Expert In-Home Dog Training in Nation's Capital, Washington, DC / Maryland

If there was a "6 star" option, Andy with Bark Busters has been exactly that! Prior to engaging Andy, we struggled with walks (pulling and seeming aggression towards other dogs), barking & front door reactivity. To our surprise, both dogs made significant progress in only our first session, and it's just improved from there. We can now comfortably walk them without feeling like we need to turn in another direction when we see a dog and we've been able to move away from an over-reliance on treats for redirecting attention. While the investment (of both time and money) might feel like a lot upfront, we can say with absolute certainty that it's the best investment we've made in improving our relationship with our beloved pets. I hope we have the opportunity to recommend Andy to other dog owners with similar challenges :)!

Andy is fantastic. He really knows his stuff and is a pleasure to work with. I have two small dogs and Andy helped us a couple years ago. They regressed (due to our lack of discipline sticking to what Andy taught us) and he came back for a refresher. Very dedicated to his work!

Andy took our family from a place of nervous hope (having adopted a young pitbull from the local SPCA) to confident pride in our dog's ability to learn and improve. After the very first session, we felt we had a better handle on things. Andy has a natural ability to teach. In our case, his audience ranged from an 11 to 82 years old and we ALL walked away with the same impression: we understood better how dogs think, and how to can use that understanding to improve behavior. We have worked with professional dog trainers in the past (with previous family dogs) but have never felt as educated, empowered and joyfully optimistic as we did after our time with Andy. He truly is gifted at what he does!

Being the Pastor's pup and our parish mascot, it was essential that our friendly and energetic year-old Havanese puppy be well socialized. Andy trains both the dog and its humans brilliantly! He makes training exercises fun and challenging. We had homework assignments and saw improvements starting with the very first lesson in January. Andy's is not a cookie-cutter approach. He tailors training and coaching to the animal's personality, environment, and his human family's requirements. He is also always there for us to answer any questions or concerns. Thanks to Andy, our beloved pup now regularly accompanies the Pastor on parishioner visits, and is much in demand by young and old at Sunday Hospitality and other parish gatherings. He is a source of great joy to our church family!

I bought my first puppy. I knew that I wanted a good trainer for my puppy schnauzer I did my research and read up on Andy, After I met him and discussed my pup and the learning that the pup and me had to learn, He took his time in teaching me how to communicate with my pup, After a few examples we were picking up on getting the pup forget the pads and learn how to better releave himself in the brush. He taught me quite a bit in the first half of training, I received a lot of homework for me and the pup to work on.Meeting Andy receiving time and training from was great for me and my pup.What an experience and treat.

Andy is a great trainer, He taught me how to better communicate with my puppy, He helped me get him started on being trained for home, He discussed a few things I could do to keep the pups attention. He wrote and gave me some homework that I could work on daily with the pup. No surprises when you get Andy you’re and your pup are in for a treat. I learned so much about communication with my pup.I look forward to learning more. I’m grateful that Andy took the time to teach me.

Andy was a fantastic coach and trainer. The following day after our session my dog has improved dramatically on walks, jumping up and recall. I highly recommend him for your dog training needs!

In one afternoon, Andy showed us how to handle our dog. He customized training to the dog and the owner. It's not one size fits all!!

Andy is changed my life in one day. This is not an overstatement. He didn’t wave a magic wand :)
He listened to me and how my puppy Jack were behaving and then left us with a clear mission and the simple tools to achieve our goals. The change begins instantly. We are so grateful.

We were beyond impressed with our training session for our dog, Keely. In just one session, we saw a vast improvement in her ability to stay calm in her crate and separate from us. Andy helped us build the foundation for being able to leave Keely in a safe space and allow us to leave our home without worry for Keely's safety. Andy also helped us to learn how to better communicate with Keely. We also worked on leash pulling. Andy gave us a step-by-step plan to help us build on the strategies he taught us in our sessions. We couldn't be more happy with the training we've gotten with Andy/Bark Busters. We wholeheartedly would recommend them to every dog owner.

One visit from Andy was a game-changer for us and our Pitt mix, Jude. The tools and behaviors Andy shared worked immediately to deal with the issues we worried about. Jude barely barks any more and is calm with new people. Amazing change for us and for him. Thanks.

Andy was great! In our first session, he was able to teach us so much about communicating with our exuberant 6 mo.-old puppy. She took to responding in the first session & we see a roadmap to her becoming the best girl she can be!

Andy is great!! I tried for 3 years to train my dog. Andy taught me how to do it in less than 5 minutes! Thanks, Andy, thank you.

Andy has been everything you could hope for in a dog trainer. Knowledgeable, attentive, generous with his time, and results-driven while articulating techniques in a way that both you and your dog can understand. He understands the psychology behind why a dog behaves in a certain way and is able to train you as the leader on how to overcome those issues. My dog is a rescue that has anxiety related to interacting with other dogs. Andy's guidance has provided measured improvement when I didn't think that was possible after my previous underwhelming training experiences. I have already referred Andy to my family. They had a completely different set of challenges with their puppy, but have now experienced similar success after working with him. For any issues you may be having with your dog - young or old, aggression or house-training - I can't recommend Andy's services highly enough!

