Board and train
Does board and train help with leash reactivity?
Leash reactivity is hard to work on during an ordinary walk, because you do not control who appears around the corner or how close they come. It is a fair question whether a residential program helps. The honest answer starts with which program: Behaviour Rehab is built for the barkers, lungers, hiders and growlers, and it begins with a full assessment. Here is what it works on, what stays with you, and what to ask.
Last reviewed September 28, 2026
Built for reactivity
Assessment first, then a plan and a price.
Behaviour Rehab is our program for anxiety, reactivity and aggression, and leash reactivity is one form of it. It runs five to six weeks and is priced between $4,850 and $5,760 plus GST, with the plan and the number set after a full behaviour assessment rather than before. The published work covers reactivity, anxiety rehabilitation, fear-based behaviour, confidence building and structured socialization. Dogs with a bite history are accepted after that assessment. The obedience programs list different work: heel, place, recall and manners.
What we will not do is promise a smaller reaction or a faster recovery, because we have not met your dog yet and no page can stand in for the assessment. And no program changes the walk itself. Calgary's bylaw requires dogs to be leashed off your property except in designated off-leash areas, so the on-leash dogs your dog passes on the path will still be there after graduation, at distances nobody chose. We can work on the dog; we cannot edit the neighbourhood.
- Full assessment before the plan
- Priced $4,850 to $5,760 plus GST
- Bite histories accepted after assessment
- No promised reaction size
Your part afterward
What transfers, and what to ask first.
Behaviour Rehab includes two free follow-up sessions and in-depth owner education, described in the program as learning the why, not just the what. That is the transfer: the handover lesson and those sessions are where the handling moves from us to you. From then on the choices on each walk, which side of the street, how close, when to turn, are made by the person holding the leash. How much holds is not down to you alone, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Not every reactive dog needs five weeks away, and the consultation is where that gets weighed, with the smaller program recommended when it is enough. Private Training is $150 plus GST per one-hour session and includes a written weekly plan built around your home. Whatever you are leaning toward, arrive with specifics: what sets the dog off (dogs, people, bikes), roughly how far away it happens, what the dog does at the end of the leash, and whether there has ever been a bite.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Does board and train help reactive dogs?
Behaviour Rehab is the board and train built for anxiety, reactivity and aggression, and it starts with a full assessment. It works on reactivity, fear-based behaviour, confidence building and structured socialization over five to six weeks. We do not promise how much a given dog's reactions change.
Which board and train program is for a leash reactive dog?
Behaviour Rehab is the one built for it: five to six weeks, $4,850 to $5,760 plus GST, customized after a full assessment, with two free follow-up sessions and in-depth owner education. The reactive dog training service page covers the program in detail. This page is about whether it is the right fit for your dog and what to ask.
Will my dog still react to other dogs after board and train?
We cannot tell you that from a page, and we would be wary of anyone who could. Training works on the behaviour, and the program's owner education is there so you understand the why behind it. What happens on a given walk depends on the dog, the distance, the other dog and the handling, not on any one of those alone.
Is board and train overkill for mild leash reactivity?
It can be, and that is a consultation question rather than a page question. Private Training at $150 plus GST per one-hour session comes with a written weekly plan for your home. The consultation recommends the program, and the smaller one when it is enough.
Keep reading
Tell us about the lunging
Book a consultation. Describe the triggers, the distance and what happens at the end of the leash, and we will start from there.
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