Bark Busters Home Dog Training

Got this deal from LivingSocial because we had a few issues we’d been wanting to take care of on lil Jock. He’s actually an excellent pet: doesn’t lick, energetic yet a cuddler, 80% obedient, fully house and kennel trained, doesn’t gnaw on anything but his toys, never steals food, and a good guard dog… oh, but he has some bad qualities, too (well, they’re good qualities for a pack leader, but not for a pack follower, which is what he SHOULD be. and yes, that means he WAS *our* pack leader … that was, before our trainer showed up).
Alright, so back to Bark Busters. Killer LivingSocial deal; Jason on the line was super helpful and got us set up with a Master Trainer; Master Trainer showed up promptly on time (she was excellent with accomodating our schedule, etc) and immediately we got a lesson on pack leadership. She was able to observe our dog’s behavior, then listen to our ‘summary’ of the dog (how he is, what we like about him, his mannerisms and routines), then our wish list for ‘areas of improvement’.
The first part of the meeting was over with and so we got down to the ‘educational’ part. She went through some slides she has set up neatly in a small pop-​up display (yes, I’m geeky and I did take lots of notes and asked plenty of questions), basically educating us on how dog’s are and how we need to assess his needs and wants as a DOG and not a HUMAN. In short, I think her presentation was HIGHLY informative, educational and really helped address our dog’s problem’s root-​cause which is HE THINKS HE’S OUR PACK LEADER because we’ve spoiled him and given him freedoms that he understands to mean that he is the leader. So, even though our ‘wishlist’ of behavior problems were not specifically addressed (well, some were) in this first 3hr session, we got a more root-​cause understanding of his mentality which directly relates to his problems (problems in case your curious: sep anxiety with no one else but my hubby, he’s highly demanding with petting and any attention, he really dislikes small humans with their high-​pitch voices… kids, jumps on anyone that comes close enough, secretly gets on and thus scratches the couches which are off-​limits, and occasionally nips at the feet of our house guests… yes, some are bigger than others, but nevertheless problems).
I think it’s worth the money to get a trainer of this caliber. I only give you 1 piece of advice, do not book it unless you are open minded and willing to actually change YOUR habits so that your dog can follow you as a leader and thus improve his behavior… oh yeah, 2^nd piece of advice (this goes for raising kids, too): make sure you and your partner or whoever else owns the dog with you is there and also willing to make real changes in how they will train the dog… otherwise you are wasting your time and money if you’re going to get a whole lesson and then not do your part by being consistent and changing your habits.
Bark Busters produced great results. Llil Jock’s behavior was notably different in the days following and, now, the following week… no more jumping, less barking at passerbys, not an attention whore like before. and hopefully more changes as the weeks go by. They are an excellent choice to helping yor problems if you are willing to WORK at CHANGING the bad habits you are exhibiting which are naturally encouraging your dog’s bad behavior.
There, I’ve said my piece. :)