Bark Busters
Bark Busters Overview
The aggregated data is based on reviews and questionnaires provided by PissedConsumer.com users.
Bark Busters has 2.1 star rating based on 159 customer reviews. Consumers are mostly dissatisfied.
- Rating Distribution
Pros: Excellent trainer, In home training, No pros.
Cons: Price, Poor customer service, Lack of training methods.57% of users think that Bark Busters should improve its Product Quality.
86% of users say that they won't use Bark Busters in the future for similar services or products.
The aggregated data is based on reviews and questionnaires provided by PissedConsumer.com users.
Bark Busters has 2.1 star rating based on 159 customer reviews. Consumers are mostly dissatisfied.
- Rating Distribution
Pros: Excellent trainer, In home training, No pros.
Cons: Price, Poor customer service, Lack of training methods.57% of users think that Bark Busters should improve its Product Quality.
86% of users say that they won't use Bark Busters in the future for similar services or products.Recent recommendations regarding this business are as follows: "Find someone else. They discriminate against the disabled.", "Do your research before hiring these trainers", "Don't hire this company", "This training is Passive/Aggressive that Not only Confuses the Dog to then be Aggressive!", "Find a qualified trainer".
Most users ask Bark Busters for the refund as a solution to their issues.
Consumers are not pleased with Discounts and Special Offers and Exchange, Refund and Cancellation Policy. The price level of this organization is high according to consumer reviews.
Media from reviews
Not accessible to the disabled.
- I wouldnt know
- Refuse to work with the disabled
Preferred solution: Apology
User's recommendation: Find someone else. They discriminate against the disabled.
Please learn from our experience and choose another trainer
We reached out to Bark Busters for help with our rehomed dog who had problems with barking, anxiety, and stubbornness. However, our main concern was his tendency to bite during grooming and handling.
When I first called about our issues, they assured me that they had experience with these problems and would be able to help. Even though the fee was high, we were willing to pay it because we were desperate for help.
We were excited during our first session and listened intently as the trainer explained her training methods. She even attempted to help us apply ear drops to our dogs ears, which did not work out too well. Our dog was very aggressive and despite all the bahs, water squirting, and chain throwing, he did not calm down.
In fact, it seemed like he became more distressed. Even though that grooming attempt did not go well, we were still willing to try all their methods and do our homework. We thought that over time, he would improve. The next day, he was more anxious than before and was shaking.
Although we thought this was strange, we went to work on the worksheets. Looking back at this point, I am glad I did not write a review like they requested after just one visit. I always like giving good reviews but decided to wait and see what the training would produce.
After 4 weeks of checking off all the boxes and implementing all the homework, we contacted them for another visit. When the trainer rang the bell, our dog barked and we had a difficult time getting him to stop.
She told us that he still did not learn submission and respect for us. I remember feeling so ashamed and defeated because we genuinely tried everything they said. That day, we went to the field to work on recall and even the trainer had a difficult time getting him to listen. There was a point when we lost all his focus altogether because he had seen something and would not break his attention away from it.
It was here we noticed that the trainer did not give us any new strategies when the bahs, water squirting, and chain throwing did not help.
Even after the unsuccessful visits, we still had faith in the Bark Busters method and convinced ourselves that if we continued to be consistent, we would see results. And believe me, we tried and tried and tried.
After more weeks and months of working on our dog, we noticed negative changes in him. He not only was more fearful and anxious around the house, but he also became more aggressive during grooming and handling. Instead of the mild warning bites he used to give, he was now giving us injuring bites.
Both of us have received severe bite injuries on our hands. Mine has left a permanent scar and my husbands injury has left his finger partially numb. (These bites were not caused by disrespecting or mistreating the dog). Many tears have been shed because of this.
Although it was a hard thing to do, we came to the realization that the training did not work. This was difficult because we wanted it to work so badly. But our dog was not the same since the training they gave us.
After he gave my husband that severe bite, we were at the point of surrendering him because we could no longer take his bad behaviours. However, because we love him so much and were so attached to him, we decided to give him another chance.
We hired another trainer and put our dog in her board and train program.
He came home to us a new dog! His anxiety has dramatically decreased, he is listening to all our commands, his walks have been amazing, and he is no longer biting us. Overall, our home has become more relaxing and peaceful. He is now happy and living his best life.
We did further research on dog training and found that it is not a one size fits all solution.
Each dog is different and training should be tailored to fit their breed, temperament, and specific issues. This is something that we feel Bark Busters did not provide us with. It seemed like the only solution they gave us to all of our dogs problems was to bah him, squirt him with water, and throw chain bags at him to correct him. We feel that this made him afraid of us and kept him from trusting us.
I have seen the same sentiment online from other owners whose dogs had similar issues as ours. Furthermore, I do not see how barking at a dog will get him to learn obedience commands such as sit, stay, and place.
