Dog Separation Anxiety Training

Johnny helped us with our 2 dogs as we transitioned into our new home. One of our dogs is super anxious and reacts by barking and gets our other dog worked up to the point where they are both always on edge. Johnny was great at showing us techniques and drills on how we can work with our dogs to help with the reactivity and anxiety. One of our dogs is not food driven so we thought this was going to be an issue but Johnny was very patient and found the reward that motivated our dog. Johnny spent multiple sessions at our home learning about our dogs and we saw progress after the first session but even more so as we continued working with him. Johnny helped us be more confident as owners and our dogs more content in their new home. Thank you Bark Busters!

Pam was wonderful to work with during a really emotional time for our family. After our dog Oakley bit me on the 4th of July, Pam helped us understand Oakley’s behavior by explaining things in a way that was simple and easy to follow. She took the time to listen and was incredibly understanding of how upsetting the experience was for me.
Oakley loved her right away, which made the process feel even more reassuring. Pam showed us a few simple techniques that made an immediate difference, and we started seeing improvements right away. We’re so grateful for her patience, compassion, and expertise.
We would not hesitate to recommend Pam for any of your dog training needs. She's simply the BEST!!

Sharon at Bark Busters has really helped me develop the right behaviors to bring out the best in my beautiful Bernie doodle...BAYOU. I've never really trained a puppy before, but Sharon breaks down the skills and demonstrates them so well... we get a nearly instant response. Bark Busters can help you with short-term issues...or like us...you can have her be available for the life of your dog....as their (your) needs change. It's a GREAT INVESTMENT in a well-behaved and happier fur friend.

We've been very pleased with Sharon at Bark Busters. This is our first puppy....in 25 years...so it's been great to relearn the do's and don'ts, especially now that we're retired and have more time...to pay attention :) Would highly recommend them as a solid INVESTMENT in making your long-term DOGGY relationship, the BEST it can be. It's great knowing we can get advice...whenever we need it.

We started with Johnny to help with our first dog, Elroy about 3 years ago. He was a 1 year rescue Pitbull with no leash manners, reactivity to people and dogs, and serious resource guarding. Our sessions with Johnny gave my wife and I confidence to know that Elroy was safe and able to work with and improve. Through the right guidance, training, and tools Elroy is now an amazing family dog who loves going hiking and enjoys going out almost anywhere with us. With much consulting with Johnny we decided Elroy was ready to bring another dog into our family, so about 7 months ago we added Apollo, a 2 month old Rottweiler. Johnny has continue to support us from introducing the dogs to each other, each stage of Apollo's puppy development, and now continued training and development for both dogs together. Johnny has been extremely supportive with any dog related questions and we love that he is able to help us with anything we want to add to our dogs skill set as well as encouraging us to try new things to enrich our dogs.

We have a 10 month old Shihpoo with separation anxiety. We couldn’t leave the house without her. She would yelp and cry uncontrollably. We tried crate training and watched so many videos looking for a training method that would work. One session with Sharon and we have the tools to gain some freedom. We are on day 2 and we’ve already made so much progress. We are able to better communicate with our dog and help her understand that she is safe and can relax when we leave. It pretty remarkable!!

After one session with Josh, our 9-month-old cattle/pittie/boxer mix Fox has become a new little man. Josh starts working the second he walks through your door. We had been struggling with puppy regression, attitude problems, and poor walking habits, but 24 hours after our 1st session, walking Fox has become near idyllic. We were equipped with immediate skills to practice, follow-up work, and a calming assurance that things might *actually* be okay. I'm not a big digital reviewer, but felt the need to write: if you're on the fence or on the verge of giving up, in a mess of tears after a 'simple' walk around the block, I highly recommend chatting with Josh and his team. We'd read Bark Busters' reviews before, stating an immediate positive change in dogs after an initial session, and wanted so badly to believe they were true: they are. We've got some continued work to do, but at this rate, we have been bestowed a new confidence and are feeling relief already.

Erin at Bark Busters is beyond amazing. Her knowledge and expertise are surpassed by NONE. I had a Rottweiler that would bolt out of her crate. Within 10 minutes, she was sitting and waiting for me to give her the release queue. Erin's accomplishments in 10 minutes are more than it took me forever to get trained. Erin also went over some problem areas. My dog again corrected very quickly, and this is because Erin has all the knowledge, patience, and expertise. I would highly recommend Erin with Bark Busters to anyone

Very positive and I feel confident with the things we learned today will fix the issues we have. Orlando is great and knowledgable.

