Board & Train Puppy Camp

(for pups 8-14 weeks old)

My Board & Train Puppy Camp is designed to give your puppy the best start possible in life. I take in only one puppy at a time, between the ages of 8 and 14 weeks old, to establish positive routines and behaviors before any negative habits can form. During your pup's stay, the focus is on daily socialization, word association (15-25 important words such as their name, "come," and "place.") and creating routines that will last a lifetime. These are just a few of the routines that will be my top focus:

  • Housetraining

  • Nap Schedules

  • Nighttime Routines

I focus on this stage as it’s an intense learning phase during the final stages of your puppy’s brain growth. The pros call it the imprinting phase, as the lessons learned during this time last a lifetime. At Puppy Camp, I stress the good habits and eliminate the more frustrating ones, such as jumping, nipping, and chewing.

Your puppy will be exposed to a variety of experiences to help them develop good habits early on, including addressing common issues like nipping, jumping, and barking. Plus, they'll interact with other animals like dogs, cats, bunnies, and even tortoises!

I'll use the information you provide on our detailed intake form to create a training plan that fits your schedule and lifestyle. When your puppy returns to you, they'll have confidence, intelligence, and great social skills. As a bonus, you'll receive a personalized 25-page ebook with training tips, schedules, and videos featuring your pup!

Once you complete a form, we will contact you to discuss your puppy and my availability. Puppy Camp is limited to tone puppies who will be a part of our family for 1-to-4 weeks. All your routines will be reflected in our schedule, and you’ll receive multiple photos and videos daily. Your involvement in this training phase is most welcome! Two FaceTime calls a week are included.

The first week costs $2500.00 while additional weeks cost $2250.00

Imprinting Form

Frequently Asked Questions

  • My approach?  I treat every puppy like family.  Your puppy will get individualized training and attention in our household, and we'll mirror your routines and schedules. You can detail your household and goads for your puppy when you are filling out our intake form.    Daily photos, videos, and FaceTime calls will follow each of your puppy’s interactions and breakthroughs. A full 25- page ebook with videos, printables, and your puppy's schedule will be emailed to you when the imprinting program is done.

  • Thankfully, my past clients report the opposite. Their puppy is so glad to be home and getting lots of attention from your family. During imprinting, we stick to a strict schedule and cater to your puppy’s need for food, rest and appropriate play. After all, this imprinting phase is also a time of intense brain development and has more to do with developing lifelong habits and structuring rituals than long-term bonding, which happens most intensely at twelve weeks of age.

  • Some puppies have a less-than-ideal start, whether they've been raised in a puppy mill, separated from their mother, or been the victim of some other tragedy early-on. If you have a puppy who wasn't imprinted before you brought them home, you will need to immerse yourself in the process or hire someone who can do it for you. Remember that the short 5-to-12-week-old window is critical to the lifetime stability of your mature dog. 

Testimonials

Featured
“Sarah stands out above the rest!”
“Sarah stands out above the rest!”

“We have used a few dog trainers and attended a variety of dog classes over the last two decades and multiple dogs. ... Sarah's approach comes with a deep, deep understanding of dogs, compassion, logic and a human kindness that is never about dominance or obedience. ... We have learned a lot from her that carries far beyond just our dogs and I am grateful that we have had the chance to work with her with newest puppy, Petey! She is an amazing trainer.”

- Mandy C.

“I highly recommend Sarah”
“I highly recommend Sarah”

“I never thought someone could help my family train our dog to have good manners. We have been unsure of what to do and how to do it. Sarah has been wonderful! She takes her time with us and explains what she is doing. She demonstrates proper techniques and then allows us to carry them out. With her guidance, our dog has calmed down and is a better-behaved part of our family. She also lets us record parts of the session so that we are able to review the proper technique between sessions. I highly recommend Sarah to anyone that would like to train their pets.”

- Helen B.

“I can't say enough wonderful things!”
“I can't say enough wonderful things!”

