Bark Busters Reviews and Customer Testimonials

Trainer note from Alex
Taking on a puppy can be hard work, even for those people that have always had dogs. So taking on your first puppy can be a real worry for some people. I frequently get asked "are we doing it right?" Often people are doing most things right, having done some research of their own, however I have realised that they really appreciate the ongoing support and being steered in the right direction from time to time when they go a little off track. I am thoroughly enjoying helping Rita's parents and it has been great watching her grow up. She has come on leaps and bounds since I first met her some 3 to 4 months back and I know she will continue to develop into a lovely well behaved dog. Keep up the good work

Trainer note from Graham
Willoughby is an exceptionally well trained Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. When a dog has hearing loss it is not always obvious to an owner. It is very rare that a dog will have complete hearing loss (just like humans) and loss is often gradual so a dog will develop coping mechanisms to deal with it. An intelligent dog like Willoughby looks for visual cues and responds as though he can hear when he can't. In Willoughbys case he couldn't hear any high pitched noises and that included a normal dog whistle. He did react to very loud banging and could hear a loud low pitch police whistle his owner fortunately had, but not to clapping and floor stamping. Stamping often does work as a dog can feel vibration through floor boards, but his owners floors were concrete so vibration didn't carry. There are several methods for training deaf and hard of hearing dogs which we discussed. Willoughbys owner had already done a great job of teaching hand targeting (teaching a dog to touch your hand with his nose) so this could be adapted and used as a hand signal for recall. Normally you would call your dogs name and then use your hand to get your dog to come back to you and touch it. In this case the whistle was used instead of calling him vocally followed by the hand signal. Lead walking is more complex as Willoughby couldn't hear any vocal guidance so it was combination of using a 2 point harness to communicate physically with him and food to lure him to pay attention to his owner. Training a deaf or hard of hearing dog can be just as much fun and just as effective as training a hearing dog. A bonus is that very often a deaf dog is more attentive to its owner once an owner knows how to communicate with their dog.

Trainer note from Graham
This owner has 3 dogs. Two Jack Russell Terriers and a Jackapoo (a poodle terrier cross). Three dogs doesn't mean triple trouble, but it does mean that when there are problems an owner has to dedicate individual time to help the dog or dogs concerned. These little scamps are absolutely delightful but a move to a new home with foxes in their huge garden and lots of new dogs around the place threw Alfie and he got very concerned and consequently barky at anything and everything. Taking 3 dogs for a walk with one barking and another starting to copy him is stressful for anyone and does make you feel as though you are losing control, but this owner does have a great relationship with his dogs and a combination of time and practice will work wonders with his little family pack. Update: Owner has reported that Alfie is much more settled now and is listening to him when out on walks. All the dogs are enjoying their garden and the foxes are starting to give it a wide berth!!

Trainer note from Graham
When I first saw Hugo a good description would be "a bag of bones". He was very under weight and very nervous. When a dog is put under pressure adrenaline kicks in and they have two options - fight or flight. Despite his lack of confidence he had learnt that "fight" worked and scared other dogs off so his default action meant that he would "attack first ask questions later". This made it impossible for his owners. He only had to see a dog and he would start to get aggressive. His owners have done a huge amount of work with him and got him to point where he could be let off around other dogs and not immediately go for whatever dog bothered him. In fact he took a shine to one of our dogs and she had to tell him to leave her alone! With a dog with as many problems as Hugo it isn't a case of "ok he is fixed". He still doesn't trust other dogs and his nervousness means that his owners will always have to keep a close eye on his signals and if he is not coping, take him away and let him calm down. He is now the most spectacular Vizla to look at and looks to his owners for guidance rather than making his own decision. His owners have done a tremendous job with a dog that many people would simply have given up on long ago and they can be truly proud of both theirs and Hugo's achievements.