Client Reviews and Testimonials

Our only regret is that we did not call Lynne from Bark Busters the minute we brought home our new dog from the Humane Society. Buddy was an abandoned, neglected dog that started out very friendly and loving, but once he became comfortable in our environment, he became aggressive and overly protective to the point that we couldn't have anyone over to our house without fear of them being bitten by our dog. I knew that the usual training programs from Petsmart or the Humane Society wouldn't work on the specific problem we were having, as Buddy responded to heel, sit, stay, etc. rather well. This was something deeper that we assumed was related to his past experiences with his former owner. We were very frustrated and felt we might have to surrender the dog since we couldn't deal with his behavior. Based on their website and other reviews, it seemed that Bark Busters could be the ones to help. Lynne came out and sat down with us, discussed how the program would work, and observed Buddy's behavior. She was able to discern that Buddy, who is a Alaskan Malamute/ Lab mix, had a very strong need for a "pack" environment, and needed a strong owner to lead his behavior. He was not getting enough leadership from us, so he felt he had to take over and be the boss. Thus the assertive, often dangerous reactions to strangers to protect his pack. Lynne required that we learn to be commanding and confident in our interactions with him, as he was constantly protecting his home and neighborhood from other people and other dogs, which was natural to him. Lynne worked with us many weeks (at several weeks more than the typical client, I am sure) and was determined to help us, as she saw that Buddy could be a great pet and companion. She worked with us in our home environment, at local parks and public places, to further evaluate Buddy's reactions. Our program was definitely tailored to us and our dog. Lynne also showed us how some of our ignorance about dog behavior (first time dog owners!) led us do things that confused and frustrated Buddy, and eroded our leadership role in his eyes. We now have a dog that is loving to us, and accepting of our extended family in our home. He looks to us for direction, and we know how to give it to him. Whenever we have a question, Lynne is available and responds within hours to our questions. She even helped us find the right leash for him, since he is a immense puller (sled dog!) on walks and needs something to help curb his overpulling tendencies. One of the most important things we learned is that training your dog; is an ongoing process - you can't expect a quick fix for deep-seated issues like our Buddy had. But Lynne worked VERY patiently with us to help us see that Buddy could be helped. Permalink

Karen was very thorough and answered all of my questions. There were some results after the first lesson which surprised me, I didn't expect to see results immediately. I was very pleased with the all natural training methods. I don't believe in hitting my dogs, so I liked this method. Karen is extremely interesting and she made it very enjoyable. She's very good with the dogs and great with the training techniques. Bark Busters is a solid program with positive reinforcement and I like the lifetime support guarantee! I love Karen and her energy. She makes me feel comfortable and she is very good with teaching me the techniques and very patient. I hope she stays my trainer forever! Permalink

The training techniques were very clear. Taio is much calmer and better behaved. I got far better results than with treat training! I would absolutely recommend Bark Busters and already have! Permalink

It was actually fun to see Maggie's quick response to Mark's training. I would never have believed it could be so easy to get her to stay. Effective very quickly. Explained logic behind techniques well. Mark was very helpful. It's great that I can continue to contact him if I have questions. Permalink

Will have more comments as we get further into training, but I feel that it really works in many ways. Permalink

Rachel was amazing with our dogs. We are looking forward to training them. Life is already so much better! If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe how quickly training helped. Permalink

Pleased with training. Results better than we anticipated. Permalink

Bark Busters is a common sense system that is easy to follow! Permalink

My one year old daschund mix was the perfect example of a dog that had trained his owners before Keith came into our home. Domino had charmed us with his cuteness and took over our house!!! Furniture was ruined, shoes were in the trash... Our home looked like a tornado had hit it by the end of the day and we didn't know how to improve our puppy's manners. Keith knew exactly what the problem was before he even met our family and he came into our home with sensible solutions. He taught us in a calm, authoratative but unjudgemental manner how to show Domino we were boss and not him. Although our puppy Domino was not the most poorly behaved dog, he was certainly cramping our lifestyle and there is no worse feeling than getting annoyed and fed up with an animal you love and not knowing what to do. Thanks to Keith, we have become Dominos leaders and we enjoy our puppy much more than ever before. I would recommend Bark Busters to anyone, and Keith is Great !!!! Permalink

WOW! We were having an impossible time with our puppy biting us. After Lisa explained things through our puppy's eyes and showed us techniques, Sherman stopped biting! YEA! We have already shared info with others because the program seems so NATURAL. We are a gentle family and the natural training techniques are going to work for us. VERY PROFESSIONAL. We appreciate the follow-up reminders, too. Permalink