“I can't say enough wonderful things about Sarah! We recently got a golden retriever puppy. Not our first dog, just our first puppy. We were overwhelmed and so was our other dog (age 14). I quickly started researching programs. I immediately liked Sarah as a person - so effusive and also firm and so very knowledgable. I was a little skeptical about how much she could do with Georgia in just 1 week but we were happily surprised! Georgia came home a different dog. Best money spent and more importantly, we got our puppy joy.”

- Diane M.

“She saved us!”
“She saved us!”

“There are no words to describe Sarah, she saved us!  We adopted a dog post pandemic that was not socialized or trained, coming into a family with no dog experience, which resulted in a bad situation. We met Sarah at Bedford Barks and she and her family welcomed my family into their home.  She comforted my girls with the help of her adorable litter from Peekaboo. As luck would have it, within time, a puppy became available. She has guided us through and will continue to be a member of our family, as she has so kindly done for us!”

- Colleen M.

“My vet recommended Sarah”
“My vet recommended Sarah”

“My veterinarian recommended Sarah to me years ago, and I have been working with her ever since!  This is my third dog Sarah has helped me with.  She is understanding, patient, and kind with both my dog and me, while encouraging us both along the way.  Her knowledge and experience are impressive and ever growing.  I have recommended Sarah to several of my friends and neighbors, all whom were more than satisfied with the end results.  Sarah is professional while maintaining a warm and personal touch considering the individual needs of each dog and owner.  Working with Sarah is always a successful and fun experience. I wouldn't work with anyone else!”

- Lisa G.

“100% Recommend Sarah”
“100% Recommend Sarah”

“100% recommend Sarah Hodgson for training your puppy or dog at any stage or temperament!  I've worked with her privately and in puppy training class, and it's an absolute delight.  She is incredibly knowledgeable and intuitive and is very gentle with dogs, believing in kind, positive training.  I've watched my dog and others learn basic commands and proper behavior with a single lesson (but of course, parents must follow up with consistent reinforcement).  Highly recommend!”

- Caryn G.

“‘Sarah Says’ has become a catchphrase in our house.”
“‘Sarah Says’ has become a catchphrase in our house.”

“I cannot say enough great things about Sarah. “Sarah says” has become a catchphrase in our house. She is not only a dog whisperer but she understands and works with the whole family system. My toddler adored her session with Sarah and our 6 month old puppy, Cleo, and I have loved my private training sessions with Sarah and group classes. She has given us so many tools to better train our puppy. We currently have her imprinting our new 8 week old puppy (yes, we’re taking on a lot!)! Stay tuned on our next review as we know she will work wonders on our little pup!”

- Sarah C.

“What Sarah Says Goes!”
“What Sarah Says Goes!”

“Sarah Hodgson is the very best!!! Not only does she know dogs but she loves them which to me makes the difference. I have a new puppy and was totally bamboozled over how to proceed. In two short sessions Sarah taught me so much about puppyhood, from housebreaking-to what toys they like-to nipping and grooming. What Sarah says goes. Sarah knows pets.”

- Susan B.

“We couldn’t have done it without Sarah”
“We couldn’t have done it without Sarah”

“Winnie has really settled into herself after we started training with Sarah. She used to be very aggressive when new people showed up at our home, but now she greets new guests at the door calmly and moves on. She’s much better meeting new friends on the trail instead of making enemies with other dogs. Best of all she no longer lunges at people. Thanks for helping us get her on the right path! We couldn’t have done it without you, Sarah.”

- Vanessa C.

“Sarah is the best!”
“Sarah is the best!”

“My family has worked with Sarah for years. She helped us find our dog Gilly at a local rescue, and she has been so supportive throughout the entire process: city transition strategies to basic puppy manners and sleep training tips. We wouldn't want to work with anyone else. We wish we lived closer so we could do all her group training classes.”

