Educational dog boarding · Sintra
Boarding, day care and training in our home with fields in São João das Lampas. Two walks a day, obedience and calm every day, videos for you — and when you pick them up, we show you how to keep it going.
Aldeia Galega · São João das Lampas · Sintra
We only lay the stepping stones. The work was all yours!
Not just minding them until you're back
Everything here is built on canine psychology and behaviour: exercise for the body, work for the head, rest in a quiet house.
Your dog's holidays, with us at home. 24-hour care, group activities, walks, obedience and relaxation training — and nights inside the house, each dog in its own space.
Unlike the usual creche where dogs run back and forth all day, wound up, we work on calm and direction. They come home relaxed, with their real needs met.
A 1 to 1½-hour assessment to read your dog's profile and needs, then the basics taught without fuss: sit, down, stay, walk at your side, come back when off the leash — and the famous "no".
The routine is the same for guests and day-care students — adjusted to each dog's age and fitness.
9:00
Drop-off between 9:00 and 10:00. A sniff around, water, hello to the group.
Morning
Individual or in a group. Compulsory.
rain or shineLate morning
Basic obedience, relaxation training, socialising with new dogs.
Midday
Their own food, fresh water always, then quiet.
Afternoon
Space to run in the fields, with rules for living together.
End of day
Route, time and intensity to suit each dog.
rain or shineNight
Each guest in its own space, with the blanket that smells of home.
9:00
Drop-off between 9:00 and 10:00. A sniff around, water, hello to the group.
Morning
Individual or in a group. Compulsory.
rain or shineLate morning
Basic obedience, relaxation training, socialising with new dogs.
Midday
Their own food, fresh water always, then quiet.
Afternoon
Space to run in the fields, with rules for living together.
End of day
Route, time and intensity to suit each dog.
rain or shineNight
Each guest in its own space, with the blanket that smells of home.
No surprises for you or for them
From the first call to the moment you take your dog home, five steps.
Ring 927 445 463 with your dates and tell us about your dog — or dogs. Ask anything.
Book a visit to meet the house, the two of us and the routine. We need to meet your dog too. Too far away? We do it by video call.
For day care, three adaptation days. For boarding, the visit is enough — bring the vaccination booklet.
Walks, lessons, play and rest. You get videos and photos during the day and can follow how they're getting on.
When you collect them we explain what changed and how to react at home, so the training isn't lost.
“Educating has nothing to do with punishing.”
Every review is a before and after
In their own words, from our Google reviews.
Before
Adopted at one, returned to the kennel twice. Bit everything, pulled on the leash, barked at home.
After
In two days she walks beside us without pulling, super calm, and doesn't bite anything at home.
— Família Mesquitela
Before
Cacau used to take us for a walk.
After
Now we can take Cacau for a walk. More obedient, calmer.
— Carla Dias
Before
Two dogs pulling on the leash and reacting to other dogs.
After
After a few walks and day care they walk without pulling and without reacting.
— maria marques
Before
Pee and poo in the house, headaches and bad smells.
After
Six days later she does it all outside. And we got every instruction to keep it up.
— Rafaela Lopes
Before
Marley was the one taking us for walks.
After
One week later we're the ones in control. He's becoming good company.
— Natalia Horinkova
Before
A stubborn beagle, the way only a beagle can be.
After
Learnt new things in a few days. An experience to repeat.
— Judite Duarte
Honestly? Sometimes it's the owner who needed the training. — Jorge Ribeiro, about Zico
Named after a song
In July 2018 we adopted our first dog, Joly. Like any first-time sailor, we knew nothing about dogs. He was gentle and calm — lucky for us — but he pulled on the leash and reacted to other dogs, and teaching sit and down didn't fix that.
Books, canine-psychology videos, obedience classes at a dog school, dedication and a lot of patience changed Joly. Then came Lory, rescued from the street in November 2019. Balanced today, she's our colleague at work — a professional at helping insecure dogs.
Joly left for dog heaven in 2020. He left us a commitment: to help other dogs become dogs everyone loves too. Today our mission is to teach dogs and owners, without complications, the discipline for home and city life.
the song
“Joly, you're the dog of the gang”
A song everyone sang to him — and the name we chose: Cão da Malta.
Believing in our dogs' progress is the best affection we can give them.
— Adriana & Hélio
Charged by the day, not by the night
The values we last published. Call to confirm dates and prices for your dog.
Boarding
25 €
/ day
Check-in from 9:00. Check-out by 9:00 the next day; up to 12:00 counts as half a day.
Six places a day
Long stays
over 20 days
−10 %
Staying for the whole summer? Stays of more than 20 days get 10 % off.
Assessment
1–1½ h
20 €
To get to know your dog before day care or training. Visiting the space without an assessment is free — by appointment.
Day care: price given at the assessment.
Values published by Cão da Malta (boarding 2025, assessment 2023) — confirm by phone.
Plenty of field, freedom and play
Adriana and Hélio, by name
36 Google reviews, all five stars
It was the first time we trusted our little dog to anyone and I was apprehensive. I felt completely supported thanks to Adriana's constant communication: during the day we got videos of the walks. When we picked her up, Adriana explained how to react and care for her at home after the stay.
We felt safe leaving our dog in there for 5 days. The owners seem to really love dogs and have a great education-driven approach. I viewed a few other dog hotels around Sintra and Mafra (all with shelter-like cages) before deciding on this one. Cao de Malta has a much more personal and homely approach.
Adriana and Hélio took in my dog without a booking in an emergency. For three days Genoa got assertive education from people who know what they're doing, and I could calm down. They were educators and psychologists for both of us.
We've left Simba in several places, but Adriana's experience is unmatched. She has a vast knowledge of animal behaviour and is very sharp at reading each dog's profile and needs. Leaving Simba with Adriana feels like home.
Our first time away from our two Jack Russells and we loved it. They came home much calmer and more obedient. Adriana and Hélio welcomed them with open arms — and always had attention for us too, far away.
The first time we left our chubby girl at a boarding. From the first contact they were clear about how they work. Not just boarding, but a pleasant experience — and lessons we're now putting into practice at home.
Before you call
Inside the house, each in its own space, for everyone's safety and wellbeing. Bring a blanket that smells of home.
The first stone is a phone call
Tell us your dates and about your dog. Visits by appointment only.
Phone927 445 463