Charlie is a 3 year old Havanese that his owners got as a puppy. Although very friendly with people he knows, he is a bit shy and it takes him a while to warm up to new people. He is extremely fearful of larger dogs so has become aggressive on leash, making elevator rides unbearable for his owners. They had tried different suggestions and were using a citronella spray collar on Charlie when I arrived. This of course did not stop Charlie’s anxiety about strange people coming over or hearing noises in the hallway. So, when I arrived I actually thought Judi was burning incense – the smell of the citronella was THAT strong!
During our session we focused a lot on how nervous Charlie was with strangers in the house. I taught them how to keep Charlie’s focus so he paid more attention to them and worried less, and eventually not at all, when strangers were around. They were now sending the right messages about who could take care of the pack in the home. It took Judi and Rick several months of practice and consistency to achieve the results they wanted! As Judi put it in an email, “I met a man walking a large black dog. We walked past each other without incident. Yay!”
Here are some recent comments from Judi about her dog training experience with Bark Busters Toronto:
“A few months before Charlie's third birthday, he started to develop leash aggression towards larger dogs while out walking. In addition he barked at hallway noises and the coming and going of neighbors and if anyone knocked on our door and if they entered the apt. These behaviors escalated quickly and we had to deal quickly with them. I spoke at length with dog trainers from Bark Busters at Woofstock and got a brochure. I contacted Barkbusters and our trainer, Lisa Marshall, responded quickly and agreed to see us almost immediately.
After our initial meeting, there was substantial improvement within a couple of days and Lisa was available by email and phone to answer questions and offer advice. When we felt we were at a crossroads or things didn’t appear to be going as well, we were encouraged to call to set up another follow up session all included in the original price!
We chose Barkbusters because their training methods were to explain what our dog was looking for and not getting from us and teaching us what our role should be and how we could attain it in order to make all of us happier.
There was no punishment or choke collars, etc. it is all very positive using the dog’s language.
We would highly recommend dog training with Bark Busters Toronto to help fix problems you might be having with your pet.
You may hit a wall in the training after a couple of weeks but your trainer will not let you give up (in fact, Lisa warned us that our dog would test occasionally to ensure we were capable leaders!) – All you have to do is call and ask for help. With that encouragement from your dog trainer and some persistence on your part, you can push past the wall and start to make huge strides. Charlie is not perfect yet but he is a different dog - much better behaved, calmer and happier. We couldn't be more pleased with his progress.”
Judi & Rick,
The Financial District, Toronto