Client Reviews and Testimonials

I have a four year-old rescued Staffie, Mona. Mona is a beautiful, loving, very smart dog, but she has two problems: she has a very strong prey drive, and she enjoyed dragging me along on her leash. After a lot of research and consulting with my vet, I called Bark Busters. James came to my house for our first lesson. I realized that he was training me to train HER. After my lesson, Mona and I had a little homework - a few exercises that took less than 10 minutes a day. When we had those down pat, our second lesson involved teaching me how to walk with her and deal with any issues that arose. I'm going to paste an email that I wrote to James last week: "Good morning!I had to report that during our morning walk, Mona and I hit the absolute sweet spot for a little while. It was right after a dog crossed our path, and all she did was whimper a little bit and keep walking. Then for a good minute or so, we were walking in perfect harmony - I didn't even feel the leash in my hand! I didn't have to look at her; she was in the perfect spot and our walking was perfectly coordinated. Even when we saw Smokey the cul-de-sac cat (the killing of whom is Mona's primary mission in life), again, all she did was whimper and keep walking. It was great!! I thought you'd like to know. Thanks! Michele" Permalink

Wonderful first training session, My husband and I were really having a hard time with our puppy and David has given us tools to help with Charlie's behavior. He was very professional and we noticed a change in his behavior within hours. I am very impressed with the style of training and am so glad we chose Bark Busters! Permalink

The training was great Rebecca's response was relaxed . You folks also trained us in a very logical way. We will have no problem reinforcing the lesson. Thanks Permalink

I would recommend Bark Busters. I found the training experience to be both interesting and enjoyable. Permalink

Wrigley and Paisley responded very well to the training techniques from the first session. BAH is a GREAT strategy and works so well! We can see that they are happier and so are we! Permalink

Lee's training has been absolutely outstanding. Our dog, Pippa, is a very smart Border Collie. As a puppy, she was also very strong-willed and was resistant to our instruction. From the moment Lee entered the house, Pippa responded to him in a way that we knew meant he could help us train her. Lee has always been there for us, responding in-person and via e-mail, ready to answer questions and address our individual needs. As a result, we now have an amazing two year old dog. She is sweet, eager to learn, and a delightful member of the family. She has been absolutely amazing with the grandchildren, 4 years to 18 months. She always responded appropriately, despite them being in her face, chasing her around the house, and playing tug-of-war. She was never aggressive at all, and the kids grew to appreciate her even more than on earlier visits. They are learning to treat a dog appropriately through her reactions. She instantly transitioned from demure and passive with the toddlers to frisky and playful with our son, then, instantly transitioned back to toddler mode. Permalink

Ruth Skinner was very professional and friendly. She accomplished dramatic results in less than two hours. Jesse was a sweet, friendly dog most of the time but she was beginning to show indications of territorial possessiveness. Jesse needed to know that I was in in charge as much as the males in the household. She also jumped all over everyone entering the house because she was so happy to greet everyone. Obviously, not all visitors shared her enthusiasm. The change in behavior, while Ruth was here, was remarkable. Permalink

The techniques were very easy to comprehend. The time flew by and Jack responded very well to the therapists. The therapists had a good attitude, pleasant personality and knowledge of the Bark Busters program. Permalink

Great overall experience with Joann. She is professional and has a lot of knowledge. Our puppy Chance seems to respond well to her and now listens to our commands. We enjoy working with Joann and listen to all our feedback and ways to make Chance a better puppy. Permalink

We called Marlene, Howard & Brandon for our very excited and high energy, Wheaten Terrier puppy. We had previously taken her to dog training classes where she learned some tricks; however, we didn't have the tools to correct bad behavior or help minimize barking, nipping and jumping. We were also expecting a baby in six months and were concerned her puppy energy would lead to issues with the baby. The Chicago Bark Busters team came out and discussed with us the approach and how we as humans had to change how we disciplined our dog and helped understand as a dog, how she interprets the world around her. This was incredibly helpful information that we rely on every time we interact with her. They then listened to our concerns and taught via hands on training how to correct our dog's behavior. Marlene was incredibly calm and our dog really responded. We started seeing results that day. Chicago Bark Busters gave us homework and training exercises to do with our dog in the weeks between their visits. It was amazing how quickly our dog responded to the exercises and how much calmer she became. We still have to work with our dog daily but we now have the tools to train her in a way she will listen. The baby came and our dog is a completely different puppy. She is calm and gentle around the baby and has stopped much of the bad behavior. We are all so much happier and owe it all to Bark Busters! Permalink