I need to start by saying I was skeptical. Not about Jeri or Bark Busters, but about Bentley, my almost 2 year-old Golden Retriever.
Bentley is a great dog. A little rambunctious as young Goldens are and very smart. The training we have done on our own has been very successful. We've been dog owners for a long time and most of the tried & true methods have worked. Additionally, this was not our first Golden. We thought we knew what to expect.
Walking, however has been miserable. This has been so bad that it was becoming an undesirable chore to walk our dog. Our other dog, Lilah was even starting to pick up bad habits on the walk with Bentley, so the entire situation was degrading quickly. We tried every command, multiple leashes, different styles of walking mixed with positive and negative reinforcement and nothing worked or at least progress was always minuscule and short-lived. We were ready to try anything and spend anything to resolve the situation.
We already knew of Bark Busters through local professional relationships and we decided to give Jeri a call. We explained everything that was going on and she said she could correct this behavior in one session. Here is where my skepticism kicked in. I know this dog. He likes to test and push on the leash. He wants to dominate the other dog, chase squirrels and try to 'herd' the walker when he wants to go see something.
Jeri came to the house. She took a few minutes to get to know Bentley. From the moment she walked up our driveway, he was excited to see her like she was returning home from college. He had never met her before.
She talked to him, talked to us and then we did some practice inside the house using a different style of collar and new commands with a mix of verbal tones. Within minutes Bentley began to respond. I was amazed. We took our training outside and began to work there using our normal walking route including all the favorite spots to stop and meet the local kids, favorite dog areas, etc. It was like night and day.
Next we came up on two usual problem areas.The deer path and the basin. I thought to myself, here is where we are going to go south. Let's see how Jeri handles this. NO PROBLEMS. Reinforcement of the techniques we had learned mixed with a stern but not mean demeanor and Bentley was a changed dog.
Still, after all that, I was not ready to write this review. I thought, let's see what happens when Jeri is not here. Well, as you can see, I am writing the review. He and I still have a little work together to understand our tones and commands but I have to say, this is now a completely different and enjoyable experience walking my best friend. The last walk we took was actually a walk and not a contest! My arm is still in the socket and Bentley is no longer foaming at the mouth and panting from over excitement, pulling and exhaustion.
This has been well worth the time and dollars spent, which were very reasonable and I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you are having the same problem, do not hesitate to give Jeri a call. Well done and thanks.
Permalink
Bark Busters dealt with Pulling
