Home Dog Training
Central Jersey, New Jersey

Update: Proof that time and diligence utilizing Keith's training techniques works!! Our dog is living happily and peacefully with our kitties! She has evolved into such a happy, confident pup, and she doesn't even mind being used as a cat bed! We are so grateful for Keith and recommend him to everyone we meet who have dogs in need of training.

Keith is an amazing trainer! We had Keith help us with our new rescue that we adopted from a pretty rough shelter. Focus and acclimating her with our family cats were our main goals. Well, less than 24 hours after our first session, our girl is showing amazing progress. Keith has a calm, reassuring demeanor that really puts the dog at ease. He is also very good at communicating with us pet parents, giving us all the tools to make the training achievable and results stick. Our girl came out of her crate this morning and walked through the house focused on her dad, and not her kitty siblings. She is more relaxed on the leash and immediately responsive to commands. When we do need to use correction, she responds immediately and positively, showing that the training is helping to build her confidence within our family. We are beyond pleased with the results of our first session, and beyond grateful to Keith for his guidance. Can't wait to have him back to see her progress!

Amazed with the progression in my dogs obedience after just one session! We barely had anything to work on when Keith came back for a follow-up a few weeks later!! We have gone through 2 other trainers with my dog Molson and we just could not correct some of his behaviors but his barking in particular. Keith showed us some really simple ways to assert ourselves as the pack leaders and it has worked wonders. We have even noticed our dog is just generally happier without us yelling at him all day long. I highly highly recommend this program. Keith is a calming and positive presence and extremely professional and responsive.

Keith brought peace of mind to me and our family. After our Norwegian Elkhound passed, we waited three years to get a new dog. We chose a French Bulldog, Lyra, and for just over a year we were loving living the Frenchie life. But, we still talked about adding another dog to our family.
In the beginning of January, we took in a 10 month old Belgian Malinois/Dutch Shepard mix who needed to be re-homed. We named her Jade. As you may have guessed, life as we knew it was flipped completely upside-down.
Lyra is a calm, chill, easy going, snuggle bug who loves to cuddle. Jade, on the other hand, is pure energy. She needs to run and play and she needs to work and be trained. I was having a very hard time coping with the change. I couldn't get her house trained and she was making a mess of our home. I couldn't figure her out. Despite having trained my Elkhound years ago, I didn't know what to do now.
I wasn't sure we had made the right decision taking Jade in.
We researched trainers and called a few, including Keith.
Keith was very understanding and he was willing to answer some questions and even put up with me calling him twice in one hour before we even scheduled our first visit.
Keith arrived with a presentation, materials, training tools, knowledge, and compassion. He taught us about pack behavior and how to communicate with our dogs. He was reassuring that we could do this and that Jade would become a part of our pack.
We put what he taught us into practice right away. The best part (for me, anyway) was that, after he left, I was able to text him with questions and ask for advice and he was right there with support and helpful answers.
My anxiety had been through the roof before he came and after using the tools and knowledge Keith provided, even he saw the change in, not only the dogs, but in me when he came back for his second visit.
I highly recommend Keith. His knowledge and methods are excellent and the peace of mind he brought to our home is priceless.

We were searching for a trainer for our dog, Doc (almost 3 years), who we adopted from a rescue when he was about 2 months old. Doc was always anxious and hyper, which we attributed to him being a rescue. His anxiety was getting worse, and his behavior becoming aggressive and biting at times. As he was not like this all of the time, we believed we just did not have the knowledge to properly correct his behaviors, so we searched the web for dog trainers. After a lot of research, my daughter found Keith and Bark Busters on the internet. When Keith came for the first session, he told us we would see a different dog that day. I did not believe him. He proved me wrong. Keith provided clear and direct instruction of how to correct our commands and leadership, so we could properly train and correct Doc's behavior. He was here less than an hour, and we saw Doc become submissive from commands we did; prior to Keith coming we had never seen Doc be submissive in the 2.5 plus years we had him. He responds to us much better and he is walking on a leash much better. He is not great at taking long walks on a leash, but we can have him take shorter walks, with much improvement than before Keith came. They key is consistency and continued training, even if it is something small each day. Keith left us with a folder of different training and information, which is very helpful in remembering the steps in the processes. The Bark Busters pack leader philosophy was just what our Doc needed. Doc is much more calm and responsive, and we get much more enjoyment training him now. We are so grateful to Keith and Bark Busters!

