Theresa came highly recommended by the Lee County Humane Society when I asked them for help with our family dog that had bitten one of the children. After we decided to work together, she sent me some information to get me prepared for our first meeting. Even though she was greeted at the door with loud barks and bared teeth, she kept her cool and within about 1 hour he was eating out of her hand. I was impressed, but the real work was yet to come. She walked me through several different exercises/activities to recondition his behavior and train me to set the tone for what was expected in the house and out on walks, and gave me some equipment to use while training. While neither I nor Bodie were perfect right away, the progress was astounding. She recapped each of the activities with me before she left, and I felt very confident in 6 or 7 of the 8, but that's ok. Part of the package she sent me later was a detailed action plan for the first 4 weeks, including a checklist for the daily activities we are supposed to practice, and a reminder on what I was supposed to do with each one. OK! Even now just a day or two after Theresa has started with us, this dog is the best behaved it's ever been. He used to bark in my face every time I would get dressed because he knew I was going out somewhere and there was a chance he could go on a car ride or a walk. He also used to crowd me in the kitchen while I was making dinner or getting his food ready or his treats ready. But one of the early things she taught me was how to hold a space in the kitchen to work when I want, and to let him in during normal times. I decided to test that right after she left by making myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Normally when he smelled peanut butter he was *right in there* hoping to get some for himself but this time he stood patiently about six feet away, and just watched until I called him and I was finished. It was the same thing for filling his food bowls and stuffing his toys with treats. Amazing!! I cannot tell you how much more enjoyable it is to get dressed in the morning and come downstairs and put my shoes on and have a breakfast without a dog barking in my face the whole time because he expects to go for a walk or go for a ride. He's still there next to me happy as ever, he's just not barking! We're still working on the "loose leash" walking techniques, and it seems weird to have to correct him all the time instead of letting him wander around, but he's starting to figure it out, and that means less corrections. Honestly it's better exercise for both of us when he does it correctly because we keep a good pace. He still gets to pee and poop and enjoy the outside, but we actually get moving well enough to get some real exercise, and it's much more enjoyable and less strain my back if he's not pulling the whole time. I'm excited to see how far Bodie and I can take this training, we're both learning at the same time. I feel like I made the right decision to hire Theresa with Bark Busters, and I look forward to showing her how much progress we've made by the next time we all get together. Thank you for making my dog more fun to be around, and safer too. I can't tell you how much it means, but you saw it on my face. I WISH we had done something like this earlier. If your dog is running your house, and/or sometimes out of your control, please do something about it - call Theresa and get some help.
Theresa came highly recommended by the Lee County Humane Society when I asked them for help with our family dog that had bitten one of the children. After we decided to work together, she sent me some information to get me prepared for our first meeting. Even though she was greeted at the door with loud barks and bared teeth, she kept her cool and within about 1 hour he was eating out of her hand. I was impressed, but the real work was yet to come. She walked me through several different exercises/activities to recondition his behavior and train me to set the tone for what was expected in the house and out on walks, and gave me some equipment to use while training. While neither I nor Bodie were perfect right away, the progress was astounding. She recapped each of the activities with me before she left, and I felt very confident in 6 or 7 of the 8, but that's ok. Part of the package she sent me later was a detailed action plan for the first 4 weeks, including a checklist for the daily activities we are supposed to practice, and a reminder on what I was supposed to do with each one. OK! Even now just a day or two after Theresa has started with us, this dog is the best behaved it's ever been. He used to bark in my face every time I would get dressed because he knew I was going out somewhere and there was a chance he could go on a car ride or a walk. He also used to crowd me in the kitchen while I was making dinner or getting his food ready or his treats ready. But one of the early things she taught me was how to hold a space in the kitchen to work when I want, and to let him in during normal times. I decided to test that right after she left by making myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Normally when he smelled peanut butter he was *right in there* hoping to get some for himself but this time he stood patiently about six feet away, and just watched until I called him and I was finished. It was the same thing for filling his food bowls and stuffing his toys with treats. Amazing!! I cannot tell you how much more enjoyable it is to get dressed in the morning and come downstairs and put my shoes on and have a breakfast without a dog barking in my face the whole time because he expects to go for a walk or go for a ride. He's still there next to me happy as ever, he's just not barking! We're still working on the "loose leash" walking techniques, and it seems weird to have to correct him all the time instead of letting him wander around, but he's starting to figure it out, and that means less corrections. Honestly it's better exercise for both of us when he does it correctly because we keep a good pace. He still gets to pee and poop and enjoy the outside, but we actually get moving well enough to get some real exercise, and it's much more enjoyable and less strain my back if he's not pulling the whole time. I'm excited to see how far Bodie and I can take this training, we're both learning at the same time. I feel like I made the right decision to hire Theresa with Bark Busters, and I look forward to showing her how much progress we've made by the next time we all get together. Thank you for making my dog more fun to be around, and safer too. I can't tell you how much it means, but you saw it on my face. I WISH we had done something like this earlier. If your dog is running your house, and/or sometimes out of your control, please do something about it - call Theresa and get some help.
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