Expert In-Home Dog Training in Los Gatos & Morgan Hill, CA

...the change we have seen in Milo is incredible. Randy gave us the tools we needed to change Milo’s demeanor from a scared dog, to a confident dog. Thanks to Randy we have a closer bond with Milo, and I can trust him around other people and dogs. Eternally grateful to Randy!

Randy was great! Our 7 year old lab was really struggling after we lost our 11 year old lab late last year. She was barking at everyone, even other dogs. Hiding under things or behind us, lost her appetite, was pulling like crazy on her leash, and very anxious. My husband and I have had dogs all our lives and it was there so many things we didn’t realize. Randy was a wealth of information, support, and positive support. After just one training session, Lucy was more settled, responding, and walking without pulling. Honestly, we were amazed. We followed up with a diet change and Lucy is truly a different dog. What a difference! The results are worth the investment! It’s so much easier than traditional training too! No clicker, no treats, no nonsense. Just practical, positive guidance. Thank you, Randy!!

These guys are amazing. I got Randy and Jared, and they were both equally as amazing. After the first visit with Randy, 75% of all issues were taken care of. After Jared came a few weeks later the remaining 25% of problems we were dealing with were fixed. Since they left me with all the tools to continue practicing good behavior with my dog, none of the problems have resurfaced. The things they helped fix was: jumping on the people and on or doors, eating our other dog's food, recall, and walks. Getting my dog to go on walks was super important because she was terrified of leaving the driveway and I had no idea what to do about it. On the first visit Randy helped to get her more comfortable with being on the leash and being in front of the house. After the second visit with Jared she venturing out on walks with full confidence. Bark Busters really is incredible and they have amazing being working for them. I do recommend Bark Busters.

We contacted Barkbusters after a few serious aggression incidents, along with other general misbehaviors.

I was honestly shocked at how quickly Randy was able to evoke noteworthy change in our dog, from the moment he walked into the house.

I'm very happy with our experience and he has given us a new way to interact with our dog in a healthy and safe way.

Gusty came in and totally blew our minds. She gave us a great foundation for our 10 week old puppy and helped us feel confident in being able to train and manage. Really looking forward to more sessions!

Wow - Gusty is truly an incredible trainer and we saw significant improvements in our dog's behavior after just 1 session. My husband was hesitant about Bark Busters since we have tried so many different techniques with moderate success. But after Gusty left our house, my husband said "That was AMAZING!". We have a 3 year old pitbull (Moo) who is super smart and trainable, but we struggle to redirect her barking when guests come over/people come in our yard, she jumps on guests, and she has some leash reactivity. Gusty immediately tuned into Moo's needs and established her role as a trainer - truly training my husband and I to better train/support our dog. Using the Bark Busters harness, Moo is walking right next to us and is much calmer on walks. She is also responding well to respecting the front door as a "no go zone" and relaxing after she's notified us that there is a visitor. I highly recommend Gusty - we wish we would have found her years ago!!

Gusty has completely transformed both my life and my dog Benny's--after just two sessions.

Benny is a one-year-old mixed-breed rescue who had experienced significant trauma before I adopted him. When we started working with Gusty, we were dealing with several behavioral challenges: barking and biting, leash reactivity, and difficulty adjusting to my two resident cats--whom Benny felt the need to "protect" me from. He was also very territorial on walks, often lunging and snapping at anyone with an unusual appearance--people in big jackets, those with a unique gait, or wearing medical masks. He even reacted to other dogs wearing sweaters. On top of that, he had a habit of scavenging and displayed food aggression.

Gusty not only helped me see that Benny is an incredibly intelligent dog, but also gave me the tools and structure to bring out the best in him. With just a few consistent rules, Benny has blossomed into a calm, focused, and eager-to-learn companion. Thanks to Gusty's guidance:
- Benny no longer barks at people passing our apartment.
- He's calm and responsive on leash--no more lunging.
- He sits at crosswalks, comes when called, and no longer demands attention by barking.
- I no longer need to rely on endless chew toys or treats to keep him occupied.
- He drops trash when asked and responds beautifully to direction.
- Most importantly, our bond has grown stronger than ever.

While he still occasionally reacts to the cats' presence, he is MUCH calmer, only barks and them once or twice and then immediately goes to lay down after I tell him to. The fact that he can disengage from something that once distracted him so totally that I was concerned about his safety and the cats is actually incredible.

With Gusty's encouragement, I'm now excited to take things further--we're starting agility training, and I'm working on getting Benny comfortable in busier environments with the goal of certifying him as an emotional support animal so he can eventually travel with me.

Thank you, Gusty and the Bark Busters team! Your dedication to educating dog owners is inspiring, and the results speak for themselves. This has been one of the best investments I've ever made.