Needed help with our 2 yr old German Shepherd rescue who was exhibiting signs of dominance with us. Keith’s initial visit to the house lasted several hours. He assessed us as dog owners, reviewed the questionnaire we completed and then met Ace. He provided us with really helpful tools and training techniques to be able to correct Ace's behavioral issues. He made a follow up visit to see how we were doing and reminded us to use the techniques he taught us. We have seen great improvements in Ace's behavior and couldn't be more happier with Keith and Bark Busters! Would highly recommend him to any family looking to train their dog!

Let me tell you about my sweet schnoodle, Greta. At 2 1/2, Greta was the terror of my townhome development. She barked at everyone - dogs, squirrels, birds, people - if it moved, she barked at it. Walking her was a nightmare. Greta was 20 pounds of out of control. In desperartion, I contacted Keith for help. As promised, after training session 1, Greta had calmed down - not perfect, but amazing progress. After three sessions, Greta walks on a loose leash fairly well and the (improved) barking and interaction with people and dogs has been remarkable. Even my neighbors have commented on the vast improvement. I encourage anyone with doggy behavior issues to give Keith and Bark Busters a call.

We reached out to BarkBusters for help training our 8 month old golden doodle. By the end of the first visit we were already seeing a difference in how she responded to commands. After a couple of more training sessions, she was a different dog. Has stopped the bad habits of digging in the yard and not listening when told to drop items. It's great knowing we can reach out to Keith anytime with questions or additional training needs.

10 stars! We adopted a 3rd dog. Now we have 3 husky females and a sibling rivalry going on. The first few weeks were chaotic and our family was losing it. Keith came and we saw an immediate difference. We were given techniques to obtain leadership over the pack. Scheduling is easy, Keith is always available to help. We have some time with Keith and our girls inside the house, on walks and in the fenced in yard. We're getting our sleep back and the doggies are progressing and getting along much better.

We got in touch with Keith within a few days of our arrival in the USA with our 3 year old English Cocker Spaniel. Being in a new country and a new environment, we entrusted Keith to help her adapt, settle in, and smooth over some bad habits/undesirable behaviors.

Oh man. We got SO much more out of Keith’s training than we thought we needed! First, Keith provides a self-assessment, through which realized our little pup needed a lot more discipline than we realized! Second and most importantly, Keith provided an unbelievably simple, effective and adaptable approach that has not only improved her behavior, but also deepened our bond, connection and general communication with her.

In hindsight, being that my husband and myself were first-time puppy parents, I can see we ventured down many avenues to finally achieve what Keith’s training fulfills. We’d enlisted several trainers, all sorts of programs, tactics, tools, etc. since she was a puppy in service of a goal to raise a good “doggy citizen.” With Keith, we’ve really achieved that.

Most importantly, his technique is kind, compassionate, approachable and **adaptable** so that we can always apply it to both familiar as well as novel environments/situations. We did go for the lifetime membership and have reached out to Keith with tweaks, questions and in one instance a fearful emergency. His support has been consistent and stupendous since we met back in July.

Thank you Keith!!! On a personal note, thank you for being so calm, clear, professional and so wonderfully earnest about this program and your love of dogs :)

My rescue pup had cataract surgery a few months ago and I am delighted to say that he can now see. With that came some changes to his personality. He would now bark at things he didn’t necessarily see before. I wanted to become a stronger leader as he ventured into a new world where he could see. Keith was amazing. In no time, he taught me how to be more effective pack leader and build my confidence teaching me to use a calm but firm voice, etc. He has many insightful thoughts that has helped guide me. I think this therapy was for me not my dog. My dog was very happy to interact with Keith as he had such a calming demeanor. It reminded me that is so important to stay calm and focused so I could be the best human my dog could have. Thank you Keith!

Update: Proof that time and diligence utilizing Keith's training techniques works!! Our dog is living happily and peacefully with our kitties! She has evolved into such a happy, confident pup, and she doesn't even mind being used as a cat bed! We are so grateful for Keith and recommend him to everyone we meet who have dogs in need of training.

Keith is an amazing trainer! We had Keith help us with our new rescue that we adopted from a pretty rough shelter. Focus and acclimating her with our family cats were our main goals. Well, less than 24 hours after our first session, our girl is showing amazing progress. Keith has a calm, reassuring demeanor that really puts the dog at ease. He is also very good at communicating with us pet parents, giving us all the tools to make the training achievable and results stick. Our girl came out of her crate this morning and walked through the house focused on her dad, and not her kitty siblings. She is more relaxed on the leash and immediately responsive to commands. When we do need to use correction, she responds immediately and positively, showing that the training is helping to build her confidence within our family. We are beyond pleased with the results of our first session, and beyond grateful to Keith for his guidance. Can't wait to have him back to see her progress!

