Client Reviews and Testimonials

Logical, helpful, low key approach to working with dogs. Very informative and effective. Permalink

Michael Carr has been wonderful!! We had a bit of a stressful start with our Yogi Bear, a 1-year old lab mix we adopted in December. He is a very high-energy dog who had a problem with biting among a few other things (never vicious, but way too hard out of playfulness, frustration, boredom). We were at the point of wondering if we could be the right fit for this pup, so a professional coming to our home was almost our last hope. From the first visit, it was clear how much Michael really cares! He was very patient with both us and our dog, and he immediately picked up on our strengths and weaknesses as owners, as well as Yogi's individual needs. He has been nothing but positive and encouraging throughout! With the techniques and tools provided by Michael, we have almost completely stopped the biting, Yogi is doing better on leash walks, and Michael has even helped build our confidence in letting Yogi off the leash to burn off some energy and meet other dogs at the local dog park! It is a wonderful feeling to truly love and enjoy your dog without being stressed out by his constant biting, and we are immensely grateful that Michael was so helpful in getting us to that point! Permalink

Great job. Our dogs have never behaved so well! Permalink

Bark Busters, June and Colin, were friendly and easy to work with. We saw immediate results with our strong willed puppy. Permalink

Anne was great to work with and provided us with the tools necessary to help with my dog's behavior issues. Jake responded very quickly to the techniques and has shown great improvement. Permalink

My husband is sick and we were about to start 24 hour nursing assistance but my three amigos would attack the door and try to bite anyone who tried to enter. Their behavior had gotten worse as my husband continued to decline. Having 3 dogs one feeds off the others behavior. Bruce made a huge difference after the first visit. I have had nursing in the home for about 8 weeks. The dogs have settled into the routine but are still very protective of my husband. So we are still a work in progress. But it would have not been possible to have nursing in the home without Bruce"s help. Permalink

Jean was awesome! She did such a great job with our crazy Duke. He is the sweetest big dog and just needed to learn some good manners. Jean did the trick. The training is so nice because it is all about "speaking" dog and done within our own home. We also wanted one-on-one training where both my husband and I could learn together. This was a huge win for us. Duke now respects us and is a true joy to be around! The only thing we would have done differently was sign up for the lifetime help. With the cold weather in Minnesota we are finding we are not walking as much as we should so hopefully we can get Duke back into great walking form once it is above freezing. Thanks Bark Buster! Permalink

He was excellent after one session! He was like a new dog. Although it is us as the owners that had to enforce the change. The money up front is a lot but I believe worth it! Joanne is great and listened to our concerns. Would recommend to anyone. Permalink

Our family had had a dog before but we had gotten her after her puppy stage so we had no experience with puppies. Then we got Tuck and Gabbie who were 5 and 4 months old respectively, and had A LOT to learn. Even though they were the cutest dogs on earth they still needed to be taught good behaviors. Heaven sent us Michelle (actually we called Bark Busters...) Michelle has a vast amount of experience and explained and showed us the best way to control the pups. I am not the disciplinarian in our house but Michelle showed me how important it was to help control them and make them feel safe. My brother told me all a dog wants to be happy is one good non-confusing command and praise and love after successfully completing it. Michelle taught us the principles behind Bark Busters and the methodology for successfully training our dogs. Within days Tuck and Gabbie were adhering to our commands for not teething on my arms, going outside (calming the big excitement at the front door) and Gabbie not stealing Tuck's food and treats. Michelle is the epitome of calm which translates into calming the pups and helping them learn the tasks at hand. And she taught us all this. Even though we asked her to come live with us so the puppies would always be on their best behavior she declined and assured us that we would learn to be able to do it ourselves. And we did. After 3 visits we are in great shape and just KNOWING that we can call Michelle anytime for any reason gives us enough security and confidence. Every dog-owner should have a Michelle in their lives. Thank you Bark Busters and Michelle. Permalink

When I adopted my rescue Scout, she was so affectionate and gentle to me, wouldn't leave my side. I thought I found the most wonderful dog. After a day of getting comfortable, I wanted to walk her but she wouldn't leave the house. She only went to the backyard. When people came to meet her, she hid in the crate and became aggressive (growled, barked and nipped) if they got up too fast, or got too close to me. I began to worry if Scout was right for me, I was feeling like a prisoner. My children were coming home and I was worried Scout would go after them, which meant I would have to return her to the rescue. After much research and reccomendations from the vet and pet store, we found our savior, Greg Kleva. Greg knew if training didn't work Scout would have to be returned. That broke his heart and he promised he would do everything to keep that from happening. What I loved about his training is that he taught me how to train Scout. Scout's training is ongoing because of the abuse she survived. I will always have to be aware of how she perceives a situation. When my children came home Greg took the time to teach them how to deal with Scout. His dedication for a family to succeed is overwhelming. Greg has gone above and beyond my expectations of a behaviorist. Greg is professional, knowledgeable, caring, passionate, friendly and always available. All this still falls short of my feelings about what he brought to my family from the day he met Scout. It is always clear how much he loves and enjoys what he does. Greg has become a family member and never fails to go the extra mile for us. Scout is happy, calm and loving to everyone. Greg is one of Scout's favorite people and definitely mine too. Thanks a million Greg for helping us learn how to make Scout enjoy her life and bring so much to our family. Permalink