- Lisa G

“We’ve been working with Sarah for a long time.”
“We’ve been working with Sarah for a long time.”

“We’ve been working with Sarah for a long time. She could tell us things about our puppy’s personality we would’ve never realized. She taught us happy techniques to replace punishments. Our kids, who were young at the time, still reminded me of what ‘Sarah Says!’ Years later, when we got our second Bernese Mountain dog, we used Sarah's puppy camp to get her off to the best start. Now we're using Sarah to help us learn to walk the dogs together-nearly 200 pounds of dog power!”

- Melissa G

"Sarah is a wise, creative, empathic, responsive teacher, and coach."
"Sarah is a wise, creative, empathic, responsive teacher, and coach."

”I can’t help but disclose to you that I am a child psychiatrist with a new Goldendoodle puppy. On top of that, this puppy is a clone of our beloved dog that passed away. That’s a lot of pressure and also means she is a puppy not born into a typical litter. What drew me to Sarah’s philosophy for training animals is her focus on attachment and bonding. Her way of working with animals and their human parents is to establish strong trustful bonds where the dogs do all the right things because they are attached to you and want to please you. Sarah described our pup as a “drama queen” that was “high maintenance”. She spent a week with Sarah combined with some serious coaching of us to keep the good things happening, and they have. Sarah is a wise, creative, empathic, responsive teacher, and coach. Today, we still have a spirited pup to be sure, but she is a pure delight and a wonderful family member.”

- Pamela Cantor MD

"To say that we are pleased with results is an understatement."
"To say that we are pleased with results is an understatement."

“We started our new puppy, Blue, with Sarah because of the reviews that we had previously discovered. After only a small amount of time, Sarah was able to connect with Blue and instill obedience skills to our surprise.

When Blue first started, he did not understand basic commands such as sit, but time with Sarah reinforced positive behaviors and yielded shocking results considering the small window of time that Blue spent with her.

Blue is barely 3 months, and he understands restraint and even ring the bell to go outside, which Sarah worked tirelessly on with Blue.

To say that we are pleased with results is a dramatic understatement. We are grateful to have found a patient trainer that instills trust with not only her dogs, but also the families she works with-we are currently looking forward to next lessons with Sarah!”

- The Sabio Family

“Sarah is a lifesaver”
“Sarah is a lifesaver”

“I was overwhelmed with Biscotti's behavior when walking on a leash; he would go frantic when seeing other dogs and people on walks. It was so bad that my walks became a chore instead of a comfort. With Sarah's guidance, I now have a dog that walks respectfully and plays delightfully. He fits in perfectly with our family; we just adore him. Biscotti loves Sarah, and so do we! She's a lifesaver.”

- Julie A.

“Sarah is definitely a ‘dog whisperer’”
“Sarah is definitely a ‘dog whisperer’”

“I love working with Sarah! I am a former elementary school teacher who can really appreciate her philosophy, “Dogs are just like kids”. My smart but sometimes-stubborn Mini Schnauzer has learned so much from Sarah. I have had her come to my home for private lessons and it has been worth every penny!

Sarah is definitely a “dog whisperer “who knows how dogs think. As a result, my pup is turning into a wonderful addition to my family. Sarah helped Ruby and I to learn walking on a leash without pulling my arms out, minimizing excessive barking, meeting my grandchildren and socialization skills on a field trip to town.

Additionally, Sarah videotaped our sessions least I forget the right things to do. Her books are also really helpful when I forget what to do. I can’t wait to take one of her group classes to expand on Ruby’s basic manners and maybe even eventually try some agility training!”

- Diane C.

“We will certainly continue training!”
“We will certainly continue training!”

“Sarah was absolutely terrific!! We learned so much in a quick session, and have already started implementing her techniques into the training of our 10-week old puppy. We will certainly continue the training sessions, as we restructured our entire training method - due to Sarah!! Her guidance has been immense, and we will continue to utilize her tips and tap into her expertise.”

- Nicole P.

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