Cultured Canine Dog Training

We cannot say enough good things about Annissia and Cultured Canine! We have an energetic, 2 1/2 year old rescue named Sunny who had been found as a stray. He is super sweet and eager to please, he really had no idea how to behave around people and was quite reactive to other dogs on a leash. We did the inboard training and he is doing amazing! He is so much more calm and relaxed now that we have rules and routine; he is able to walk on a leash and pass other dogs nicely, not paw us as we sit on our couch and even lay nicely while we eat dinner. Annissia's communication skills with dogs AND people are incredible. She breaks things down to understandable tasks and is always available for support. I literally tell everyone I know about her! It is the difference between having a chaotic, stressful home life with your dog versus a calm and rewarding partnership. We are all so grateful to have found Annissia!

We are so lucky to have found Cultured Canine!! We feel so at ease when we leave our dog with them. He loves it there and we never have to worry about him. They take excellent care of him. Plus he always smells good when we pick him up! Annissia does an awesome job helping us with training our puppy to behave. She is kind and knowledgeable about dogs and she loves our dog! We definitely recommend Cultured Canine to anyone who loves their dog!!!

Let me begin with what has led me to highly recommend this group: 15 years ago my best friend gifted me with a lab pup…one among many born under a storage building to a stray, who was days later killed by a car. Her family bribed the youngest daughter to crawl under the building, despite her fear of spiders, to rescue the litter of nine. Eight weeks later we were gifted with our “Bear”. Last year, we lost my best friend to Covid…so I became more “needy” of Bear’s company…until he passed this April. Then suddenly, and most unexpectedly, we welcomed a new lab pup….Ike on Mothers Day. For most of my life I’ve dreamed of having a therapy dog and now, with being close to retirement, I thought this may be the “one”. He’s already brought our family so much joy….even to our son who currently serves on board the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, nicknamed the Mighty Ike and his fiancé…the youngest child of my friend who was the one who was bribed to crawl under the storage building. However, our joy also turned to worry…”was this pup too much for an aging couple like us…was it fair to Ike to be stuck with us when perhaps he would have been a better match for a younger, more active family?” So I began to do a great deal of research on trainers, which led me to Cultured Canine Dog Training on Quick Silver Drive in Winston-Salem. Instantly, I was drawn to the enthusiasm of Annissia, one of the owners/trainers and immediately I wanted to know more and to meet with her. My intuition has been confirmed through our one-on-one sessions with Ike. My doubts dwindled about Ike being a perfect fit for our family as she has so patiently led us on a path to better habits as it’s been as much us being taught as it has been in teaching Ike. I was so impressed, particularly with Ike’s enthusiasm to return each time, that I decided to switch from our “years long” boarders to here. I didn’t take that decision lightly as we also have a 15 year old dachshund. Usually when picking up our older gal from our boarders, it would often take her days to settle back down…particularly with the older she gets. Not so when picking both she and Ike up after a recent 8 day vacation…she never missed a beat…nor us…LOL!!! I was extremely happy to know that in order to accommodate the new bladders of puppies and the aging of the elders that they get extra bathroom breaks!!! It was also a HUGE comfort when I would suddenly receive a video or photos of their “vacation”!! I also appreciate the reasonable prices for all their services and the many different plans in which they have to choose from. I look forward to future sessions in helping Ike to become a well behaved pet and perhaps even for my dream of having a therapy dog to share with others in need! So…I HIGHLY recommend Cultured Canine Dog Training and all of the WONDERFUL staff!!! Julia and Richard

I can't say enough good things about Annissia! Even from my initial inquiry call, she took the time to listen about what work we had already done on our own with our 7-month-old German Shepherd and the issues we were having. We found that many dog trainers insist that you follow their blanketed training techniques or require you to board the dog for weeks at a time before picking them up and having to learn everything they were taught. I love that Annissia believes in the relationship between owner & dog, and that not all dogs need to be trained the same. Instead of making us board our pup or start a new type of training from scratch, Annissia was willing to build on what we had already been working on at home and helped us fine tune it. Throughout our first session together, she identified multiple areas that we could improve on (ones that we didn't even realize were causing the issues) and thoroughly walked us through solutions on how to fix things. Because getting a puppy was a family decision, we brought our 9 & 13 year olds with us to the training sessions. Annissia was very patient and did a great job answering questions and explaining everything. Annissia is flexible, responsive, and uses the training time efficiently. She genuinely cares and regularly checks in between sessions to see how things are progressing, answer any questions that arise, and is quick to adjust training specifics as needed. A month ago, I could barely walk our 60lb puppy because she was so excited and reactive to cars and dogs passing by. Thanks to our work with Annissia, our walks are enjoyable and even our 9-year-old can walk her now!