Hi, I’m Lena Logan

I am a professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant based in Blackwood, South Australia. My mission is to help dedicated dog owners across Adelaide live more fulfilled and joyful lives with their furry companions. I am committed to ensuring my clients feel supported throughout their training journey and see real, lasting results. From celebrating each milestone to offering guidance during challenges, I'm here every step of the way—providing encouragement and gently reminders of training goals when necessary.

Lena and Nixie playing in the front yard.

Where did it all start?
Although my career path wasn't initially centered on animals, I have always been passionate about understanding behaviour. I began my professional journey as a Social Worker, holding a double degree in Social Science and Psychological Science. Despite a strong pull towards animal behaviour, I was unsure of how to turn that interest into a career. Eventually, I decided to take a leap of faith and follow my passion. In 2013, we moved to England—partly to be closer to my Swedish family, and partly so I could pursue further education in the animal behaviour field. Three years later, I graduated with First-Class Honours Degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare from the University of Chester. It was during my studies that I realised my passion was in working with companion animals, so while studying my degree I also earned a Certificate in Dog Training Theory.

My background in both human psychology and animal behaviour has given me a unique ability to understand both animals and the people who love them. This enables me to guide and support both pets and their guardians, helping them thrive and enjoy the best possible life together.

Work Experience & Expertise
During my time in England, I had the privilege of working with respected organisations like the RSPCA and Guide Dogs, which further fuelled my passion for animal welfare. Upon returning to Australia, I spent several years in Melbourne running puppy schools, obedience classes, and offering private consultations to help dog owners tackle challenges ranging from barking and aggression to loose lead walking and nipping.

After the birth of our second child, we decided to move back to Adelaide, where I had the incredible opportunity to work alongside Behaviour Veterinarians at Adelaide Vet and Pawly Understood. This experience taught me how to assess and treat mental health conditions in both dogs and cats, such as separation anxiety, aggression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. My time working with fearful and overwhelmed pets and their families sparked my passion for helping them live more peaceful, balanced lives. This experience ultimately led me to focus on dogs and cats with special needs when I started my own business, making their well-being my central mission.

While I have experience with a broad range of behaviour challenges, my areas of expertise include:

  • Aggression

  • Lead reactivity

  • Fear and anxiety

  • Managing the dynamics between dogs and young children

  • Snake avoidance


Continuing Education
My commitment to the well-being of pets and their families drives me to continually expand my knowledge and refine my approach.
I believe that effective training should always be fun and humane, and I strive to stay at the forefront of best practices. I regularly attend conferences and seminars, including the Aggression in Dogs Conference, the Resilience Rainbow Seminar, and the Border Collie Summit. In 2023, I completed Karen Pryor’s Snake Avoidance Course and became a certified Family Paws Parent Educator through Family Paws. Additionally, I’m proud to be a certified dog trainer through the Pet Professional Guild. My current focus is completing the Aggression in Dogs Master course, led by the world-renowned expert Michael Shikashio.

At Paws & Reward, you can trust that you’re receiving expert guidance from a qualified professional committed to delivering the best training and results for both you and your pet.

Ready to start your journey toward a happier life with your pet?

Training Approach

My training philosophy begins with kindness to both people and animals.  No one will be punished for not knowing what to do or making mistakes. My focus is on helping you understand what your dog or cat wants and needs, while also equipping your pet with the skills he or she needs to be comfortable and happy in your family. The goal is for you and your pet to enjoy fulfilled and enriched lives together.  

My training focuses on three areas to achieve behaviour change: management, relationships and training.

  • Management: This involves short and long term strategies that will set your pet up for success. Importantly, management helps prevent problems from developing or getting worse over time.

  • Relationship: refers to the pet-owner relationship being a partnership rather than being viewed as one party dominating another. I teach the animal the important rules for living in the household, and I teach owners how animals communicate and learn. This helps to strengthen the human-animal relationship so that both parties can live happily together without fear and intimidation.

  • Training: I use positive reinforcement training because research has consistently shown it to be the most effective way to teach an animal the desired behaviours and learn new tasks. Positive reinforcement involves reinforcing desirable behaviours and ignoring, redirecting or preventing undesirable behaviour. This training strategy makes any situation better because it fills in the gaps for your pet on what you want her or him to do instead of what you don't want her or him to do. To do this, we’ll use anything your individual pet would welcome more of (food, toys, attention, petting, etc.). Behaviour you like is matched with things your dog likes. Everyone wins!

I don’t have a use for choke chains, electric collars or any other equipment that requires the dog to fail in order to serve its purpose of “correcting”.

Testimonials

  • “I have just finished Lena's puppy college with my 6 month old pup Nina. Lena's advice and training was incredibly helpful. She was organised, patient and kind, answering all of our questions and still managing to get through a wealth of information. Each session we were provided with extensive notes that I have used to keep my husband up-to-date with the training, and can go back to to remind myself of the tips & tricks. Lena's positive training approach worked so well that even my 15-year-old reactive terrier has benefitted. Nina is now walking with a loose lead, has awesome recall at the park, and doesn't jump up on guests when they arrive (all things I wanted to improve on before I started the course). I have no hesitation in recommending Lena with five stars. Thank you so much.”

    -Lara and Nina

  • “We have had the pleasure of working with Lena across two entirely different circumstances – private classes for an anxious dog and puppy college with our newest addition. Lena’s depth of knowledge, experience and dedication to her craft is a cut above the rest. Lena’s guidance has helped me undo the common misconceptions about puppy and dog training and has seen me develop into a confident puppy/dog owner. I highly recommend Paws and Rewards and look forward to future courses, such as snake awareness training.”

    -Abby

  • We loved training with Lena. She is patient, kind and her lessons are well structured and explicit. She communicates clearly and explains the reasons behind dog behaviour, making it easy to understand. We gained a lot from her wealth of knowledge and experience. We would highly recommend.

    -Sarah and Cookie