what dog owners say about Jo & Graham Milgrew
Dog Training & Behavioral Therapist
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1st June 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo was wonderful and really understood Leo. After one consultation our dog went from destroyer due to separation anxiety to perfect pooch. He had bitten through doors, windows, crates, chairs and was starting to become slightly aggressive to other dogs. Once the issues were ironed out he was much happier and that's what it is about. Thank you for everything Jo we may need to again when we next move just to make sure everything stays well. Thanks very much from Tash Greig and Leo
Leo is a extremely well trained Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Dogue De bordeaux cross. His owners knew they had a powerful dog and were very responsible when it came to every aspect of his training. They were therefore taken unawares when they moved house and Leo became very distressed about being left on his own. In his desperation to get to them he tried to break through windows and doors. They researched what to do and bought him a crate but he broke out of that breaking a tooth and tearing his face in the process. This is common advice but can actually make dogs with separation anxiety much worse. There is not a "one size fits all" with dogs suffering from separation so I worked with his owners to find what worked for him which also included training for his other more minor issues. His owners did all that was advised and I am delighted that Leo has responded so well. They can truly be proud of what they have achieved with him.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4895
Chelmsford, Essex (Testimonial)
13th May 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Bernie and I had a session with Jo today and I have to say a big thank you, Jo was friendly but also very thorough and professional. As a first time dog owner I was able to ask all kinds of questions without feeling I should know the answers. Jo was brilliant, she went through everything and left plenty of reading material to reinforce everything we covered. Her advice was invaluable and she backed up advice with explanations or examples. I already feel I have made progress and look forward to putting her advice into action. Just knowing I can contact Jo again if I do have problems is reassuring. Five star service and I am happy to recommend Jo and Bark Busters.
Bernie is a lovely Basset Hound puppy who is currently spending his time stepping on his own huge ears until he grows into his body a bit more. He is fearful of the car so we spent time playing with him while it was stationery and then switching the car engine on so he can learn to enjoy spending time in the car. As with many puppies he is mouthing and nipping a lot which has resulted in breaking of skin on his owners legs. It is important that a puppy learns to control the force of his mouthing and how to play nicely so I showed his owner how to teach him to play nicely and to chew on something other than her! We also started to put the steps in needed when he gets very over excited and jumpy at food time. Bernie was very responsive to the training and keen to engage with his owner. She had done some excellent work with him already and simply needed practical guidance to deal with the difficulties she was having. I am looking forward to seeing him grow up into a powerful and no doubt stunning looking adult Basset Hound.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4869
Rainham, Essex (Testimonial)
8th May 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
We had our first appointment with Jo a couple of days ago after seeking some help for our French Bulldog Napoleon. We had previously used the Australian Bark Busters team to successfully get Napoleon walking better on the leash, and so were relieved that the international guarantee could be used here in London. After recently arriving in London with us, Napoleon had started barking at every passing pedestrian, truck, squirrel, bird and especially other dogs. He'd also mounted our neighbour's dog which was pretty embarrassing.
Jo came over as soon as possible which we really appreciated as we were having a tough time - almost immediately she could see what the problem was and started to give us practical actions we could take to minimise the stress on our dog and start improving his behaviour. We also did some training exercises with Napoleon inside and outside our flat.
Jo is easy to talk to and obviously loves dogs of all shapes and sizes; by the end of the night it was like we were receiving advice from an old friend. Jo left us with written notes and a sense of relief that we would eventually be able to sort out Napoleon's issues in time. Of course it is early days and we haven't yet tried all of Jo's suggestions (some aids we ordered online are yet to arrive) but the first tip - which was to block Napoleon's view of the street until he is more settled - worked a treat (a few cardboard boxes across the bottom panes of glass and he hardly barked all day yesterday - a more permanent solution of frosting the glass is also underway). Jo will be available for follow up visits and mentioned that Napoleon definitely needs one, so watch this space!
Would absolutely recommend the service to anybody with doggy difficulties.
Napoleon is a lovely French Bulldog who has travelled half way around the world with his owners. Moving home can be just as stressful for a dog as for its owners and in Napoleons case, he came from a quiet suburb and is now in the hustle and bustle of London. He is struggling to adjust to the new environment and the stress he is under means that he has become very noise sensitive and not behaving as he normally does when it comes to meeting dogs and people. There are lots of things that can be done to help a dog struggling in this way and he has very committed owners who are prepared to put their dog first and do all that is necessary to reduce his stress and get him settled into his new busy London lifestyle.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4863
London (Testimonial)
26th April 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo was extremely helpful and spend a good few hours talking to us about managing Max's behaviour, offering some practical advice including demonstrations of the more complex instructions. Max had an excellent time (especially with the socialisation section with Smudge) and Jo engaged all family members with everyone walking away with an exciting task to work on over the next few weeks! We can't wait to see Jo again - we ALL had a great time with first class advice! Thanks Jo for being such a patient, knowledgeable and excellent teacher!
