What people are saying: I highly recommend Kirsten and Life with Goldens breeding, boarding and training. We bought our puppy from their family and sent him for boarding and training when he was almost 8 months. What a change! Ziggy had some basics when we sent him but he didn’t have manners. He still chewed on us, jumped up, and couldn’t hold a sit or a down. Now he has manners and he walks like a gem on leash. He knows his basics commands and for a puppy that’s pretty amazing. The investment to training is worth it. My kids love him more because he isn’t nipping when playing and they can safely walk him. No pulling! The added bonus is that our dog, Ziggy, got to play outside on a farm while boarding and he learned to swim in their pond. It was a win for everyone! – Katie
I got Rocky from Life with Goldens back in March 2022, and they did a great job matching our family with Rocky. He is fun, full of energy, hard headed but a total sweetheart. Life became too busy for us with a toddler, a puppy and me being pregnant, new baby in the family so training him went out the window. I knew they were doing a basic training program so I decided that was the way to go for us since I didn’t want him being tough with the kids plus being crazy on walks with a stroller is not good. He was being wild, not listening, walking like he was running for a marathon, and jumping on all of us plus trying to fetch food off the counter. Since he has been back he listens (with reminders because you know not even a year old yet) he doesn’t jump on us, going on walks is a pleasure, he doesn’t run after my kid or jump to get him, he is not obsessed with food on the counter and is much calmer and enjoys being pet without trying to nip at us. I recommend their board and train program 100%, plus Kirsten was amazing to work with and communicated a lot with updates, pictures and recommendations. Very happy with the result. — Nicole
Another great review of our Board and Train Program and a cute puppy picture to go with it:): “The first thing I can say is it seems like Ruby has simply matured – she has an understanding that there are expectations of her, how she is to behave, how she is to respond. She is able to self-settle, is more patient (less demanding of us to regulate her), overall just has a sense of contentment and participation in our family – all this was not even in our radar when we dropped her off for board and train. Specifically, she is much better with walking / heeling. She will try to pull, we follow what you showed us, sometimes it takes a few redirects, but then it kicks in that there is an expectation of how she is to behave and she is a content dog walking on her leash. Her ability to stay is much improved – we will continue to work on this to increase duration and with distractions. My mom is visiting and she has come to prepare to be “tackled” by the puppy and this visit Ruby is not jumping on her, will sit when asked and wait for a petting. We are amazed at the skills she has developed but more than anything this maturing we have noticed in her.
Thank you so much! I hope schedules work in the next 6-9 months to have her come again to move into another stage of puppy / dog life!” – Christie
Board and Train Program
We are excited to be able to offer our board and training program to you! We are a positive reinforcement board and train program located in Whatcom County. We build on the foundation that was started from day one as a puppy. Raising a puppy that is confident, social and well mannered takes a lot of time, consistency and effort. We offer basic obedience training bootcamps. Our program is for puppies 6 months and older. Bring your puppy to us and we will create a solid training foundation for you and your puppy to succeed.
Our board and train program is a uniquely customized program where your dog will receive training while living with us in our home environment. Our board and train program can be the best option for many busy families. During the time your dog spends with us, we will have multiple training sessions a day.
You will receive detailed information on what your dog has learned and how to continue building on that training with your dog when you take them home. We will provide support not just during training but for the rest of your dogs life. We consider our clients family! We love hearing how you are doing and are always willing to answer any questions.
Our board and train program includes: feeding according to your feeding schedule, basic obedience, exercise and play time, supervised social time with our golden family, experiencing new sites and sounds, and daily training sessions. We limit our training space to no more than 2 dogs at any one time allowing us to focus on your training schedule and create a positive experience for you and your dog.
What can we train?
Crate Training
Greeting Politely
Puppy Nipping
Basic Obedience
Leash walking
Reactivity
Leash Reactivity
Confidence Building
How exactly do our programs work?
Our 2 week basic obedience program is extremely popular. In this program we will work on healthy play and boundaries with both dogs and people, how to handle over excitement, all basic obedience (Stay, Down, Leave it, Place, Come, Leash Walking & incorporate distractions like walking past dogs, kids playing, coming when called). While they are with us we will continuously work on puppy manners – appropriate chewing, puppy mouthing and general good behavior. We train 3-5 sessions a day of about 20 minutes long. Your pup will stay at our home. We have two trainers that work with, play with and care for the dogs. At the end of your pups training you will receive a personal training session so you can learned what we have been working on as well as how to continue this work at home. This gives us a chance to walk you through all the training that they have learned and gives you a chance to practice with our trainers on site prior to heading home to continue your dog’s training.
We usually book several weeks out. We ask for a $200 non refundable deposit to hold your training space. This is applied to your training session upon arrival. (We only accept 1-2 dogs in our program at a time).
When you bring your dog for training we ask that you bring a copy of vaccination records and food for the duration of their stay.
For more information and to book a training session please contact us at lifewithgoldenspnw@gmail.com.
