Bark Busters of South Palm Beach County

We recently had Susan come to our home to help with a behavioral issue. My dog is very well, obediently trained, but developed behavioral issues, possibly starting during a period he was with a pet sitter. He is a rescue of about 7 years old, and has alway been very skittish and cautious.
We went two routes to try to get his separation anxiety under control. The first was with a behaviorist veterinarian, and the second was with Susan through Bark Busters. Susan was also highly recommended by a friend who we know well, and has run a kennel for over 20 years. My dog loved Susan. We wanted Fred, my dog, to view the crate as his safe place, and after a lot of work and patience, working diligently every day for a few months, he now goes in the crate on his own. My husband and I were very nervous to try this, but our alternate approach in working with the behaviorist didn’t seem to be working. Susan was very patient, yet firm with Fred and us. As she explained, she is teaching us as well as the dog. She felt that if we did our homework, and remained consistent, results will follow. The proof is I can now go out leave my dog giving him only natural calming chews and NOTHING is destroyed in the house. It is a work in progress everyday, and there were many, many days of sitting by his crate, listening from the next room, faking to leave while actually listening from the garage, then outside, and more. The goal was to have him gradually get used to being in it as a comfort place. We went at it methodically, and slowly, to try as much as possible to not have any setbacks. This structure has in turn made him so much more confident. We took many steps forward and then some back to get to this point, but I can honestly say I could not have done it without Susan’s guidance, both at home and on the phone between visits, and her support and teaching skills throughout.

My review is coming 7 yrs late, but if you can imagine that’s how much this still weighs on my mind. The practices from Bark Busters in my opinion are down right disturbing.
Here I was as a new pet owner looking for some puppy management advice, and what I got, in my opinion, borderlines on abuse.
Thankfully, I only used about your company’s services for a short amount of time.
The practices of using chain links to be thrown at the crate to startle the puppy, or spraying a water can in the puppy’s face, etc. are things I was taught in order to have control and become «alpha» to the new puppy.
Because of the said practices, my dog is startled at every single jingle of a keychain or anything that sounds like a chain, as well as water accidentally being sprayed in their face (from a lawn sprinkler or shower hose), to this day, over 7+ yrs. Weekly, I am reminded of how disturbing and disgusting these practices were and how I should’ve educated myself before conceding to the discipline practices that Bark Busters uses. Susan M was our trainer.
I came in here because someone recently asked me who I used to train my dog when she was a puppy and I specifically told them to never use your company’s services. I came to see if there were any reviews on Unilocal by other people who have used Bark Busters in Florida, and on more than one instance someone else has said very similar examples that I have said. It’s a shame that a company can stand by these types of commands.