Justin Scher dog training reviews

Justin is a lifesaver! With two beagles use to their own acre to roam in Washington, coming to San Diego (for my husbands work) and living in an apartment is a difficult transition. After researching trainers in the area, I settled on Bark Busters. We first met with Justin in 2012, and he helped us get control of our energetic beagles. Forget about taking them on walks, just taking them out to go to the bathroom was a nightmare! I was near tears on a daily basis. Noses to the ground they'd work themselves up into a frenzy. Heaven forbid if we actually saw another person or dog! Desperate I contacted Justin. In our first training session, within five minutes of the dogs being outside on a leash, he had them calmly walking around our apartment complex! I was not expecting that kind of improvement so quickly! Socializing them with other dogs took some time but with every training session we saw improvement in leaps and bounds. Being consistent when he's not around is key! Now two years later we're back down here for work again, and our dogs are great in the apartment, and with people.. But they were struggling with socializing with other dogs again. So I called Justin and set up a training for the following week. He remember the boys and was genuinely excited to see them. This just showed me his love and passion for what he does. We met and he showed me some new training techniques, and now my beagles doing so much better! It's nice to have a trainer on hand who is always willing and able to help! Permalink

Thank you for bringing Justin into our lives! I pride myself on researching restaurants/Services. In this case I didn't know anyone that used Justin before. So I was flying solo! As a proud french bully owner it was hard for us to admit "We have a problem" which is Step 1. Step 2. Acknowledging that we needed help from a "higher dog power" A.K.A. Justin from Bark Busters. :) Once I narrowed it down to a trainer with great reviews we were ready to spend the cash and he has been worth every penny! Friends and family come over and they say "he is such a calmer pup" that was just after one training session!! No joke the training Techniques work and we are still in the process of correcting a few things but it's been amazing! Otis respects me and looks to me for direction and he is a much better sibling to his frenchie brother Mojo. I cannot wait til I am 100% stress free on a leash with my lil crazy frenchie! I love him even more and I am grateful to Justin for helping us with our lil furry child. Permalink

I've had my dog Beamer since he was a puppy. He has always been an absolute sweetheart, but he had a lot of behavioral problems. My dog was, dog aggressive, would bark at anything that would walk by our porch, he would try and eat his leash, he would pull on his leash so bad that he has actually made me fall down the stairs and pulled me down. I was at my ultimate lowest when he tried to attack and kill two dogs at the dog park, I was lucky that he was wearing his muzzle. I was so absolutely stressed, and overwhelmed and scared. I was terrified taking my dog out to go to the bathroom, I was terrified that something bad was going to happen and I would have had to put down my best friend. At Beamer and I's all time low, my mom found justin. Beamer and I have only had one session so far, and got the lifetime guarantee. But all I can say is he is wonderful! I saw improvement in my dog with the first 45 minuets. I was able to walk him around the neighborhood with a loose leash, and him staying right by side. His attitude has changed, he is back to being my sweet boy I used to know. Earlier today he watched another dog walk by on the porch and did nothing about it. This morning I've been able to leave the sliding door open to my porch, while dogs have been walking by, and he has continued to stay by me instead of running out their and barking. This was all in the first session! I'm so happy to see such improvements in my best friend. I'm very excited to see what the future holds for me and Beamer and I look forward to more sessions! Thank you so much, justin! I recommend him to anyone that thinks that their dog is un-fixable, I thought mine was, and now I finally have hope! Permalink

In a nutshell, Justin is the best. My house had hit rock bottom with my two female dachshunds. They took sibling rivalry to another level. In 6 months, they fought twice - both instances resulted in two hospital visits, 20 stitches and $2,200 total in cost. I was heartbroken. Friends and family alike suggested rehoming one of my girls to prevent any further mishaps. As most dog lovers, I refused to let that happen. I went on Yelp to find the best damn trainer I could find. And I did - Justin. We purchased the lifetime program from Barkbusters. On Day 1, Justin came over, assessed the problem, and corrected it in 2 hours. He was patient, informative, and pretty damn magical. Our girls haven't shown any signs of aggression towards eachother since Justin's FIRST visit. On TOP of not fighting, they no longer bark at the front door, fight over attention, or jump on me. They were even the two worst dogs to walk...Probably in the history of mankind. Justin took 5 minutes to "reprogram" them and they've been a pleasure to walk ever since. See, magical! Permalink

