During our Board and Train Retreat, your dog will live and train directly with our co-founders, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage and Sean Savage. In their private Tampa Bay residence, your dog will follow a personalized training program that teaches high-level obedience, manners, and addresses behavioral challenges. Training occurs both inside the home and around the Tampa Bay Area to ensure high levels of obedience through every situation.
This program is designed for those who are traveling or whose schedules don’t allow for regular training sessions but still want their dog to receive expert care. During their stay, your dog will experience a thoughtful balance of structured training and leisure, enriched by outings to Tampa Bay’s beaches, parks, shops, farmers’ markets, and hiking trails. After their retreat, your dog will return home confident, well-trained, and prepared to thrive in everyday situations while enjoying all that Dallas has to offer.
During the retreat, your dog’s personalized training program can cover a variety of goals, including but not limited to:
Travel to Tampa Bay and back to Dallas is complimentary.
By living with the trainer, your dog learns and reinforces positive behaviors in a real home environment, helping to ensure these newly learned skills seamlessly transfer back to your home. Training will take place in the home and out of the home, including local shops, restaurants, parks, and hiking trails. By training in different environments, your dog can develop high levels of obedience in any setting.
As stated by Dr. Echterling-Savage, “The care and attention your dog experiences during our Board and Train Retreat is unparalleled, going far beyond what traditional facilities provide, resulting in significant and lasting positive changes”.
While living as part of the family at their home in Tampa Bay, your dog will benefit from daily training with two leading experts.
Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a Ph.D. in Behavioral Psychology, specializing in animal behavior. Kristyn brings more than 20 years of training experience and trains and mentors every trainer at Beyond the Dog, ensuring our high-level of care and expertise across all of our locations.
Sean Savage is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA). Sean has decades of experience training dogs in manners, obedience, and treating complex behavioral challenges.
This programs begins with you submitting your completed “Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior”, which provides us with information on your dog’s behavioral background. Dr. Echterling-Savage will then have a consultation with you to discuss your dog’s behavior and your targeted training goals. These steps allow us to design a personalized training program that meets your unique needs.
Your dog will be personally transported from your home to Tampa Bay by a trusted staff member, ensuring comfort and care from the very start. Once they arrive, your dog becomes part of the family, living in their home and experiencing training seamlessly woven into daily life. From structured sessions inside the home to outings across Tampa’s vibrant beaches, parks, and city settings, your dog will practice high-level obedience, polished manners, and the resolution of problem behaviors in real-world environments, all while enjoying the beauty of Florida in a true retreat-style experience.
Throughout the four-week Board and Train Retreat, you’ll receive regular updates and progress reports so you can follow along with your dog’s journey. At the end of the program, Sean or Kristyn will personally bring your dog back to Dallas. Together with a Dallas-based Beyond the Dog trainer, you’ll receive 4.5 hours of follow-up lessons, giving you the knowledge and confidence to maintain your dog’s new skills and long-term success.
Dr. Echterling-Savage will conduct a personalized evaluation of your dog’s behavior and work closely with you to address specific training goals and challenges. Whether it’s resource guarding, separation anxiety, reactivity, touch sensitivity, fearfulness, or even cat chasing, each concern is approached with proven, science-based methods rooted in positive reinforcement and classical conditioning. By the end of the program, your dog will return home more confident, well-mannered, and prepared to enjoy a harmonious life exploring Houston by your side.
Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a Ph.D. in Behavioral Psychology specializing in animal behavior, has over 20 years of hands-on experience working with dogs, cats, and other animals.
Dr. Echterling-Savage implements behavioral science with training methods to provide the best outcomes for your dog. Every dog’s needs are unique and complex and are influenced by a variety of factors, including the environment, genetics and training history. Dr. Echterling-Savage and Sean Savage will work closely to understand all the training perspectives to deliver exceptional training results during their stay, and teaching you how to maintain what they have learned for long term success.
While living as part of the family in Tampa Bay, your dog will enjoy a seamless blend of structured training and leisure. From splashing at dog-friendly beaches to perfecting leash walking along the scenic Tampa Riverwalk, every outing is designed to be both enjoyable and enriching. They’ll have opportunities to socialize at local parks, play at dog parks, and explore the many highlights of Tampa Bay. Each experience not only offers fun and adventure but also reinforces the skills learned during training, helping your dog build confidence and thrive in every environment.
Your dog’s safety and comfort are always a priority for us. When traveling to and from Tampa Bay, your dog will never stay in the Cargo hold. Instead, your dog will comfortably ride with a trusted staff member in their car or beside them when flying. This will help ensure that your dog is relaxed during their journey. Transportation is included in the price of the program.