barkbusters
 

HAs anyone had success with barkbusters? It is a lot of money for me to pay in excess of $400 if it won't work, but Parker really needs help. Nothing we do works. He growls and barks at everything, runs away when we try to catch him, chases and nips the cat, etc. Or, if anyone has had other training programs that have worked, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. He likes to snap at us when he is tired sometimes, too. He is eight months now, and so sweet, but sooo naughty, too. We took him to a festival and all the other dogs would kind of greet one another. He just growled and barked at all of them. We picked him up each time we saw another dog.

Nope, never
 

Here's the BarkBuster's web site. http://www.barkbusters.com/ They have a "quiz" on there to rate your dogs behavior, and I am as sure as I can be that it is weighted so most dogs show up as needing training of one type or another.

You can train your own pup. All it takes is time and patience, and a little research on the "how-tos". If you don't have an abundance if either, and you really feel like you need help, $400 is not really a lot to invest to get a well trained, well mannered pup. But personally, I would rather train my own pups as it increases our bonds, and makes me the "alpha", though I hate that term.

Let us know what you decide!:p And WELCOME to YT!

I agree that the questions are "weighted." An extremely well behaved dog - just being a dog - would come up "needing training" with the questions they provide.

ParkerPoo - Don't know if would help - but I just ordered Caesar's (The Dog Whisperer's) new DVD (from Amazon.com) on "Dog Aggression." Neither of my dog's are aggressive at all, but I want to see the DVD - and I have a lot of family and friends who do need to do some (if only a litte) aggressive behavior training. So, I'll be able to share it with a lot of people.

No - I wouldn't want to pay $400 for an very brief "at home training session." I can't help but wonder where the people come from (worldwide) who work for this outfit. And, certainly, they can't all be real experts with a lot of experience. Plus - even among these "trainers" -- they are apt to be some that are good and some that aren't very effective at all....

If nothing else works - I would at least look for a dog behavioral specialist in my own area - and get references - and meet and talk with them before I even thought about using them.

PS: The DVD I mentioned is being released May 27th..... he has a new book coming out also.

Carol Jean

Here is the link to The Dog whisperer's site. Just from what you have written, I can tell you that Ceasar Milan would say the problem is that the dog does not respect you as the leader of the pack, and you will need to establish that before you can work on any of the other issues.



http://www.dogchannel.com/dog/expert...aspx?WT.srch=1

Cesar Milan will also tell you that calm assertiveness will solve all of your problems. Unfortunately that doesn't actually help you solve your problem. You would learn a lot in a class, trust me.

I pay $100-$120 for a 8 week session, one hour a week. Loki's trainer has a masters degree and is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer. Try basic obedience first before you spend all the money - one home session is NOT going to fix your dog. A lot of hard work and learning how to train and communicate with your dog is going to fix your dog. Trust me. I've probably put over $600 into training Loki (he's now a year and a half) and I'm so proud of his progress. He still has issues with certain things (mostly fear of big dogs) but we're working on that. He and I can communicate I'd say on the level you can communicate with a toddler, sometimes better. He knows a million words and what they mean, and he respects that I'm in charge. He does what I ask. Of course he pushes the boundaries and barks at the UPS man and "talks" back but I get the last word. Trust me, find a CPDT and invest in some training classes. You'll enjoy it, I promise. Loki takes his CGC test in 2 weeks and I'm already looking forward to whatever class we sign up for next.

http://www.ccpdt.org/rstr/DE.html
http://www.apdt.com/po/ts/us.asp

The only thing I know about Barkbusters .... a friend has a rescue who came with a "lifetime membership". Poor baby evidently was just bought as a "status symbol" and was pathetic as far as socialization, manners, etc.! She called Barkbusters and they were prompt & efficient ... basically, they taught her methods to train not to bark unnecessarily, etc., in addition to working with the dog. For the rest of the dogs life, she need only call and they are there! ;)

Thanks for all the help.
 

My husband wants us to look around a bit more, too. I just don't think I am patient enough at training. All of the tips we've gotten from other people don't seem to work on Parker. I'll keep you updated.