What can I say, Dan is a dog's savior. I rescued an Aussie Shepherd who had clearly been abused. I wanted to provide him the safety and love that he missed in his past life. Though I had some successes with him trusting me more, he started to develop aggression towards other dogs on the walk, and barking and lunging at guests at the front door. I could see in his face he wanted to be good, he just looked so scared all the time. So, I paid $3k for a dog training boot camp. However, they kicked him out the first day because he bit a trainer really bad. The trainer had to get stitches, and recommended I give him away or have him put down! Out of the question... Luckily, they gave me back some of my money. When I got Gus back, he was worse than before, and he would sit there and shake for no reason. I was about to make a tough decision when a friend of my dad's told me about Bark Busters and how they did an amazing job on his Golden. I decided to give it a shot and reached out to Dan. Over the phone he was able to give me the confidence that I needed to hear that we could fix Gus's issues. I was still skeptical because of the past experiences, though. When Dan came over he spent some time explaining his training and how it works, and explained how the other training was likely very physical. That's what likely led to the attack and the worsening of his fearfulness. Dan doesn't use shock collars, prong collars, or treats. He didn't even touch Gus the whole time. After the intro, he started to show us how to do the training. Sooo different than I could have imagined. I couldn't believe how well my dog was responding! We worked on the front door first. After only a few minutes, I had full control over Gus, and I could feel his tension dropping. We did some other exercises in the home to reduce Gus's obsession with going after anything that moves. Then headed outside. I was definitely worried now because I hadn't been walking Gus in the evenings, rather waiting until dark with less people. We saw, and walked by, 2 big dogs and Gus didn't even pay attention to them! I was completely blown away. I know that a lot of the responsibility falls on me as the pack leader to continue the leadership exercises, but this boost in confidence and the immediate results have definitely energized me. I can't thank Dan enough. He literally saved my dog's life, and he's offered his support if anything happens again in the future. Amazing!! read more

Dan Gusmerotti with Bark Busters Southeast was amazing and we would highly recommend him. He has a great knowledge of how a dog thinks, is very responsive and has great communication. I would consider ourselves pretty experienced dog owners but have always raised our dogs from puppies. This time we decided to go with a rescue and adopted a 3 year old Australian cattle dog mix. We instantly feel in love with him and when we brought him home he was amazingly sweet with us but quickly learned that he was not so welcoming with outsiders coming into our home and he would lunge and would bite if we let anyone get near him. We tried several things on our own hoping to help him but after a very stressful Christmas day decided we were out of our depth with him. We didn't want to give up on him as we were already "in love" with him and knew he would stand little chance of every being adopted if we had to return him as a "bite risk". I contacted Dan who was already scheduled to come to our home on January 4th but because I was so worried he pushed that up and came to visit us on New Year's Eve with encouraging words that he could help Taz and our situation hopefully within the first visit. I was very sceptical that we would notice any significant change that quickly but I was wrong! Dan spent about 3 hours working with us and Taz and what a difference.! He taught us how to be the pack leaders (even though we already thought we were) and take the stress of situations off Taz's shoulders and back on us. I would have to say Taz already knew how to be a dog we just needed to be trained how to think like a dog and be effective pack leaders. We have had no aggression issues since his first visit and we are so grateful for Dan and his training techniques. He just recently came back to our home to do leash work with us and again within an hour or less Taz was walking better than ever on a leash and not reacting to the things he normally would have. If you are willing to do the homework this is an amazing program and well worth it in my opinion read more

Dan came back for lesson two and wow........we are now walking free and clear by other dogs and rabbit chasing is a thing of the past. Fear aggression is gone and as long as I continue the practice we will see continued results. Great great stuff Dan. We can't thank you enough. So I was connected to Dan upon my arrival from Virginia as I had adopted a dog from the Denver Dumb Friends League. Dan and I met through friends who were mutual buddies. He detailed the first time I met him how his method worked and I decided to hire him to train my newly adopted Mix breed boxer Willie. Well.......Dan is all that was advertised. His knowledge of dogs is incredible and his patience in answering questions about how we work is like nothing I have ever seen. He is very detailed and takes time to outline how dogs think and why behaviors form. His technique is PAIN FREE......no shock or prong collars. (which two other trainers I spoke with said would be the only way we could train my dog to listen) We saw immediate results within minutes my dog was done barking and jumping on visitors and I was able to claim spaces, boundaries for myself which made Willie feel so relaxed and calm. I waited to write the review thinking too good to be true. Not the case. Dan has returned one other time in the following months and even more progress has been made with leash walking. Willie stays right beside me ignoring anything and everything that would normally caused him to become anxious. When I leave the house Willie's anxiety is totally gone as I find him in the same spot I left him most days.All with minutes of practice per day. I would recommend Dan to anyone who has any issue of any kind with their dogs. Amazing results. Last point...Dan is very prompt in returning calls and text messages even on days off. Very impressed and Dan MANY MANY THANKS for making our lives so much better. read more