I understand that their methods may work for some dogs, but they certainly do not work for all. I hope that, in the future, they are more careful with their business claims.
We are very disappointed in ourselves that we chose Bark Busters for help with our dog.
We feel that the amount we paid was unjustified when all we received was a more anxious and fear-aggressive dog and instructions on a one size fits all strategy. We wish we had found our current trainer first before Bark Busters.
Preferred solution: Apology
User's recommendation: Do your research before hiring these trainers
This review is written by an individual who has purchased the reviewed product/service and/or confirms being a paying customer of this company. Check our FAQ
Verified Buyer |This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified Reviewer | Westmount, QuebecConcern that Bark Busters is a scam
I feel like I threw $800 out the window. They come to your house for two-2.5 hours and go over information and their little booklet and then they teach you how to growl at your dogs to control them which is not reasonable and is ridiculous.
I think my dogs know that Im not a dog. We never ever took the dogs out and work them at all.
I am hoping to pursue a class action suit against Bark Busters and I want to know if anybody wants to go in on it with me?
- I do not know what address to select on the last question on this form so i am just going to pick the first one
- Kristen from mesa arizona was my trainer
- Operation is a scam because they do not take your dogs out and work them at all
Preferred solution: Full refund
User's recommendation: Don’t call victim like I did and go by the reviews on their website. It’s rather odd that they have an average of 4.9 stars on their website but when you go on public consumer reviews they barely have one star.
Resolved: Terrible experience
Company fixed the issue and I have been provided with apology. It was a nightmare.
Everytime I tried to call the head office, I would get connected to the actual person who I was having trouble with. I told him that I wasn't happy, he agreed to give me a full refund.
User's recommendation: Don't hire this company
This review is written by an individual who has purchased the reviewed product/service and/or confirms being a paying customer of this company. Check our FAQ
Verified Buyer |This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified Reviewer | Arvada, ColoradoAversive training techniques made my dog worse
I hired Bark Busters due to the superficial glowing reviews and a promising website. I received a call from the franchise owner, explained my dog's issues (and that I wanted basic training for my second dog), said I liked that they didn't use aversive techniques, because I didn't want to cause more fear and anxiety to my fear reactive dog.
Everything said on that phone call was "right". I then talked to someone who had a very negative experience with her fear reactive dog. I called the trainer's office back and spoke to the office manager and asked about the specific aversive training techniques I'd been told about. I was told that these techniques were not used as this person described and that she must have had a rogue trainer.
Furthermore, I was told they did not use the mesh bags except on maybe the most extreme cases (and even then, never at or near the dog). My dog is fear reactive (not aggressive in any way) and nowhere near an extreme case, so I didn't think that would even come into play.
That was a lie. They use a loud growling sound (Bah) to correct everything or just get the dog's attention (it was scaring our other dog, who we had to put in another part of the house to keep her from becoming anxious). A water bottle sprayed from behind the ears was the next level, if the dog doesn't respond to Bah.
And then escalating to bean bags made of a wire mesh. During the training session, the trainer had us fill Ziploc bags with water to throw near the dog (near in quotes because the trainer's throw hit our dog's leg) but left with the mesh bags with us to use. They do not use prong or e-collars, but they still use aversive training.
During the training session, as the incresingly averse methods were added, I expressed concern. I was told we could stop the session, but I didn't feel like I could actually stop.
The trainer was condescending and made me feel like I didn't know anything, so my concern was misplaced. I've been around dogs my whole life, including aggressive and reactive dogs, and he had me questioning 4 decades of knowledge.
Our dog's fear and anxiety was worse after the session. We tried the training techniques for less than a week (they want you to practice 10-15 minutes a day for 5 weeks before the next session) before stopping. Even though I was apprehensive about the techniques, I had a sliver of hope that maybe this would work and could help quiet our pup's brain.
He was slightly better after we stopped. Weve had to earn our dogs trust again.
Additionally, there were 3 people shadowing. I had agreed to a shadow, but it was said in a way that it seemed like there would be only 1 person. One of those shadows was a smoker and covered the smoke smell heavily with cologne.
It caused me to cough during the whole session indoors and we had to air our house out after they left.
I started digging deeper after the session and discovered the reason why there are only glowing reviews: they give people refunds in exchange for either not writing or removing negative reviews.
We are now seeing a certified behavioralist who specializes in medication and her team of trainers who use positive reinforcement only (treats and praise).
(I uploaded a receipt as proof of purchase. They spelled my last name wrong.
I know I spelled it correctly on the online form. If I can't be found under the last name I have given, adding an R in-between G and I might help.)
- Aversive training techniques
- Condescending trainer
Preferred solution: Full refund
User's recommendation: Don't believe the reviews. They're heavily curated.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
- Do not waste your money
User's recommendation: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified ReviewerPaid with no results
Good Afternoon,
I reached out to them because I was having severe aggressive issues with my dogs. I was told that they would be able to help with that.