Keith of bark busters is awasome. He really knows dogs. I really like that they come to the house and teach you how to train the dog in the dogs regular environment. And the service is impeccable I've called Keith three or four times each two or three years in between always calls me right back highly recommend barkbusters.

We recently had our first baby and were very anxious how our lovable but stubborn bulldog, Bruce, would interact and handle all the new sights and sounds. We definitely needed some help on how to best keep our dog happy and calm while dealing with a new baby. After one visit things drastically improved. We used to say our bulldog was very neurotic and stubborn but it turns out it was just his way of showing anxiety over new and frightening things. Bruce was very anxious by anything new and after one visit with Keith he was like a different more calm and happier dog. When I read all the reviews I admit I was a bit skeptic, but boy let me tell you- they are NOT wrong. Keith has been an incredible resource through this whole process. Having a new baby is a lot to get used to itself and we were very worried we would not be able to have our dog and baby in the same room alone, now we like to say that Bruce babysits our daughter. He truly loves her as much as he loves me or my husband. He is incredible with her and is definitely a much happier dog. Noises her toys would make or bright flashing lights used to set him off in the past, now he doesn’t even bother looking up. The peace of mind and change we have seen in him makes us wish we called Keith earlier!

I’ve had my Maltese since he was a puppy and he is currently 9 years old. I’ve taken him to training before and it was a horrible experience he ended up worse than before, biting and barking. I couldn’t take him for walks because he was impossible when he saw people or other dogs. Keith was amazing! He gave me all of the right tools to become the leader. I was nervous that Jax was already too old and couldn’t be trained but boy was I wrong. Jax is a completely different dog and I’m so grateful to Keith for helping us. Now I can take him for walks and have people over without having him bark or bite.

In short: If there is any textbook case of a literal crazy dog being educated to understand my behavioral expectations of him, Keith from Bark Busters helped me achieve that.

My dog is a very anxious and wired 2.5 yr old GSD. I have never met another dog as aggressive towards strangers as my dog. He is truly the neighborhood-terrorizer. Here are a few things that Keith helped us with:

1. Having people inside the house - my dog will never be happy about it and won’t seek attention/pets, but he will now tolerate strangers in the house. We keep him on leash or in muzzle if he is on edge but it is a HUGE improvement, as I can now have family over.
2. Barking at strangers during walks - my dog used to be on alert if there is movement 5 blocks away. Now he is relatively relaxed unless they get within 50ft, for which his hackles will be up. However, if he starts barking, I use Keith’s correction strategy so that my dog stops almost right away and redirects attention.
3. Pulling on leash - my dog has knocked me to the floor before, while on a fitted HS prong collar. He is now off the prong collar and pulls minimally, only when he sees a particular tree he wants to pee on. Still training this but IMMENSE improvement.
4. Listening to my commands - my dog is pretty good at this because he wants to please me, but the “leave it” and “drop” command were always harder, especially during walks. Now with only a verbal correction, he listens on the 1st time.

My dog is not perfect but now we have a structured approach to work through tough situations. I am VERY happy with the training that me, my boyfriend and my dog received.

We had trained my dog Wendell as a 1 year old rescued puppy through Pet Smart, but that was not enough. I contacted Keith when Wendel was 3.5 and showed aggression towards certain people. We went for the lifetime plan because we knew we wanted to continue training when we eventually had a baby. Bark Busters methods are all about obedience training and don't rely on treats, which was very different compared to the methods we previously tried. We saw instant progress on day 1 in some areas, and other areas took time and continued practice. I bought the collar Keith recommended and it was a game changer for walks. After two years of working with Keith, we just brought home our baby girl, and we are pleasantly surprised by how calm Wendell is around her. Keith answers questions through phone or email if needed, and also comes back for sessions as needed. I highly recommended Keith!

