Bark Busters Home Dog Training San Diego

BEST decision we’ve ever made as a family for our loveable fur baby! Justin is absolutely AMAZING at what he does! He makes it look so easy & teaches us exactly what is needed to train a dog to submit to their owner. He’s very informative & makes training fun! Thank you Justin for helping us balance our relationship with our husky & kids! I purchased the lifetime plan & each time I’ve called for help Justin gladly accepted!

Justin is the best! We were desperate to fix our dogs «leash aggression» against all other dogs! Prior to Justin at BarkBuster we tried everything on the market with no good results.
Justin gave us all tools and knowledge needed in just 2 appointments and the results are amazing. Our Gracie is now able to accompany is where ever we go. Do what Justin tells you and it will be the best $$ you ever spend on your dog (s), totally worth it!!!

We were afraid we had a situation that would never be resolved but one meeting with Justin today restored our faith that our dogs can be happy and well behaved. The tools and techniques he gave us made an immediate impact and are easy to do. Justin is truly the dog whisperer! Thank you, Justin for the tough but necessary tough love! Channa, Michael, Redford & Cooper!

After eight months of trying to train my 5 year old, rescue Dachushund named Cubbie, I knew we needed professional help. Cubbie displayed separation anxiety and aggression issues for his entire life with me. He growled, barked and lunged as guests and other dogs. He’d also whine and howl endlessly if left alone.
A dog with separation anxiety can feel, to the owner, like a giant anchor keeping you at home. Life necessitates that we leave our dogs at home sometimes, but when a dog has separation anxiety, it makes those simple tasks so much more difficult.
Enter Justin Scher. Justin is an amazing dog behavioralist. He has the unique ability to read and understand dog language, and then help the owner learn to really communicate with the dog effectively.
When I told Justin of Cubbies history, he warned me that this may require a lot of training — we don’t know what trauma he went through before rescue, and dachshunds are known for their stubbornness and strong will. I told him we’d both do our best.
Within the first five minutes of training exercises, Cubbies mindset and demeanor changed! He was relaxed and calm — feat I’d never been fully able to achieve with him myself! And the best part is it took neither treats nor physical contact to correct his unwanted behavior.
By the end of our session, Cubbie was acting like a new dog — one that was comfortable in his home, welcoming of our new guest, and happy to play and get praise. Justin gave us homework to do and assured us that continued practice would lead to Cubbies behavior improving even more.
I finished the session stoked. The weight of stress I carried around worrying if my dog would harm others or be a barking nightmare was gone. I continue to train him and am seeing improvements daily.
I highly recommend working with Justin and Bark Busters. This is a guy who has found a way to meld his talent and passion, and it shows in the quality of work.
Signing up and setting up and appointment was easy with the help of assistant Jason. Bark Busters is staffed with professional and genial people. Overall, I’ve had a great experience, Cubbie is doing great, and I highly recommend this service!

Justin came to our house today and basically saved our dog!!! Humphrey has been barking, biting and just being an all around pain in the you know what! Justin arrived and just in the first session, Humphrey is changed dog! And by that I mean, changed for the better!!! Justin was worth every penny and more!!! I cannot praise Justin and his method enough!!!

This review has been long overdue. Me and my girlfriend rescued our Dachshund Beagle mix Ronnie a few years back and quickly discovered he had a serious aggression problem in the house when new friends would come over. He had nipped and bit multiple friends and it made having people over very frustrating and stressful. We had seen a couple trainers before Justin, one of which helped us get the situation somewhat under control but I was not seeing an improvement without constant intervention. I really wish from the start we had just gone with the bark busters program.
The first time Justin came over it was amazing and such a relief to see how he instantly got Ronnie’s aggression under control the very first visit. Justin is very passionate about what he does and is truly a master at his craft. Not only is he a great dog trainer but a great people trainer too and we always feel comfortable having him in our house. The corrections are easy to do and do not hurt the dog. The homework and exercises are easy as well and it is a great feeling having control. Ronnie has made a lot of progress and it’s very rewarding to see his behavior changing. This program has made being a dog owner a much happier experience for us. If you are struggling with an aggressive dog don’t wait until something terrible happens to make a change. If he could help my dog he can help any!

