Reward Dog Training

Welcome to rewards dog training

Got a new puppy?

Teenage Tearaway driving you mad?

Anxious, nervous or reactive dog that makes your walk more of a chore than a pleasure?

Adopted a rescue dog and want to help them settle into your home successfully?

Looking for more training in a relaxed and fun environment?

Now in County Durham, bringing a new way to train your dog to the area in group, social and 1-2-1 training to help owners live in harmony with their dog.

training packages

Puppy Training

Teenage Tearaways

Behaviour Training

Why Me?

I have always been passionate about looking at your dog from nose-to-tail, including their food, environment and lifestyle. I specialise in home training courses for puppies, teenagers and dogs of all ages, shapes and sizes to help you work on any behaviours, issues or training. By working in your home (and using your local walks) you get the chance to work in the place where you need help the most to build a lifelong, happy and positive relationship.

WHY HOLISTIC?

According to the dictionary, Holistic is defined as “the belief that the parts of something are interconnected and can be explained only by reference to the whole”. It means treatment of the whole person (or canine) taking into account mental and social factors rather than just the symptoms.

The reason I wanted to concentrate on Holistic Training is because I passionately believe that getting the dog you want as part of your family is not just about training. Everything in the environment, food, exercise routine and your lifestyle will affect your dog or puppy. It’s not just about teaching them to sit and give paw (although that can be fun!). Teaching life skills is all about how we interact with with our dogs right from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed.

That’s not to say I encourage micro-management of your dog. I’m far too lazy to be “on it” with my dogs 24/7. But I do like my dogs to have time out to be a dog and to chill out or entertain themselves. I want them to settle down when I’m working from home and still be up for a walk.

So what does my way of training include? It means that I will come in and look at the food you’re feeding. I’ll be able to understand the environment that your dog lives, plays and sleeps in. We can discuss what you want for your dog. If you want a companion or a dog that needs a lot of exercise or just a family dog we can look at how you can achieve that. And we’ll do it in a way that suits you and your dog best.

Each owner and each dog I work with is treated as an individual. It means that what I teach for one dog might not work for your dog. Or what I teach you and your dog might not work for someone else. But you can be assured that I will help you to get the dog you want for your lifestyle while staying true to the welfare and care of your dog.

Dog Owner Reviews

The Liebling Family

“Five stars for Sara at Rewards Dog Training. It was a pleasure working with Sara who is calm, understanding and her knowledge of dogs was educational as well as interesting. She really helped us bond with our puppy, Nala, particularly the relationship with my two year old (who loved joining in on our training sessions) will be everlasting. Sara was flexible and reliable. I would highly recommend her, especially for families with young children looking to get a puppy.”

Kerina and Chris

“Recently completed the home puppy course with Sara. Wow! What can I say? It’s really helped me and my puppy. We have gone from strength to strength with Sara’s guidance which really helped my confidence. We made the right choice in Sara in starting off Aoife and her training. For anyone with a puppy it’s a must!”

The Hitchens Family

“Soon after bringing home our delightful cockapoo pup, Twiglet, we had a Preschool Puppy Session with Sara in our home. She met the family including our slightly bemused cat! This visit gave us reassurance that we were on the right track and also tips and advice for the forthcoming days and early weeks with a new pup.I would thoroughly recommend Sara’s dog training skills and, importantly, her friendly and approachable manner ensuring that each encounter is enjoyable with laughs along the way!”

Steve and Angela

“I wanted to have some basic training for our 12 week old English Bulldog called Mabel and opted for some 1-2-1 lessons as primarily, she wouldn’t be awake for the classes in the event so having them at home really helped. Sara clearly has a vast and in depth knowledge of dog training techniques and tips/advice etc. and Mabel absolutely loved her. I would have no hesitation in recommending Sara and can only thank her for the help and advice shared for Mabel.”

Debs, John and Harry

We rehomed Harry, a 5 year old Lakeland Terrier cross in October 2022 from a rescue centre. He was so friendly we fell in love with him Immedately. Although we were experienced terrier owners we quickly realised that Harry had significant behaviour difficulties. He had no basic commands, wasn’t house trained, pulled hard on lead, was constantly destructive, trying to attack our guinea pigs and generally creating havoc.

Of most concern however was his fear of other dogs. When seeing anoter dog he would buck, cry and deflect his fear onto Debs, biting her legs so they became covered in large bruises. We were so concerned that he may injure another dog or a child that we were considering whether he should be put to sleep.

We contacted Sara in November 2022 to work with us on Harry’s behaviour. From the first phone call owards, she was so positive and supportive, calming our fears and providing step by step guidance to resolve each of Harry’s difficult behaviours.

Within a month Harry was house trained and his destructive behaviour was reduced significantly. His walking took longer to control and we know that Harry will never be able to go off lead. Sara worked consistently with us, encouraging us when we became despondent and taking us out of walks to instruct us within real life situations. After 6 months he was walking beside us and could pass a dog on the other side of the road without reacting. He also completed his basic training and was working with the clicker too.

We had a serious crisis but Sara came round as soon as she knew and worked with us sothat we were able to see the progress we had made with Harry which enabled us to move on from this incident. We would never have succeeded in helping Harry without Sara’s paience help and support. She even brought her own dog, Edie, to meet Harry and they became the best of friends. We would highly recommend her to anyone struggling with dog behaviour. Harry will never be totally free from his past trauma but we are now proud to own a happy, healthy, loyal dog that brings everyone who meets him lots of joy.