Reward-based trainer and behaviourist
Sarah is a reward-based trainer and pet behaviourist, keen to help dogs, cats and horses (and their humans!) live their best lives.
Sarah runs indoor dog training classes, plus group and one-to-one training in real-life situations. She also offers canine behaviour consultations, both in person and via phone or zoom.
Sarah welcomed Rufus, and adolescent Beagle, into her life in November 2024. He's already beginning to help nervous and reactive dogs during one-to-one sessions; and learning all sorts of skills and tricks.
Usual areas covered for practical training: Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Tudeley, Hadlow, Golden Green, East Peckham, Leigh, Penshurst, Chiddingstone Causeway, Bough Beech, Bidborough, Fordcombe, Speldhurst, Southborough, Langton Green, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Weald, Underriver, Shipbourne, Sevenoaks.
Although she mainly works with dogs, with a degree in Equine Management, she also promotes reward-based horse training and behaviour modification; and having grown up with several cats, and studied cat behaviour, she also offers feline behaviour phone consultations.
Two of the many dogs Sarah has worked with, the lovely Miss Molly, and cheeky chappy Archie!
Reward-based training creates change while being kind to your pet
Empathy - this allows us to work with our pets, not against them, always looking for ways to help them understand what we want, and to reward them for doing so. Training with kindness, consideration and understanding.
Ethics - being clear about what causes anxiety, fear, pain, discomfort and stress in our pets, and seeking ways to avoid or minimise negative experiences during training and in general life. We have a choice when we train our pets - to reward for wanted behaviour (and to plan training effectively so that's what happens) or to wait for something to go wrong and then punish them for this. Training mistakes are human errors, especially when expectations are too high. It's not fair to correct an animal with aversive punishment when that situation could have been avoided, and they could have instead been rewarded for wanted behaviour, or at least prevented from getting it wrong.
Ethology - because reward-based training is not about dogs complying with our demands 'or else', Sarah works with dogs to find out what their needs, their likes/ dislikes, and their goals are. What drives (motivates) dogs can be part of the solution rather than being a problem that needs 'fixing'.
Responsibility - just because we reward wanted behaviour, that doesn't mean we can't create rules and boundaries that will keep our pets, and other people and animals, safe. We can reach those goals by having fun along the way, and building our pets up for success, rather than always being ready to tell them off when they inevitably fall short of our expectations.
The sky's the limit - because of the flexibility and adaptability of shaping, anything is possible using reward-based training.
More about reward-based training
Click the heading above for a summary of what reward-based training is all about...the technical bits!
Why focus on rewards?
Rewards increase motivation.
Rewards increase willingness.
Rewards increase understanding of the task.
Rewards create a cooperative relationship between trainer and trainee.
Rewards increase trust.
Rewards can be used to shape any behaviour an animal is physically and mentally able to complete.
Rewards allow us to help animals cope with potential stressful or painful events such as visits to the vets or groomers.
Rewards allow for better (two-way) communication.
Rewards allow for a trainee to say 'no', and for the trainer to find out why without forcing them to comply.
Rewards teach an animal what TO DO.
Rewards also teach an animal what NOT TO DO by the very fact they are being rewarded for what TO DO.
Rewards increase the likelihood of spotting difficulties or health issues, as it makes the trainer more sensitive to the behaviour, emotions and thought processes of the trainee.
Rewards mean that a trainer focuses on using positive reinforcement, and avoiding punishment and negative reinforcement.
Rewards create effective training. Just because it's kinder, it doesn't mean it's 'permissive' or 'soft' training.
Rewards allow trainees to really enjoy the experience, and to develop internal motivation for the task.
Rewards set up a trainee for success.
Isn't punishment used at all?