We made the decision to seek out professional help when our otherwise gentle 20-month old Janey started to show signs of aggression towards dogs and people with whom she was not familiar. We noticed that her anxiety, when either of us wasn’t in sight, was also intensifying. Prior to contacting Keith at Bark Busters, we were told by a trainer that Janey wasn’t aggressive, but rather very “defensive.” He believed she needed more intensive behavioral training than he had time to provide and suggested that we enroll her in a 2-week “bootcamp”. We were concerned that a two-week separation could be detrimental and began searching the internet for a local dog behavioral therapist who could also work with us, as we are first time dog owners. That’s when we found Keith at Bark Busters.
Keith’s initial visit to the house lasted several hours. He assessed us as dog owners, reviewed the questionnaire we completed and then met Janey, whose issues with strangers were apparent. Keith was very soft-spoken and positive, which happened to be a perfect approach for her. The next time Keith came to the house, Janey approached him like an old friend.
So far, Keith has made a few house visits and within several weeks of following the agreed upon plan we have seen considerable progress. He has also made himself available to our inquiries via text message or email and always replies promptly. Just recently he agreed to meet us at a neutral location with other family members to assist with introductions prior to an upcoming vacation.
Janey has learned to respect the boundaries set regarding visitors and other dogs with whom she’s come in contact. The excessive pulling during walks is almost nonexistent. By no means is her behavior perfect, but since Day 1, we’ve seen an improvement. We’re confident that we’ll continue to make meaningful strides.
We highly recommend Keith and Bark Busters.
Rob and Patty Rush

We recently had our first baby and were very anxious how our lovable but stubborn bulldog, Bruce, would interact and handle all the new sights and sounds. We definitely needed some help on how to best keep our dog happy and calm while dealing with a new baby. After one visit things drastically improved. We used to say our bulldog was very neurotic and stubborn but it turns out it was just his way of showing anxiety over new and frightening things. Bruce was very anxious by anything new and after one visit with Keith he was like a different more calm and happier dog. When I read all the reviews I admit I was a bit skeptic, but boy let me tell you- they are NOT wrong. Keith has been an incredible resource through this whole process. Having a new baby is a lot to get used to itself and we were very worried we would not be able to have our dog and baby in the same room alone, now we like to say that Bruce babysits our daughter. He truly loves her as much as he loves me or my husband. He is incredible with her and is definitely a much happier dog. Noises her toys would make or bright flashing lights used to set him off in the past, now he doesn’t even bother looking up. The peace of mind and change we have seen in him makes us wish we called Keith earlier!

Keith from Bark Busters has done an incredible job with our two female cane corsos. The dogs had many problems that stemmed from their upbringing in a different household before we got them so it was an everyday struggle correcting their behavior before Keith helped us. Our dogs had an intense sibling rivalry that led to dangerous fights between the two. They were super anxious when people would come over and it was impossible to take them on walks. Since our first lesson with Keith that dogs have completely changed and I cannot remember the last time they have fought. Additionally, we are able to take them on walks now and have tools/skills necessary to correct any unwanted behavior. Thanks to Keith our relationship has grown so much with our two dogs and has given them a second chance. I would highly recommend Keith as I was impressed with his approach and composure during our training sessions .

In December 2021, my family adopted a dog that really needed a home - the shelter did not know much about him as he was dumped by the owners before they drove away, but he was terrified and cowering in the shelter corner and we knew we needed to save him. As a few days went by after bringing him home, we realized how rough his life has been. His tail appeared to be cut at home, he was very fear-aggressive (nipping, growling, lunging), and very skeptical of men. On top of that, he appeared to be scared of other dogs and would attack our two other dogs on sight (we kept them separated after that) and barked at dogs he saw on the street during walks.

Like many others who have reviewed Keith's services, we felt hopeless. I had fallen so in love with this dog and wanted it to work so badly, but he was so reactive and we never knew when he would snap next. We also had to keep him separated from our other two dogs because he could not stand the sight of them no matter how we attempted to introduce them.

Keith was an absolute life saver. When I heard about the "80-90% improvement in the first lesson" I thought that it sounded great, but surely wouldn't be the case for my dog. Boy, was I wrong! After the first session, my dog not only started looking to my family as "in charge", but he also calmed down a bit because it meant that he was finding his place in our house more and more.

Keith is fantastic with communication, he is very responsive to calls and texts. I even frantically called him a few days before he came for the first session when our rescue got out of the room and attacked our other dog, Keith assured me that everything would be okay and we would work on it during the session.

Today, about two months later, he is a completely different dog. Our three dogs are now best buddies and he feels much more calm as he's found his place here. This is definitely something that you have to keep up with, Keith shows you different exercises to do daily to change your dog's perspective on leadership. While I did see the 80-90% improvement after the first session, continuing to do the exercises daily has increased that improvement further and ensured that my dog does not regress into old habits.

