FirstBarkKaren was wonderful with our four-month-old golden retriever. What the difference like night and day couldn't find a better trainer than Karen.
Training with Karen
Millsboro, Delaware
About Training with Karen
Training with Karen provides professional, real-world dog training focused on obedience, behavior modification, and long-term reliability. Services include private dog training lessons, in-home training, puppy foundations and socialization, and immersive board and train programs ranging from one to six weeks. Training is customized for each dog and household, with an emphasis on structure, clear communication, leash skills, and confidence building. Karen works with puppies, adolescent dogs, and adult dogs struggling with reactivity, anxiety, impulse control, or household manners. All training is practical, individualized, and designed to help dogs succeed in everyday environments, both at home and out in the world.
Training & services
Training goals
- Behavior consultation
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Behavior modification training for dogs struggling with reactivity, anxiety, impulse control, or overstimulation. Programs focus on clarity, structure, and confidence to create reliable behavior changes over time.
- Crate training
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- House training
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Guidance and structure for dogs or puppies struggling with house training. We build clear schedules, supervision, and routines so your dog understands when and where to go.
- Leash training
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Leash training focused on calm, controlled walking without pulling or reactivity. Dogs learn proper leash pressure, engagement, and structured movement for safer and more enjoyable walks.
- Obedience training
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Training designed to improve behavior inside the home, including boundaries, door manners, place training, and impulse control. Ideal for dogs that struggle with structure in everyday household situations.
- Puppy training
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Puppy training that targets nipping, jumping, overexcitement, and early behavior issues alongside basic obedience. We give you structure, routines, and clear strategies for raising a well-mannered young dog.
- Socialization
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Structured puppy training focused on confidence, social exposure, boundaries, and early obedience. Ideal for puppies learning how to navigate the world calmly while building a strong foundation for future training.
Behavior support
- Counter surfing
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- Fear and confidence
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Confidence-building training for nervous, uncertain, or environmentally sensitive dogs. Sessions focus on exposure, structure, and trust-building to help dogs move through the world calmly and safely.
- Reactivity training
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How training happens
- Board and train
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A focused reset week where your dog lives with me in a home environment and trains daily. We introduce or refresh core obedience, leash skills, and household manners, then send you home with clear instructions to keep it going.
A two-week, real-life immersion program to build reliable basics and better behavior at home and in public. Your dog stays with me, practices obedience, leash skills, and structure every day, and you receive follow-up support so results carry over.
A three-week program for dogs who need more repetition and proofing. We strengthen obedience, leash skills, and household manners around distractions so your dog can listen more consistently in everyday life
An intensive four-week program designed for dogs needing a full reset in structure, obedience, and behavior. Your dog lives with me, trains daily in real-world environments, and you get follow-up lessons at home to maintain the new habits.
A five-week program for more complex behavior patterns or dogs that need extra time to change routines. We focus on calm, clear structure, obedience, leash manners, and confidence building in a variety of environments.
A long-form, six-week immersion for dogs requiring extensive real-world practice and habit change. This program provides daily training, structure, and exposure, with owner coaching to support long-term success at home.
- In-home training
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Customize training sessions held in your home so we can address behavior where it actually happens. Ideal for household manners, door behavior, routines, and everyday structure.
- Owner coaching
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- Pack walks
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- Private training
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Dog age
- Adult dogs
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- Puppies
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Training support for puppy vet visits and similaroutings. We focus on calm handling, confidence, and cooperative behavior so your puppy has better experiences at the vet and in new environments
Training level
- Advanced training
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- Beginner training
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Support between sessions
- Follow-up support
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Training approach
- E-collar training
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Additional services
- Boarding
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Other listed services
View 8 additional details
- Dog Sitting
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- Dog trainer
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See my webpage at Trainingwithkaren.org - Check out Services for detailed information of my programs.
