Reviews & Testimonials For Graham Milgrew

We have had our first virtual meeting with Jo, who I found to be extremely experienced within her role and completely open and honest. Felt totally relaxed and relieved by the end of our call. Thank you Jo !!!!

We were in desperate need of help as my brother had to go into hospital at short notice and we were left with four very wild and uncontrollable rescue dogs. Graham was very patient and helped us feel confident with the dogs. He gave us several tips and made us aware of how to read their body language and the signals they were giving us. Graham has been invaluable in assisting us to manage the dogs as without his intervention they may have had to be rehomed. Very grateful for Graham enormous support and years of experience with training dogs. These dogs are like children to my brother and it was so important as a family that we are able to care and look after them in the future when he is not with us any more.

I was having issues settling my new puppy & contacted Barkbusters. My trainer was Jo Milgrew & she was an absolute lifesaver. Jo provided practice help & advice and supported me throughout. She gave sound tips on how to get my puppy settled into her new home, help on toilet training and provided guidance on setting a good night time routine. My puppy display separation anxiety and I had no clue about this or how to manage it and Jo was instrumental in guiding me through this really difficult and stressful time. I cannot recommend her services high enough she actually saved my sanity!! Jo is extremely knowledgeable, empathetic and professional and I would not have survived without her help. Thank you Jo and Barkbusters, you are providing a great service and worth every penny spent.

We first contacted Jo when Norfi was a puppy and were immediately impressed by her warmth, knowledge and dog whispering skills! Jo gave us the confidence to practice many of her suggestions without her supervision and there's no doubt she's made a huge difference to Norfi as we've watched him grow into the happy and cheeky little rascal he is. Recently Jo has been helping us with Norfi's car anxiety which has been very helpful and I'm sure will make a big difference! Many thanks, Kip & Jo

Our Miniature Goldendoodle, Indie, is a resource guarder. As our first dog, training a puppy was utterly new to us, and while we were successful in some areas, we were also struggling in others. It wasn't long before our lack of understanding showed, and our puppy soon developed a possessive aggressive nature over things she would pick up and find. We were at such a loss on what to do, and it was causing us a lot of stress and anxiety; cue Jo & Graham Milgrew, who – quite literally – came in and rescued us from this downward spiral. They showed us that it wasn't an issue with her alone but with how we were handling the situation and that we needed to change to help Indie. Indie's guarding was quite severe to give you some background, although it never happened with food or toys, her resource guarding came into play whenever she picked something up on her walk or if she found something around the flat. Instead of growling to warn us off, she would go straight to biting and with every episode, we knew the situation was getting worse. In our initial meeting with Jo, she talked us through resource guarding, explained the situation from Indie's point of view – which was eye-opening – and gave us some steps which we could take to help the situation. We immediately followed those steps, which centred around getting Indie to trust us again, and since then, she has completely changed. It took some time to build up that trust, but it was like a sudden switch in her behaviour one day. She would allow us to stroke her when she had something she would typically guard, and then she learnt to drop and swap it for something else. Which was just amazing and a point I'd never thought we'd get to. We understand that Indie is and probably always will be a resource guarder, but we don't take anything away from her as she listens to us and swaps it for something else. A key takeaway from the training was learning to remain calm and relaxed when she had something; if we got stressed, her guarding would worsen. We know now that dog training is not a linear process, but with both Jo & Graham's help, it can be an easier thing to tackle. We'd highly recommend getting in contact; it's a decision you and your best friend would never regret.

We initially got in touch because Finzi had separation Anxiety and we couldn't leave him alone for any length of time without him becoming distressed. Jo met with us several times on Zoom and talked us through some techniques we could use. Our routine has been changing because of lockdown but the work we have put in has paid off. Finzi has had a very good week- I've been back on the school site for 2 weeks now and he is getting into the new routine with me not there and Tim coming and going or in meetings in another room. It was really good to see Graham last week and get some advice on walking Finzi. The specialist lead arrived during the week- what a difference it makes. We have had a few walks with it now and this morning I took him across the Heath and into Greenwich park without getting my arm pulled out of its socket! It has made such a difference. Every now and then he tries to get to off, but mostly is not bothered by it Let's hope it continues.

Jo and Graham have been so great. I had a long chat with Jo on Zoom to discuss training/biting and everything in between and then Graham has been to see us twice, both times have been so useful especially with leash training, it really has given me the confidence to ensure Winn and I working together. I'm really so pleased with their knowledge and helpfulness.

We contacted Bark Busters as we were new to owning a puppy and felt we needed guidance on all aspects associated with being a new dog owner. We found Graham to be a very calming influence to us and also Murray. His techniques for training Murray were excellent and covered all aspects of dog behaviour etc. It was great to see that after only a few minutes with Murray Graham had brought him under control. The instruction and face to face contact with Graham enabled us to see for ourselves what we should/should not be doing. Graham was always to hand when we were having a problem we could not deal with and he guided us through what to do. We found the notes he supplied to be very comprehensive and helpful. Murray is progressing with training, walking and recall work - not quite the finished article yet but we are getting there. He has said that should we need his help he is always at the end of a phone which we found reassuring. We were asked recently who our trainer was and we had no hesitation in recommending Bark Busters as we found Graham to be of great help to us.

Started my training way back in September 2019 with Jo and from the moment of meeting Jo I just knew I was in good hands. Jo was so knowledgeable, confident and put me and Gypsy at ease very quickly. The training tips she showed me helped so much with my feelings of despair. Gypsy was a rescue dog having been dumped in my daughter's front garden spray painted blue and her tail had been docked so she had a lot of issues. Fast forward to 2020 and COVID. Jo has always been ready and happy to help with any “niggles” whether by phone or text or email or video. Now in another new year and some problems have been causing me concern; in comes Graham and must say our meeting yesterday was “spot on” he had such simple answers to what I thought were big problems. All his ideas and answers have been so helpful. Jo and Graham thank you and you two are amazing.

We are delighted with the progress made with Harley, and look forward to further, beneficial support from Bark Busters. We would certainly recommend them.

The 3 sessions we have had with Jo and Graham have been so helpful. Jo helped us with a long zoom call to go through our concerns about Vita and gave us some helpful training strategies and also sent us notes. Graham came to visit us and went through training techniques and when I was concerned about Vita's behaviour came to see us very quickly and gave us some really useful advice. I have found them very supportive and not at all judgemental and would recommend them. Graham's calm approach had an almost immediate effect on our dog's challenging behaviour.

Our Springer came to us as a rescue, with multiple issues, 5 years ago. At the time we had a lot of help from both Jo and Graham and due to their patience and advice we managed to settle her with our 2 other dogs. Fast forward 5 years and following major surgery poor Geri had a major meltdown, starting with not wanting to sleep at night and escalating into not being able to stop running around during the day unless restrained, really heart breaking. I called up Jo, and there were her and Graham ready to help with a whole new problem. Geri is a long way from fixed but with Jo and Graham's help we are taking little steps every day and moving in the right direction. Without them I am pretty certain i would have lost my girl by now. As you can imagine I can't recommend Bark Busters highly enough.