Question regarding a training program

[Vinod]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone here has heard of, or used a training company called Bark Busters? I am looking at training options for my 5 month old goldendoodle Brian (who is our first dog) and I happened to contact them and had a chat with them. They call themselves the world's largest home dog training company and as the name suggests, the training is home-based and individualized to the dog, which is what I am looking for. From the trainers profiles and the testimonials, it looks like it is a highly experienced group of trainers with a lot of satisfactory clients.

However, what concerns me is the pricing structured that I was told over the phone. The cost is $945 (or $845 if I sign up before the end of the month when there is a special going on), for an unlimited number of classes for the life of the dog! This seemed too good to be true when I first heard it yesterday because even if I am realistically not going to need training for Brian for the rest of his life, I am thinking I can still use this program for at least a few/several months until Brian gets to where he needs to be in terms of obedience, responding to commands consistently and overcoming his fear issues (regarding which I posted here on DK a few days ago)

Couple of other programs I contacted gave me pricing in the same ballpark - $800 to a $1000 - for 7-10 sessions of about an hour to an hour-and-a-half each. However, these other programs are a finite number of sessions as opposed to Bark Busters which offers unlimited sessions.

What do you all think?

[Robin & Josie]

I looked into a home trainer (whose name I got from someone with a very well trained Doodle) and he was charging $100/hr which I thought was pretty steep. I was then advised that a class is really important (hopefully with a well qualified trainer), because it offers socialization and DISTRACTIONS. I can't emphasize enough how the distraction factor is necessary to "generalize" the learned behaviors from your home to the outside world.

Of course, presumably, these trainers would be willing to go outside for a walk with you and train with distractions??

Other thoughts I have, and I am no expert, believe me - they are marketing this "unlimited" number of classes because they know you will only use so many. It's like an expensive buffet - they are counting on more people not eating like they're in a contest than not. They have to make their money....An hour and half is quite long for an individual lesson. Brian will likely lose his capacity to focus way before that time is up - another way they are marketing something that sounds good but you probably won't use.

I guess I would do some online research about them, in addition to anybody here who may have used them.

Sorry for sounding so skeptical...

[Vinod]

Thank you for your inputs. I am planning on getting Brian into a group class as well so that he can socialize with other dogs and work in a distracted environment. These classes are much cheaper and run anywhere between a $100 to $200 for 6-8 sessions at a couple of different places that I checked.

I did a lot of research on Bark Busters online and they seem to be good and genuine, atleast from whatever I can read about them online. And like you mentioned, I am definitely not going to need an unlimited number of individualized home-based classes to get Brian to where he needs to be, but I was thinking I can definitely use them for well more than the 7-10 sessions that other training programs seem to offer for about the same price (~$1000). And yes, they do training at home, and at any other location that you want them to come to, like at a dog park etc. So that seems like an added benefit to bring in some distraction factors into the mix during training.

Thanks again for your inputs!

[Kathy]

I don't know where you live but our trainer is Tia's trainer for her life and I spent more than that.  Our trainer no longer has contracts for the life of the dog but he honors the ones he made those agreements with.  That is important to know if he will honor your contract even if he decides not to make contracts like that anymore.  Tia has been trained for 4 years as my service dog and every once in awhile I have needed refresher time with our trainer.  Even basic training needs fine tuning once in awhile and so I found that kind of service great.  Good luck.

[Vinod]

Thanks Connie. Looks like the Michigan prices are significantly cheaper than the price I got here in Northern VA. Not sure if you got a chance to read the discussion that Bonnie linked to in her post below here. Seems to be an earlier discussion about Bark Busters on DK. You may want to read that!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I thought I remembered discussions about Bark Busters from the past so I did a search. Here is a link to one of the discussions: 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/bark-busters-1

[Vinod]

Thanks Bonnie for the link to the thread. It looks like it is not a highly recommended service mostly because of their unconventional training methods and also probably it looks like the size of the company has very little to do with the trainer's experience since its a franchise model.

Reading this thread is not making me inclined to go with their service.

Thanks!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I always appreciate the input of DKmembers. I haven't had the experience but did remember the discussion. Good luck finding a good trainer for your pup.

[Adina P]

To me that sounds like an awful lot of money when really it's the work YOU do with your dog that gets the results.  I know amazing trainers that charge no more than $2000 for 10 weeks of board and train (that's where they take your dog for 10 weeks {a long time I know} and train it to full off leash obedience.  That's an hour a day of training 6 days a week, for 10 weeks plus boarding.  So I compare to that.  Or what my trainer charged ($40 per class session) and I KNOW she gets amazing results.  But then again I trained on my own with books and videos and email help, so the cost of everything else seems very steep in comparison. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As I mentioned in the thread that Bonnie shared, I think the effectiveness of the Bark Busters training is linked to the particular trainer.  I've heard some very positive things about one Bark Busters trainer and some pretty negative ones about a different trainer in our area.  For a really experienced trainer (with proven results) I don't think $845 is too much for unlimited training over the lifetime of the dog.  If Brian has fear issues already, I would be very careful about the trainer and method that will be used with him.  I would meet with this trainer and see if you feel comfortable and definitely ask for references that you can talk to.  Please keep us posted on your progress and good luck.

[Anja]

I signed up with Bark Busters about 2 months ago. I have two dogs, one is 2 1/2 the other 17 weeks. I absolutely loved the trainer, and it was money well spend.

One of my dogs was an attention barker (totally my fault) and while he still does it on occasion he now barks about 20% of what he used to bark. I had the trainer out twice so far and he is scheduled to come out again in two weeks. They give you the tools and resources to train your dog.

The initial session was three hours long. Most of that however was spend him observing the interaction between the dogs, the dogs and myself and going over the program and only the last hour was spend on training.  He made it very clear that he is not training the dog he is giving the owner the tools to train their dog.

The second session was a little over an hour. Both session were far more valuable to me that any group classes I taken previously.

I did ask him provided I stick with the tools he gives me why would I need him back. He said people usually have him back when there are changes such as a move, a baby in the house, someone starting to work from home etc. which makes total sense.

[Minda and Callie]

I used Bark Busters for my shih tzu who has fear aggression.  It was a total waste of money.  I do think it all depends on who you get as the trainer.  His way of getting my dog to behave was throwing bean bags at him when he wasn't doing what I wanted.  Sam, my dog, was very afraid of men.  So the trainer sat on the couch and would slowly move toward him.  Scared Sam to death.  It was a joke.  I ended up taking him to a veterinary animal behaviorist who was very helpful. The only thing I got out of Bark Busters was the nice collar that I still use. My new doodle I am taking to group class and it has been great.  Callie gets to be around other dogs and she and I are both enjoying it.  I wouldn't necessarily say not to use them,because you never know who you will get, but to get references for the trainer before I put that much money down again.