It would be inaccurate to say punishment isn't used during training, because the scientific definition of punishment is that it reduces or stops behaviour, and that's the goal of a lot of training even if only rewards are used to teach alternative behaviours. Punishment (according to the four quadrants of operant conditioning) can either be adding something unpleasant, or taking away something pleasant. The aim should be to do the least aversive thing possible - in most cases this will be preventing access to a potential reward. For example, when teaching a dog not to jump up, you might hold onto a food reward until they can keep all 4 feet on the ground. Saying 'no' or other noises might count as mildly aversive, as well as it making it clear that access to a potential reward is being prevented. There are many highly aversive tools and techniques used to train animals, such as prong and shock collars, and these should be avoided (these are discussed in my book 'Ethical Pet Training').
Similar to punishment is negative reinforcement, which is the removal of something unpleasant to increase a behaviour. For example if your dog begins to pull, you wait until they step back or look at you, and then you relax the pressure on the lead and allow them to walk on again. The skill is in keeping this a very soft contact, and the timing needs to be perfect. It's important to remember that although it's a reinforcement, it isn't a reward, since something unpleasant had to happen first in order to remove it.
When a dog doesn't listen, there's a temptation to use stronger punishment or negative reinforcement, to make them comply, but this can cause many more problems and isn't really teaching them what to do (it's just telling them off for getting it wrong). It's a natural part of being an emotional human, with life throwing up all sorts of difficulties and complications, that we end up getting so cross with our dogs that we think it's okay or logical to use aversive training. But we can rise above this, and find better ways to train - it just might need a bit of work on ourselves as well as our dogs to help us move forward.
Sometimes punishment is used when managing a dog's behaviour before training has caught up with real life eg having to move them away from another dog if they're not ready to be that close; or using a crate or barrier to prevent them making mistakes even if this causes some frustration or anxiety; or keeping them on a lead in the home so they can be made to get off sofas etc if they are learning not to protect chosen areas. If an emergency situation arises, it's important to learn from it, to make sure mistakes can be prevented in the future. Management strategies and emergency protocols should be one-off events, and not part of regular training.
Training should always be focused on providing rewards to increase wanted behaviour (positive reinforcement).
For more info about how Sarah can help you...
- dog training lessons and behaviour consultations
- horse behaviour consultations and information
- cat behaviour consultations and information
- helpful advice and information about dog training
- books about dog behaviour and ethical pet training
Contact information...
- text or leave a message on 07805 855069
- email reflectionsanimaltraining@gmail.com
- follow her on Facebook
- follow her on YouTube
Testimonial
"Without Sarah’s help and support I doubt whether we would have been able to cope with the behaviour of our 18month old rescue dog. But cope we did and our much-loved canine companion is the happy outcome. And for this we will always be grateful.
Our dog is now 10 years old and over the years I have done a fair amount of reward-based training. I wouldn’t consider training any other way. I’ve found that this, perhaps more patient, approach offers some insight into the way dogs learn, process information, and deal with problems. This in turn can help us make certain aspects of training easier for the dog, if necessary. I have learnt a lot and am still learning all the time.
I think the reward- based method results in training becoming more akin to a dialogue with one’s dog, more of a shared activity which can only strengthen the bond between owner and dog. And this has been the most rewarding thing of all."
Joyce and Goldie
Creating change
To help our pets, whether that's dogs, cats, horses or smaller pets, we first need to help ourselves. That's why training sometimes doesn't work on it's own. It's a frustrating aspect of life to realise that we have to change ourselves, in order to change those around us, whether that's people or animals.
Taking time to understand an animal's behaviour is very important, and this applies to our own behaviour as well. In the same way our pets can't be perfect, neither can we. There are often lots of compromises that need to happen, as well as lots of learning on both sides of the relationship! We can't force our dogs/ horses/ cats to be perfect, in the same way that you wouldn't want other people to force us to be perfect. But if we are able to change, then we can cause our dog/ horse/ cat to change too. The key is discovering how to do that.
In Sarah's consultations, workshops, and writing she aims to help owners/ guardians/ pet parents discover the causes of their pet's behaviour, and guide them towards solutions that will make life easier (and hopefully more rewarding), for both them and their pet. Because all things in life are connected, she also takes a holistic approach, looking into diet, health, exercise and routines .
Charlie the Golden Retriever watching himself on YouTube!
