Xena's board & train journey
A documented look at Xena's four weeks of Board & Train with Viking Prairie K9, from establishing trust and communication to stronger obedience, environmental confidence, and real-world work.
- Program
- Board & Train
- Trainer
- Robert LaPerriere Jr.
- Location
- Okeechobee, Florida
- Progress documented
- Weeks 1–4
Week 1
Building the foundation
Robert's first priority with Xena was not to rush into higher expectations. The opening week focused on building trust, confidence, communication, and comfort with both Robert and the training environment. Once that foundation was established, the work could become progressively more demanding.
Her daily routine combined structured sessions with repetition throughout normal life. That included morning and evening training walks, longer focused sessions during the day, and shorter opportunities to reinforce obedience and decision-making outside of a formal training block.
Week 1 Focus
- 01Heel position and staying closer to the handler
- 02Sit, down, wait, and stay
- 03Recall
- 04Threshold manners
- 05Impulse control
- 06Confidence around unfamiliar objects, noises, people, and environments
- 07Obedience around distractions
- 08Comfort with close handler proximity
- 09Learning to work through uncertainty rather than immediately creating distance
Building trust with the handler
Early in the process, Robert observed that Xena had a tendency to heel or sit slightly behind him and create physical distance. As the week progressed, she began working tighter and became more comfortable with Robert moving around her and working within her personal space.
Robert also introduced controlled real-world exposure. Training at Home Depot added people, carts, equipment, unfamiliar surfaces, and noise. Xena also trained in another professional training environment at Blackwater K9, giving Robert an opportunity to observe how she responded outside of the setting she had already begun to understand.
Owner Feedback
Progress the owner could see
“I have been watching your YouTube videos. I can see the outstanding progress with the heel and other commands. I am glad you were able to see her apprehension with new people. Glad you are working on that.”
“If you are agreeable, we would like to keep her there for a full 4 weeks. That is greatly in part to how much she progressed in 1 week.”
— John, Xena's owner
After seeing Xena's first-week progress and following Robert's video updates, John asked to extend her stay to a full four weeks so the training could continue.
Week 2
More Distraction. More Confidence. Higher Expectations.
With the initial foundation established, Robert began increasing both the difficulty of the environments and the expectations placed on Xena.
Week 2 included work in higher-distraction settings such as Home Depot, a veterinary office, a feed store, and a ballpark playground. Xena also trained at Blackwater K9 and Florida K9 Sports while continuing obedience and confidence work in unfamiliar environments.
Training progressed into stronger heel patterns, longer down-stays, and the beginning of e-collar conditioning as another form of clear communication. Robert reported steadier engagement around noise and distractions, a tighter heel, and stronger recall as the week progressed.
Learning to work through uncertainty
For Xena, progress was not limited to performing commands in a controlled setting. Robert continued placing her in unfamiliar environments and situations where she had to process uncertainty, remain engaged, and look to the handler for direction.
The goal was not to overwhelm her. The challenge increased as her understanding, comfort, and confidence increased.
Confidence across different environments
A dog's obedience should not disappear simply because the environment changes. Week 2 continued to challenge Xena with different surfaces, noises, surroundings, and levels of environmental pressure while maintaining the same communication and expectations.
Progress doesn't mean perfection
Robert's Week 2 update also documented what still needed work. Xena sometimes moved through the place-board sequence too quickly, going directly into a down rather than methodically completing place → sit → down → stay.
That detail matters. The goal of the program is not to manufacture a perfect-looking update. It is to identify where the dog is progressing, where clarity still needs to improve, and continue building reliability without rushing the process.
Week 3: deep practice and advanced obedience
In Week 3, Robert began asking more from Xena. This is where he started what he calls deep practice: large numbers of quality repetitions so each behavior becomes clearer and more dependable.
- More detailed heel work
- Positioning
- Longer duration commands
- Distance
- Recall
- Advanced obedience
- E-collar conditioning
- Obedience around increased distractions
- Stranger neutrality
- Controlled introductions to unfamiliar people
- Long down-stays
- Impulse control
- Handler engagement
Her handler gives direction
A major focus was teaching Xena that she does not have to make decisions about every unfamiliar person. Her handler gives her direction. That takes pressure off the dog and creates a much clearer relationship.
Week 4: putting everything together
The final week took everything Xena had learned and put the pieces together. One of her biggest improvements was understanding that a correction is not the end of the conversation. Robert immediately shows her what she should be doing, then praises her for making the right choice.
- Advanced heel positioning
- Heel-box drills
- Doorway and threshold exercises
- Sit/wait before being released
- Kennel commands
- Marker training
- Center positioning
- Recall into position
- Impulse control
- Muzzle conditioning
- Stranger-introduction protocols
- E-collar communication
- Repetition and proofing
- Real-world obedience
Command, action, praise
That communication loop of command, action, praise is what Robert asked Xena's owners to keep using at home.
Going home: keeping the results
Robert did not stop at the last training day. Xena's owners received weekly email updates with photos and videos throughout the program, then a written final summary and a recorded video review explaining what Xena learned and how to keep it.
Their take-home plan came down to five habits: keep a daily structure, including regular crate time; keep the command, action, praise loop consistent; correct what you do not want, then give the dog a job; keep household rules the same every day; and use a calm, step-by-step introduction whenever a guest comes over.
Robert also offers lifetime support, so Xena's owners can reach out with questions no matter how much time has passed.
Building confidence through obedience
Xena's four weeks show the process behind Viking Prairie K9's approach to Board & Train: establish communication, build trust, reinforce obedience in everyday life, introduce controlled challenges, and gradually ask for more as the dog becomes better prepared to handle it.
Every dog is different, and training outcomes vary. The goal is not a rushed transformation. It is clearer communication, better decision-making, and progress that the handler can continue building on at home.
Is board & train right for your dog?
If you are looking for structured training focused on obedience, confidence, and real-world reliability, talk with Robert about your dog and the goals you want to work toward.
