Opinions on Barkbusters

Has anyone had any experience (personal, anecdotal or second-hand) of using Barkbusters for behavioural problems?

The reason for asking is that a friend of mine that works in a rescue has had a dog returned to them for behavioural problems. When the dog was first rehomed it had some minor behaviour problems & the owners were happy that it was not very severe & they could deal with it. They were given very sound advice by the staff at the rescue & told they could phone or visit or further advice. The rescue didn't hear anything from them until a few months later when they called to say they couldn't keep the dog as it's behaviour had got worse.

When the dog was returned, it was extremely nervous & shut down & certainly not like the dog they had initially rehomed. When they asked the owners what they had done with this dog during the period they had it, they said they had engaged Barkbusters for advice & followed the advice to the letter but the dog had got worse. The staff asked if they could have a copy of the report from Barkbusters which the owners were happy to provide. The staff were shocked & appalled by the report from Barkbusters. The owners had been charged £320 for advice that amounted to little more than filling an empty shampoo bottle with water & squirting the dog when it did something wrong. Needless to say the behaviour got worse & the dog became more scared & nervous.

I know that Barkbusters is a franchise but I've no idea about the training, qualifications & experience of the franchise holders. Any thoughts/views etc?

my own personal experience was terrible £180 and the bloke wanted me down on my hands and knees growling at the dog, not letting him on the sofa etc, not allowing him out of doors infront of me etc - and I engaged him for dog aggression - his solution get his eyeballing collie "stooge "dog to run at my dog a few times.

VERY UNHELPFUL.
would not recommend anyone to use them,.

I've heard varying reports on them TBH... a rescue I have worked with has had some really good advice and training etc from them.

However (and it's not on the BB website anymore) I do recall the 'training' they offered when you took on a franchise to be short, and seemingly nothing you couldn't learn from attending good training classes.

What worries me is this (from their website):
These are really different problems! Some of these are things I would ascribe to run-of-the-mill dog training, and some (aggression, fighting and aggressive tendencies; anti-social behaviour) are behavioural issues.

Surely dealing with a properly aggressive dog is completely different to helping someone deal with inappropriate toileting; jumping up; pulling on the lead; puppy training; recall problems etc.

I'm undecided really, as I would have thought that you needed years of study and hands-on experience to deal with some of the issues you may be presented with.

Oh, that is terribly sad. I hope he can be helped.

Sounds as if they were told to use punishment for any old thing - highly confusing and makes the dog yes, shut down, as he is not sure what IS right to do.
One reason why dogs can often seem quiet and "good".

As far as I know, you don't have to have any real qualifications (anyone can call themselves a behaviourist..)
I have been studying for some years now, it's a hard slog - I believe BB people can literally spend a few days on a course.

And earn lots of money and short change owners

I've heard just one good report about them - but many bad ones.
Wys
x

We used them for my two girlies who had no confidence, just weeks after they came out of the puppy farm, they worked with us to make them feel secure and changed their diet to Raw, they were brilliant for us, although i have not used them since and have no clue about their advise for aggressive dogs.

OMG what do you say???? I would not be paying someone to tell me to get down on my hands and knees to growl at my dog,

Thanks very much to everyone who has replied. Seems the majority haven't got anything positive to say but a few instances of good advice provided. I think it probably depends very much on the experience & knowledge of the franchise holder (regardless of the apparently very limited & inappropriate training they receive from BB). Unfortunately the people paying their fees are expecting solid professional advice from knowledgeable & qualified behviourists ~ and how are they supposed to tell the difference between good advice & the "get down on the floor & growl at your dog" type of silliness!

Wysiwyg ~ I appreciate that the pet behaviour industry is not regulated so anyone can call themselves a dog/cat/horse etc behaviourist. I've long supported any kind of regulation so that vets & the pet-owning public can have confidence that the advice they are given is scientifically correct & genuinely helpful & practical. So good on you for taking the time, trouble & expense of studying. It is a hard slog, there's a lot more to behaviour than meets the eye! I have studied long & hard too, over 2 to 3 years for a canine & feline behaviour qualification ~ but I still baulk at calling myself "qualified" inasmuchas the qualifications I have are not recognised by an academic body.

Isochick ~ I totally agree with your point that dog training & dealing with potentially serious behavioural problems are very different issues. A few days studying dogs is certainly not going to equip someone to know how to deal with aggression & the like!

I wouldn't mind so much that people could call themselves behaviourists without any qualifications, provided that the help & advice they gave didn't do any harm to the dog, even if it didn't solve the problems. But the trouble is that giving incorrect advice can have such huge adverse effects on the animal concerned & surely the animal's welfare should be the prime consideration in every case. It maybe that the people giving such poor & dangerous advice also have the animal's welfare at heart & truly think they are helping ~ if only they knew the harm they can cause

The trouble is - because they`re a Franchise, all you need is money to set up as one of their agents. So you could be brilliant or useless.
BTW the Jan Fennell lot are just as questionable.