Dog training reviews

I have 3 dogs. A Bernese Mountain, an Old English Sheepdog and a Cocker Spaniel. The Cocker is a rescue who was abused by his previous owners for the first 2½ years of his life; the Sheepdog is 2 years old and the Berner is now 1 year old but was 7 months old when Glenda first started working with him. I got Glenda because the Berner always barked and slobbered over the Cocker when anyone came into my house and it was making Jake crazy and me crazy too. Jake ended up soaking wet and he basically ignored Elvis when he did this to him. Jake is the alpha dog and Elvis wants to be the alpha. Glenda tried all the exercises that work for most dogs who have similar issues and none of them really worked for more than one try. She eventually brought in another trainer from Bark Busters and the two of them found that nothing worked for any length of time. They both said that they'd never seen such a stubborn dog in all the years that they've been trainers. The other issue was that Elvis refused to walk on a leash. Glenda did get him walking, and he did very nicely on the leash. He will only walk now when another of my dogs goes with him, at least to start, and he does walk well. We are still working on getting Elvis to walk alone on a leash and I am certain that Glenda will find a way to do this very soon. He is improving on this issue. We have shortened the time that Elvis bothers Jake when people come into my house; instead of slobbering and barking at him for 20 minutes or so he now does it for 5-10 minutes, so we're making progress on this issue. The walking issue we will work on again so that he will walk alone, without one of the other dogs with him. Glenda has been truly wonderful to work with and all my dogs like her. She is very positive in her approach to them and in her training methods, and this has worked out quite well. I would certainly recommend Glenda to other people in need of dog training and in fact have made such a recommendation. We will continue to work together and I appreciate that she's willing to do this. Next week she is coming very early in the morning to walk with me and my Sheepdog who needs some training while walking. I'm sure that we will be successful with her training process. I have had dogs all my life and have used a number of trainers, both in classes and privately one on one. Glenda is, by far, the best trainer I've ever had. She has many more methods of working on various issues and is very patient with both me and my dogs. I wouldn't hesitate to get her if/when I ever got another dog. I have never gotten any of the other trainers I've used in the past for more than one dog, so just the fact that I would get Glenda again is quite an endorsement. She is a terrific trainer and a very nice woman. THANK YOU GLENDA!! Permalink

Dexter is a good dog but was scaring my friends when they came over. Hair up and barking at them. He started to nip at people and I had to do something. I talked to my vet who recommended Amy and Bark Busters. I was surprised to find out how much I did not know and am glad I did this. Dexter stopped barking immediately and relaxed. Amy even had my friend who was barked at come over and Dexter did not react. He stayed next to me and was uninterested. I still practice and months later he is still uninterested. Thank you Amy for saving Dexter. Permalink

Both trainers answered all of our questions and even stopped to explain techniques more than once. We were very apprehensive at the start and skeptical about the outcome, but at the end our dogs were calm and so were we! We were happy to know that we could correct their behavior without using violence or extreme force. We've owned many dogs and have always had a pack - it was nice to know that we could learn so much more. We would absolutely recommend this training. June and Colin were on point, friendly and communicated well with both our family and dogs. Permalink

Excellent. Permalink

I rarely take the time to leave reviews. In this case, I felt the need to say something. I was referred to Mark through a colleague. I really didn't take the plunge until I did some research. I finally came the conclusion for the price, service, and guarantee it was worth a shot. I have to say we are completely satisfied with the results!!! Our 6 month old beagle puppy is under control. She will 1. Sit 2. Stay 3. Go down 4. Go to her kennel 5. Follow us around the house (not take the lead) 6. Will stay and wait until we ask her eat or go to her food bowl 7. Doesn't rush to the front door when the bell rings, she follows us then waits at a designated spot and does not move until we release her. (1-7 are all without a leash. She was initially trained with a leash but now she listens with or without the leash.) 8. Follows us during walks on leash, again will not take the lead 9. Walks on the treadmill - Great for when winter/rain is present I can go on but will stop here . . . The techniques we learned were safe, effectively, and non-harmful to our puppy. Through the techniques she understands we are the leaders and after that everything really just fell into place. Just one of the techniques I shared with a colleague has all of his five dogs adhering to all his major commands. I am a hero to him at work. His dogs were grown and already set in their ways. He had them transformed in just one evening. To reiterate, I just shared one technique! As for Mark, who has been the main POC for training, he is supportive and encouraging in all situations. You truly feel he is there to help without judgment. He fully understands each client is coming in with a certain level of knowledge and does a good job to bring you up the right level of understanding how to accomplish your training goals. Yes, I said your training goals. In addition to the 'standard' commands, we had a list of thing we wanted our puppy to do and we have completed the list. I have recommended Mark to others and will continue to do so. If you follow their instructions and just spend a 10/15 minutes each day with your dog you will see the results. I encourage you to 'shop' around and compare prices, referrals, convenience of training times and location, not to mention the guarantee. You will find this will be your best option. I wish Mark continued success! Permalink

Laura came in and observed my three, less than well-mannered, dogs and assessed them and me correctly. She began to show me how to work with methods that capitalized on "dog" mentality. By the end of the session Loki, Libby, and Daisy were all responding to the training techniques. (Although as Laura said, I think it did rock my timid Daisy's world - she put herself away and passed out after training). After Laura left I went out and ran some errands. When I returned, I had no problems keeping them back from the door, and even though they were all excited there was no jumping up. I'd thought I'd test out the techniques on the hardest one, Libby. I took them outside and I trimmed some tree branches, and dragged them out to the burn pile. A few low bahhs was all that was needed for Libby just to walk beside me, when previously she would have been jumping up on me, and playing keep away with branches. Daisy was even able to enjoy some Frisbee. I know it will take consistency and a commitment to practice on my part, but if these are the results you can achieve after one session, I can only imagine with more work and practice will bring. Thank-you Laura!! Permalink

Jack Knudsen came out to work with our pack of dogs on a variety of issues from door-barking to inter-dog aggression to recall when off-leash. He was very positive and kind to the dogs and to the humans! By the end of the first 2 hours we had the [nine] dogs staying back away from the door so that we could let people in, we had the 2 dogs that hate each other laying within 5 feet of each other in a relaxed manner, and we had learned some distance-training. Jack is very knowledgeable about dog behavior and ways to get everyone to speak a language they understand. We look forward to our "homework" with our dogs and to working with Jack in the future. I would definitely recommend him for anyone that is having issues with a dog (or many!). Permalink

We were very pleased with John Sullivan. We learned a few things and we're looking forward to our next session. Permalink

Very well done. Noticing results every day! Very pleased and very interesting. Very affordable and great results. Love that it is a lifetime guarantee!! Permalink

Very understanding. I was very impressed by Brie's behavior. Very much enjoyed the training experience. Permalink