Bark Busters Home Dog Training Greater San Diego

We adopted a ~3yo male bull terrier mix from a shelter and needed help getting him settled in. He is nervous around men, especially tall men, and was starting to get very overly protective of our home. "Boot camp" options seemed extreme, so I called Bark Busters (BB), seeking in-home private lessons. Justin responded the same day I left a message, and we talked about my concerns with our new rescue. I decided to try the BB program, which ended up being the BEST DECISION for my pup and for me! Justin set up our first session with trainer/coach James. James spent much of the 1st session going through the goals, objectives and concepts of training, including a timeline based on reasonable expectations of my dog. James spent a lot of time explaining how to "read" my dog's behavior, and how to properly respond. He explained the concepts behind each step, which helped me to understand not just what to do, but why (thus enabling me to understand how to deploy the training to different situations). James also set up scenarios to practice, going through each step so I could gain confidence in what my role is while helping my dog settle. It really is about training the owner how to work with the dog. James provided summaries of each session, plus videos demonstrating how I can use different responses/techniques to reshape how my dog reacts to stressful situations. I saw significant progress very early in the training, and was surprised at how quickly we were able to help my dog understand his role (and to feel safe) in our home. The best part is that if I need more help, I just have to reach out to James/BB and schedule more sessions - this is included in the initial program. Given that it takes a rescue dog a while to COMPLETELY settle in, new issues could arise as time passes, and if so, all I have to do is call to set it up. In summary, Bark Busters is a GREAT dog training program, and James is a FANTASTIC BB trainer/coach! Definitely recommend Bark Busters to owners that want help with their dogs.

Justin is the real-deal dog whisperer! I thought my little maltipoo's separation anxiety would never be cured. I had tried everything, from crate training to medications, and nothing stuck. The agony of watching him on the pet-camera howling at the moon, scratching up the door and panic pottying was becoming too much. One desperate night, I found Bark Busters on Yelp and gave it a shot. Justin returned my message almost instantly and came to the house shortly thereafter. Justin was able to get to the core issues that were contributing, and now I can leave the house, with no high stakes prep or time-consuming routine, and my dog stays calm and happy. It was not a perfect linear road here, naturally there were some regressions and re-strategizing that happened along the way, but I always appreciated how flexible and tailored Justin was to my specific situation and dog. He realizes there's no "one-size fits all" approach to this, and is happy to accommodate the needs of the client. He even has gone so far as to come to my home, when I'm at work, and provide a correction when I've noticed my dog panicking on the camera. In the business of dog training, I don't think it gets more above-and-beyond than that. I started working with Justin about 4 months ago, and he's still a regular presence in our lives, celebrating the wins and trouble shooting the rough days. If you're willing to commit to the process, investing in Bark Busters is well worth it!

Bark Busters came to us highly recommended. After some research and reviewing Ted Talk and articles, I signed up our two rescue mix breed ~20lb boys. We are grateful to James of BB who placed us with Jenna. Our boys issues: high reactivity outside, especially other dogs, and inside, door bell, ring cameras, etc. Coupled with greetings by jumping and owning the house. Jenna set us on a path of activities for inside and was incredibly patient letting me share and ask questions, learning constantly. As we fine-tuned and we all got more comfortable we moved our training to outside. The methodology used is absolutely amazing and, I dare say, short of a miracle. We practice regularly and introduce the boys to different circumstances. All that food luring and positive food reinforcement training certainly has its place but only the techniques of BB with Jenna has helped our boys become trusting, comfortable, and happy. Here I thought I had to scan the horizon constantly to be aware of incoming dogs to prepare myself to hide behind a car or go in the corner behind garbage cans to get maximum distance. Not true. I walk no longer with my head on a lazy susan. We all are forever grateful. Our boys can lead richer more social lives. Thank you!!!

I am not one to typically write reviews, but I had to come on here and say how wonderful Jenna has been in all of our time spent together. She is extremely knowledgeable with dog behaviors and helped us tremendously with our two pups. We have two large dogs (one Australian Shepherd - Harley, and one Goldendoodle - Cooper) and have been experiencing severe aggression problems with our Aussie, Harley. Long story short, Harley barking excessively and trying to jump through our window to get to the maintenance guy led to redirected aggression towards Cooper who unfortunately suffered a few attacks. He is very sweet and loving to those that know him, but not great with strangers and became very protective once he saw the maintenance guy trying to open our door. The attacks on Cooper occurred multiple times in two days. While breaking up the last fight, my partner was bit very badly on her hand, and it was a very emotional time as we didn't know what we were going to do. We had to take both dogs out separately, keep one in the bedroom at all times, and even split them up while going to sleep. Cooper hated this to say the least because he has always slept next to me. Harley couldn't be in the same room as Coop without wanting to go straight for him and attack him. Jenna came over to assess the situation and gave us EXTREMELY helpful training tools/knowledge to keep Harley in the "green zone". She consistently checked in with us, made two house visits to make sure we were sticking to the training plan, and answered our million questions with grace. Over the course of the next few weeks, we have made SO much progress. Both of our dogs now sleep together again in the same room, go potty/go on pack walks together daily, and Harley no longer wants to fight Cooper every chance he gets. He still acts territorial over certain things which we are working on, but truth be told, Harley has not gone at Cooper ONCE since our training started. Jenna was forward telling us it would take a lot of training but if the effort was put in, she was confident we could get them back to a healthy place which is exactly what we did. By no means are either of our dogs perfect (yes they are) but the progress we've made with Jenna's help has made our lives SO much easier. I highly recommend Bark Busters to anyone struggling with your furry one's behaviors!!

We can’t say enough great things about working with Justin from Bark Busters! About a year ago we welcomed our golden retriever puppy, Nala, into our family to join our already spoiled 12lb terrier mix, Joey (who has the energy of a much bigger dog). Once Nala joined us, we quickly noticed some sibling rivalry, roughhousing to determine who was in charge, anxious/fearful energy toward visitors and noises, and some reactivity to other dogs. Walks became the part of the day we dreaded most—our dogs pulled us in different directions, which left our backs aching, and we often felt like they were walking us instead of the other way around. We had tried other positive reinforcement trainings, and while they helped a bit, when things got really stimulating even the best treats weren’t enough. From the very first session with Justin, everything changed. He gave us tools that immediately made us feel more equipped to handle all situations, more confident as leaders, and consistent in setting boundaries. Most importantly, he showed us how to keep our dogs in the “green zone”—happy, calm, and thriving. We continue to feel supported as we refine our ability to “speak” our dogs’ language and truly be understood. The progress we’ve seen has been amazing, and we’re so grateful for the positive changes in both of our pups. Thanks to Justin, we finally feel like we’re enjoying our dogs to the fullest, and we’re confident they’ll continue to thrive.