Most dogs complete our 7-Week Advanced Off-Leash Obedience Course and are ready for real off-leash reliability by graduation. The first 3 lessons build focus and obedience through play, the next 3 take place at Balboa Park building off-leash recall, and the final lesson is a real-world outing at South Park coffee shops. Some high-drive or more reactive dogs may need a bit more practice, but by the end of 7 weeks, the vast majority of our clients are hiking, playing fetch, and exploring off-leash with total confidence. 🐾

We offer three packages for reactive dogs:

• 2-Week Rescue Reset Program — 2 private lessons, $345

• 5-Week Dream Dog Course — 5 private lessons, $695

• 7-Week Advanced Off-Leash Obedience Course — 7 private lessons, $995

We'll help you decide which is best for your dog and your goals during the consultation. For most dogs experiencing reactivity, the five-week Dream Dog Course is what I recommend most. If you just want to get started or need some quick tips, the two-lesson Rescue Reset is a great entry point — a lot of clients start there.

Each lesson is one hour, done privately at our North Park location, Balboa Park, South Park coffee shops, or in your neighborhood.

Yes! We've helped hundreds of reactive rescue dogs go from leash-reactive to fully off-leash reliable. My own dog, Ace, came to me with reactivity and anxiety — and within a few weeks of training, he became a confident off-leash companion who loves hikes and playing with other dogs. No matter your dog's history, with the right training, structure, and support, off-leash freedom is absolutely possible. 🐾

Every one of our dogs graduates within 7 lessons and is 100% off-leash trained.

We recommend starting as young as 4–7 months old! At this age, puppies are old enough to build a strong obedience foundation but still young enough to develop off-leash reliability early, before habits like chasing distractions have a chance to set in. Starting young means your pup grows up with full off-leash freedom instead of having to unlearn bad habits later.

Yes, absolutely! Once your dog builds a strong foundation of focus and engagement (usually within 2 lessons), training moves into real-world environments like Balboa parks and coffee shops, practicing calm behavior around everyday distractions. For off-leash training, we do at 3 full lessons at Balboa Park to achieve off-leash freedom around distractions.

Sunny's own dog, Ace, joins select lessons as a calm training partner, giving your dog the chance to practice impulse control and safe socialization around another dog. This gradual approach builds confidence and reliable behavior in the places you'd love to go — so you can truly live a life of freedom with your dog!

Yes — for reactive dogs especially, private one-on-one lessons are truly the best option. Group classes are more generalized; they're great for learning how to teach obedience commands, but beyond that, they're limited. Most trainers aren't able to offer personalized advice to stop barking, jumping, and reactivity.

Private training happens out in the real world and gets to the root of the issue your dog is experiencing. Many clients come to Peace Pups after group classes at places like Petco or PetSmart because certain challenges are persisting and they need personalized guidance.

My recommendation: work with a private trainer first, then add group agility classes later!

Leash reactivity is very common for rescue dogs and dogs adopted through breeders. Outside of leash pulling, it's probably the most common issue we see in the dogs we train. Most dogs are reactive for one of three reasons:

1. Anxiety or fear. Your dog reacts, lunges, and barks to create space from something they feel uncomfortable around.

2. Protective behavior. Dogs often try to protect their owners (especially their female owners), lunging and barking to create distance from the other dog.

3. Overexcitement. Some dogs get so excited to see another dog that they want to say hi, and when they don't get the chance, they pull on the leash, lunge, and bark.

The good news? No matter the reason, leash reactivity can absolutely improve with the right training, structure, and support. 🐾

Yes! We've helped 150+ reactive dogs in San Diego learn to walk calmly on the leash, greet guests nicely, and settle at coffee shops — and we do this in just 2-5 lessons. We've worked with dogs on the verge of being rehomed, traumatized rescue dogs, and dogs from breeders.

There hasn't yet been a dog we've worked with that didn't improve through training. We give you daily training homework that helps your dog feel calmer and more confident on walks while learning to focus on you. 95% of our clients see improvement after the very first lesson!