Updating my review!
I wrote my initial review while I was upset. (Note: just don’t do this! It usually does not reflect the true state of the issue/​company but more to your current emotions). The company reached out to me and addressed the issues I had. They took the time to review the phone calls we had and it is clear that they do indeed care about their customers. Once I took the time to review my actions I can see that I was mad at the fact that the trainer I had my heart set on using did not service my area. I apologize to the office staff who simply were just doing their job. There is a reason this company AND trainer has so many good reviews.
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One star for the ridiculously rude and unhelpful staff that answers the phone (called several times and this happened EVERYTIME!). This review is not a reflection on the trainer (Justin) who I am not allowed to use even though we live in the same city. Honestly I’m very disappointed with the company.

Justin is an AMAZING trainer (dog whisperer)! I had my puppy «Pepper» for almost two months and was highly stressed with her nipping, biting, barking and the typical puppy behavior. I tried everything from reading different dog behavior websites and watching YouTube videos and just couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. Justin was very thorough in explaining how to CORRECT Peppers behavior along with positive reinforcement. Just in the first 3 HR session I was just so AMAZED!!! I still can’t believe how calm Pepper has been and I can pet her without being nipped at. THANK YOU SO MUCH JUSTIN!

We used Justin about 4 years ago, and we’re so glad we did. Justin was amazing in training our dog and us. We had a relatively shy dog from TJ, so it was hard to train a dog that mostly wanted to stay in his crate and didn’t respond well to correction, just got stressed out and «see-​you-​latered» us. Justin was amazing and understood our situation. Today, our dog is well-​behaved, friendly, and people talk about how awesome he is. A large part of that was using Bark Busters early on, because our dog definitely could have gone the route of being shy his whole life. Thanks, Justin!

BEST DOG TRAINING EVER!!! Worth ever penny. I recently rescued my pound puppy, Jack. He came with a severe case of separation anxiety. I couldn’t leave my house or go to the bathroom by myself. Not to mention his annoying barking with every human he encountered. I had tried so many books, Google searches, and YouTube videos in attempts to correct the behavior. After Justin’s first visit, Jack has already shown amazing progress. He no longer follows me around the house, no more howling when I walk out the front door and wasn’t phased by strangers when walking. Justin explained how to provide the corrections and why, then I performed the exercises.
Justin was very personable, down to earth, and genuinely excited to see my Jack become a happier dog. And his training doesn’t stop, he’s basically on-​call if issues arise. Justin did leave me with a bit of homework, but of course he cannot be my ²⁴⁄₇ dog trainer even though my roommate wants him to move in.
Updates to follow…

Worth every penny!!! I only wished I would’ve called sooner!!! A year ago I rescued a Bull Terrier. She was severely abused by her previous owners. She was overbred, neglected, and used as a bait dog. Although she is the sweetest thing, she still bares the scars and psychological damage from her former life. She has never had proper obedience training and was not socialized to play with other dogs or any animal for that matter. Before I called Bark Busters, I had literally tried everything to train her. I tried treat training, clicker training, and several other training techniques. I even read a «Train Your Bull Terrier» book that was specific to her breed… nothing work. I could not get her to walk on a leash properly or listen to my commands. She also was very dog and cat reactive, which made our walks very stressful! I could tell she was constantly anxious and over protective of my husband and I. Several people told me that she just couldn’t be trained and that her breed of dog was basically untrainable. I knew that could not be true, so I finally called Justin. I was a bit concerned about the price, but found out that it not only includes Justin coming to your home and working his magic, but it also includes a lifetime of training and support. They even offer payment plans if that works better for your budget.
From the moment Justin walked into our home, I knew I made the right decision. He has such a way with dogs. My rescue felt totally at ease with him, and was ready for her training session. We spent a couple hours going over dog psychology and proper training techniques. I know previous reviewers have said this, but we saw a change almost immediately! It was nothing short of amazing! My dog now sees us as pack leaders and looks to us for guidance. I have seen no signs of anxiety since! She no longer licks her paws for hours on end or freaks out when some one comes to the door. She walks besides me on leash with no pulling and no longer reacts to dog or cats in our path. She is calm, happy and not fearful of her surroundings. She finally feels safe and protected by her pack leaders. I am so pleased with what Justin and Bark Busters have done for her.!!

