Training notes
The consultation is not a sales call
Plenty of people spend a whole summer putting off booking a consultation because they expect a pitch. We get it. So here is the honest version: we ask a lot of questions, we listen more than we pitch, and we finish by recommending one program, with the price attached. Sometimes it is the smallest one on the list. Sometimes it is none of them.
Last reviewed August 26, 2026
Inside the room
Questions first, recommendations second.
The first stretch belongs to you. We want the unedited story: what happens on walks, what mealtimes look like, who the dog ignores and who the dog worries about, what you have already tried and how it went. There are no wrong answers here, and nothing you say will earn a lecture. A dog that jumps on grandma or bolts through the front door is not a scandal to us. It is information, and the more honest the information, the better the plan that comes out the other side.
Then we talk about fit. Every program we run is one-on-one, so the recommendation has to match one specific dog and one specific household, not a category. A ten-month-old with no leash skills points toward two weeks of On-Leash Foundations at $1,865. A dog who panics at the sight of other dogs needs a full assessment before we would even quote Behaviour Rehab. By the end you have one recommendation, its price with GST, and a clear reason it fits. You can take it home and think about it. Most people do.
- Real questions about daily life
- One recommendation with pricing
- Decide on your own schedule
- Sometimes the answer is no
Our bias
Why we talk people down, not up.
Here is the part that surprises people: we spend more consultations steering owners toward the smaller program than the bigger one. If three weeks of Functional Off-Leash at $3,030 would be overkill for a dog who mostly needs household manners, we will say so and point at something shorter. Sometimes the right call is not a board and train at all but $150 private sessions with a written weekly plan, built around your own schedule. Upgrading a dog who did not need it helps nobody, and it is the fastest way to lose the trust this whole business runs on.
We also say no. No to boarding a dog whose separation panic would make three weeks away counterproductive right now. No to off-leash promises for a dog that has not earned leash reliability first. No to owners who want the dog fixed but do not want the handover lesson or the follow-up work, because that arrangement fails, and we would rather lose the booking than watch it fail. A consultation that ends with 'not yet, and here is why' is still a useful consultation. It just is not a sale, and it was never meant to be one.
The programs
If this note hit home.
The programs below are how we turn a seasonal problem into a solved one.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
What happens at a dog training consultation?
We talk through your dog's history, your daily routine, and the specific behaviours you want to change. Then we recommend one program that fits, with its full price including GST, and explain why. You leave with a clear next step, whether or not you book it.
Will I be pressured to buy the most expensive program?
No. We regularly recommend the smaller option, and sometimes we recommend $150 private sessions instead of any board and train. A program that does not fit your dog does not help either of us.
Do you turn dogs away?
Sometimes, yes. If the timing is wrong, the dog needs something we do not offer, or an owner does not want the handover and follow-up work, we say so plainly. A clear no is more useful than a bad fit.
Do I need to know which program I want before booking?
Not at all. Matching the dog to the program is our job, and it is most of what the consultation is for. Come with the honest story and we will sort out the rest together.
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Start with a conversation
Tell us what is actually happening at home and we will tell you what we would do about it. Book a consultation.
From real owners
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Real Northline dogs