We have been working with Dan for a few months now and the change that we have seen in our pup has been nothing short of amazing. Dan is always patient with us and sets aside enough time during our sessions to help us feel like we are set up for success during the weeks to follow. We rescued our dog (Wylee) after he was found as a stray. He was shy and fearful and all of his interactions were fueled by those two "emotions." He would bark at anything that walked past the window, would nip at people that were unfamiliar, and walks on the leash were a stressful event for all of us as he would howl, lunge, and try to wiggle out of his collar if he saw another dog or even heard one on the other side of a fence. After our first training session with Dan we learned some tools to help us show Wylee that we were in control and would protect him. Since then, the barking is very very minimal, he is able to relax more and so are we. We have the tools to help him meet new people in a way that's comfortable for all of us. More recently we had a training session that was geared toward leash walks. By the end of this session we were able to walk past a dog going crazy on the other side of the fence and Wylee showed no interest at all. We were able to bring him past a dog, face to face, on a path in the park and it went perfectly. While, on the day to day, it is so nice to not worry about the barking, the jumping, the anxiousness... the real treat is that we now have a bond with our Wylee that feels completely safe & close. We know that we are in good hands with Dan, and Wylee knows that he is in good hands with us. We could not be happier that we made this investment. Thank you SO much! read more

We can't recommend Dan highly enough! We adopted a large, anxious, energetic, destructive pooch that meant well but just didn't know or follow "the rules". He kept us awake at night and was difficult to control while walking outside, especially around other dogs or wildlife. It turns out we needed help to clarify those rules and needed some training ourselves. Beginning with our first meeting, Dan has been punctual and communicative. It was immediately clear that Dan is knowledgeable and caring when it comes to furry friends and humans alike. Dan spent plenty of time with all of us to understand the household and personalities. He explained to us the way dogs think and communicate, so that we were set up for success. Dan worked with our guy for just a few minutes and quickly got him into the relaxed "green zone". It was an impressive and promising transformation to witness, especially outdoors with so many distractions. Dan provided us written material and instructions to refer to, which I appreciate. He ensured we had ample hands-on practice during our session so that we could properly perform our daily homework. Commitment and consistency is key. We are two sessions in, and our guy has been more calm and attentive than I thought would be possible. It's so nice to walk the dog instead of him walking me. I no longer have to avoid the neighbors on our walks. Dan has been very responsive to our updates and any questions or concerns we have. Dan's detailed guidance has quickly resulted in a harmonious household with a well-behaved dog, and is so very worth the investment! We are so thankful! read more

I called Dan for help with our 2 dogs, a 7year old Boggle (boston/beagle mix) Autumn and 6 month old doberman, Leo. Autumn has had behavior issues for years. She is great with people but awful with other dogs. We had issues with horrible leash aggression, nuisance barking, not responding to commands, etc. We had tried other trainers in the past and she did ok, but it seemed like if we weren't holding a treat in front of her nose all the time she wasn't listening. She also has a back issue which has made it difficult for us to find a trainer that would work with her. It was no surprise that when we rescued Leo, a 6 month old doberman with a heart of gold, her bad behavior started rubbing off on him. We were going crazy trying to control the 2 dogs. Leo was doing great in puppy classes, but It was so hard to teach Leo good behavior when Autumn was being so bad. We had to take them on separate walks, we couldn't have them in the car at the same time, and they were terrorizing anything that walked near our yard. Dan saved us! After just 1 session we were able walk Autumn on a LOOSE LEASH past other dogs!!!!! I literally almost cried. Her bad behaviors have almost totally disappeared and we are not shoving treats down her throat to get results. Leo is following her lead and we are able to progress with his training. We can go on walks together, ride in the car, and we are hopeful that we will actually be able to take Autumn out in public again. I highly recommend Dan and wish we would have found him years ago!! read more

We recently adopted Emmy (about 30 lbs., mostly yellow lab with probably beagle, about 1 1/2 years old) from a CO rescue which had found her in TX. We had no idea what her background was but she was so worth welcoming into our home. She is sweet, loving and playful (with us and dogs) -- but she was leash/fence reactive and became a monster on the end of a leash or barking out the windows of our home or at the vet. We found Barker Busters on a Google search and called them. Dan came out on our schedule and immediately determined that Emmy felt she had to control her environment and be the "pack leader." He demonstrated exactly what we needed to do within our home to help Emmy feel secure in letting us take charge to relieve the pressure on her. It worked instantly! Emmy is relaxed and eager to learn. Today Dan returned to start the leash training and, again, we saw immediate results! It's like a miracle! Our neighbor even brought over her dog to practice "dog encounters" and Emmy barely even acknowledged that another dog was there. We are so excited that Dan has shown us not only how to train Emmy, but he also gave us the background knowledge to understand the theory behind the training. It's obvious that Dan loves dogs, and what he does, and really wants the best for you and them! read more

