Bark Busters San Francisco and Marin County Reviews

I was at the end of my rope with Cheech my 90lb. beyond stubborn pit bull and made numerous calls to dog trainers. I was surprised by the lack of response to return my calls but... Bark Busters did and I scheduled an appointment with Karen for our free consultation. I was concerned that a female trainer would not be able to control my disobedient hulk of a dog. I was very impressed by Karen when she came to our home for the free consultation. Karen spent so much time with us and just on that first visit made a huge improvement and gained our trust. Cheech and I both love Karen and he has made great improvements in his training, he still has a ways to go and Karen is the ONE! I absolutely recommend Karen she is wonderful, patient, & understanding.

Karen Gaines from Bark Busters has been for my blind dog what Annie Sullivan was for Helen Keller: extraordinary and life changing. I met Karen Gaines at a pet adoption fair. I was toting a 10-year-old foster dog I'd been caring for who was blind, nervous about people (especially men), had a barking problem and was also having accidents in my house. Her fear and her blindness made her bark at everything, likely compounded by the fact that she'd been living an isolated life in someone's backyard 24/7. Karen spoke to me for a few minutes, and her insights and suggestions made me realize that I'd been doing everything wrong! It was my first experience with a blind dog, and I immediately knew that Karen Gaines would be this little dog's big chance to actually get a forever home. To add to the pot, I had my own little dog, so I wondered how the little blind dog would know that any behavioral corrections meant HER and not my own dog. Karen's kindness, patience and consistency were inspiring. It was more than training the dog, as I needed training, too. And get this: On the first session she even had the little dog going up and down a ramp which butted up to the doggie door which soon allowed her access to the yard by herself-voila! No more accidents. The end of the story is that I adopted little Peggy Sue myself, and she is now 13. What started out as, "What have I gotten myself into?" ended up being, "How did I ever live without this little dog?" Seeing what she has become has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life-and I couldn't have done it without Karen Gaines. Karen has been back on occasion for follow-up visits, and she is prompt about returning calls and about making appointments. I can't recommend her enough.

It was absolutely amazing. We observed immediate results. Karen was so patient working with us and our two small children, who had so many questions. Our biggest concern was Tessa being overly excited when someone would come to visit; she'd jump and have accidents. Having two small children, kids are constantly coming and going, so we needed to work on the training immediately. Karen put us on a simple regimen; it made so much sense. It was simple. She gave us clear and concise "homework" that we could stick with, and now we feel we have control over the situation. It's been a blessing.

I had taken Sebastian through regular training classes, as he was still a pup when I adopted him. But he still wouldn't listen to me. He would bark at every little sound, and my neighbors were ready to kill me. He barked at the birds, he barked at the cars, and I live on a very busy street. If people came up the steps, he'd bark and then pee in hopes that we would have company. He would pee all over the house, even if we just finished a huge walk at the park. It was getting very annoying, to say the least. I figured, well, that's just his breed, and there was nothing more I could do. I didn't have the patience. And then I found Karen and Bark Busters. I was skeptical, but Karen assured me that if I followed through with the training methods and was patient, there would be success. To my surprise, within an hour Sebastian started listening and doing what he was told. Now, four months later, there are no surprises left on the floor, and I was even asked by a neighbor if I still had the dog. I would definitely recommend Bark Busters to anyone who has issues with their dogs. Karen makes it easy to understand and makes it fun. Thank you, Karen; I couldn't have done it without you.