Bark Busters Reviews

Katherine Simkins is an outstanding dog trainer. We contacted Bark Busters to help deal with aggressive behavior from one of our two Schipperke's towards other people in the house, including the owner. She taught us how to respond to our dogs in a positive yet firm manner, without any physical threats or intimidation. She made us feel empowered to become the "pack leaders" and helped us understand why this role was of such importance for canines in any household. Katherine was very patient and thoroughly explained her techniques. She followed this by demonstrating the activity and then had us each practice it while she observed. Katherine has come to our home twice within a month which reinforced whether we were performing the exercises correctly. Our dogs have responded very well to this training. There is certainly a learning curve, but with consistency, our dogs behaviors have dramatically improved. They are listening better, are less aggressive, and have been much more focused since the initiation of this training with Katherine. Our dogs are 9 years old and we sincerely believe that you can teach old dogs new tricks. We look forward to working with Katherine over the next year and progressing in this training system to make our home a happy and safe environment for us, the dogs, and all visitors.

• #Aggression
• #Barking
• #Jumping up
• #Sibling rivalry
• #Separation anxiety

Greg helped my girlfriend Elissa and I with two different dogs.

Our first, a three year old border collie/black lab mix rescue named Bear, was having trouble adjusting to his new home, and we weren't sure of how to exercise leadership best. Greg walked us through basic behavioral training, and not only demonstrated clearly to us how training techniques should be applied, but really taught us how to consistently and effectively apply each individual technique. Bear was having trouble with pulling on the leash outside, jumping up on guests, disobeying commands, as well as with general anxiety within the home. Since working with Greg, Bear is now practically the perfect companion! He's very attentive, and Greg's lessons in leadership and maintenance have consistently allowed us to reinforce positive behavior. He no longer pulls on the leash, and walks soundly next to us like a dream. He used to jump on every person he met; now, it's barely ever an issue-- and what little of it is left, we're able to correct out of him. He's responsive, eager to please, and perhaps most importantly, just as loving and affectionate as he was before training.

Our second, an eight year old rescue pug named Oliver, was brought into our household from his old home. His previous owner was dealing with rather complicated medical issues, and felt they were no longer able to provide Oliver with the care he deserved. Oliver transitioned into our home well, but in moving from one loving household to another, he still experienced some stress. He was eager to jump onto furniture, couldn't be left alone, and would whimper constantly if he didn't have his way. Additionally, he hadn't been trained in obedience, and we needed to learn how best to address disciplining an older dog. Greg easily walked us through the steps, and taught us a few new techniques to use to help Oliver to relax, ease into his new space, and to recognize and follow our leadership. We only just recently adopted Oliver, but after one session with Greg, we've already seen marked improvement! He no longer whines and cries, but is instead fully obedient and patient. We've been slowly teaching him new commands and tricks, which he's been responding well to.

All in all, Greg has been an excellent help with both of our dogs. He's responsive and easy to coordinate with, and he always shows up eager to help. He's provided us with a number of lessons, as well as supplemental equipment, and is always willing to further recommend other products and services that may help. His lessons are easy to follow, hands on, and have always shown immediate effectiveness.
We've learned a lot from him, and will definitely continue to!

• #Barking
• #Chewing
• #Hyperactivity
• #Jumping up
• #Pulling
• #Separation anxiety
• #Toileting

Richard is a very good trainer. Was very clear on instruction and I was able to understand everything the was instructed. Theo has come along way

• #Aggression
• #Barking
• #Chewing
• #Jumping up
• #Pulling
• #Puppy management
• #Recall
• #Separation anxiety

Bob Williams was outstanding. By the time our initial session of three hours was over we saw an immediate change in Penny's behavior, especially in setting boundaries within the downstairs area, and improvement continues each day. Improvement can be seen in her general behavior, as well as threshold limits, walking on leash, front door limits. We highly recommend Bob and the Bark Buster program.

• #Pulling
• #Separation anxiety