warning for dogs!!

rnr1975

hello,
we own a rescued rottweiler. he is a beatiful almost 2 and a half year old boy, Jasper.

Poor Jasper has been attacked by other dogs in the past and as a result is scared of other dogs, which he shows as aggression.

my husband and i are new to dog owning and felt a real need for help with training. we searched the web and thought that bark busters looked good, as they made a one time charge until the problem was fixed. it all sounded good and yes £200.00 did seem a lot, but to help get his problem fixed, we felt it would be money well spent.

WELL IT WASNT, BARK BUSTERS HAS NOT HELPED US.

like i say, it did seem expensive, but i really thought pay more, get better. sadly that was not the case for us. the trainer came and when i asked about her training, she told me she had received a weeks intensive dog training about the methods used. please dont shoot me down in flames, it did not ring alarm bells that that was it!!!!!!!! her traing was a week, no more?

not only did her methods not work, but when we tried to book another appointment she was busy, had the flu etc....... you get the idea.

we have contacted head office and asked for a refund as we now realise we have asked more of the trainer of our baby, but they will not refund. now they want to come and see him. the techniques did not work and after the first session the poorly prepared woman said "its normally worked by now". not very reasuring, but we were left with the promise she would seek further advice. maybe the flu made her forget that?

do we have a leg to stand on to claim back cash for a service they have not provided?

if nothing else, let this be a warning to others. check out the trainer well.

LCK73

I'd let them come and see him, tell them to only send a 'seasoned' trainer who could actually help.

I have a 'troubled' dog just like your Jasper and it's very stressful at times. Good for you trying to sort it.

pboae

Personally I wouldn't bother letting them come and see him. I wouldn't touch Barkbusters with a barge pole. It's a franchise arrangement, their 'trainers' pay to attend a short training course and then they are free to go and work with clients unsupervised. They don't even have had to own a dog before, let alone have any training experience.

The methods are outdated and old fashioned, and used in the wrong circumstances they can do more damage than good. As they have a one size fits all approach, those wrong circumstances occur more often than they should.

They have a handful of training strategies for their 'trainers' to pick from and these are primarily choke/check chains, shouting bah/growling at your dog, chucking water balloons and chains at their feet. It would be laughable if they weren't taking people's money and messing up their dogs in the process.

Having said all that, there are some good trainers in the Barkbuster fold, ones who have gone in to it with experience and some common sense. But until you've paid up you've no way of knowing the quality of the person you'll be working with.

By all means continue to try and get your money back from them, but in the meantime find a decent behaviourist or trainer who understands Rotties and get him some proper help. You may find that it costs you less than you expected, they don't all charge silly money.


EDIT: oh, if you do get them to come out they will tell you it's your fault it hasn't worked because you haven't been following the training properly in some way. That's their stock reply. Failure to follow a training plan is the most common reason for training failing, but as the saying goes dog training is a misnomer, as it is mostly owner training. The mark of a good trainer is one who can design a programme that the owner *can* follow.

Paparika

go to where you got your dog, there will be notices of local trainers that they approve of, I hope Jasper gets over his fear soon

shoppaholic_returns

i have also heard of barkbusters poor reputation, why not try your local vets for a recommendation, the nurses and vets usually know the trainers personallly, and may know the right man/woman for the job.

LCK73

Opinions will depends where you are coming from I guess. I've heard reasonable things about Barkbusters but not about dogs like Jasper with his type of behavioural problems. I'd agree it is better to see a behaviourist as recommended by your vet.
However, in order to stand a chance of getting money back from Barkbusters one might have to at least accept their offer of another visit otherwise you might not have a leg to stand on in terms having a truly good case for getting back your money.....which I what the OP has asked about too.

Would have to weigh up, do you want to pursue getting your money back with the possible risk of exposure to another poor trainer...difficult one....hmmnn, what do others think?

pboae

I can see your point LCK73 but if you can find one person who has EVER got their money back from them I would be amazed. I can think of at least 10 people who have used them, and ended up hundered of pounds lighter with a dog with worse problems than when they started. But I've never heard of anyone managing to get their money back.

Raksha

Where did Jasper come from? If he came from a rescue, could they provide the back up you need?

orlao

Even if you didn't get Jasper from one of the breed rescues they will usually happily give advice and recommendations over the phone, just google rottweiler rescue!

I have a 4 year old rottie who doesn't have any particular issues but when I was looking at puppy classes etc I was suprised by how many "respectable" clubs and groups had issues with the breed.....or assumed I wanted guard dog training:eek:

TBH as a breed they are not what I'd call easy dogs due mainly to their size and tendancy to never take an inch when theres a mile available! Also due to the bad rep the breed has I always feel that their behaviour always has to be so much better than any other breeds otherwise the accusations start flying about vicious dogs IYSWIM

If you can find a trainer that has experience of large dogs, aggression and especially rotties (but NOT guard training) I would be inclined to forget Bark Busters. Still try and get your money back but I wouldn't let them near my dogs. One way of looking at it maybe is that our dogs cost us £thousands over their lifetime so £200 isn't that much? Not that I would be any happier than you if I was in the same situation.

greenmoneysaver_2

I wouldn't let them back to train the dog.
Then other poster was right, the outdated methods could cause real harm.

There is no quick fix for behaviour issues and their attitude is all about a one visit strategy.

i1189

I've also heard of a lot of problems with Barkbusters training, so I wouldn't let them near my dog.

When I needed a behaviourist, I asked my vet to recommend one, and she was good.

I am also a member of a local training club (in my case agility training), and I can ask for advice there if I need to. For me it has been better than just signing up for a puppy training course for x number of weeks.