Howard, Marlene & Brandon Marks dog training reviews

The two issues that were the most problematic got cleared up right away. It seemed like a miracle! Howard and Marlene are such a pleasure to work with and have been extremely helpful. We continue to practice with our dogs and are beyond satisfied with the results! We called Bark Busters when our two-year-old dog was shivering so badly not only during thunder storms but just rain and then even before the rain began. Neither The Thunder Shirt nor Prozac helped at all so our vet recommended Bark Busters. We were coached to completely change how we interacted with our dogs, demonstrating that we are the ones in charge. They taught us to stop their barking, stop their pulling on their leash and much, much more. Suddenly because we were showing that we were in charge, our younger dog felt safe with us and completely stopped shivering during numerous rainy days that we've had. It seemed miraculous. Marlene and Howard have been so helpful and easy to work with. They have been to our house 3 times and we can call them anytime for life. We are so thrilled we can't say enough! Peggy B. Evanston Permalink

We were losing our minds trying to train our 1 year old Shepherd Mix, Stanley. We had trained him through private and group treat based training and felt that although he was learning the desired tasks initially, once transferred over into the house and long-term, he would not cooperate without treats. It was evident that Stanley did not respect us, specifically my husband, and we needed help. After our first training session, we saw immediate results. As we continue to train Stanley at home, we love the fact that we can call Marlene, Howard, or Brandon for any help and are not pin-holed to complete our training in a set number of weeks or sessions. Although Stanley still has a lot of growing up to do and more training, we are truly happy with choosing Chicago Bark Busters for our training. We just wish we would have known about them before any other training we had signed up for. Thank you Marlene, Howard, and Brandon. We will be calling soon to setup a follow-up training session! Permalink

Howard and Marlene were very helpful with our dog. She has been having issues with being fearful/protective when guest are in our home. They explained everything in a way that made sense and gave us the tools we had been missing to help solve our problem. Permalink

I have only had 2 sessions with Marlene and Howard so far, but I've found that they are very sweet to my dog despite her stubbornness/ spazziness and have a solid understanding of what makes her anxious, badly-behaved, and sometimes aggressive. The exercises they've given me to work with my dog to establish my "in-chargeness" have been very helpful and I can see that my pup is more at ease around the home these days, even with visitors. Permalink

Our dog was a rescue that we were asked to give a home to. Fortunately the previous owner hired Bark Busters to help us because when we took the dog it bit me the first day and was very nervous. After the first session with BB and me doing to the letter what they said to do the change has been amazing. The dog has almost completely adjusted to us. I was amazed that the two trainers, Marlene and Howard, were so marvelous at picking up the solution to the problems in such a short period of tim.e Plus they are both gracious helpful positive and bright. I recommend them WITHOUT any hesitation Permalink

I received the information about Bark Busters from my vet in Chicago. I had just moved to an apartment which allowed pets, but since Buddy was a rescue (I had adopted him 9 years ago), he reverted back to his seperation anxiety. Everytime I left him, he would bark and scratch at the door. The neighbors began to complain, and, although it made me heartsick, I realized for both of our sakes, I couldn't keep him. Due to my new life situation, I was unable to spend the necessary time to help him adjust and receive the attention he was used to. Through good friends, I found a perfect home for him in my old familiar neighborhood. The couple is retired and are dog owners, but may soon lose their 18 year old blind and deaf dog. The husband spends many hours at home reading but likes to take the dogs out for walks. His wife is very supportive and is a very warm, caring person. Again, because of Buddy's difficult rescue history he had to overcome his fear of men. He went back to survival mode and snapped at him. A bond with a man was foreign to him. He had been rescued by a female (me) when he was about 1 years old. It was so important for me to see this new family succeed, so I hired the Bark Busters. I obtained the new owner's permission, followed by a detailed discussion with Marlene about Buddy and our situation. She was very open, honest and clear about the cost and arrangements. Marlene contacted me after the session and gave me a detailed account. She felt that Buddy's new owners were receptive and desirous of learning how to help all of them adjust to each other. I have also felt comfortable calling Marlene with questions. It was indeed a very wonderful outcome. I recieved a photo from the new owners with Buddy laying on the sofa next to them, sound asleep. This picture gave me so much comfort and helped with my painful grieving process. Thank you, Bark Busters, for your amazingly positive and efficient methods. The new owners are thrilled with Buddy and I can now move forward with complete relief and less guilt and fears. I obviously highly recommend the Bark Busters! Permalink

We have a 5 year old Schnauzer/Poodle mix that had developed some serious barking and aggression problems. Howard and Marlene Marks used the Bark Busters training techniques to resolve the issues with our dog. We saw immediate behavior changes within a week. After several months, her behavior is much improved. The training has made an ENORMOUS difference! Permalink

In a panic with a new puppy, I reached out to Marlene and Howard at Bark Busters, who responded to me immediately and with much support and guidance. They provided initial training, followed up with check-in phone calls, and, when I unfortunately had to bring my puppy back to the breeder due to lifestyle challenges, they listened to my concerns, offered sympathy and understanding, and were nice enough to provide me a full refund despite having already worked with me for several hours. When I venture out to select a puppy again in the future, I will consult Marlene and Howard before I do anything else, and I will schedule our first meeting for my puppy's first week. They treated me with kindness, warmth, and respect, and I look forward to the day I get to work with them in training the puppy that is meant to be mine. Permalink

Howard and Marlene are amazing trainers. They have an innate ability to understand dogs and guide them to appropriate behavior. Thanks to their training, our puppy Millie is dramatically better at interacting with our children gently, and coming when called. They have also helped us get rid of annoying behaviors like begging during mealtimes, and jumping. Millie went from being a bit difficult to being a wonderful member of our family as we applied their techniques. They accomplished all this with a gentle approach, which was important to us. Howard and Marlene sincerely care about the dogs they train, and are very accessible and service oriented. I have already recommended them to friends, who have had similarly good experiences. Permalink

I’m so so grateful for Bark Busters. After our move to Chicago, my dog, Jojo was barking constantly and was very anxious most of the time. We had one session with Marlene and I was amazed at all the positive changes he was making. Marlene taught me how to communicate with my dog in his language. Permalink