Max is an adorable Labrador puppy. This is the families first dog so we covered the importance of good socialisation so that Max is happy and comfortable around people, dogs and other animals and confident going out and about in the world. He met my dog Smudge and had a great time running around the garden with him and learning how to relate in nicely to an older dog. We also did general training including sit, stay, come when called and walk nicely on the lead so the family could focus on the most important aspects of training a young puppy. They had previously struggled getting him to walk on the lead. Like many puppies he found the lead a very alien thing and plonked his bottom on the floor and didn't want to move. It is important to always encourage puppies to walk rather than dragging them and the family did a great job of getting Max excited and willing to walk with them. It was a delight to see him walking up the road happily by the end of the session.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4850
Gidea Park, Essex (Testimonial)
8th April 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
When I contacted Barkbusters my pug puppy was 9 months old and had acquired a habit of barking at everything and anything … cars, birds, people etc. In the garden and house she would territorial bark and when out on the lead would get extremely nervous and bark at passersby.
I had tried several techniques but all to no avail. Then one day I came across the Barkbusters website. Feeling I had nothing to lose I contact them and was put in touch with Jo Milgrew. This was the first step to a happier and contented pug.
After just a few hours with Freya, Jo was able to let me know why Freya was behaving the way she was and how to avoid or handle this behaviour going forward. Just understanding why Freya was acting this way helped us both deal with situations better and although Freya will always be a nervous dog she is so much happier and confident now.
There is still a long way to go, with continuous reinforcement needed but Jo is always there to answer my questions and deal with anything new that arises. The training notes provided are a constant source of reassurance, allowing me to refer back to Jo’s advice as and when needed.
Jo is a fantastic trainer and never once made me feel inadequate as an owner. She provided practical advice that fitted in with our lifestyle and gave several alternatives so we could find what works for us. And the most important thing … Freya adores her!
Freya is not a confident dog and gets distressed when out on walks and in the garden. She feels the need to bark to alert her owner to "danger" and to try and keep anything away that might possibly be a threat. This type of behaviour can get worse over time because the dogs thinks it is successful. Birds will fly away, people will jump back so all that barking works from the dogs point of view. Dealing with this takes time and patience. The owner has to build her dogs confidence and at the same time let her know that she doesn't need protecting from possible dangers. Anyone who has tried to break one of their own habits will know that this isn't something you can do overnight, but can be done. Freya is making amazing progress and I am looking forward to continuing to work with Freya and her owner.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4829
Southend-on-Sea, Essex (Testimonial)
5th April 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo spent 3 hours with us and identified problems I hadn't spotted, particularly with my older dog. Everything she told, and showed, me was excellent and made so much sense - I felt so much more relaxed when she left and my two dogs are getting on so much better with the instruction she gave me.
This owner got her new dog from Serbia. Street dogs generally make wonderful pets, but can take time to settle down to living in a home and understand what is expected of them. When an owner gets a new dog it totally natural to assume that any problems occurring are caused by the new dog, but it is very often a combination. The existing dog has to make just as many adjustments as the new dog and is just as capable of misbehaving! Knowing what to do is half the battle and I have every confidence that this owner will do a brilliant job with both her lovely dogs.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4823
London (Testimonial)
14th March 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo was excellent as to explaining all my concerns with Dudley. A really lovely lady. We have followed her advice regarding Dudley's diet and there has been significant changes in Dudley's behaviour. I still find walking him very stressful as constantly avoiding other dogs is very hard work. He now wears a "Thundershirt", as recommended by Jo, when I take him out for walks. It has helped. He still wears a muzzle and when we do incur another dog he tries to remove it!
Dudley is a huge Bull Mastiff/Labrador cross dog who came to his owner as a Rescue. It is very obvious from his behaviour that he doesn't understand the world outside at all and he pulls his very slight owner all over the place when he sees people, children and in particular dogs. He is controlled with both a face collar and wears a muzzle so he is safe but he is so powerful he cannot be safely walked past other dogs at this time. His owner is working on his fears so he can become calmer when out and is making progress, but Dudley will need a lot of time and patience before he will understand that not everything outside is scary and a threat to him. This type of behaviour is typical of rescue dogs who have had a bad start in life and it takes the sort of owner Dudley has to give him the chance of a normal life.
