Bark Busters San Francisco and Marin County Reviews
Reviews
55 Reviews ★★★★★(Average 4.88 out of 5)
Mikayla P.
7 months ago
— San Francisco, CA
I'm honestly not sure why It's taken this long for me to write a review for Adam. Adam is a gentle giant and sooo good with pups! I've had 2 dogs y train with him and they've both really loved Adam. Adam is so knowledgeable about different problem areas (one of my dogs was reactive on leash and the other had separation anxiety). He knew how to work through both problems and is always quick to respond to my texts. Admittedly, I panic quite easily and always text Adam when I'm freaking out about my dog's behavior - he always calms me down and is very patient with me which I'm so grateful for. I would highly recommend Adam to anyone who is having issues with their pup - you'll leave with a great trainer and a great friend :)
Luna has been a handful since i adopted her at the age of 2. She was obstinate but loving to my wife and I. SHe just had a strong will of her own. We met Karen in October 23 and Karen was patient and explained exactly what we could be doing better, so Luna would be more trusting of us and listen! She taught us how to communicate to Luna in a way that Luna understood almost immediately. Karen gave us exercises to practice that we believe Luna enjoys doing it "right" and there are no treats or bribes. She listens because she finally understands what we want. Life has been so much easier for Luna and especially for us. We cant thank Karen and BarkBusters enough.
I called Karen after adopting a young border collie mix that immediately began to show resource guarding and growled and barked at visitors and the neighborhood children. I called Bark Busters as I was very concerned and had read good reviews. I’ve had decades of dogs and dog training but I knew I needed serious help. Karen is fantastic! The training method is humane, smart and powerful. I was no longer a treat puppet for my dog but a pack leader. With just the first session there was a tremendous improvement. Several sessions later, I now have a sweet docile dog who looks to me for guidance and is calm and not stressed. She doesn’t need to challenge me and feels safe with my command. She lets the neighborhood kids pet her and enjoys it immensely. Karen is calm, direct but very considerate and truly the best I’ve worked with and and the method works.
Thanks Stephanie. It has been so great to work with you and Bette. Your enthusiasm and dedication has been a pleasure to work with. Keep up the good work and keep me posted if you need any help.
Diedre
9 months ago
— Mill Valley, CA
I am so relieved and Happy I found barkBusters. A friend of mine recommended Karen as she had used her services a few years ago. I thought her dog was amazing and I wanted Tucker to be just like that or at least a portion of that.
Karen came into our home, spent a good amount of time asking what our "wish list" was, gave her assessment and then we started the work. The suggestions and the assignments were nothing short of amazing. Tucker responded immediately. He seemed to actually enjoy the learning and ot only was he behaving well for karen, but for us as well as we were the ones who needed to communicate with Tucker. Its us the owners who needed to be taught. Normally when people visit, Tuckers all up in their business and barking and cant calm down and it seemed forever. A few hrs after Karen left, we were able to get Tucker to respond to our instructions and waited to greet our friends with 2 little ones and still was a happy puppy with our guests. I say its amazing and refreshing to be able to invite guests in without complete. The walking has also improved tremendously as Tucker would react to seeing dogs on walks, enthusiastically but scary to others, not any more. Its been so helpful and if you are questioning hiring BarkBusters, dont. Hire Karen
Thanks for the feedback. Its been great pleasure to work with you. lets just keep up the good work and keep me posted.
Steve
10 months ago
— Greenbrae, CA
Karen was great, Jasper is a 3 yr old Aussie Cattledog and came to us thru Milo foundation. In recent years he was getting more and more aggressive towards guests coming to the home post pandemic and thats been extremely scary and frustrating. When he saw dogs walking, all he wanted to do was run over and play but he was too strong and was hurting my wifes shoulder. Karen came and taught us to work with Sam to become less reactive and to trust us that people invited into our home were welcome. Not going to hurt us. As far as walking, its become fun again. Karen is patient and straight to the point. She explains why we need to do things differently and always available for help and the BarkBusters methods are easy to incorporate into our lives. Call BarkBusters- it can change your life.
Thankyou. It was fun and rewarding to work with all of you and looking forward to meeting you out on a hike! Keep up the good work
Valeria C.
2 years ago
— San Rafael, CA
Before finding Bark Busters, I was so traumatized because of a bad training experience we had in the past with someone else. Honestly I was so excited when I found Bark Busters because I learned that they don't use any physically punishing methods with dogs and that's just what I was looking for. Karen was amazing - super respectful, kind, my dog was very happy during our training session, and his behavior was incredible. I recommend Karen 100%. My dog was having some aggression issues and bad recall but I’m so confident now that I will be able to train my dog without making him feel scared or hurt him. If you love your dog as much as I love mine then Karen and Bark Busters training is perfect for you.
