At Shorebreak K9, we prioritize fulfillment above all else.
Our Stay & Hang hits different than other doggy dogcares.
Through structured play, intentional walks, and long-line adventures, we give your dog real freedom, done the right way.
Every stay includes daily photos and videos, progress updates, and plenty of adventure highlights.
Your dog goes home fulfilled, tired, and better behaved for the night to come..
Dogs are wired to bite, chase, pull, sprint, and engage with the world using their bodies and their mouths. That drive isn’t a problem. It’s biology. Play isn’t just for dogs or people. It’s been scientifically documented across mammals and many other animals, from rodents and dolphins to kangaroos, reptiles, birds, and even stingrays. It’s not taught. It’s not optional. It’s built into the nervous system. It’s how mammals regulate stress, build skills, form relationships, and learn the rules of their world. When dogs are given appropriate outlets to bite, run, and work, they’re far less likely to look for those outlets in places they shouldn’t. A dog that gets to grip a tug, sprint with purpose, and feel feedback through their teeth is a dog whose needs are being met.
(If those needs are not met, your dog will take it upon themself to feel that feedback through their teeth on a shoe, couch cushion, or your whole couch!!)
At Shorebreak K9 Solutions, play acts as an essential, controlled outlet for instinctual behaviors like hunting, chasing, herding, and tugging, rooted in their ancestry. Play is where dogs learn when to turn it on and when to turn it off. It’s where they can learn impulse control, clarity, and consequences in a way they actually understand. Through structured play, dogs learn how reinforcement and correction work, when they apply, and why.
We use all four quadrants of operant conditioning combined with a classically conditioned marker system. Rewards matter. Consequences matter. What matters most is timing, fairness, and clarity. Play is how we introduce those concepts in a way that builds drive instead of confusion and trust instead of conflict.
We meet dogs where they are so they can come home to you tired, fulfilled, and one training day closer to your goals from a daytrain at Shorebreak K9.
Owner of Shorebreak K9 Solutions, Alec Burns and his K9 Kodi pictured with congressman woman Jen Kiggans at Ak9i Training Facility in VA.
Whether your dog is here to train, learn, or burn energy the right way, we’ve got it handled.
Every new stay begins with a FREE in-person consultation where we take the time to meet your dog, understand their behavior, and evaluate where they’re at—no pressure, no assumptions.
During this visit, we’ll talk through your goals, your dog’s habits, and what you’re hoping to improve. From there, we build a clear, customized plan for their time with us—focused on structure, engagement, and real-world results.
No two dogs are the same, and we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all training. Whether your dog needs guidance, confidence, structure, or just a healthy outlet for their energy, we’ll make sure they’re set up to succeed from day one.
Obedience. Play. Adventure. Fulfillment.
Obedience. Play. Adventure. Fulfillment.
Our Services
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(Day Boarding)
Drop-off: 6:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Pick-up: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Your dog spends the day with us in a structured, safe, and enriching environment. No formal training, just supervised fun, engagement, and fulfillment while you’re at work or away.
This option is ideal for dogs who:
Don’t need training but need exercise, structure, and social time
Need a safe place to hang during long workdays
Thrive with routine, adventure, and enrichment
Your dog will enjoy:
Supervised play and engagement throughout the day
Structured downtime and rest periods
Outdoor time and enrichment activities
Socialization (when appropriate and safe)
A calm, balanced environment focused on fulfillment.
Pricing: $80/day
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(Day Training)
Drop-off: 6:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Pick-up: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Everything included in Stay and Hang is part of this program. The difference is that your dog trains with me one on one throughout the day while you are at work.
I train your dog using a clear marker based communication system that helps them understand exactly which behaviors are being rewarded. This system is simple, consistent, and easily transferable to you as the owner, making it ideal for future private coaching sessions and long term follow through at home. I implement implied stays within behaviors to build strong obedience foundations so your dog learns that commands have duration and meaning until released.
Rather than simply running through commands, this program emphasizes understanding, engagement, and accountability. Training is designed to carry over into real life by reinforcing focus, motivation, and reliability around everyday distractions. The goal is to create a dog that not only knows commands, but understands how and when to perform them consistently.
Your dog will receive:
Basic obedience training
Leash manners
Recall (come when called)
Focus and engagement around distractions
Motivation building (how your dog likes to play and learn)
Outings to practice skills in real-world environments
Pricing:
1 Day Train (Up to 12 hours of 1 on 1 time with trainer) – $150
3 Day Trains – $400
5 Day Trains – $700
10 Day Trains – $1200
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These programs include everything from the Day Train Program, plus personalized private coaching sessions with you and your dog.
You’ll learn my marker-based communication system and gain the ability to confidently run your dog through foundational obedience skills such as recall, loose leash walking, engagement around distractions, sit, down, stay, and place.
The sky’s the limit. With the right communication and consistency, we can teach just about anything.
While your dog is with me, I handle the real training. The trial and error, the repetitions, and learning your dog’s unique quirks and how they learn best. Then, during your private sessions, we capitalize on that work and transfer it directly to you, helping you and your dog progress faster together.
You’ll see clearer communication, better behavior in real-world situations, smoother walks, calmer outings, and having guest over without stress to you, your guest, or your dog.
This isn’t just about training your dog. It’s about teaching you both how to work together confidently, consistently, and enjoyably.
Pricing:
3 Day Trains + 1 Private Session – $500
5 Day Trains + 2 Private Sessions – $900
10 Day Trains + 10 Private Sessions – $1500
All private sessions are one hour, hands-on, and tailored to your goals with your dog.