Justin is the man. This is worth every penny, seriously. My 55lb English bull terrier was a zigzagging rhinoceros on her walks, and now she is so well behaved walking next to me I have to check to make sure she’s still there. More important though is I understand how to communicate with her better, this is paramount. All of this transpired within minutes, straight up Jedi mind tricks ya’ll.

This review is long overdue. I reached out to Justin primarily due to my dog’s severe separation anxiety. It was really bad. I couldn’t leave her for two minutes without her getting anxious, and if I left for much more than that, she’d howl, bark, chew through her mesh crate, etc. It was painful to watch– she was truly distressed and it wasn’t going to work to let her «bark it out».
After trying other methods unsuccessfully for way too long, I finally reached out to Justin. As others have said on here, much of my learning was about how *I* can change my behavior towards her to effectively create change and a calmer dog. I also needed to learn to stop blaming myself for what caused her original anxiety (I got her from the pound and she was traumatized by her first owners).
Through hard work and help from a persistent and patient Justin, I can now leave her for up to four hours without any issue. I cannot tell you what a miracle this is and how it’s changed my life.
Justin went out of his way for me– texting and calling, working with my schedule to meet up,
getting me naturopathic anxiety treats, etc.
I, and my dog (in that order), continue to be a work in progress, and I’m so grateful that I have Justin’s expertise to help me through!

This review is in NO WAY directed toward the trainer, but his office staff. I contacted Bark Buster offices looking for training and possible boarding recommendations. I received a call back from my local office and the guy seemed very eager to bag another customer. I was shopping around like most people do and was really hoping to find someone that could offer both so I could check it off my list.
I asked a few times for prices and the guy insisted I go through all of his questions, fine. At the end of his questions, he was ready to get me started on the amazing program. Amazing or not, his sales pitch didn’t allow for my questions, comments or concerns. I began asking about pricing what they offer, etc. and was greeted with snarky responses and the guy assuming I was asking for a board and train program.
In the end, the guy ended up giving me the program prices (YIKES) I would save money doing a board and train at Helen Woodward and come back to a relatively well trained dog after my two week vacation. Had the guy not tried to come out swinging with his full sales pitch and talked to me like a human being with questions and concerns, I probably would have been more open to hearing about this program and what is offered. There are plenty of awesome reviews for trainers or «dog whisperers» even. Again, this is not at all about the trainer, but I feel this trainer’s staff is his responsibility.

Justin is amazing!!! We saw instant behavioral changes in our pup!!! Our 4 month old puppy went from going to the bathroom in the house and ignoring our commands to being nearly completely potty trained and a superstar listener after just one session. We just finished our second session where we practiced leash walking and attending and he’s already adjusting his habits incredibly fast. We are constantly getting people stopping us to say that he is so well behaved and such a good listener. Our friends and family were shocked at how fast Wylee learned as well. If you are looking for fast, effective and positive behavioral dog training this is the way to go! As long as you commit to the homework you will be amazed at how fast your dog will adjust. Justin’s training is life changing!

I have to say I’m amazed at how quickly I saw results. Justin took the time to explain everything he was doing and was patient with my attempts at learning how to correct my dog. He was also sensitive to me as the owner and my protective nature over my baby. Backstory: I moved into a roomate situation with a friend who had a cat. I called him to see if he could help get my dog to not react to the cat and get them acclimated. After the first session the cat came into the house on her own which she had not done since we moved in. It’s been about a week and the cat and dog are in the same room and they are pretty relaxed… it’s pretty amazing.
Thanks for your help.
Highly recommend him!