Johnny and the Bark Busters team have been nothing but helpful and professional throughout the training process for our puppy. From the onboarding and initial training session to the follow-ups and outside communication, everything has been fantastic. If you are looking for a professional dog trainer, look no further than Johnny and his team. Johnny is a true professional, always communicating clearly and arriving on time. He is never rushed and takes his time working with us and our pup. He is also incredibly responsive and helpful outside of our training by sessions and is always willing to advise if we need help. Not to mention, Johnny is incredibly personable and an excellent communicator, bringing in real-life examples and demonstrating how the training program has positively impacted his pups, his family's and friends' pups, and so many others. The training program itself has been nothing short of remarkable. Working through the basics of training a new puppy and meeting us and our pup at our level have made Johnny an extraordinary partner and resource. The methods are fun and easy for our puppy and have helped us develop a wonderful bond with our little guy when working on "homework" in between visits. From basic crate training, to potty training, and even advanced obedience at a young age, the program has been effective and beneficial at every level. We are looking forward to using the lifetime training program for years to come as our puppy grows and are really confident knowing that we have Johnny and the Bark Busters team to help with any issue that may arise. We cannot recommend Bark Busters enough for your pup or even for an older dog, and will certainly be sending all of our friends and neighbors who are searching for the right trainer to Johnny and his team. Pricing for Bark Busters is MORE than fair and you would be hard pressed to get the results we and so many others have seen (not to mention the lifetime commitment) for cheaper. After much research and consideration for where and how to train our puppy, we are happy to have made the choice to work with Johnny and OC Bark Busters team.

If you are considering hiring Johnny, look no further, I promise it will be the BEST DECISION you will ever make for you & your furry family member! We found Johnny looking for a dog trainer to work with our 2 German Shepherd rescues, in need of leash training due to their size/strength (90 lbs & 105 lbs) as well as in home obedience to improve their adoptability. After extensive research for a behavioral trainer with rescue dog experience, we hired Johnny based on his reviews alone! Johnny not disappoint, he far exceeded our expectations in training both GSDs, their foster parents & US! I can honestly say, with a decade of experience working with dog trainers, that Johnny is by far THE BEST! His extensive knowledge in dog psychology/ behavior & simple replicable training methods combined with his genuine love for dogs & his demeanor around them, Johnny possesses something TRULY SPECIAL that can NOT be taught. The dogs know it & seeing how they respond to his training techniques is like MAGIC happening! Our 2 GSDs both knew several commands prior to rescue, it was clear they would respond well to training but we did not expect them to light up when Johnny arrived! Both dogs completed their obedience checklist & our male GSD quickly became the King of "Place" always the 1st on his cot! Leash training to eliminate pulling was challenging at first due to their excitability of all new sights/smells as well as new found strength in recovery BUT with Johnny's persistence testing various handling gear the Figure 8 proved to the be solution. They responded so well to Johnny working with the Figure 8 lead, they were soon walking next to any handler at any pace fast or slow!! Plus, ultimately, for dog training to be successful, it is just as much training the humans to practice consistently after Johnny leaves as it is about training the dogs. That is where Johnny is in a league of his own... He is just as incredible at training the humans as the dogs! The foster mom, who has fostered close to 100 dogs & her husband were only involved with the family dogs & they had never worked with a dog trainer. After just 1 SESSION, the foster parents were not only believers in training BUT said it was life changing & are excited about practicing with ALL the dogs. The foster dad even talks about Johnny's training with everyone they know & now helps with all the foster dogs too! Our 2 GSDs are now adopted & thriving because of Johnny's training & their transferrable lifetime training contract. Johnny is now our #1 trainer of choice for all of our rescue pups. The PROOF of Johnny's professionalism & ability to connect/train both dogs & humans alike is evident in the success of our 2 rescue GSDs & their foster parents' transformation!

Training my dog not to bark when alone was what got me to Bark Busters. Then we transitioned to refining her listening skills. It has strengthened the bonds between my dog and I. She is more in tune with me and listens well to my commands. Overall a great decision for Davi and I.

