Expert In-Home Dog Training in Ventura County, California

Michael arrived promptly, began, educating us on the finer art of dog training, and obedience, so that we can enjoy our pets, and they can feel secure and happy. It was the fastest three hours we’ve ever experienced, and we are implementing the study points daily to ensure success. We highly recommend the investment if you are seeking well behaved dogs, who understand they are loved, and also should adhere to protocol.

We love Bark Buster! Of course we also love our personal trainer Michael Hagan. He is very prompt with replies to our problems and has been spot on with our Lab mix, Buddy.
Our big baby has a lot of problem and is a very anxious dog, I hate to use the word "reactive" because it is so over used. We had problems with aggression towards other dogs. Pulling on the leash and going after other dogs off leash that approached him ... very scary. Michael showed us some specific leash controls to start with Buddy and we had great success. When we moved we had a complaint from our neighbors of barking. Our first response was not our baby but after buying a camera we saw that we had a problem and again Michael had great insight and came through with a regimen for separation anxiety. Which I am happy to say has worked and we now have happy neighbors and a happier Buddy.
We did opt for the gold membership and we are glad we did as we have had to call a few times for a short consult via phone and it has worked perfectly for us.
Michael is very knowledgeable, kind and supportive. He has great insight in dog behavior and is quick with a response to solve our behavior issues with Buddy.

Michael has really helped us with our pit lab rescue Orca. She was really reactive and we had no clue what we were doing. From the first session which was about 4 hours, he has helped us understand how dogs think, their needs, and how to effectively communicate. There is homework to do and if you don't do it, you won't see results. Our dog hated her crate, now she just hangs out in it with the door open. After the first week we were amazed. She does better on walks and in the home. We have work to do but having patience. We have had several sessions and we have seen some very good results. Michael has a passionate and loving way with dogs and we will continue to use him to see more progress. We have learned a lot TY Michael!!

Over the three sessions we've had with Michael we are very pleased with the results. Michael is working with our 6 1/2 year old Australian Labradoodle called Georgie.

Michael was our last effort to try and get Georgies barking under control. Over the years we have tried other trainers, all of whom were top notch, but could not get the results we wanted. They did, however, help us with basic training skills. My wife and I were very skeptical as to whether anyone would be able to help us with the barking.

After reading the literature and reviews about Bark Busters we decided we would try one more time.

From the first meeting with Michael we knew this was going to be something totally new. His approach was completely different than anyone else before him. We spent the first couple of hours alone with him without our dog. He went over how Bark Busters worked and he answered all of our questions patiently until we got it. We had to change our thinking on how traditional dog training worked. We needed to understand how dogs communicate and how we can make them understand us in their language, not human language. Still not sure if this was going to work or not, we decided to put our faith in Michael and the program Bark Busters has developed over the years.

At every step of this journey Michael has been patient and ready to lend support day or night. To say that we are satisfied with his approach and his relationship with us and with Georgie would be a tremendous understatement. Michael is always willing to talk us through a problem and never seems to be in a bad mood. He's full of energy and enthusiasm which gives us confidence that this will ultimately be a success. So far it definitely has been. We are happy to give Michael our highest recommendation.

I have a Husky/American Staffordshire Terrier/German Shepherd Dog Mix, and she is a handful.

We rescued her from a shelter in Irvine and when she came home she was extremely dog aggressive, overly protective (to the point where she would growl at our roommates if they came to the doorway), a big leash puller, INSANE separation anxiety, and a super stressed out dog in general. She was very smart and learned new tricks fast but would only do them when she decided to. She is our first dog and our friends and family were not impressed *at first*.

We realized early on she would need training and began the search. Dog training is expensive and we were on a limited budget, especially since she had injured me early on requiring surgery (to pin my bones back in place) when she pulled the leash to get to another dog. We did a ton of research and took her to one of the highest rated dog behavioralists in the area (NOT Bark Busters). It was a disaster! The “trainer”’s dogs listened but because they were terrified of him and he gave harsh punishments out easily for any hint of misbehavior. Our dog actually got WORSE! She had never bit me before, but bit me during the training and following when I did the exercises with her! My boyfriend and I after less than a month decided to stop that training and do all we could on our own while we saved up for better training. We moved to Ventura county about 8 months later.