Thank goodness for Randy, or Burke may have ended up back at the shelter. I live in an apartment, and the neighbors were complaining about the incessant barking. Burke's separation anxiety and anxiety in general was off the charts. Thanks to Randy's methods, Burke is much calmer and can stay at home happily by himself. I really liked that it didn't involve prong collars or anything harsh. 10/10!

We adopted an adult dog in March, reached out to Bark Busters for information, and spoke with Paula, who was so generous with information that very first call. We got the training started, and have learned so much. We've been delighted with Paula herself, her training style, knowledge of what dogs are telling us, and seeing the results. She has made training fun and positive every time we meet, so much so that we've recommended Paula to several friends. Great experience, thank you.

I don't know what I would have done without Paula Hinz's help. In fact, I was thinking I might have to give up my dog for adoption, because he was not getting along with my other dog. In just one lesson, Paula taught me how to speak dog and position myself as the leader of the pack. I really liked there was no shock or prong collars. My only regret I waited so long!
Don't give up ... call Paula.

I got Gable when he was 18 months old. First time dog owner starting off with a Doberman Pinscher. I did my research for years, read books, watched dog training videos and we were doing pretty good I thought. Gable however was acting very aggressively around other dogs and I made little to no progress on my own, as a matter of fact things were getting worse. I started searching online for trainers and I stumbled upon Bark Busters. Middle of Covid, our first training was over zoom, and even so it was a game changer! I earned my dog's respect in 3 days and in return he did everything I asked of him. Our relationship got to a new level super fast. Soon he earned my unconditional trust and become a real family member. I got to a point with him that I can trust him off leash most of the time, too! We are still working on some dog reactivity, but the before and after can't even be compared. I started off with him pulling on the leash, and whenever he saw another dog I had to hold him back, and he would bark and be up his hind legs. Soon it toned down to staring (which we are still working on), and he never pulls on the leash, and he does everything I ask from him.

I'm truly grateful for Ms. Paula for helping me understand Gable's language, and giving me the best dog ever!

Paula has been an excellent, and very knowledgeable dog trainer. We started off with some Zoom meetings and have now moved to meetings at a dog park. I'm a first time dog owner and it hasn't been easy get all of my family on board with accepting our puppy, Taco. Paula has been wonderful in reinforcing and enhancing the Bark Buster training material. Specifically, the 1 on 1 training for programming/conditioning exercises have worked very well. Additionally, she is very understanding, patient, and a good listener in helping me overcome my challenges in being a dog owner. Our training lessons are not rushed and are most beneficial. For me and my dog Taco, we always look forward to our training sessions.

Night and Day Difference!
Paula was able to help correct our 10 month old golden doodle's behavior in a matter of weeks. He went from terrorizing our household to listening and respecting us. We were able to take down our stairway gate which allows him to spend more time with us. Bark Busters methods are incredible, I would highly recommend to anyone interested!

Paula is wonderful! It only took one session for her to show me how to work with my energetic 11 month old hound/ collie pup, Murphy! She went above and beyond because she is someone who cares deeply about helping to create a bond between owner and dog, and understanding how the relationship can benefit both. She reassured me, was attentive to my dog and his needs, and I already feel so much support from her! It takes a village, and Paula is the village!

Paula Hinz and Bark Busters have been a life saver for me and my little buddy DJ. Paula has a vast and comprehensive understanding of the dog and human relationship, possessing great effective training tools to improve the bond between the dog and owner. Paula's training approach goes beyond conventional "sit" and "shake" methods as she really understands the psychology behind a dog's actions and how it impacts and/or affects the dog's behavior. Through Paula's training, I have developed a strong leadership role with DJ, allowing him and I to navigate through this crazy human world of ours with confidence and success. Baaaah!!!

Paula has been an amazing asset to our household. We have 2 young Australian Cattle dogs (1 is deaf and the other was practically uncontrollable) and she has done an amazing job training us how to gain the role of leaders in our pack. Her extensive background in studying animal behavior gives her a true understanding of how we should be interacting with our dogs to gain their trust and respect. It’s not a program of treat rewards, but rather teaching us how animals react and perceive our behavior and giving us the tools to gain command of the household. In gaining the role of leaders, our dogs learned to trust us and respond to our commands. It’s no longer a constant battle with them, but now they look to us for leadership and guidance. We were beyond frustrated and having conversations about whether we would be able to live with these dogs. We had studied and read and searched for answers on how to train our dogs and get things under control. We had also worked with another trainer who was clearly not equipped to deal with the challenge of our dogs. Walter, our male is very dog aggressive and can also be this way with humans, as well. We could not even take him for walks as he would lunge and bark uncontrollably at every passing person and dog. He was even getting aggressive with us from time to time and it was coming to the point where we had no idea how he would react at any given time. We started working with Paula after the COVID shutdown and she suggested we get started right away using Zoom and Facetime. We had meetings to discuss our concerns and struggles and that would be followed by her doing virtual training sessions with us in our home and yard and eventually that lead to her going on walks with us with the dogs while she observed and guided us through facetime. I was skeptical of the thought of doing virtual training, but she has been amazing. With the ability to observe us with our dogs, she could immediately identify the problems because of her expert background in animal behavior. Paula give us the tools of how to adjust how we were interacting with them. We have now had the chance to work with her in person while social distancing at a local park where she continues guide us down path of understanding what our dogs need. Walter is now responding to our input and looking to us for guidance. He is a work in progress, but we are now taking him to the beach and on walks around our neighborhood and understand now how to get him in control when he has a moment. Our household is now peaceful, and our dogs are trusting us more and more every day! She is amazingly patient with all of our questions and concerns. Our sessions always start with a summary of how things are going since our last visit, and she uses that information to shape the session based on our input. What I am trying to say is, she does not have a program that based on a schedule and structure of a rigid path. She is always adjusting and tweaking to our needs and pace of our training. I would not hesitate to recommend Paula to family, friends and complete strangers. She is one of a kind and WILL help you to live a more peaceful life with your pets. Do not hesitate to reach out and meet with her. You will not regret the decision.