We have difficult issues with our German Shepherd rescue - severe reactivity, anxiety, with some aggressive behaviors. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised how well Sage responded to the techniques Jeri showed us. Jeri was patient and kind and encouraged us to believe Sage can be a good dog. We have been using our training for less than 24 hours and she is already a different dog. We are very hopeful that this will change her behavior long-term. She can be a very sweet dog...when she isn't being bad! We very much appreciate the goal of getting rid of the chaos and bringing a peaceful environment back to our home through a simplified and positive training approach. Our two other dogs are relieved too! :- )

I got my dog as a puppy with no experience, and she unfortunately got attacked at 3 months old by an off-leash pomeranian. After that, she became fear-reactive with all dogs and developed anxiety, even going out of the house. My sister also got a puppy from the same litter, and he started becoming protective of my dog, but turned into aggression and biting. Johnny educated us so much on dog body language and overall behavior. He helped me find ways to increase my dogs confidence and encouraged me to let her work through the fear without me coming to "rescue" her right away. He also helped us understand how to handle our aggressive dog and redirect him. He even brought his dog on one of our training sessions so our reactive dogs can practice being neutral. We have been working with Johnny for a year now my dog is confident now, her recall is amazing, and she follows my lead. My sister's dog has not bitten anyone in 9 months. He doesn't pull on his leash when walking, and it's much easier to redirect him when he's barking at someone walking past our house. I really like how Johnny gave us two different training methods for both of our dogs specific to their needs.

Bark Busters is a great investment! Our boy Charlie is now a 1-year-old labradoodle, but we started getting training support for him at about 5 months old. Our trainer, Johnny, was so easy going and from our first session...it was apparent that he knew so much and loved dogs! Charlie developed rapport right away! We are still in the beginning of our journey in this training, but the simple commands and behavior responses we have learned so far have been a huge help! And the investment is for Charlies' LIFE! Our family gives our highest recommendation!

While I was in the process of selecting a trainer for our unruly and energetic border collie, I read many many reviews of other training programs. The reviews of Bark Buster were overwhelmingly positive and were a definite factor in my decision to choose them. Johnny the trainer came to our home personally, met our dog and sat with our family of five for an afternoon, during which time he covered a wide range of topics, including nutrition, exercise, communication and leadership. He demonstrated exercises and helped us practice techniques. We were very impressed with his manner and how our dog responded to him. I’m especially glad to know there will be follow up visits, a packet of information to refer to between training times, and a training schedule to follow daily. I cannot rate Bark busters highly enough.

After our first session with Sharon, my dog Molly and I were able to walk better together on a leash and she was more calm during my absence. Sharon is a great coach and highly accessible either in person, text or phone. I’d highly recommend her services as she is very customer focused and very experienced.

Scott was great! He quickly identified what my six month old puppy needed to control his jumping up on people when they come into the house, how to best handle common distractions while out walking, and the best way to help with separation anxiety. He provided easy to follow next steps/homework for Wally and I to work on until our next lesson. Would recommend Bark Busters and Scott!

Very affective with positive results. I learned a lot today and have a better communication with my dog. Amber is a great trainer and very knowledgeable about dog behavior.

Working with Theresa Nichols truly changed our lives with our dogs. We were struggling with aggression, sibling rivalry, leash manners and felt overwhelmed before starting training. Theresa was incredibly patient, understanding, and supportive from the very beginning. She took the time to really listen to our concerns and helped us understand our dogs instead of just correcting behaviors. The progress we’ve seen is amazing — our home is calmer, walks are enjoyable again, and our dogs interact with each other so much more peacefully. We feel confident and hopeful now, and we can’t thank Theresa enough. I would highly recommend her to anyone who feels stuck or stressed and needs real help with their dogs.

I couldn't believe how well my 9yr old boy responded to the training. He's definitely had a mind of his own and in great part i helped with his bad habits. My main complaints were excessive unnecessary barking and unruly while on leash. The last was a safety issue for me; being pulled to the ground at my age wouldn't be good. It's been two weeks and I'm thunderstruck by the changes in him... and me. He's taken well to the verbal commands, the new harness, and our new relationship. I'm a very happy dog mom now.

I cannot say enough about Theresa! The effectiveness of her training cannot be overstated. With her help, peace and order have been restored at our house! Her methods have turned daily walks with our dogs into a highlight of the day. Theresa is very responsive and flexible with her schedule. Her demeanor is calm and professional. Our dogs have responded positively (and more than even hoped) to the training and I now feel confident in our interactions. I highly recommend Theresa for any dog training.

Theresa has been phenomenal in helping us with our reactive dog Harper. In just two weeks with practicing the techniques she has shown us and applying what we now know, we have made great progress. There is a calmer pet environment in our house - thanks to Theresa!!

Theresa is awesome with helping us with Kodiak on reacting to other dogs and pulling on her leash. Very knowledgeable about what needs to be done to get your dog where you want them.