We absolutely loved Andy and truly saw same day results. Not only did we learn training tactics but the reasons behind them and how dogs communicate. It was also great to have it done in the home because he saw our dog's everyday environment. He addressed our main concerns, gave us a plan to work through and we are definitely seeing progress. We are looking forward to seeing more results! I highly recommend Andy and this training overall!

I was truly impressed with my interaction with BARK BUSTERS! Andy was extremely knowledgeable and patient. I must admit that I was expecting some rough looking HERCULES dude ?; but instead I got the "boy next door." So in my mind, I was like how in the world is this guy going to be able to control my pitbull if she so happens to get loose; but Andy had it all figured out! Initially my dog was not receptive to him at all. She was barking and growling. It was obvious that she didn't want him in "our" house. So he tried to win her trust by giving her treats, which she gladly took; but once he stopped, the growling began again! ? So at that point he asked that we place her in a different room while we discussed her behavioral history, as well as the current behavior he observed through her body language. After our discussion, we did some role playing and used a few of the techniques he gave us, and low and behold, it actually worked!!! I could NOT believe my eyes! Once we brought her up from the basement and did what he told us to do, it was if we were dealing with a completely different dog!! I honestly did NOT think that his techniques would work on the first try!! We were all pleasantly pleased!! Then the BIG TEST came when I took her for a walk, as he followed closely behind. To my surprise, for the FIRST TIME in 4 years, I was actually WALKING HER, and not the other way around! ? The few times that she slightly edged in front of me, I did what Andy told me to do, and she listened to my command and waited for ME to take the lead!!! O M G!! It literally felt so surreal because her behavior had drastically changed in less that 3hrs!! Although I know that I'm going to have to continue to implement these new techniques and boundaries, it still boggles my mind how she was able to adjust so quickly. I was thinking that it was going to at least take a month or so for us to get her to this point; but clearly I was wrong! So I would highly recommend BARK BUSTERS to anyone that wants to learn how to communicate with their dogs effectively, and not have to stress and/or panic over their destructive behaviors ever again! KUDOS TO YOU ANDY FOR DOING SUCH A PHENOMENAL JOB! I l look forward to our next session!! THANKS A MILLION!!!

Andy was very thorough and professional; we were able to see the value of the advice he offered to us to build an enduring and positive relationship with our puppy by following the homework for us that he left. He is a great trainer for both our puppy and us, and he accomplished a lot in the first visit.

Andy was great! In our first session, he was able to teach us so much about communicating with our exuberant 6 mo.-old puppy. She took to responding in the first session & we see a roadmap to her becoming the best girl she can be!

We had a great experience with Bark Busters and highly recommend them. Really wish we would have contacted them on day 1 of getting our rescue dog Sven. Night and day with this dog after just our first session.

Andy was awesome for our first training session! We went over so much in the three hours and I’m already seeing a difference in my 12 week old pup after implementing his techniques all day long after. He gives specific instruction on how to achieve your goals. I can’t wait to get my pup’s training off to a stronger start than I could have ever on my own!

Cannot recommend Bark Busters training enough! Our dog was a terrible leash puller. We tried multiple training methods / YouTube tutorials and could not get him to stop. However, we saw results within the first hour of working with Andy. Andy gave us a new way of thinking about training and adapted to our dog’s specific needs & motivations. Absolutely worth the investment!

Andy was truly AMAZING. I learned so much in our first session and saw an immediate change in my 6month mini goldendoodle! It's day 2 since our session and my pup is sleeping (without a fight) in his crate, not jumping when greeting and not begging for food. I know it will be journey, but Andy helped me set the foundation!!

Andy at Bark Busters DC was great. We had an incredibly productive first session and we've already seen great results. It's also great that he can be accessed via text between sessions should any little questions arise.

Changed both mine and my dog's lives. My dog has seen amazing improvements in just one session, and on top of that, she looks happier too. Andy helped with aggression towards other dogs and separation anxiety. The results were so impressive that it genuinely felt like I was with a different dog. Highly, highly recommend.

My puppy is only 4 lbs, she is a lot of work. Since we got her during COVID, I tried training her myself. I was not seeing any consistency in her behavior. That's when I turned to Bark Busters. The staff is professional and Andy did a terrific job showing us how to get our pup's attention and communicate with her. I saw an immediate change in her behavior. I highly recommend Bark Busters and Andy.

We hired Andy to help us improve our 4 yo dog’s door manners, control her barking and leash pulling. He educated with essential needs of every dogs and of the theory behind the training tools he provided. He showed us how to train her for our exact needs and made us do it and gave us constructive comments so we can do it right or better. Our first walk during the training, our dog stopped pulling immediately and seemed like a different dog! He was very friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and professional. Our dog loved him right away and our dog usually do not like other people!