Bark Busters Home Dog Training Greater San Diego

Last evening we were able to have dinner out with friends and leave Wally at home without worry…a first in the year since we adopted him! Thank you Justin for your help with Wally’s separation anxiety! This sweet 8-year-old little dog would always want to be near us, but could be skittish, shy, and somewhat distant. He was quiet, calm, and well behaved until left alone. Then the separation anxiety caused non-stop barking and howling and we would return to find him wide-eyed, panting, and agitated. Our activities became limited to those that could include Wally, basically avoiding and likely worsening the problem. Justin spent nearly 3 hours at our initial visit, listening patiently to our worries and frustrations and evaluating Wally’s behavior. He explained his approach and demonstrated some techniques, then left us with a solid plan for the coming week. Justin participated in these “homework assignments” via text or phone call and we saw immediate steady improvement in the first week - Wally went from barking & howling to a little whining & panting. Now three weeks out we hear a quiet sigh or moan in the first few minutes and that’s it. He’s happy to see us when we return and he settles down quickly. An unexpected benefit of this work on Wally’s separation anxiety has been a reduction in his general anxiety. He’s no longer skittish, doesn’t run after us if we leave a room, and has become a lap dog. We can’t thank Justin enough and recommend him highly. His work is not just about solving an annoying problem – it has created a whole new much healthier dynamic for this little dog family and we are so grateful!

There aren’t enough words to express how grateful I am for Justin’s help with training Ranger. Here’s a bit about Ranger when we first started: - He was 90 lbs and pulled on a leash, even with a prong collar. - He was extremely reactive and could not contain the malamute in him. He just HAD to say hi (bark) at every person and dog to meet them. - He was constantly on high alert, and his solution for every situation was the craziest solution. Walks were unpleasant for both of us, I would constantly just yell and be frustrated and he didn’t have the correct guidance. The first session with Justin, he was able to get Ranger to loose leash walk next to him in 5 seconds. That’s when I realized, it’s not Ranger. It’s my fault and our miscommunication. I didn’t know how to tell him properly that he shouldn’t be pulling on the leash. I didn’t know how to tell him that he has to be calm to be able to great people and dogs. We’ve only had about 4-5 sessions, 30 mins each. His teaching style is very clear and super EASY! Ranger and I now have better communication and work better as a team. Ranger is now my service dog in training, he comes to my classes with me every week and flies with me. He can now: - Loose leash walk, and heel properly. - Ignore people and dogs when we’re out - Be CALM everywhere we go. - Realize the difference between play time and work time. Justin doesn’t teach service dog tasks, but he WILL make sure your dog can become calm and confident. He was able to help me turn my reactive dog into a service dog. I am so so grateful for everything Justin did for us! I highly recommend BarkBusters. This is the best decision we ever made! Both Ranger and I now have a better and happier life with better training and communication.

Sharing some tail-wagging success I’ve had with my fur son, Maverick (Maviboy) and our dog behavioral therapist, Justin! Maverick was a bit of a wild child (rescue pup -- got him @ 8 weeks old) with his barking, crazy walks (zig zagging all over the place), and his knack for turning every greeting into a jumping party. Spoiler: Justin came in and worked some serious magic. First off, let's talk about the barking situation. Maverick is an excited pup and would 'play bark' at almost any dog that was bigger than him (50lb Boxer Pit) to get their attention, but Justin gave us the tools to dial this down tremendously. Secondly, our walks… Maverick really bodied the, "I'm gonna pull you everywhere on our walks" mentality. Justin came with a game plan that turned our strolls into a focused dog walk that didn’t involve any pulling (on our very first session). Night and day difference. Lastly, when it comes to Maverick’s greetings… he is a big lover and would jump on every guest that entered the house. With a bit of ‘pawsitive reinforcement’ and some corrections (‘Bah’s and throw pillows’), now Maviboy greets our friends without turning everyone into his personal launchpad. But what really sets our therapist apart is the ‘Scher’ love he has for animals/genuinely wanting to understand ‘YOU’ and your furry friend as individuals and a team. It's not just a job for Just; it's a passion, and you can tell. He is truly a dog whisperer. So, if your fur baby needs a behavior boost or if you just want to understand how to communicate with your pup best friend, Justin is the man, hands down. Thanks for all that you do for pups, Justin! Big licks from Maviboy.

While my dog, Rupert, is beyond cute, he is remarkably stubborn, and nothing my boyfriend and I tried in the past to correct his behavior worked for us. Coupled with our roommate's anxious and reactive dog, Benny, they formed a little pack that was completely out of our control. After stressing over their barking, begging, clinginess, and general unruliness for too long, I was desperate for change by the time I contacted Barkbusters for help. We started working with Justin one month ago, and by the end of our first lesson alone, we had two different dogs. Justin gave us all the knowledge, tools, and confidence we needed to take on the daily training for these pups, and they have only gotten better each day. Before starting our training, the dogs would bark randomly at noises outside throughout the day, anxiously follow us wherever we moved around the house, and were unruly and reactive on walks. Now, we are able to control the random barking, they are noticeably more relaxed (as are we), and they walk calmly next to us on walks. The skills Justin taught us are so effective and simple that we can easily correct them as needed. Recently, Rupert and Benny spent the night at our roommate's parents' house and behaved so well that they reached out to Barkbusters to train their new puppy, Juanita. We are so proud of Rupert and Benny for adapting to this change, and of ourselves for committing to this daily practice of changing our behavior to improve their lives and ours! After working with Justin, our house is calmer, and we have a sense of control that would not have been possible without his help! He is friendly, communicative, knowledgeable, and professional. I could go on and on about how great his service is! Scheduling follow ups has been quick and easy, and he is available to answer any question that comes up in between our lessons. Myself, my boyfriend, and our roommates are beyond grateful to work with him and know he is just a text away if we ever need anything.

I recently adopted a great Dane named Zeus from the Humane Society. He was already a good boy, BUT some things needed to be worked on. The big one was separation anxiety. With the separation anxiety, he would tear up my house, and I had absolutely no idea what to do! After having Justin come over, I felt like I had a dog whisperer tell my dog to be on his best behavior with me. I literally had a different dog after having just one session. He gave me the tools to maintain the good behavior. Justin also has followed up checking in to make sure that Zeus is doing well with the training and progress and if not asking how he can assist and help out. I also love the fact that I have the lifespan of Zeus to always have help with any issues that may arise 🙌🏻😊💯