My partner & I rescued a German Shepherd mix in August of 2021 who is sweet as can be but struggled with severe separation anxiety. We worked with several trainers before meeting Adam and didn’t have much success, which meant we couldn’t leave our dog alone at all. Adam taught us how to communicate with our dog better and was thoughtful and patient in his training process. He understood our dogs unique needs and provided us with successful solutions— we are now able to leave her at home while we work without her being disruptive or destructive. It’s honestly a miracle! Thank you Adam! Our rescue girl is living her best life knowing that being alone at home while we work is only temporary!
Karen was very patient and compassionate with us, quickly becoming very attuned to my rescue cattle dog mix with separation anxiety issues. I was very impressed by her reading of our relationship, and immediately felt we were in good hands and could finally get the personalized training we needed without relying on bribery (my dog is very stubborn and very not treat-motivated).
She gave me simple and clear instructions on how to make Jolene feel incrementally more confident, but the content of the training mostly focused on modifying my own behavior so as not to inadvertently make my dog worry or feel like she needed to look out for me at all times.
I feel so fortunate for having Karen in our lives, after moving to the city for a new job I was incredibly stressed about leaving Jolene at home alone, knowing she would be howling and pacing. Our relationship is much stronger now and I can finally make plans without constantly worrying.
We are so thankful we called Bark Busters to help our rottie. Rottweilers have a generally bad reputation so we were very relieved to hear they had no issues working with him. We had some protectiveness occurring on walks and with new people coming over and thankfully Karen from bark busters was able to see what a sweet boy we have and teach us some great tips. We're going to implement them and we can't wait to see all the improvement!
Up until a week ago we were chronically stressed by our doggie’s behavior. If we didn’t have a treat available, his counter-surfing, jumping on visitors, and lunging at other dogs was unstoppable. Then Karen helped us.
Karen taught us “how to speak dog” and I am in awe. Buster is a changed dog, just after one day. This first week post-training we feel a weight lifted off of our shoulders. Thank you Karen. We feel so much gratitude for your help.
We highly recommend Karen Gaines, she is observant, patient, a great communicator, not to mention has TONS of experience training dogs with all sorts of behavioral problems. She is an absolutely excellent teacher and dog-trainer.
Mikayla P.
7 months ago
— San Francisco, CA
I'm honestly not sure why It's taken this long for me to write a review for Adam. Adam is a gentle giant and sooo good with pups! I've had 2 dogs y train with him and they've both really loved Adam. Adam is so knowledgeable about different problem areas (one of my dogs was reactive on leash and the other had separation anxiety). He knew how to work through both problems and is always quick to respond to my texts. Admittedly, I panic quite easily and always text Adam when I'm freaking out about my dog's behavior - he always calms me down and is very patient with me which I'm so grateful for. I would highly recommend Adam to anyone who is having issues with their pup - you'll leave with a great trainer and a great friend :)
PermalinkBrett
8 months ago
— Greenbrae, CA
Luna has been a handful since i adopted her at the age of 2. She was obstinate but loving to my wife and I. SHe just had a strong will of her own. We met Karen in October 23 and Karen was patient and explained exactly what we could be doing better, so Luna would be more trusting of us and listen! She taught us how to communicate to Luna in a way that Luna understood almost immediately. Karen gave us exercises to practice that we believe Luna enjoys doing it "right" and there are no treats or bribes. She listens because she finally understands what we want. Life has been so much easier for Luna and especially for us. We cant thank Karen and BarkBusters enough.
PermalinkStephanie
9 months ago
— Larkspur, CA
I called Karen after adopting a young border collie mix that immediately began to show resource guarding and growled and barked at visitors and the neighborhood children. I called Bark Busters as I was very concerned and had read good reviews. I’ve had decades of dogs and dog training but I knew I needed serious help. Karen is fantastic! The training method is humane, smart and powerful. I was no longer a treat puppet for my dog but a pack leader. With just the first session there was a tremendous improvement. Several sessions later, I now have a sweet docile dog who looks to me for guidance and is calm and not stressed. She doesn’t need to challenge me and feels safe with my command. She lets the neighborhood kids pet her and enjoys it immensely. Karen is calm, direct but very considerate and truly the best I’ve worked with and and the method works.
PermalinkDiedre
9 months ago
— Mill Valley, CA
I am so relieved and Happy I found barkBusters. A friend of mine recommended Karen as she had used her services a few years ago. I thought her dog was amazing and I wanted Tucker to be just like that or at least a portion of that.
