Program fit
Functional Off-Leash: what three weeks of recall work looks like
Many recall problems are less about a dog ignoring you and more about a word that has stopped meaning much at a distance. Functional Off-Leash is our three-week board and train built around that word. This page sets out what the program works on, what is included, what we ask you to notice about your own dog's recall first, and what reliable does and does not mean.
Last reviewed September 28, 2026
Inside the program
Five published parts, with recall at the centre.
Functional Off-Leash is a three-week board and train at $3,030 + GST. The curriculum has five published parts: reliable recall around distractions, off-leash house manners, socialization, distraction training and basic behaviour modification. Recall is the thread running through all of them. We teach skills with markers and rewards first and match tools to the individual dog. The Micro or Mini Educator remote collar is included, introduced properly, and taught to you at the handover lesson.
Across the three weeks your dog lives inside a structured routine with daily one-on-one training, socialization and enrichment, and individual care throughout. We post social-media updates and check in with you personally by phone or email. Visits are gently discouraged because they interrupt the routine your dog is learning. The program ends with a handover lesson, where the recall word, the collar and the off-leash manners become yours to run, backed by free follow-up sessions.
- Recall around distractions
- Off-leash house manners
- Educator remote collar included
- Handover lesson and follow-ups
Your side of it
Reliable describes the work, not a finished dog.
Reliable recall around distractions is what we work on, and reliable describes the focus of the training rather than a result we can promise about any individual dog. We want to know where the recall stands now. Before the consultation, notice four things: whether your dog comes when nothing else is happening, whether the word works at a distance or only up close, what happens when another dog, dropped food or a moving bike appears, and whether coming back usually ends the fun.
Distractions are worth planning around, too. Think about where you actually want to go: a river pathway shared with cyclists, an off-leash park full of dogs who want to play, a campsite with wildlife nearby. Those are your list of what the recall will eventually need to face. Under Calgary's bylaw, dogs are off leash only in designated off-leash areas and on a leash everywhere else, so a long line stays part of the picture anywhere the recall is still new.
The programs
Programs and prices
E · 3-week board & train
Functional Off-Leash
Everything in the on-leash program, then the next level: reliable off-leash recall even around distractions.
Includes handover lesson, follow-ups, Educator remote collar
SE · 4-week board & train
Advanced Off-Leash
The full four-week build: from functional foundations to advanced reliability in public environments and around higher-level distractions.
Includes handover lesson, 2 follow-ups, Educator remote collar
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
What is the Northline K9 Functional Off-Leash program?
Functional Off-Leash is our three-week board and train at $3,030 + GST, built for dogs who are ready to earn real freedom: the river path, the off-leash park, the campsite. We work on reliable recall around distractions, off-leash house manners, socialization, distraction training and basic behaviour modification. A Micro or Mini Educator remote collar is included, with owner education on using every tool properly.
What does an off-leash board and train actually teach?
We teach the recall word with markers and rewards first and work it around distractions, and the remote collar is introduced properly as one of the tools we teach you to use. Alongside recall, we work on off-leash house manners, socialization, distraction training and basic behaviour modification. The handover lesson is where we teach you to run all of it.
What should I expect from a recall board and train?
We post social-media updates and check in with you personally by phone or email while your dog is with us, and visits are gently discouraged because they interrupt the routine. At the end we run a handover lesson where you practise the recall and the collar yourself, and free follow-up sessions cover what comes up at home. We do not promise a finished dog; we hand over work that continues with you.
Does my dog need good leash manners before Functional Off-Leash?
We built Functional Off-Leash for dogs who are ready to earn real freedom, and the consultation is where we recommend a program, including a smaller one when it is enough. Describe your dog's leash manners and current recall at the consultation, and we will tell you honestly which program fits.
Keep reading
Ready to earn the field?
Tell us what happens when you call your dog now. Book a consultation and we will give you a straight answer on fit.
From real owners
Rated 5.0 on Google.
Real Northline dogs