Bark Busters Reviews and Customer Testimonials
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!!
24th June 2014 - Lee Hardy
Lee dealt with Barking, Pulling
Lee was absolutely wonderful with my dogs I couldn't have hoped for a better person to help me
22nd June 2014 - Graham Milgrew
Graham dealt with Aggression, Separation anxiety
Jo first came out to see us when we first took on our rescue Vizla Hugo, in November 2011. Hugo had some serious issues with dog aggression and we were finding it very difficult to come into contact with any dogs. Jo came out to our home,listened to our concerns, spent time with us and Hugo to really get a sense of the negative behavior Hugo was displaying. Jo was brilliant and spent lots of time explaining the reasons why Hugo may be behaving in this way, and what steps we can start to take to change and improve this behavior. Jo took us through some initial training and left us with lots of tips and tricks in our pack to start to work on Hugo dog aggression.
More recently, on June 1st 2012, my wife, Hugo and I all attended one of Jo's workshops. Working with Jo were some wonderful helpers and trainers, along with a number of dogs which (real and stuffed!) we used to work with Hugo and practice being up close with other dogs. The session was brilliant, the people Jo had helping were so good and it really helped Hugo to realize that not all dogs are to be attacked! We would like to personally thank Georgia the trainer and behaviorist, her granddaughter Amber for all your help, Jenny the T-touch practitioner (who Hugo was very fond of!) and Graham for all your help. We personally also left with a new confidence and felt that with further work, and taking all the great advice and guidance we had been furnished with, all is not lost!. Both my wife and I would recommend attending these types of sessions, along with the professional advice and guidance Jo is giving us, Hugo is coming on very well. THANKS GUYS!
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.
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.
22nd June 2014 - Lee Hardy
Lee dealt with Puppy management
Lee very quickly established a training technique which would help with our young puppy biting. He also spent some time with us in teaching us how to walk to heel. Lee gave us some additional training tips which we have been using and overall the puppy's response to training has been very positive.
20th June 2014 - Kevin McDonnell
Kevin dealt with Barking
Flabbergasted! The change was very nearly instant even if Dolly did seem "shell shocked". I am sure that we can keep up the training of both ourselves and Dolly to all of our benefits.
20th June 2014 - Lee Hardy
Lee dealt with Puppy management
Absolutely fantastic training! Lee helped me with all areas of puppy management and it was a great refresher as it has been quite a few years since we have had a pup in the house.
20th June 2014 - Kevin McDonnell
Kevin dealt with Aggression, Barking, Jumping up, Recall
The training was clear and easy to implement. The desired behaviour changes occurred almost immediately.
18th June 2014 - Andy Waterhouse
Andy dealt with Barking, Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall, Separation anxiety
we had our first session with andy last week and already we can see a difference just by using the techniques andy showed us
and by switching both dogs to a healthier raw food diet
we are happier both our dogs seem happier
cant wait for our second training session again today and progress further
andy is a amazing trainer and we look forward to working with him for the year
there is nothing that seems to phase andy at all and he has techniques to overcome situations that dont seem possible
so thank you andy and bark busters were looking forward to our journey continuing with you
17th June 2014 - Liz Johnson
Liz dealt with Aggression, Jumping up, Pulling
Liz did a fantastic job with Dexter. Previously he pulled so hard on the lead he would cough and choke, making going for a walk frustrating and embarrassing. Now walks are lovely, I'm enjoying taking him out again. Dexter is a lot better with other dogs when out on walks, we've even set up some doggy dates to see if Dexter can make some friends.
He's much calmer in general, it's easier to control him when we have guests, we no longer have to shut him away when we have people over. Before, they used to get licked half to death!
Liz taught me everything from the theory behind his different behaviours (and misbehaviours) to the importance of good nutrition. Can not recommend Liz enough, she really understands dogs and their owners.
15th June 2014 - Graham Milgrew
Graham dealt with Other
What a fantastic morning. We (and Sammi our dog) learnt so much. I had a dog on a muzzle (not dog friendly at all) working with people she had never met (apart from Jo) and in no time at all they had identified Sammi's issue. Found the start of the solution and within a couple of hours Sammi was running around with no muzzle and totally ignoring the other dogs that were around her. Her love of the little Pond kept her occupied. We have a way to go but we are feeling very positive about how this is going to go. Sammi will now sniff around some other dogs rather than attack them. We still have a few issues but with further workshops we are convinced it will all come good. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. We can only thank you for what you have done so far and I’m sure Sammi thanks you too !!
Trainer note from Graham
Sammi is a lovely Staffordshire Bull Terrier who was adopted from Battersea Dogs Home. Like many rescue dogs she came with lots of little quirks like her love of sitting on tables and chairs and her determination to look out of the window, but the thing that her owners really struggled with was her dog aggression. She is a very fearful dog and had learned that the best form of defence was offence and would attack dogs if they came to close. We started off with muzzle training for safety and then her owners started working at a distance getting her focus onto them and getting her used to dogs walking nearby. They had practiced this diligently and by the time she came to the workshop Sammi was ready for practice in a controlled environment with "friendly" dogs. Dog aggression is not an overnight fix, but these owners have proved that with hard work and determination you can make a difference to your dog. Update: Sammi has been to a second workshop and is now being let off lead in open spaces and comes back to her owner on command if she is worried or concerned. She is still fearful and will react to dogs so is kept muzzled for safety unless her owner knows the dogs are friendly. This is an excellent common sense approach as her owners can then relax and enjoy being out and about with their dog.
Sammi is a lovely Staffordshire Bull Terrier who was adopted from Battersea Dogs Home. Like many rescue dogs she came with lots of little quirks like her love of sitting on tables and chairs and her determination to look out of the window, but the thing that her owners really struggled with was her dog aggression. She is a very fearful dog and had learned that the best form of defence was offence and would attack dogs if they came to close. We started off with muzzle training for safety and then her owners started working at a distance getting her focus onto them and getting her used to dogs walking nearby. They had practiced this diligently and by the time she came to the workshop Sammi was ready for practice in a controlled environment with "friendly" dogs. Dog aggression is not an overnight fix, but these owners have proved that with hard work and determination you can make a difference to your dog. Update: Sammi has been to a second workshop and is now being let off lead in open spaces and comes back to her owner on command if she is worried or concerned. She is still fearful and will react to dogs so is kept muzzled for safety unless her owner knows the dogs are friendly. This is an excellent common sense approach as her owners can then relax and enjoy being out and about with their dog.