I found Justin through the internet and decided I’d ask him for help based on his Unilocal reviews. Over 100 five star reviews, can’t miss this opportunity to shape my dog back up.
I’ve got a relatively «persistent» dog who grew up without rules. In the first session, Justin demonstrated my dogs ability to become trained and mellow. He has issues with pulling on the leash, barking at the door, running rampant in other peoples homes, etc. Justin took the time to personally address each one of these and tailor all of the techniques toward my dog. The first session was enough to get me motivated to be a better owner and saw improvements immediately. Like I said though, my dog is persistent… it took a couple sessions to get ME in check. Yes, ME. Justin will remind you its not the dog that needs training, but rather the owner who needs to stay on top of the training to get your dog to respect you.
Every now and then I call Justin to get a refresher session to shape my dog and I back up. He works around my schedule, often meeting me at 8 am before work or on the weekends if I need. Justin is the first trainer to hang out with my dog and I, working on his behavior in routine situations. We even took a walk down the street to a coffee shop to address my dogs hyperactivity in public. I was pretty amazed to witness the techniques work immediately. He works humanely and 99% treat free so your dog doesn’t only behave for treats.
I am no dog trainer so I can’t perfectly maintain my dog’s behavior but Justin knows this. He lets me call/​text him with questions any time and makes himself available for a session pretty quickly. HIGHLY recommend!

Copied from the email I sent him one week after his visit:
Hey, Justin!
I just wanted to let you know that Vali is doing INCREDIBLY well on our walks since you visited. Every time we’ve been on a more successful one I admonish myself, and regret heavily, for not having gone back to the BB method five and a half years ago. You really made me realize that I’ve been treating her like a human child, which she is genetically, and therefore psychologically, dissimilar, and I was actually doing her a disservice by doing so.
I have implemented our training plan, going even beyond it possibly, by making her wait for permission for everything. She now, in such short time, looks to me for an «okay» before doing something she had heretofore been given complete autonomy.
I am so much more confidant and so much less scared of walking her, and that is truly a blessing. I see her now as she is — my dog baby, not my human baby, and I will raise our next charge, who arrives on Tuesday, with that in mind.
Thank you, also, for your patient understanding of my hesitance and difficulty with being, what I then saw, as «mean» to her. She actually seems so much relieved and at ease on walks, knowing that I’m in charge and I can, and will, protect her — and that its my job, not hers.
Most Sincerely,
Sumer

Justin at Bark Busters is the absolute real deal, but what do you expect from the Trainer of the Year and International Trainer of the Year award winner?
Just like many of you, my wife and I read through all the reviews very carefully before we made the decision to work with Justin. Every single one of the reviews offered up crazy hyperbole, stories and examples to describe how awesome Justin is and we were hopeful but slightly skeptical. (How could you not be right?) Let me tell you, not only is Justin everything stated in these reviews, but he is even more than that.
From the very first lesson, our Vizsla puppy Scout, responded to everything Justin taught us immediately. She went from pulling on every single walk to walking right beside us RIGHT AWAY. She stopped jumping on our friends RIGHT AWAY. She became a different dog RIGHT AWAY. It left my wife and I completely speechless and it still amazes us that everything Justin taught us worked so well, so easily and so quickly. It completely changed our relationship with Scout and it was not difficult at all to learn and implement — just listen to Justin and be consistent!
Also, Justin is just a good dude that truly cares about dogs and people. He caters his methodologies to each individual dog, owners and their personalities. He always stresses that he’s super available to help out either over the phone or in person so definitely take him up on that.
If you’re even considering hiring someone else, DON’T. We couldn’t recommend Justin more. Some of the best money we’ve ever spent. Ever.

Dear Unilocal,
Thank you for bringing Justin into our lives! I am an Elite Unilocaler and I pride myself on researching restaurants/​Services and I usually seek out other Unilocal friends for referrals. In this case I didn’t know anyone that used Justin before. So I was flying solo!
Thank The Lord I trusted my instincts and my trusty Unilocal app!
As a proud french bully owner it was hard for us to admit «We have a problem» which is Step 1. Step 2. Acknowledging that we needed help from a «higher dog power» A.K.A. Justin from Bark Busters. :)
Once I narrowed it down to a trainer with great reviews we were ready to spend the cash and he has been worth every penny!
Friends and family come over and they say «he is such a calmer pup» that was just after one training session!
No joke the training Techniques work and we are still in the process of correcting a few things but it’s been amazing! Otis respects me and looks to me for direction and he is a much better sibling to his frenchie brother Mojo.
I cannot wait til I am 100% stress free on a leash with my lil crazy frenchie! I love him even more and I am grateful to Justin for helping us with our lil furry child.