I can not thank Keith enough for his help. His methods do not include pain-based or treat-based training (he is not anti-treat, but this method has my dog listen to me out of respect rather than reward).

Seriously, if you are looking for a trainer, I highly recommend Keith. He is knowledgeable, works with you to educate you on how to train your dog, and provides a healthy environment for your pet to be trained and feel more calm/comfortable overall.

SOOO happy we won't have to give up our dog! Maddie had developed guarding issues and was quite ferocious when in that state. We had tried other trainers and at first we were happy that we learned how to manage the aggressive behavior, but it was more of learning how to avoid the behavior rather than changing it. Naturally, once we let our guard down she would exhibit the aggressive behavior once again. We thought we were going to have to take her to a shelter because we were so afraid she would end up hurting our 6-year old grandson! As a last resort, we searched for an animal behaviorist. After interviewing a few, we found Keith with Bark Busters. Boy, what a difference with even just one session! Maddie is like a different dog! At first I kind of felt a little sad because she seemed "broken" LOL! She is such a joy now though, and our relationship with our dog has much improved.
Additionally, Keith has been wonderfully responsive to our questions. We are looking forward to our next session!

The biggest issue we had with Gizmo was barking, he was go into a frenzy when people, cars, dogs, etc.. would walk by, sometimes just hearing something he would go crazy, we could not hear if we were talking on the phone, disrupted TV, plus I have a grandbaby and when she would try and nap, Gizmo would wake the baby with this excessive barking. After one session of this training with Keith Axsom, I was shocked to see Gizmo respond so quickly. Gizmo is 2 years old and this barking has been going on since he got attacked by a couple of dogs at about 6 months old. My husband and I were absolutely shocked at Gizmos response. There is continuous follow up and if you have problems, Keith checked in via emails and text messages. So far have not needed to call. It's only been two weeks and we have our life back!! Gizmo is much better behaved all the way around. Thanks Bark Busters Keith Axsom!

If you are at your wits end, like I was, this is your answer. I had worked with 3 trainers prior and done soooo many hours of research, but nothing worked until my first session with Keith. Milo, my two year old plott hound mix, exhibited extremely protective and territorial behavior. He would bark like crazy at any noise he heard outside, showed aggression when people came to the house (so much so we were unable to have guests over anymore), pulled on walks and barked/lunged at other dogs/animals/people on the other side of the street. When I decided to reach out to Bark Busters I definitely had my reservations due to past failures, but I was cautiously optimistic. So needless to say my mind was absolutely blown when I saw immediate improvement in Milo within the first 5-10 minutes of training. By the end of the session Milo was fully attentive to what I was saying and snuggling up and getting lots of pets from Keith who was a complete stranger to him 2 hours ago, I was truly in a state of disbelief. We just had our second session a couple of days ago and Milo has done a complete 180. He's still my same sweet little bundle of energy, but now he listens to me, rarely ever barks at noises outside and walks on leash right by my side with no pulling or barking. Enrolling in Bark Busters and working with Keith has truly changed both Milo and I's life for the better. I used to say I was going to have to live alone in a cabin in the woods with Milo because I felt so hopeless about him being able to interact with others, but now I get excited to have a guest over so I can see how amazing Milo is doing with his training. So if you are in the same situation I was in, or anything similar, call Bark Busters now.

My trainers name is Keith Axsom and he was and continues to be AMAZING! I thought my chocolate lab, Jake, was untrainable, but I was shown what I needed to do to get my dog to follow directions. After the first session my dog was like a whole new dog. Jake used to pull on his leash and I would dread walking him, but now I enjoy our walks and even get compliments from other dog owners about how great my dog walks. Keith also checks up on us and our progress, and has always been available to give advice and answer questions. If you’re trying to choose a training service, you found the best one right here. Don’t wait!

After one session, we have already seen a change in our 2 yr old Pitt mix. She is a rescue that has many fears and anxieties. With a young child in the house, it was imperative to seek outside support. Keith is very patient and knowledgeable. We appreciate his guidance and support. I can already see confidence building in our son, too. We are looking forward to our next sessions. Thank you Keith!

We inherited a very large dog that is loving & sweet except towards other dogs. Becomes very aggressive just seeing any dog. His behavior really improved after just his first session with Keith, was so amazing. We are now able to enjoy walking him using the various techniques Keith has taught us. We look forward to further lessons and a dog that is happy & well behaved.