I'm not one to ever really leave reviews about a service I have experienced, but I most definitely feel compelled to write about how amazing Justin is! I have a 2 yr old Pit Bull/Rottweiler mix that I adopted when she was 12 weeks old. I got her only five short weeks after my 24 yr old brother passed away in a car accident, so needless to say, this puppy has seen me at my absolute worst-I was withdrawn, depressed, silent, constantly crying, the whole nine. She's seen a lot of sadness in her short life and it was effecting her in a not good way. At the time I lived in Albany NY, but I soon realized I wasn't 100% capable of giving her the training and attention she needed, so she spent a lot of time with my dad out in the country on a farm-like setting...no structure, nothing...I could compare her behavior to that of a wild animal. As she got older, she began to show signs of severe dog anxiety-it became close to impossible for me to even walk her (she is extremely strong and I have a small frame and she has been known to knock me right off my feet before when she lunges)..anything that walked in her path, whether it be another human, another dog (forget about it-that was the worst), a bird, chipmunk etc-she would go wild and bark a loud, deep bark which would scare people...she would lunge at them, do circles around my legs and tangle me up in her leash, jump on people, cry, foam at the mouth, whimper, bark some more...I have had countless passerby's say "can't handle your dog, can you?" That really is one of the worst things to hear and is so discouraging. I would dread bringing her on walks for those reasons and would avoid having guests over. We all were suffering immensely. When I first adopted her I got the lifetime training package with Bark Busters and I am so extremely happy I did! When I relocated to San Diego, my trainer in NY referred me to Justin. I was literally at the end of my rope with my dog who I knew had so much potential. When he first met my dog he said she is just too sweet and would be a piece of cake. I remember thinking "what?! My dog, a piece of cake?!" But within a short hour and a half, he was able to bring out all of her best, sweet qualities that I knew she possessed and within minutes I was so unbelievably impressed. He is knowledgable, patient, and has such a calming presence. He instilled in me all the tips, tricks and tools I will need from now on to prevent any poor behavior from escalating, or even beginning in the first place. I would avoid dog parks and the dog beach at all costs for the sole purpose that I was terrified of how she would react in public, but after our first session I actually wanted to bring her to the beach around a ton of other dogs, so I did, and she was a perfect dog. I was so shocked! But at the same time I wasn't shocked at how perfect she is now, because Justin is THAT good. This is his passion and it shows. I couldn't be more pleased with his services; he is an absolute miracle worker and anyone that crosses his path with a dog that needs guidance will be so very happy that they did. Before I met him I was so fearful to walk my dog, and after spending less than two hours with him I look forward to it. He has transformed our lives and has erased so much stress~thank you Justin! Permalink

My 40 pound rescue dog's nickname in our complex was "Scary Harry". It was well deserved because he was an equal opportunity lunger and growler - he went after anything that moved. Walks were a nightmare and I was always worried he would get into a fight and bite another person or dog. People with dogs ran when they saw us coming. Harry also had separation anxiety and would bark and ate several doors and had the door frames for dessert. Our home looked like a beaver lived there. At the suggestion of our vet, I called Justin. He spent a long time at our home, helped me with the leash, a new harness, commands and many other things. I was very impressed with Justin's knowledge of dog behavior. He had many insights that other trainers did not. After two sessions, Harry now walks along quietly, does not lunge at anyone and is now friends with two dogs he previously terrorized. His new name is "Happy Harry". He can spend time alone without barking and tearing up our home. I am very thankful Justin came into Harry's life and would recommend to anyone who needs help with any dog issue. Permalink

I was on my last home study visit to be approved for adopting a child when my 15 year old Chihuahua-Terrier growled at and kinda tried to bite the social worker. My adoption was put on hold til I could fix the situation. So I called Justin at Bark Busters. It took a couple visits from Justin and some consistent practice on my part but within a couple months we passed the home visit with flying colors! I can't express my gratitude enough for his services. Not to get too maudlin, but I actually learned a bit about myself in the process. Justin's love for dogs is obvious and that is what made me so comfortable taking his advise. And - even more important - I think Roxy is a happier dog for it! This was a situation that could have gone ugly, but instead it turned out beautifully. Thank you thank you thank you Bark Busters! Permalink

When we decided to take on an adorable 9-week-old puppy (that would eventually weight more than us) we knew we were going to need some guidance. What we didn't realize was that most of the advice out there seemingly contradicted the next. Our heads started to spin as our little puppy, Alfred, started to grow. After trying many different methods that never quite felt right to either us or Alfred. We started our search for a personal puppy trainer. Yelp lead us to Justin at Bark Busters and the transformation began! Within 5 minutes of meeting Justin, we knew he was going to be the perfect match for us. He is genuine, kind and compassionate. He has an obvious connection with dogs and a real passion for his profession. We were so relieved to be given tools of non contact, non violent training. Our puppy never responded well to poking or physical correction but instantly surrendered to Bark Busters' techniques. Justin is truly committed to all aspects of his training. We have already taken full advantage of the "call me anytime" :) I am so glad he will be guiding us through a life time of Alfred's development. It has been worth every penny and more! Thank you, Justin, for being our life saver and Alfred's role model and best buddy! Permalink