Recently rescued a pug puppy with leash aggression issues. Paula was great. By the end of the 2nd session we were able to walk by other dogs without lunging and barking. Completely exceeded our expectations. We are able to use several commands to take back control of the house and completely satisfied. Sam is much more at ease and is more relaxed.

We were hesitant about getting another dog in the first place, especially a puppy, but from the first time we saw Ammos pictures on the rescue website, he pulled at our heartstrings and our adventure began. Ok, if we are going to have another dog, it is going to be well trained. Found Barkbusters through internet search and thus began our real adventure of hands on training with our Barkbuster training professional, Paula Hinz.

Training a dog without treats?? You got to be kidding, right? Wrong. Paula started us off with the very basics and would always answer our texts or e-mails when we had an issue. We find Paula to be very knowledgeable not only on these new techniques, but more importantly on the application of them.

Progress seemed slow at first and then we began getting frustrated, but on our third training session something clicked and our dog went from sassy and disrespectful to submissive and sweet within 2 hours with Paula. We see hope for having a fully trained dog and are so thankful we found Barkbusters and especially Paula. She is a no holds barred trainer who dares to tell it like it is! Thanks Paula. Highly recommend Barkbusters to anyone who wants a dog that is nice to have around!!

We hired Paula to address any aggression our dog might express toward our new kittens. Paula not only took care of that, but she also helped the kitties feel more comfortable around him and not feel inclined to run from him.
If I could, I would include a photo of one of the many times Rocco has rubbed up against Shinto, or has been licked in the ear by him. They're adorable together.
Thanks so much Paula!
Julie and Fred
(And Freya, Rocco and Shinto)

Paula Hines is a excellent trainer. I have recommended her to other people many times. She helped me when I thought there was no help. I always say my Bubba (Boxer/Lab) was a wild child when I got him at 10 months old. She brought him around to be a sweet loving soul. No more going after my cat or fence fighting with the dogs next-door. Good manners are a must for a happy dog and mom. Since Paula trained Bubba I have added two more dogs to our family and she will be helping with them also.

We adopted our puppy Jesse back in March. We think he is part Chihuahua and part Corgi; both breeds tend to bark. Jesse had a tumultuous beginning. We believe he was separated from his mom at only 4 weeks. Apparently he and his brother also suffered from a skin disease before the shelter took him, and lost all his hair. He is a cutie, but we were unprepared for his issues when new people were introduced into his world. He would bark, nip and growl.

It was obvious that we needed one-on-one training without other dogs around. We found Paula and Bark Busters from doing an internet search. Our first session was on a Friday evening. She came to our home and taught us the Bark Buster training method. The following evening we were having a small dinner party with our children and their girlfriends. My son showed up and rather than being barked at, growled at and nipped at, he barked a few times and then cautiously accepted my son and his girlfriend. We were amazed. We did the training each day as Paula taught us, and Jesse has became a much happier puppy. We have become much happier doggie parents.

I enlisted Paula's aid as a result of a recommendation from my vet. I had a little yorkie whom I rescued 6 months prior and he would not stop attacking my cat, who is larger than he is. The moment Paula arrived at my home, he left the cat alone. She was amazing! It has been about 18 months since I enlisted Paula's aid, and my yorkie continues to leave the cat alone. Occasionally he gets in the cat's space and she hisses to let him know he needs to move on and I use the techniques Paula taught me, so we live peacefully. I especially like that Paula has regular dog walks with her clients where her training is reinforced and she can assist pet owners if she sees us getting lax. She is the best!

Paula Hinz is an expert dog trainer. She focused in on our dog's special training issues and did an excellent job of helping us solve them. This involved training us, as well! We highly recommend her!