Kristina Rapson

Providing The Best Dog Training Toronto

Kristina is an award winning dog trainer and behaviourist in Toronto who has been listed in the top 6 on 5 different lists. Kristina was also nominated for the 2024 Canadian Choice Awards for Best Dog Trainer. With a specialty in behavioural issues and rescue dogs, her methods are different than most other trainers with a focus first and foremost on improving the human / dog relationship and communication. If you think you’ve tried everything, it’s likely that Kristina has some new methods that will help you get you and your dog to where you want to be.

For more information on Kristina’s background, philosophies and services, please navigate through the menu.

We Specialize in Behaviour Issues

Having some trouble with your dog's behaviour?
We can help with anything including but not limited to:

Leash Reactivity / Aggression

Does your dog react by lunging, barking and growling on the leash towards people, dogs, small animals or fast moving objects?

Aggression

Is your dog struggling with aggressive tendencies towards other dogs or people? Are they insecure or fearful? Are they resource guarding or possessive?

Over-Excitment / Hyperactivity

Does your dog have a tendency to be hyperactive or over-excited? Are they constantly jumping up on people, pulling on the leash and barking or whining?

Nervous / Fearful Dogs

Does your dog have anxiety or fear towards people, environments or stimuli? Does your dog need some major confidence boosting?

Rescue Dog Rehabilitation

Rescue dogs often come with some baggage and specific behaviour issues that need to be addressed. We specialize in rehabilitating rescue dogs and street dogs.

E-Collar Training

E-collar training can be an invaluable tool for specific behaviour modification or obedience training. It is especially helpful with recall and resource guarding.

Trusted & Certified

See what people are saying...

Our rescue stray dog had a lot of behavioral issues when we first started training with Kristina, but after just one class, we already noticed an improvement. She provided us with practical tips and techniques that were easy to follow and made a big difference in our dog's behavior. Kristina often checked in on us to see how things were going and offered additional guidance and support whenever we needed it (and we needed quite a lot of it!). The homework assignments she provided were also very helpful in reinforcing the training we received in class.

Ina Z.
I have tried other dog trainers to work on my dogs leash reactivity and have not had much success. After the first session I saw changes in my dog and gained the confidence and skills to continue to work on this! Kristina has been extremely knowledgeable and kind throughout the process!

Katie Mccormick
Kristina has been very helpful training me by helping me understand my rescued street dog's motivations and perspectives. I have seen daily improvement in my pup's behavior following Kristina's guidance.

Hans Feldmann
Our little girl was a rescue with a lot of fear based aggression. Working with Hairy Tales has given our girl the confidence that she’s needed to go on walks, feel safe when visitors come, and allowed us to understand her needs to make her feel safe. We are SO excited to see this change in our Natty. Thank you so much Hairy Tales. Kristina knew exactly what was going on with our girl and helped us every step of the way!!

Alyssa Deluca
Kristina is an absolute gem to work with!!! She gave us very helpful tips to work with our rescue dog and followed through whenever we had additional questions! We felt very at ease at her studio and loved the walk through sessions outdoors as well. She catered exactly to our needs in working with our dog and with her help we've made SO MUCH progress. Our dog no longer pulls during our regular walks and his reactivity has gone down significantly since working with her. We will continue working with her to help build our doggo's confidence and to allow him to be comfortable in different settings and cannot wait for our next sessions ahead 🙂

Hyeyoon Boo
Kristina has been a constant resource in my now two-year old puppy's life - both my pup and I love working with her. She's patient, kind, and always willing to go beyond your session to offer advice or help. I've enjoyed working with her and will continue to use her help whenever there is something that needs adjusting. Thank you Kristina from all of us!! 🙂

Corine Hiebert
My sweet girl is 5 years old and I've had her for 4 years. In that time, she's developed quite a few bad habits that I was not aware I was encouraging. I learned so much in my first session with Kristina, not only about my dog but about my own behaviors that needed modification. I am very excited to continue this journey because after our first session I am certain I will come out of this smarter, more informed, and with a beautifully behaved dog.

Fatima Q
When we first reached out to Kristina at Hairy Tales, our dog was very reactive to other dogs and animals, so badly that we couldn’t take him outside of the house at all. But after 2 sessions with her and doing the things she told us to do, we are already seeing a lot of improvements. We are now able to pass a dog park without him getting out of control. Highly recommend this place.

Moozhan Vilkiji
Kristina is super knowledgeable and has helped our Benny immensely! He's amazing and so sweet but was initially very reactive to dogs and humans alike. Kristina takes the time to work with you to establish a better relationship with your dog, and gives you homework so that you have things to work on independently between sessions! Benny no longer pulls on walks and is so calm around other pups. Thanks Kristina!!

VANRIP
We had our first session with Kristina today. She is incredibly knowledgeable on dog behaviour and helps you understand why certain behaviours are happening and what they really mean. The corrections she suggested really helped our dog in the first 90 minutes and we are looking forward to our next lesson and Marley’s progress! Thank you Kristina!

Yvonne Yhap