Ok, so I will start by saying that we wanted to schedule with Dan earlier and kept putting it off. Mistake #1 (but not irreparable!). By the time we called Dan, our little escape artist (Murphy, a bold and rambunctious Irish Terrier) had breached our doors probably 10-12 times and was getting bolder with every escape. I wish I had called Bark Busters earlier because Murphy (after ONE SESSION and regular practice) no longer approaches our doors or gates. We are about three weeks out from our first session with Dan and he's a different dog. I feel like I could have spared myself the anguish of having "lost" our dog several times, prevented some stress on our marriage (I blamed my husband for the escapes a lot!), and made sure our Murphy was safer, had we called Dan earlier. After our session with Dan, Murphy is just a more relaxed dog. We do have homework to keep working on, and I have no doubt that we will continue to improve, but Dan gave us simple tools to implement, the "why" behind his methods, and the common mistakes families make so that we could avoid them. Dan, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to you! Thank you for helping us change the dynamic in our home and keeping Murphy off the streets. read more

Dan Gusmerotti of Bark Busters has transformed my life. Truly. Both of my rescue dogs did "well enough" in our home with a fenced-in backyard in Vermont. The husky could not be left in the home when l worked, but l had a warm doghouse and she loves the cold. The shepherd cross could not be walked on a leash as he had literally pulled me off my feet. Again, the backyard saved me. In the first weeks into our relocation to a condo in Denver, it was clear we had some big issues. I couldn't leave the dogs at home and risk destruction of Sheetrock and window sills by the husky. I was terrified that the shepherd mix would dislocate my shoulder on our now necessary 3-4 time daily walks. Dan has given me the skills, the support and the confidence to change our lives. As l have grown in my time as Alpha, they have become more submissive, and as a result, the anxiety that caused their unacceptable behaviors has abated. We are all so happy! I read a great many reviews before signing on with Dan. His services are not inexpensive, but l can tell you that l do not think l would have had the success l am having without Dan's intervention. I highly recommend him! read more

I am so happy with Dan. I went into the first training thinking I would need to have continuous training with my pup for fear reactivity. She has never bitten however she has lunged at people and has pinned another dog down (no wounds). All of this comes from fear. I have tried training her myself with slow progression but it wasn't enough for me. The training we did with Dan focused on me being the Alpha. River (my dog) needed this to be able to feel safe and calm. Of course we are still a work in progress but I saw an immediate change after the first lesson. Dan is very honest and doesn't over sell you... like I said I expected to need a year worth of training but Dan recommended only 2 sessions. Which I was nervous about but also thrilled that he saw her as a smart dog who could be trained to react less. He has helped me with introductions to dogs (which was the scariest part to me) and create an environment where I can invite people into my home. I have seen a more relaxed and trusting dog when it comes to strangers and new dogs. Like I said a work in progress but this training is exactly what River and I both needed. read more

Dan came to my house today and trained myself and Marco! He was extremely professional and opened up both of our eyes to a whole new level I though would never exist with Marco and I! It's amazing how he breaks things down for you and teaches you about how a dog thinks and how your body language reflects a lot in your dogs behavior! I would recommend his service to everyone and will be referring as many people as humanly possible with dogs to him! Thanks for helping our family ! Your awesome at your job! Sincerely , The Devlins Just a quick update on how valuable This service is! We don't really have to prompt Marco anymore he just automatically is looking for our leadership! We just started training with our little Jack Russel we got for our son for Christmas and it's amazing how a puppy even responds to these prompts and posture! Dan is a master of his trade and if you have a dog and don't use this service you are truly missing out and need to get at it! Thanks again Dan. Sincerely The Devlin's read more

Dan is amazing and I highly recommend!!! We hired Dan to help us out with our border collie/blue heeler mix, Harley. We were so frustrated with her high energy and continuous whining. Dan came and gave us very informative background on dog's thinking and "pack" mentality. He worked with Harley and gave us some great training tools and tips. After one session and practice on our part, Harley is a completely different dog!! She no longer whines and is so anxious. We recently had Dan back to our house to work on leash training, Again I was impressed with how easy he is to work with and how much he cares about Harley. Our goal is to have a few more training sessions so we can take Harley off leash in our yard and venues such as our kids' athletic events. Very ambitious goal -- but with Dan's help and work on our part (practicing his drills) I am confident we can achieve it!! It is worth every penny to have a well-trained dog that you and your family can enjoy spending time with.. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Dan and his training!! I recently moved from a quiet, single home setting into an apartment and within a week I received a noise complaint regarding my dog's barking. I knew I had to immediately take care of the problem --- I did not want to use a shock collar so I called my vet who highly recommended Bark Buster's. At our first meeting, Dan spent about 90 minutes with me and my dog, first educating me about dogs and dog mentality followed by the training. That one session was all it took to get my little maltipoo's barking completely under control. Dan followed up with another session on attentiveness / walking training and once again, the results were and have been amazing. Dan's love and respect of dogs is immediately obvious. His approach to training is gentle yet so effective. As one of the reviewers wrote ... the training was well worth the cost and I too highly recommend Dan and his training technique. read more