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Full-time immersion training, dogs stay at my facility with me 24/7.
Structured, personalized obedience work with guaranteed results. All programs include a detailed 3-hour owner transfer session at the end of the program and multiple in-home follow-ups. If this sounds like the right fit for you, we’ll schedule an in-person meeting to talk through your goals and customize a plan that reflects the life you want with your dog, while setting clear expectations for what’s realistic and achievable within each training phase.
2-Week Board & Train – $1,800
·2 weeks of daily, personalized obedience training
·3-hour Exit Lesson with you and your dog
·3 in-home, 1-hour follow-up sessions
Ideal for dogs who need focused obedience training and foundational work while you’re away.
4-Week Board & Train – $3,000 (Off-Leash Program)
·4 weeks of immersive training
·E-collar conditioning (low stim, fair and clear communication)
·3-hour Exit Lesson
·5 in-home, 1-hour follow-up sessions
·Training tools included (e-collar, leash, tugs etc.)
Designed for serious behavior transformation and off-leash freedom in real-world settings.
6-Week Board & Train – $4,500 (Advanced Off-Leash Program)
·6 weeks of elite-level obedience training (detection work, retrieving)
·Full e-collar conditioning & off-leash control
·3-hour Exit Lesson
·7 in-home, 1-hour follow-up sessions
·All training tools included.
Let us play with your dog!
(Burn energy the right way)
Why do we stress play so much? Why do we use play in every aspect of our training? Why is play at the top of our training philosophy here at Shorebreak?
PLAY is a biological NEED in mammals.
Play is not a modern concept, a dog training invention, or a training trend. It is one of the most extensively observed and studied behaviors in mammals. For over a century, researchers in ethology, neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science have documented play behavior across nearly all mammalian species.
From rodents in laboratory settings, to dogs and wolves in natural and working environments, to dolphins in the wild, play consistently appears without being taught. This consistency across species is one of the strongest indicators that play is biologically programmed, not culturally learned.
Play as an evolutionarily conserved behavior
Evolutionary biologists classify play as an evolutionarily conserved behavior, meaning it has been preserved across species over millions of years because it provides survival advantages. Behaviors that waste energy or increase risk without benefit do not persist evolutionarily. Play does.
Researchers such as Gordon Burghardt have shown that play meets strict biological criteria: it is voluntary, internally motivated, appears early in development, and is repeated even in the absence of external reward. These traits indicate that play originates from internal neurological systems rather than external teaching.
Neuroscience and the mammalian brain
Neuroscience research has gone even further, identifying play as a primary emotional system in the mammalian brain. Affective neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp demonstrated through decades of laboratory work that play activates dedicated neural circuits located in subcortical brain regions shared across mammals.
These play circuits develop early in life and activate spontaneously. Animals do not need to be shown how to want to play. The motivation is already present. When play is suppressed for extended periods, measurable changes occur in brain development, emotional regulation, and stress response.
In controlled lab studies with rodents, animals deprived of play showed deficits in social competence, impulse control, and emotional resilience. When play was reintroduced, many of these deficits improved. This strongly supports the conclusion that play is not recreational, but regulatory.
Play, learning, and behavioral regulation
Play is one of the primary ways mammals learn cause and effect, boundaries, and social rules. During play, animals experience rapid feedback: actions lead to consequences, intensity must be adjusted, and self-control is required to keep the interaction going.
This is especially relevant in canines. Rough-and-tumble play, object play, and chase behaviors mirror adult survival skills such as hunting, cooperation, conflict resolution, and impulse regulation. Play allows dogs to practice these behaviors in a controlled, low-risk environment.
Importantly, play is not chaotic. It follows rules. Animals who violate those rules lose access to the game. This makes play one of the most powerful natural systems for teaching clarity, frustration tolerance, and behavioral control.
Learn More…
Here are some sources for the interested people who would like to dive into the studies!! They are best at explaining how dogs learn but more specifically how play is tied into our dna as mammals. Amazing reads.
RESEARCH & SOURCES
Burghardt, G. M.
The Genesis of Animal Play: Testing the Limits
A foundational work in animal behavior that outlines why play is considered an evolutionarily conserved behavior across mammals.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763424000861
Panksepp, J.
Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions
Identifies PLAY as a primary emotional system in the mammalian brain, supported by decades of laboratory research.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/play
National Institute for Play (NIFP)
Scientific Disciplines Researching Play
A cross-disciplinary overview of research showing play as a biological and neurological necessity in mammals.
https://nifplay.org/play-science/scientific-disciplines-researching-play/
Pellis, S. M., & Pellis, V. C.
The Playful Brain: Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience
Details laboratory research on rough-and-tumble play in mammals and its role in brain development and behavioral regulation.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230109346
Kuczaj, S. A., & Eskelinen, H. C.
Why Do Dolphins Play? – Animal Behavior and Cognition
Documents spontaneous, lifelong play behavior in dolphins, supporting the idea that play is not learned or species-specific.
https://www.animalbehaviorandcognition.org/uploads/journals/2/03.Kuczaj_Eskelinen_Final.pdf
Frontiers in Neuroscience
Neurobiological Foundations of Play Behavior
Peer-reviewed neuroscience research examining how play is regulated by conserved brain systems across mammals.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience
Book a Consultation
We’ll prepare a proposal and walk you through every step of the process.