9 Years of Experience

Geoffrey is a master behavioral trainer with 9 years experience with everything from aggression to rehabilitating unsocialized dogs to walking issues and every puppy issue known to man. But what we really excel at is hyperactivity. That's the jumping, mouthing, barking, not listening, crazy behavior when people come over. Knocking the kids down the back yard, going crazy on the leash and embarrassing you, not being able to just chill and relax.
Geoffrey learned almost everything he knows about dog training from his father, Tony. He is married with a 10 year old son, and they make an amazing team for teaching dogs how to live in any home. If everything goes extremely well, their son can be a 3rd-generation dog trainer; and the first of the family that could say, "I've been training dogs for as long as I can remember." Austin Board and Train wants to help your dog become a better member of your family by treating them just like a member of ours.

17 Years of Experience (Retired August 2024)

Tony is the founder and creator of Austin Board and Train. He began by adopting troubled dogs from shelters and practiced training them to live in his home with his wife and two children. His logic was that if he could get his wife and children to help him train an unruly dog from the shelter more than once, he could do the same with strangers.
It worked! And he began his new life training dogs in 2007. At nearly 8 years of running his business alongside his wife, he brought his son under his mentorship. Turning his self employment into a family business in the Summer of 2015!
In 2024, Tony had built everything he needed, and decided to spend more time with his family.
So we wish Tony the best as he enjoys this new chapter in his life!

100% Commitment to Your Dog for Life

We start with what you need, not some pre-programmed set of commands. Then as your dog grows older if you need additional training for additional behavioral issues it's all included, for life. You don't ever come to us, we always come to you.
Generally ONLY TWO DOGS are trained at a time. Why two? So they each have a playmate while they are training.  Sometimes we might have three dogs training together if we feel like they will compliment each other. 

Door to Door Service

Free pick up and delivery. The direct phone number to your trainer that you may call or text 24 hours a day while your dog is with us. Videos and pictures sent almost daily, but always available upon request. Training updates regularly provided, normally about every other day. 

Our facility is like a Summer Camp just for your dog. It's a 10 acre homestead with farm animals, fields to run, woods to explore and fresh air. This is where we teach dogs to come off leash from anywhere. We teach them how to not chase interesting things, like goats or chickens, which teaches them to not chase cars or cats in your neighborhood. 

If your dog needs to learn how to act in stores then we will take him to stores or patio restaurants. The training is 100% customized to your dog and your needs. From sitting on your lap quietly to letting the kids swim in the pool without barking.

Our Methods

As a behavior dog trainer I understand dog BIOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY and BRAIN CHEMISTRY in a way that other dog trainers are never taught.

FEAR RESPONSE:
Some dogs have deep-set fears that cause various behavioral issues. The region of the brain that is experiencing fear is over-stimulated. This rapid firing uses chemistry and electricity to hyper-stimulate the fear center in the brain. This region is deeper in the brain than cognitive reason. For this reason fear cannot be stopped with cognitive training. It requires deeper, behavioral training.
Counteracting Fear:
Fear and anxiety are counteracted through moderating the re-uptake process in the firing of the fear centers of the brain. Re-uptake is the re-absorption of the neuro-chemicals required to maintain the fearful state. 
In humans drugs are often used that are called "re-uptake inhibitors" to address fear and anxiety. With dogs this same result can be obtained through proper exposure and control while also moderating the adrenaline and fight for flight response. This process can take as little as 45 minutes. 

HYPERACTIVITY:
The #1 cause of hyperactivity - Jumping, barking, being crazy when people come over or on the leash is ADRENALINE. Adrenaline is a chemical response that causes physical activity. Once adrenaline is released by say someone knocking on the door, then it has to come out of the body through physical mechanisms... running, jumping, barking, and in some instances biting or trembling. 
Counteracting Adrenaline:
If you reduce the adrenaline the behavior stops, because the behavior is CAUSED by the adrenaline. We use a special plastic collar that doesn't pinch or choke or shock to apply light pressure that activates the parasympathetic nervous system which releases chemistry inside the body that counteracts adrenaline. This response is then conditioned into the dogs own natural response through light touch queues. 

Leadership and Pack Behaviors:
Often training simply requires redefining pack behaviors and disagreeing with specific behaviors in a way that is fair, safe and makes sense to the dog; then rewarding alternate behaviors with simple feedback... no treats required.

With 9 years dealing with real-world situation where they actually occur (not in a classroom) there is little I have not seen and treated through training. I put in the descriptions above because sometimes people want to know "what I do." These are the simplest and quickest ways to sort of describe how our training is different from traditional clicker and treat training, plus why we train the way we do. Most training isn't very complicated. It just takes a little time for the dog to get conditioned. Two weeks is more than enough time to make any dog 10 times better.