I have to tip my hat to Dan for all of his help with Pumpkin! She struggled with severe anxiety issues and had some pretty aggressive reactions when she felt cornered. Having been abandoned, there are not a lot of details that the shelter knew, but it was pretty evident that she had been used as a bait dog or plainly mistreated. She was slated to be put down, but I couldn't let that happen, especially when the reason for these anxious/aggressive behaviors was the result of mistreatment and abuse. Dan was patient and more than willing to work with an "aggressive breed" - (she's a total angel and actually extremely good with kids and other dogs now!) In three sessions Pumpkin's anxiety around groups of people and her tendency to lash out aggressively have completely gone 180. She's now more than willing to walk up, on her own to groups, of people and she actively seeks the attention of those around her. I couldn't be more thrilled! read more

Dan exceeded any and all expectations we had. We couldn't believe the transformation in our dogs behavior so quickly. You can absolutely see how much he cares & how passionate he is when he works with you & your dogs. We are so much more confident in knowing we have the skills to maintain order in our home and feel so much relief with our daughter being around the dogs. I would give Dan my highest recommendation. If you think your dogs are too far gone or if you are just tired of their bad behavior/habits, do not hesitate to call Dan - he will change your life. Dan is so personable, trustworthy, & truly so enjoyable to work with. He made my husband & I feel so comfortable and it helped so much hearing real stories, scenarios, and knowing you are not alone. We are so beyond impressed and feel so blessed to have met him and our family is so much happier now. Thank you so much, Dan! read more

My boyfriend and I adopted Jax when he was about 12 weeks old and he is our first dog so we were a little clueless! When Jax was about a year old, we reached out to Dan at Bark Busters. Jax was chewing things, not listening consistently, seemed anxious and so on. We knew if we didn't hire some help, things were only going to get worse as he got older. What a blessing Dan has been for us! Within the first hour of Dan spending time with our puppy, he was already drastically improved. Dan helped us understand how to communicate with our dog more efficiently, how to get him to focus in distracting situations, how to walk by our side and not pull us and most importantly, Dan really cares about Jax as if he were his own dog. I would recommend Dan to anyone in need of dog training! He has been a pleasure to deal with from the start and are very grateful for his help, worth every penny! read more

We adopted a very shy and skittish puppy about a month ago. She's made some progress but I was having a hard time getting her to come back into the house. Dan worked with me for about an hour to teach her recall. The training overwhelmed her so I contacted him via email and he responded right away - he gave me some tips on how to get her to bond to humans better. I kept her close to me the next day and did the recall training while she was on a leash. It was an immediate difference! 99% of the time she will come in the house when called and the rare occasion she stops, I say 'bah" and she will respond when called again. Our vet recommended Bark Busters and I am so glad I chose them. I am pretty sure our dog would not have responded well to group training. They are a little expensive but worth the money if you follow through with what training and suggestions they give you. read more

Dan works miracles. I could not believe the result we had with my two Pomeranians Missy and Teddy. They are sweet and loving dogs but they are over protective resulting in a lot of barking and anxiety (both theirs and mine). I moved to the city of Denver from a house in rural New Mexico where dogs bark all day and all night and no one cares. Not so good in an apartment in Denver! Dan showed me the technique for claiming my space and showing I am the leader and it worked after one session!! This morning, the day after the training, my dogs sat there quietly where I asked them to stay while I left the house. Normally I can hear them barking their heads off all the way to my car while neighbors look around annoyed (I look around too pretending they are not mine) No more thanks to Dan, I am sure my neighbors would thank you to :) I am looking forward to the follow-up. read more

It is absolutely amazing the rapidity with which this training begins to make a difference. After our initial meeting with Dan I was well equipped with the proper knowledge of how to communicate better with my 2 young dogs (8mo/ 2yrs). It is truly impressive. In a matter of 1 day my wonderful but very energetic, noisy, chaos inducing dogs were calmer, quieter, more attentive and clearly happier and more at ease. Every day it keeps getting better! Dan really knows dogs and how to communicate with them in their way of understanding. He taught me how to relate to them and train them in ways that are both easy to understand and to replicate. He has also been very responsive when I have reached out to him for help with questions and concerns. I have zero regrets about going to BB for guidance and training. Truly amazing. I can't wait to see what a whole year brings! read more