Bark Busters has been AMAZING! I cannot tell you just how much I appreciate the talented and helpful staff at Bark Busters. I reached out to them about a month ago because I had a dog that was dog aggressive. I say "had a dog" because he no longer is outwardly aggressive and he is controllable, which has literally changed our lives! My lab mix, Walter, is 6 years old and he has been dog aggressive since he was about 6 months old. His behavior just got worse and worse as he got older and it got to the point where he would not just bark and growl at other dogs, but he would try to do any thing and everything he could to get to the other dog (even if the other dog was way down the street and even if he could not see the dog but could hear it somewhere in the distance) which included lunging, barking, crying/yelping, jumping, and even pulling me down to the ground. I got so fed up that I stopped walking him because it was such a stress not just on him, but on myself as well. I tried everything from different collars and halters that went over different parts of his body, to treats, to other distraction methods, to different vocal cues ... but nothing worked. Nothing helped. It just got worse and worse. I even tried group training at a local chain pet store but that did not help in the least. It was not until I met Justin with Bark Busters that I realized what the real cause of Walter's behavior was, what I was doing wrong with him and what I could do to fix it. Justin came to my house and clearly explained to me the root of the problems and what I could do to help Walter and myself. By the end of the first lesson, Walter was a much calmer and happier dog (in just that one hour!). After our first session, I diligently worked on my "homework" with Walter and the next time that I met with Justin at a dog park, Walter was a completely different dog. He was calm, relaxed, happy to be out and ignored all the other dogs around him. Walter will never be the "sociable type" but I can at least walk him without having to worry about him getting all worked up and potentially attacking another dog. This calming behavior has even crossed over to other areas that used to stress me (and Walther) out. For example, without even working on this directly, Walter started to relax during car rides. Before Bark Busters, he would pace back and fourth, cry the entire ride, bark at people and dogs on the street and just be a nervous wreck. Just by working on his other issues, Walter started to behave differently in other situations, like the car rides. He has calmed down and he even sleeps in the car now! He still has the same lovable personality that I fell in love with, but he is so relaxed and so happy all the time and looks to me for reassurance. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am with Bark Busters. They were worth every penny. The trainer, Justin, was absolutely amazing. He was professional, supportive, and clearly explained everything. Walther really liked him and even enjoys his training sessions. I will continue to use them (as they have a lifetime training guarantee) as needed and I can honestly say that this program has literally changed my life with Walter for the better! I highly recommend this company (and Justin) to anyone experiencing dog issues. Thank you Bark Busters & Justin! Permalink

After rescuing Bruce 4 years ago (7 months old pitbull/boxer mix) from the pound I realized the challenge I was up to was too hard to handle. Bruce's emotional damage was too deep and he was extremely scared of everything. He did not want to come out of the house. And his separation anxiety made him literally destroy my home. I was so desperate I even called Cesar Milan but I was ignored. When I saw Justin's brochure at the vet I decided to give it a try. Justin is exactly like all these reviews say: such a good guy with a deep passion for dogs and helping families be happy with their dog. I decided to buy the lifetime training for Bruce as this kind of problem is very slow to resolve and it takes lots of patience. Justin came to see us for several lessons. Also, I would call him every time I had a doubt and he was always there for us, after hour and weekends included. Needless to say, with Justin's help Bruce came out of his shell within a few months and today he is A PEFECT DOG! Moreover, Justin opened my eyes to a brand new way of looking at dogs and interacting with them. Now I feel like I understand better all dogs. Both my dogs, Bruce and Vasco, are simply perfect. Thanks to Justin's teachings, now I have a channel of communication with them. I recently called Justin to ask him for an advice (3 years later) and he immediately remembered me and Bruce like we saw each other the day before. Justin is genuinely concerned about dogs and I believe he has the skills to resolve most situations. He will help you if you are willing to work with your dog. Because after all, dog training is more for dog owners to understand how to communicate with their dog and how to be understood from them. It does take lots of love, time, work and dedication from the owner. Dog training does not exactly work with a 'magic wand' to fix issues immediately, but with Justin and a bit of work on your part, it sure works! Justin makes training fun and bonding with your dog. I enjoyed this experience and the results. All I can say is: thank you, Justin! Permalink