Update (June 2014): This owner has done daily work with Dudley and he can now be walked safely on the streets. He can now see dogs on the other side of the road and people can walk past him without him lunging and getting distressed or aggressive. We have now started work in more open areas where there are dogs off the lead nearby.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4786
Chelmsford, Essex (Testimonial)
23rd February 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Really good session. Very useful with daisy. Daisy is doing really well walking properly on her lead and not jumping up and barking so much.
Daisy is a lovely Cockerpoo. She is really bouncy and was doing lots of jumping up at kitchen surfaces when her owner was cooking or preparing food and generally to get her owners attention. This is hard work when you have a busy household and Daisy was getting away with it simply because if she couldn't get the attention she would start to bark at her owners instead. It takes calm gentle persistence from owners to fix this and they are making good progress. Because she is so excitable she pulled heavily on the lead when she went out which was particularly difficult when walking with the children. She is walking very nicely now and the next thing we will be tackling is to teach her to walk calmly alongside a pushchair. These owners are proof that even if you have lots of things going on at all times, you can still train your dog successfully.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4767
Upminster, Essex (Testimonial)
2nd February 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
The reason I called bark busters in the first place was because my puppy Olly was biting me and destroying my house, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to cope with him.
Jo came round and made me so much more confident with Olly. She was excellent with Olly and me, Jo was a real god send we discussed everything we could about bringing up my puppy who has anxiety problems and is afraid of everything even going for a walk. Jo spent all afternoon with us and didn't leave until I was confident enough.
I would recommend Jo to anyone I know as I now feel a million times better bring up Olly the best way I can.
Olly is a very fast growing Pointer/Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross. He was taken away from his Mother way too early and this owner has not had normal puppy behaviour to deal with. This means that Olly wasn't just puppy biting he was taking lumps out of his owner and biting her grandchildren. He wasn't just having a chew on things, he was chomping his way through the house. He couldn't bear to be left on his own and if he was he became very distressed and was destructive. He also had no confidence and struggled to do even the basics. When that happens it is easy to think that you are the one at fault as everything is such hard work with these types of pups. Olly is a very lucky puppy as many owners would have simply given up faced with so many serious problems at such a young age. The good news is that with a lot of patience and perseverance these types of puppies can grow up into perfectly normal dogs provided they are trained in a gentle and consistent manner and supported while they gain confidence lost when they were taken away from their mothers. Olly has the right owner to do this and I am looking forward to seeing Olly as he grows up.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4744
Dagenham, Essex (Testimonial)
21st January 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Excellent first lesson and Jo is lovely. We wanted to understand our dogs behaviour and feel more comfortable with having them around our small children (Demi in particular is very nervous). Jo explained why they behave the way they do and how we need to help them, not just train them which was was an eye-opener. We noticed a difference immediately and Demi's bond with our eldest son is already much stronger. We've still got a lot to do and correcting the barking and excitement is going to take some time but it's worth it. We haven't even begun to tackle walks yet but that's the excellent thing about paying a lump sum, we can ask Jo to come back whenever we need her to and she's always available by phone/email. I'm glad we went ahead with this, we were starting to feel we couldn't handle both dogs but now feel much more confident with them and wish we'd done this sooner, preferably before having kids!!
These owners have 2 lovely dogs, a Doberman cross and a Chihuahua cross. Both the dogs and themselves have spent lots of time living in Europe and the dogs had to stay with other family members for a long period at one point when they were in transit. This and the arrival of children in the interim meant that their previously well behaved dogs have got confused about what is expected and don't know how to behave in certain circumstances. Before they knew it they had a myriad of problems such as squabbling dogs, barking, lead pulling and a mix of either hyperactivity or nervousness around the kids. As this is a very busy family who still travel to Europe they are now working at rebuilding relationships and working at their own pace with the training required. Their dogs really love and respect them and I have no doubt that they will achieve everything they want to with their ongoing patience and consistency.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4722
Chelmsford, Essex (Testimonial)
The Bark Busters worldwide home dog training service guarantee is unique in the industry. It is designed to help owners resolve their dog's behaviour and obedience problems and to provide customers with the satisfaction of ongoing support and peace of mind.