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Get Your Reactive, High-Energy Dog Calm and Reliable
Our 4 to 8 week board and train program handles the hard work for you, so you stop dreading walks and start enjoying your dog again.
Does this sound like you?
You love your dog, but living with them is exhausting.
Walks feel like a battle. You're constantly scanning for other dogs, cyclists, or anything that might set them off. You've stopped inviting people over because your dog can't settle. You feel guilty because they're stressed, and you're stressed right alongside them.
Maybe this is your first difficult dog. Your past dogs were easy, so you assumed you knew how to train. This one is nothing like them.
You've tried group classes. You've tried private lessons. Maybe you've even tried another board and train. The advice keeps coming, but the behaviour isn't changing.
It's not your fault. Most training is built for easy dogs, not the complex, high-energy dog you're living with.
Our Approach
You’re not doing it wrong, you just need the right support.
We don't just manage behaviour.
We get to the root of it.
Over 4, 6, or 8 weeks, your dog lives with us at our purpose-built facility on 40 acres just outside Calgary.
We assess why the behaviour is happening. We teach them a clear communication system. We pattern new default behaviours. Then we take it into the real world and proof it until it's reliable.
You get weekly handouts, training videos, and a private playlist updated with your dog's progress so you can learn alongside them.
By the end, you get a dog you can take anywhere.
What Happens During a Program
Every dog enters our program stressed, uncertain, and carrying habits that aren't working. Over the next 4 to 8 weeks, we do three things: we understand why the behaviour exists, we teach a new way of operating, and we proof it in the real world so the training actually transfers home.
Week 1
Assessment and decompression. We learn how your dog thinks, what motivates them, and what's really driving the behaviour. We reduce stress before we ask for new skills.
Week 2
Foundation and communication. We install the core behaviours and teach your dog how to respond to leash pressure, markers, and guidance.
Week 3
Real-world exposure. We take the training off property and into the environments where your dog struggles most. In most cases, also finish e-collar conditioning and start off-leash reliability exposure.
Week 4+
Advanced proofing and owner handover. We do a thorough half-day go-home session at our facility and in the real world, so you feel confident continuing the work.
WHY US
A lot of training programs suppress behaviour or distract it away. They skip decompression. They skip teaching the dog a real communication system. They skip meeting the dog's instinctual needs. Then they hand the dog back and hope it holds.
We don't do that.
Our facility was built specifically for stressed and anxious dogs. We let dogs be dogs while coaching better decisions. We educate owners better than most trainers. And we support you for the life of the dog.
That combination, a custom-built environment, whole-dog thinking, owner coaching, and lifetime support, is why 350 dogs have been through our program since we launched it in November 2024.
Our Origins
I've been working and living with high-energy breeds for 25 years. Dobermans, Malinois, German Shepherds, German Shorthaired Pointers, Rottweilers, Dachshunds...the German breeds have my heart.
I've never had a reactive dog because of how I raise and train my dogs. But when I opened CDT, I saw how many people were being misled about what it takes to raise a dog or address reactivity and aggression. I saw owners spending money on programs that didn't address the real problem.
My background is in corporate quality assurance, facilitation, coaching, and process improvement. That shows up in how we run this business. We train dogs well, but we also coach owners and support them better than most trainers do.
I'm a student of Michael Ellis, Dr. Melanie Uhde, and Stephanie Vichinsky. I'm working toward my Method K9 Level 1 certification and am a Triple Helix graduate. I've trained with some of the best in North America and bring these methods and mindsets to the dogs I train here.
CDT exists because I believe misunderstood dogs deserve better, and so do the people who love them.
Have a peek inside our custom built facility...
Sampson
Sampson came to us feral after showing up on his owners property. He couldn't be leashed or handled. After 8 weeks he could be groomed, muzzled, walked on leash, recall, take food from our hands, crate, load in and out of a vehicle, and live peacefully in his owners home.
Jazz
A rescue German Shepherd puppy so fearful she had to be carried outside to potty. She left with on and off-leash obedience, recall, e-collar conditioning, socialization with people and dogs, crate training, and the confidence to attend her kids' soccer games calmly.
Shadow
Extreme leash reactivity. Kicked out of group classes and private lessons. After his first 6-week board and train, the leash reactivity was addressed and his owner was confident with e-collar, leash walks, and off-leash freedom. A second 6-week program addressed intense resource guarding and socialization with other dogs.
These are the kinds of results we create for dogs other trainers couldn't help.
Will my dog forget me while they're gone?
No. Dogs live in the moment. They settle into our routine quickly, and they're excited to see you at go-home. We also do not allow visits during the program because it disrupts the dog's mindset and progress.
What happens after the program ends?
ou get a detailed handover, video resources, and direct access to our team for ongoing support. Many of our graduates also use our boarding service when they travel, which keeps the training fresh.
Where does my dog sleep?
In a safe, comfortable kennel inside our climate-controlled facility. We structure their day with training, exercise, rest, and decompression.
Why does it take 4 to 8 weeks?
Behaviour change takes time. We need to teach new skills, build reliability in multiple environments, and make sure the training transfers back to you. A shorter program might look appealing, but it often skips the proofing that makes the result stick.
How do I know the training will last?
Because we don't just train your dog. We train you. Your go-home session is thorough, and you get lifetime support. The owners who get the best results are the ones who follow the system we give them.
Do you offer payment plans?
Yes. We understand this is an investment, and we can discuss payment options on the strategy call.