Bark Busters Reviews and Customer Testimonials
26th July 2014 - Lee Hardy
Lee dealt with Aggression, Barking, Jumping up, Pulling
Where do I start?? I am completely overwhelmed by the transformation of my 11 month old German shepherd pup. After the first session I have a different dog! Lee taught me how to regain control in such a short space of time. The jumping up, mouthing, barking and running at doors has disappeared over night. My pup is relaxed and stress free now. Lee you are a magician.
25th July 2014 - Lee Hardy
Lee dealt with Barking, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall
Training was very good, with Lee taking us through each problem area, giving us routines and methods which have removed or are reducing those problems.
Lee has been very prompt both in his visit and responding to calls.
18th July 2014 - Lynn Prentice
Lynn dealt with Hyperactivity, Pulling
We came to Lynn as Chester was impossible to walk on the lead, we tried eveything and eventually put up with using two differnt types of harness and using them like reigns on a horse! He would also shake and cry with excitement when he knew he was going for a walk and then bark all the way down the road (not great at 6am!).
Lyn came round and we had long chat about Chester and us and she immediately was able to give us pointers on where we were going wrong. Its only been 2 weeks and Chester is a different dog to walk and about the home. I am confident that in time even my 11 year old will be able to hold him on the lead which is something I never thought would be possible. Thanks Lynn
16th July 2014 - Estelle Jackson
Estelle dealt with Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Pulling
It's only been a week since seeing Estelle but already we can see some improvement in Shae. She seems much calmer and doesn't pull as much as she used to. Still a way to go but at least Estelle has given us hope and we can start to see light at the end of what we thought an extremely long tunnel.
12th July 2014 - Lynn Prentice
Lynn dealt with Barking, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall, Separation anxiety
Our experience with Lynn has been positive. Both of our dogs have improved with the training we were shown. Our girl has responded very well, whereas our boy has proved to be more difficult. There has been a dramatic improvement when going for walks, and it is a pleaure now without the incessant pulling. Still having problems with barking outside. Around the house is much improved and visitors have commented about how quiet they are now. Lynn responded quickly to our request for some refresher training. Training lapsed when we left the dogs while we were away on holiday, but is now back on track.
8th July 2014 - Lee Hardy
Lee dealt with Barking, Jumping up
Such a simple solution but very effect. It has changed our lives completely that we can now leave lulu on her own knowing she will not bark and upset our neighbours.
8th July 2014 - Kevin McDonnell
Kevin dealt with Barking, Jumping up, Pulling, Puppy management, Recall
Fantastic! instant results. everything was explained to us and the reasons why. we were then shown how it works in practice, and then taught how to do it ourselves. my mother is now feeling really confident and relaxed with George. it is nice to have it all written down to refer to and to know that kevin is at the end of the phone if needed. we are both very happy! thank you so much!
8th July 2014 - Kevin McDonnell
Kevin dealt with Aggression, Barking, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall
Can not believe the difference one days training has made and we are continuing this following Kevin's instructions. My girls have been aggressive as they are frightened, pulled on the lead, barked at people and dogs as they walked passed and jumped up at me. It's early days but the response is remarkable. Beach test to come, but I feel so much more confident that they will mix well and be able to control them.
7th July 2014 - Kevin McDonnell
Kevin dealt with Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall, Separation anxiety, Sibling rivalry
Kevin came to help us with the issues that my two dogs had and I told him my dream was to walk both my dogs down the beach with all the others dogs and not need to worry. I didnt think this was going to be possible but Kevin worked with them both and they responded really well. We even managed to walk them both down the beach off lead with all the other dogs and they loved it.
I would recommend Kevin to help train your dogs. His way of training works very quickly.
I also did the Covered for life guarentee so that I can contact him if I have anymore concerns throughout their lifes.
3rd July 2014 - Alex Fraser
Alex dealt with Aggression, Barking, Chewing, Digging, Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Pulling, Puppy management, Recall, Other
Our first session with Alex was a great introduction to puppy training. Rita (cockapoo puppy) is our first dog and so we were in need of some guidance. Alex was great with Rita and the techniques he showed us worked straight away. He was very patient with us and answered our stream of questions along with reassuring us that we were doing a decent job raising our puppy.
Alex is great at fitting round us for visits (including evenings and weekends). He is very flexible and works around us whether we want frequent short visits or longer visits every so often.
Alex has been working with us for over 3 months now and we are still learning new things with each visit. All of the equipment he has supplied us with is top notch and we have found the Bark Busters products to have been especially helpful!
I would definitely recommend Alex to anyone who is looking for a personal and professional dog training service!
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
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
29th June 2014 - Graham Milgrew
Graham dealt with Pulling, Recall
We booked a session with Jo to help re-train recall and reduce lead pulling with our 18 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Willoughby. It was a complete revelation as Jo was about to establish in a few short minutes that Willoughby is almost certainly deaf. Willoughby had previously been very good with recall and I had spent a lot of time training him since he was 8 weeks old, but over the last 6 months or so he had rapidly gone downhill and was at the point where he wasn't listening at all any more. Well, no wonder - he couldn't hear a thing we were saying!
Discovering our lovely boy was deaf was upsetting, but Jo was so reassuring and was able to adjust her training plan seemingly instantly - she talked us through alternative training methods and ways to communicate with Willoughby so that he could understand and that we wouldn't feel frustrated. After a bit of trial and error we discovered he could hear a whistle and Jo gave us the knowledge we needed to get him back into the swing of training. It was so lovely to see him alert and wagging his tail, responding to commands again like he used to. Jo gave us a lovely gift, and that was the gift of confidence in our dog again - he was capable and was willing we just needed to learn new ways of communicating with him.
With regards to lead pulling, Jo was fantastic in demonstrating how to better control Willoughby with our ezydog harness and delivering some home truths about the problems of walking a puller on a flexi lead! We've taken these lessons to heart and have taken away the flexis, and are dedicated to following her plan and are confident with some perseverance we will begin to see great results. Thanks Jo!
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.
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.
25th June 2014 - Graham Milgrew
Graham dealt with Aggression, Barking, Pulling, Recall
I found there was a lot to take in on the first lesson Jo explained everything very clearly but i think it will take a few sessions until I get things right.
It was also interesting watching Jo interact with the dogs and how well they responded to her only wishing I could do the same. Jo gave some very good advice on Alfies diet which was very useful and I am very much looking forward to learning from Jo's training methods for my dogs and hope that one day Alfie can walk down the road without wanting to have a go at every dog he see's.
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!!
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!!