Lady Bird Lake stay packed, off-leash culture is everywhere, and an under-socialized dog gets overwhelmed fast — which only feeds the reactivity. Board and train takes that pressure off completely. Your dog learns the foundations in a calm, controlled setting up in Georgetown, away from the chaos, and then we hand it back with the skills and a real plan to handle the city on your terms. No daily commute eating your evenings, and no flooding your dog before it's ready to cope.
Familiar Spots
- Off-leash reliability built up toward the Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park trails
- Calm walks on the Ann and Roy Butler trail at Lady Bird Lake
- Crowd exposure at Auditorium Shores once the recall is trustworthy
- Small-space manners for downtown and Domain-area apartment living
- Patio and barside neutrality for spots like Yard Bar on Burnet Road
Breeds We See Often Here
- Rescues and mixes from Austin Pets Alive and Austin Animal Center
- Apartment-friendly breeds — Frenchies, mini doodles, smaller mixes
- Labs and retrievers that need a real outlet
- German Shepherds and working breeds living in small spaces
- High-energy herders that struggle with condo life
Austin Owner Questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED
No, and we won't pretend otherwise. Henry is based in Georgetown, about 30 minutes up I-35. We serve Austin two ways: board and train, where your dog stays with Henry in Georgetown and comes home with an in-home handoff session, and in-home sessions for north Austin. Central and downtown Austin is board and train only.
Mostly time and traffic. Getting across Austin on I-35 or MoPac for regular appointments is brutal, and most families here are stretched thin already. With board and train there's no commute on your end — your dog gets a reset in a calm environment away from the city's triggers, then comes home trained with an in-home handoff session at your address so you can keep it going.
This is one of the most common cases we take from Austin. A rescue with an unknown history, dropped straight into a small apartment full of triggers, often needs space to decompress before anything else works. Board and train gives that — a calm reset, then methodical exposure done right. We don't flood them. Then we send you home with a plan built for elevators, hallways, and small-space living.
Henry sends regular progress updates throughout the program, and Georgetown is close enough that a mid-program visit can usually be arranged — just ask. The program ends with an in-home handoff session at your Austin address, so the training transfers to you instead of staying with the trainer, and you keep lifetime follow-up support after that.
Both, depending on where you are. In-home sessions cover north Austin, about half an hour from Georgetown, and work well for puppies and dogs that mainly need obedience and manners. Central and downtown Austin is served through board and train, which is also the call for serious reactivity, aggression, or deep anxiety anywhere in the city. Tell us what's going on and we'll point you to the honest best fit, not the most expensive one.