PermalinkKaren came into our home, spent a good amount of time asking what our "wish list" was, gave her assessment and then we started the work. The suggestions and the assignments were nothing short of amazing. Tucker responded immediately. He seemed to actually enjoy the learning and ot only was he behaving well for karen, but for us as well as we were the ones who needed to communicate with Tucker. Its us the owners who needed to be taught. Normally when people visit, Tuckers all up in their business and barking and cant calm down and it seemed forever. A few hrs after Karen left, we were able to get Tucker to respond to our instructions and waited to greet our friends with 2 little ones and still was a happy puppy with our guests. I say its amazing and refreshing to be able to invite guests in without complete. The walking has also improved tremendously as Tucker would react to seeing dogs on walks, enthusiastically but scary to others, not any more. Its been so helpful and if you are questioning hiring BarkBusters, dont. Hire Karen
Steve
10 months ago
— Greenbrae, CA
Karen was great, Jasper is a 3 yr old Aussie Cattledog and came to us thru Milo foundation. In recent years he was getting more and more aggressive towards guests coming to the home post pandemic and thats been extremely scary and frustrating. When he saw dogs walking, all he wanted to do was run over and play but he was too strong and was hurting my wifes shoulder. Karen came and taught us to work with Sam to become less reactive and to trust us that people invited into our home were welcome. Not going to hurt us. As far as walking, its become fun again. Karen is patient and straight to the point. She explains why we need to do things differently and always available for help and the BarkBusters methods are easy to incorporate into our lives. Call BarkBusters- it can change your life.
PermalinkValeria C.
2 years ago
— San Rafael, CA
Before finding Bark Busters, I was so traumatized because of a bad training experience we had in the past with someone else. Honestly I was so excited when I found Bark Busters because I learned that they don't use any physically punishing methods with dogs and that's just what I was looking for. Karen was amazing - super respectful, kind, my dog was very happy during our training session, and his behavior was incredible. I recommend Karen 100%. My dog was having some aggression issues and bad recall but I’m so confident now that I will be able to train my dog without making him feel scared or hurt him. If you love your dog as much as I love mine then Karen and Bark Busters training is perfect for you.
PermalinkRiley R.
2 years ago
— San Francisco, CA
My partner & I rescued a German Shepherd mix in August of 2021 who is sweet as can be but struggled with severe separation anxiety. We worked with several trainers before meeting Adam and didn’t have much success, which meant we couldn’t leave our dog alone at all. Adam taught us how to communicate with our dog better and was thoughtful and patient in his training process. He understood our dogs unique needs and provided us with successful solutions— we are now able to leave her at home while we work without her being disruptive or destructive. It’s honestly a miracle! Thank you Adam! Our rescue girl is living her best life knowing that being alone at home while we work is only temporary!
PermalinkKelly S.
2 years ago
— San Francisco, CA
Karen was very patient and compassionate with us, quickly becoming very attuned to my rescue cattle dog mix with separation anxiety issues. I was very impressed by her reading of our relationship, and immediately felt we were in good hands and could finally get the personalized training we needed without relying on bribery (my dog is very stubborn and very not treat-motivated).
PermalinkShe gave me simple and clear instructions on how to make Jolene feel incrementally more confident, but the content of the training mostly focused on modifying my own behavior so as not to inadvertently make my dog worry or feel like she needed to look out for me at all times.
I feel so fortunate for having Karen in our lives, after moving to the city for a new job I was incredibly stressed about leaving Jolene at home alone, knowing she would be howling and pacing. Our relationship is much stronger now and I can finally make plans without constantly worrying.
Cristan P.
3 years ago
— San Rafael, CA
We are so thankful we called Bark Busters to help our rottie. Rottweilers have a generally bad reputation so we were very relieved to hear they had no issues working with him. We had some protectiveness occurring on walks and with new people coming over and thankfully Karen from bark busters was able to see what a sweet boy we have and teach us some great tips. We're going to implement them and we can't wait to see all the improvement!
PermalinkAlexa K.
3 years ago
— San Rafael, CA
Up until a week ago we were chronically stressed by our doggie’s behavior. If we didn’t have a treat available, his counter-surfing, jumping on visitors, and lunging at other dogs was unstoppable. Then Karen helped us.
PermalinkKaren taught us “how to speak dog” and I am in awe. Buster is a changed dog, just after one day. This first week post-training we feel a weight lifted off of our shoulders. Thank you Karen. We feel so much gratitude for your help.
We highly recommend Karen Gaines, she is observant, patient, a great communicator, not to mention has TONS of experience training dogs with all sorts of behavioral problems. She is an absolutely excellent teacher and dog-trainer.
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