Enter Michael Hagan, Bark Buster’s trainer for Ventura County. No corrections from Bark Busters are aggressive — most of the corrections we do with our dog are actually just vocal.
First thing, we learned how to read our dog’s body language and with that, basically what she is thinking. We learned to see that things will be issues before our dog acts. We learned how to keep her more calm, and what was causing her to be more stressed out. Michael also listened to what we had been doing on our own, and recognized our hard work and let us know where we went wrong, and what we were on the right track for. Michael taught us the training exercises and we worked on them 10-15 minutes each day, and during walking our dog, we had to constantly correct her for leash pulling and praise her when she was doing what we wanted. Michael explained we would see a drastic difference in about 3 months as long as we stuck with it. We did, and 2 months in we were feeling doubtful - our dog seemed to realize we were trying to be the boss and was not a fan. At 3 months (almost on the dot), our dog miraculously had an attitude/behavior adjustment. Leash pulling just halted and she just did every command we gave her on command. We couldn’t believe it! We still needed to work on the dog aggression and separation anxiety (which were extremely severe, and we didn’t think there would be a quick fix for), but we just had this lovely calm, friendly obedient dog. It’s absolutely unbelievable the difference!
When I first got this dog, my dad described her as “more of a cat than a dog.” He now brags to other people about how we turned this dog into one of the best dogs. Every time someone meets my dog we get at least one compliment on her behavior. A lot of people are shocked to hear we got her from a rescue, and think we must be exaggerating when we describe how she was when we got her.

We still do training exercises with her daily, but it’s not much and it is so worth it.

We’ve been using the Bark Busters method for about half a year now and we are working towards getting a second dog (something we didn’t think would be a possibility for over a year at least since starting training with Bark Busters!), with Michael’s help. We may be getting a second dog as soon as a month from now! Michael is very involved, and works closely with a rescue so are looking at dogs that will be the best matches for our dog.

I am so thrilled with Michael from Bark Busters! We sought out a dog trainer to help with our pup Murphy since she was experiencing some anxiety with other dogs and showing signs of dominance towards our other dog. I highly recommend Michael with Bark Busters, he emphasizes behavioral modification and teaches you how to better understand your dog, and really a whole new way of life with your furry best friend!

We saw results IMMEDIATELY and we were so amazed! Murphy is now so much more comfortable and showing less dominance just after one visit! We couldn't be happier!

We were looking for a training system for our new Malinois and French mastiff rescue puppy. We looked into and did a few intros with a few trainers. They were all asking their systems with treats/ bribes or physical training that were not for us. Mike our trainer from Bark busters spent a incredible amount of time teaching us the psychology behind the training and walked us through the techniques. It was a game changer for us. Mike was amazing and so patient while we learned. If you are looking for a training system that truly allows a happy existence for your dog and your family please call Bark Busters. We have so much understanding about speaking K9 now. We have been long time dog rescuers and have trained all our dogs our selves. Mike gave us amazing insight and understating about behaviors that we feel we are training our puppy with purpose and for a lifetime. Thank you Mike!!!

Simply put, Michael’s training is awesome. I am absolutely amazed by the progress we saw during our first virtual session and after just one week of practice. Our 1-year old golden, Yeti, definitely has a mind of his own and Michael really went in depth explaining the psychology and underlying causes of the behavior and the psychology of creating new behaviors. This was so interesting and very helpful. And his techniques worked so well and so fast! We are well on our way to a perfectly well-behaved dog. And I’m loving working with Yeti at home and growing our bond <3 Thank you!!!

Michael has been helping our rescue group, All for Love Animal Rescue with several of our behaviorally challenged dogs. One young dog had issues of too much excitement and leash reactivity with other dogs. Michael has worked tirelessly with the dog and his behavior has improved so much that he currently has an interested adopter.
Michael has also helped our rescue by giving classes to our volunteers in how to handle dogs, teach them good leash manners and how to work with them to help them be good canine citizens. We are very grateful to Michael for his help. We have recommended his training services to several of our adopters and think very highly of him. He is great with the dogs and great with the people he is training too.

Michael came to my home and helped me get control of my dog in our own environment. We sat and talked about my expectations and his solutions. He explained his services and his expectations for our visit. Once we got up and started the training it was instant results. My husky is so high energy and curious about everything. But within minutes I was able to control her with my close and a few gestures. Now after implementing his teachings, my husky doesn’t run to the door every time she hears a noise. She trusts me as the leader and is very calm and at ease. No more stress fro my pup who is just trying to protect her home. Michael is very sweet with the dogs and became a great friend thru this process.

Michael arrived promptly, began, educating us on the finer art of dog training, and obedience, so that we can enjoy our pets, and they can feel secure and happy. It was the fastest three hours we’ve ever experienced, and we are implementing the study points daily to ensure success. We highly recommend the investment if you are seeking well behaved dogs, who understand they are loved, and also should adhere to protocol.

Oso a GS/ Husky mix and Lemon a GS/ Belgium Malinois mix needed someone that was gonna know how to handle them and Michael was the trainer for that. He was gentle yet had their full attention. With in two days of training from Michael and consistent practice on our end visitors can come visit without loud barking and jumping. And my husband is learning to walk them both without his arms being pulled out of his sockets. Thankyou so Michael!