- New Dog
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- Old Dog
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- Personalized Consultation
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A structured consultation to review your dog's history, behavior, and goals, and to recommend the best training plan. We discuss realistic expectations, safety, and next steps before beginning any program.
- Pet Sitter
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- Post Training
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- Training Help
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Confirm current programs and availability directly.
Customer reviews
Google listing5
25 Google reviews
Mentioned in reviews
- confidence building 6
- leash training 4
- board and train 3
- harmonious environment 3
- emotional regulation 2
- flexible scheduling 2
All 10 topics
- impulse control 2
- personalized training 2
- responsive to questions 2
- thank you karen 2
Google review topics, not confirmed services.
Karen is an amazing dog trainer. He methods work very well. It has been a few years since she trained our female Goldendoodle, Charley, and she still follows the commands and can be off-leash on our property without any issue. Prior to training, it was a chore to go on walks, …Read full reviewClose full review
Karen is an amazing dog trainer. He methods work very well. It has been a few years since she trained our female Goldendoodle, Charley, and she still follows the commands and can be off-leash on our property without any issue. Prior to training, it was a chore to go on walks, but since the training, it is a pleasant experience. Charley also typically boards with Karen when we go on vacation, because she treats Charley like her own dog, and she be out and about and enjoy being a dog rather than being caged up.
Karen is a great trainer with the qualities of a good teacher. She models the expectations to my two dogs and at the same time she models (and corrects in real time) what I should be doing. She’s so patient and positive. I’m amazed at the progress made by my dogs after a month of training with Karen!
I sought out Karen via a list of recommendations from our vet’s office. I called everyone on that list and Karen was the only one who spent an hour+ listening to me, answering my questions, easing my concerns, and then talking me through how she could help us with our 2yo Lab. By…Read full reviewClose full review
I sought out Karen via a list of recommendations from our vet’s office. I called everyone on that list and Karen was the only one who spent an hour+ listening to me, answering my questions, easing my concerns, and then talking me through how she could help us with our 2yo Lab. By request, he had been heavily medicated when seeing the vet for his care because his anxiety was so high. He was scared of many strange/random things, and Karen was confident that we could remedy this for him. We just wanted him to be a dog that was happy doing everyday dog things. I was able to contact Karen at any time, schedule flexible session times, and meet at convenient locations. We chose 6 weeks of “Out and About Adventurer” sessions. From the minute we met at our first session, I could tell that this woman loves her job and what she does! I was eager to watch, learn and try for myself whatever the lesson was that day. We made progress at each session (and in between sessions). With consistency, technique, training tools, and the rule of holding my dog accountable, our dog is med free and actually enjoying his car rides, walks, and can tolerate a nail trim alongside an experienced groomer. Every day and every experience counts as an opportunity towards having a good, relaxed, and happy dog! We will always continue learning. Thank you Karen! We are so grateful for your direction and continued support! Bodie will be excited to board with you this summer.
Choosing Karen for board and train was the best decision we made for our family and our 4-month-old Cavapoo, Duke. From the moment we met her, her professionalism and genuine care were evident. Karen's detailed training plans and wealth of information provided us with invaluable …Read full reviewClose full review
Choosing Karen for board and train was the best decision we made for our family and our 4-month-old Cavapoo, Duke. From the moment we met her, her professionalism and genuine care were evident. Karen's detailed training plans and wealth of information provided us with invaluable insights. Leaving Duke with her felt like leaving him with a trusted family member. The change in Duke after his training was remarkable. He now responds beautifully to commands like "come," "sit," and "lay down," and the nipping that worried us is completely gone. Karen's guidance has empowered us to understand Duke's behavior and create a harmonious environment for him and our four young children. The peace of mind we gained is immeasurable. Knowing Duke was in such capable hands during his extended boarding stay was a tremendous relief. Karen's continued support and genuine affection for Duke solidify our confidence in her. We are thrilled to have her as our trusted trainer and look forward to continuing our journey with her!
Original customer experiences from the collected Google data. Ratings without comments follow written reviews.