I had given those little Bark Busters pamphlets at the vet's office a critical side-eye on many occasions. I even picked them up and perused them once in a while, but my resistance to working with a "chain/franchise" business kept me from digging too much further. Shouldn't I favor one of the many other independent small business-people whos flyers and business cards also adorned the counters nearby? How could I choose between them anyway--there are SO MANY! Paralyzed by confusing options, I simply never felt motivated to make a call to any of them.
One day when lamenting our newest young pup's anxiety issues to our beloved vet, she told us she herself had used Bark Busters with one of her dogs, and she definitely recommended we give them a call. Based on her recommendation, I visited the site, read some more about their methods, and was intrigued enough to send a mail to get connected with our local trainer. The trainer turned out to be Connie DuBois--incidentally the same trainer my vet worked with (trainers are regionally-assigned) and we could not be happier!
Our little guy is a bundle of energy--some just regular puppy energy, but some definitely based in anxiety. As a pup-parent to a rescue adoption, issues like this are something you sign on for, and we were determined to help him feel more confident in his new home. Connie came one sunny summer afternoon and spent a couple hours with us in our yard talking about all the behaviors we were struggling with. She validated every one of our concerns and attempts to train him, and then gave us a very detailed attack plan. She worked with us on some techniques we had never tried before, and by the time she left, we were **already** seeing improvement in his behavior. We were left with several printed sheets of recommended training techniques, and a personalized hand-written step-by-step plan for us to work from.
Connie never ever pressured us in any way into buying some high tier multi-visit package, and in fact was very encouraging to us to "wait and see" how the techniques work longer term and never pay or book more time with her unless we need a refresher or a follow-up. We were thrilled to not feel "upselled" in any way, and honestly really enjoyed our time with Connie not just as a trainer, but as a really funny and kind person all around.
We did end up choosing to follow-up, months later, mainly for a refresher/clean up of our methods and consistency with the training. Connie was just as patient and encouraging as the initial visit, and not only reinforced what we did previously, but gave us a couple other additional tips to try, all of which worked fairly miraculously to help our little guy improve exponentially. I do not exaggerate when I say that from the time Connie walks through our door to the time she leaves we see tangible improvement, and it just continues to improve in the days and weeks after as we gain more confidence with our new toolset. It all felt very "doable", and everyone in our household is benefiting from the new routines.
I can't recommend Connie enough. You'll see great strides in your dog's behavior, and you will feel more validated and confident in your role as a dog owner. Don't allow yourself to be turned off by the "chain", because as Connie as an example, there are some incredibly skilled, caring trainers available to help you as we were. Thanks, Connie!
I had given those little Bark Busters pamphlets at the vet's office a critical side-eye on many occasions. I even picked them up and perused them once in a while, but my resistance to working with a "chain/franchise" business kept me from digging too much further. Shouldn't I favor one of the many other independent small business-people whos flyers and business cards also adorned the counters nearby? How could I choose between them anyway--there are SO MANY! Paralyzed by confusing options, I simply never felt motivated to make a call to any of them.
PermalinkOne day when lamenting our newest young pup's anxiety issues to our beloved vet, she told us she herself had used Bark Busters with one of her dogs, and she definitely recommended we give them a call. Based on her recommendation, I visited the site, read some more about their methods, and was intrigued enough to send a mail to get connected with our local trainer. The trainer turned out to be Connie DuBois--incidentally the same trainer my vet worked with (trainers are regionally-assigned) and we could not be happier!
Our little guy is a bundle of energy--some just regular puppy energy, but some definitely based in anxiety. As a pup-parent to a rescue adoption, issues like this are something you sign on for, and we were determined to help him feel more confident in his new home. Connie came one sunny summer afternoon and spent a couple hours with us in our yard talking about all the behaviors we were struggling with. She validated every one of our concerns and attempts to train him, and then gave us a very detailed attack plan. She worked with us on some techniques we had never tried before, and by the time she left, we were **already** seeing improvement in his behavior. We were left with several printed sheets of recommended training techniques, and a personalized hand-written step-by-step plan for us to work from.
Connie never ever pressured us in any way into buying some high tier multi-visit package, and in fact was very encouraging to us to "wait and see" how the techniques work longer term and never pay or book more time with her unless we need a refresher or a follow-up. We were thrilled to not feel "upselled" in any way, and honestly really enjoyed our time with Connie not just as a trainer, but as a really funny and kind person all around.
We did end up choosing to follow-up, months later, mainly for a refresher/clean up of our methods and consistency with the training. Connie was just as patient and encouraging as the initial visit, and not only reinforced what we did previously, but gave us a couple other additional tips to try, all of which worked fairly miraculously to help our little guy improve exponentially. I do not exaggerate when I say that from the time Connie walks through our door to the time she leaves we see tangible improvement, and it just continues to improve in the days and weeks after as we gain more confidence with our new toolset. It all felt very "doable", and everyone in our household is benefiting from the new routines.
I can't recommend Connie enough. You'll see great strides in your dog's behavior, and you will feel more validated and confident in your role as a dog owner. Don't allow yourself to be turned off by the "chain", because as Connie as an example, there are some incredibly skilled, caring trainers available to help you as we were. Thanks, Connie!