We love Bark Buster! Of course we also love our personal trainer Michael Hagan. He is very prompt with replies to our problems and has been spot on with our Lab mix, Buddy.
Our big baby has a lot of problem and is a very anxious dog, I hate to use the word "reactive" because it is so over used. We had problems with aggression towards other dogs and Michael showed us some specific leash controls to start with Buddy and we had great success. When we moved we had a complaint from our neighbors of barking and again Michael came through with a regimen for separation anxiety.
We did opt for the gold membership and we are glad we did as we have had to call a few times for a short consult via phone and it has worked perfectly for us.

After the first visit it is amazing the difference in my Pitbull mix.
He is much calmer already and I am genuinely excited about the next training. Michael is awesome.
The results so far make me hopeful that Weezie and I are going to have a great future, because I will now be able to create calm and structure in our daily lives. Thank you a million times Michael !!!

We are so thankful for Michael's help with our hyper 1 year old bernedoodle puppy. Even after 18 weeks of puppy training classes, he still had sooooo much to work on. Michael took the time to really explain to us WHY our puppy acted the way he did. He also was very understanding of our concerns and taught us everything we needed to know. We saw the training methods work immediately. We are so excited for the progress our puppy will make. I only wish we found him sooner. Highly recommend!!!

Simply put, Michael’s training is awesome. I am absolutely amazed by the progress we saw during our first virtual session and after just one week of practice. Our 1-year old golden, Yeti, definitely has a mind of his own and Michael really went in depth explaining the psychology and underlying causes of the behavior and the psychology of creating new behaviors. This was so interesting and very helpful. And his techniques worked so well and so fast! We are well on our way to a perfectly well-behaved dog. And I’m loving working with Yeti at home and growing our bond <3 Thank you!!!

Michael's training was beyond helpful with immediate results. My two meetings with Michael elevated my confidence as an owner of a pit bull mix coming out of a dog rescue. Everything he shared was based on data and I saw immediate positive behavioral shifts in my dog. Thanks to Michael, I feel in control with my pit bull mix. Michael taught me to be the leader of the pack!

Michael has been a tremendous help with both of my dogs Mack and Diva , came to my home and showed me how to teach them their space and I learned so much in understanding what makes them tick . I feel Michael could help anyone with their dogs , he has the best and easiest techniques that really works, I would recommend him to anyone that needs help with their dogs. Thanks so much Michael for all you have done for my dogs and the rescue dogs as well. Robert Estrada

Michael came out today to help us with some behavioral issues with our dog and he was amazing! Michael was exactly what I was looking for. He was able to confirm that our dog had severe separation anxiety with a strong need to protect me. After spending a little over 3 hours with us our dog was already understanding and making behavioral changes. He had already stopped barking at the doorbell and understood his boundaries. I love the technique they use for correction as well as rewards. I cannot say enough good things. We are very pleased and will recommend him to all our friends. I honestly think the hardest part is going to be training me, not the dog.

I have gotten the opportunity to witness Michael training rescue dogs and he is wonderful. He is very calm yet the dogs completely listen to and respect him. One of our troubled dogs, Nala, was placed with an adopter that never would have happened without Michael. I love his techniques!

I am so happy I had Michael come over to me work with my foster dog. He is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, personable, and gave clear instructions. He worked with not just the foster dog, but my other 2 dogs which was totally unexpected and so valuable. I learned so much from his visit and cannot thank him enough. If you are hesitant about hiring a trainer, definitely reach out to Michael. You will not regret it!

Michael has been AMAZING with Frank! We adopted Frank when he was a year old, and unfortunately he went through something in his last life that caused him to develop separation anxiety. If out of the crate, he would bark, climb all over the furniture, and have accidents. If in the crate, he would bark and chew on anything we put in there with him. We decided to do the three session training package to reinforce what we are learning, and we're glad we did. The techniques that Michael taught us clicked with Frank within minutes of the first session. We just finished our second session and Michael helped us reinforce all the little pieces of the training we forgot about. He gives us all sorts of exercises to work on between each session, and is extremely responsive when we reach out to him with questions. Our favorite part of the training is how hands off it is. Michael sits back and tells us how to respond, but never touches Frank nor does he enforce the training himself. 10/10 we would (and have) recommend Michael to friends and family.

We have recently rescued a 3-year-old, male golden retriever and have a smaller, 4-year-old, female spitz. Bark Busters helped us with several issues for each dog as well as the interaction between them. We now have the correct way to effectively work with our dogs in a loving and constructive manner. Thank you so much for an excellent program.

Prince got the idea very quickly, and I was amazed and delighted that it worked. I don't think there is a better program anywhere.

It's a great program. There are no gimmicks, voice tones and body language go a long way. I was amazed how quickly my puppy responded to the commands. The program is simple to follow. I just have to work at it daily.

We know this is going to work for our dachsund. He simply responded to the Bark Busters technique. Its simple and not time consuming. Perfect.