I paid 2195 for two dogs. All I feel I received from that money was wasted time and a spray bottle. The first meeting was great. He seemed to know what he was talking about, mostly talking.
However, by the second meeting is started to seem like we were going nowhere. At one point it was suggested that we just keep the dogs separated. Something we were already doing. There were less incidents with the dogs, but they were not together at all.
Which was my goal to have them be able to interact. I truly feel like this was a waste of money. To the point where the trainer was frustrated with taking my lab on a walk and just turned around and we came back home one session. Then there was a time we needed to reschedule and then heard nothing back.
It wasnt till we reached out; his reason was that he is use to customers reaching out if they dont get a response. Once we realized this was a waste of time and money, we asked to cancel this. He refunded 1100 which was given to my partner I was not able to stay and finish the last session and when I got back he was gone. Leaving us with a balance of 1090 that I paid for three visits and no results.
It took me a while to send this, but it just seems like 1090 is way too much money to be giving away for absolutely no results. This is nothing against the trainer personally but I dont like that I have not paid over 1000 for a service that was no help.
8/9/2023 300 deposit
8/14/2023
1500 PayPal 395 on my debit.
- Promise results
- Had no results
Preferred solution: Full refund
User's recommendation: Search elsewhere.
Bark Busters: Caused Aggressive behavior in a Very Sweet dog!
How Can We Help? (Bark Busters, Website)
I reach out to your organization w a Heavy Heart.
My family have always rescued dogs. We have Never had a behavioral issue w any dogs. My sister hired Ryan Brown:C/S CO.. Ryan Brown informed us thru all the training our Sweet dog could be retrained (Freed frm anxiety) Result frm the training my Family had to Release our Once Sweet dog to a rescue organization!
My family has Never Released a dog!! Why? The training caused
our sweet dog to become Aggressive to a family member! My family is Heart Broken!!
We were informed by Ryan Brown/Trainer,C/S.CO. that the training &
diet change to raw beef would stop the anxiety behavior. End result of all the training & diet change caused this Loving
dog to become Aggressive!! The impact to our younger dog w/o her brother has caused issues in terms of her Regression.
My Family is Heart Broken,,,
Tell me Please how does your Company. Fix Our Loss???
My Family's Heart is Shattered
User's recommendation: This training is Passive/Aggressive that Not only Confuses the Dog to then be Aggressive!
This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified ReviewerPoor service
- Bad service
Preferred solution: Full refund
This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified ReviewerBuyer Beware
February 2, 2024 UpdateThe owners of the company contacted me immediately about my review. They were very concerned and apologetic.We are working on a solution that works best for all involved. I will update the review when a resolution has been received.
Update February 25, 2024The owner of the company came to my house today for a training session. She gave me things to work on that are more manageable and is planning to return in one week.
User's recommendation: Do not use this company
This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified ReviewerNo results.
Preferred solution: Full refund
User's recommendation: Anyone else but them.
Ignored
- Good training short term
- Stuck with a lifetime program and you become ignored
Preferred solution: Price reduction
This review is written by an individual who has purchased the reviewed product/service and/or confirms being a paying customer of this company. Check our FAQ
Verified Buyer |This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ
Verified Reviewer | Hudson, MassachusettsComplete Waste of Time and Money
No response. Took the money with no remorse.Most of their reviews are phony
- Excellent marketing
- Ineffective
- Lazy and unavailable trainer
- Suggest calming medications
Preferred solution: Price reduction
User's recommendation: Avoid
Worst trainers ever!
- Incompetent
Preferred solution: Full refund
User's recommendation: Find a qualified trainer
Scam, total waste of money
my mom just paid these guys $1700 up front for life time training support. They talked with her for an hour to go over their training methods.
These consisted of using corrections such as BAH constantly at your dog even before doing any thing wrong??? Their other methods were throwing chains in a bag in your dogs direction or, spraying them in the face with water.
They left her with about 5 pages of instructions on how to do said corrections and when.. and imo, THEIR TIMING IS WAY OFF NOT TO MENTION PUNISHING THE WRONG THINGS.
So pretty much NO ACTUAL training provided, strictly negative reinforcement/intimidation methods that do not actually work for dogs. *** insane these people clearly are scam artists I mean you guys cannot actually believe that youre professionals?
- No pros
- Poor useless methods
- No delivery
- False advertisement
Preferred solution: Deliver product or service ordered
User's recommendation: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE SCAM SCAM SCAM
Totally disappointed
User's recommendation: Avoid at all costs!
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Hi Holly R Klf, We are very concerned about reading this note as we have worked with many clients who have disabilities over the years. We'd appreciate it if you can reach out directly to our national office by email at office@barkbusters.com so we can help look into helping you further. Thank you