Bark Busters In Home Dog Training - Okanagan Valley

I have been utterly overwhelmed with my border collie. I have tried trainers and obedience classes; nothing would 'decode' my dog, who has historically been unpredictable and stubborn. Since working with Kim, I have learned so much about dog body language and being able to read him better. I also now understand how I interact with my pup also impacts him. (So, calm and assertive is my new motto!) I have been so impressed with Kim's ability to decode my dog for me and give me the tools to be a better owner for him.One of my biggest concerns was that my dog was very fearful and reactive with new people, even my brother and brother-in-law. Kim's approach has seemed to significantly help with correcting the behaviour and even building a bridge between my brother and my dog (my pup was going up to him for pets!)I am eternally grateful for the help Kim has given me and my pup. He's a beautiful, sweet dog with some strange wiring and needs more structure. I felt so lost and alone in my efforts to fix the behaviours. We still have a ways to go, but this is an affirming start.

Kim has been nothing short of extraordinary to work with! She is consistent, informative, helpful, and has been a huge support for me and my pup who has anxiety and reactivity when meeting new dogs. She has helped me understand my dog's cues, behaviours, and given me tools to help my dog and I achieve our goals together.Kim has also been an incredible support for my newest rescue dog and helped me feel more confident in how I can help ensure our newest addition is a great fit for our family. Kim is also warm and compassionate and I look forward to seeing her whenever we meet.I would recommend Kim and Bark Busters to anybody. This experience has truly impacted my life in a positive way and I could not be more thankful.

As first time dog owners, we realized we were in over our heads when our large-breed anxious dog started showing signs of aggression towards visitors to our home. Kim helped us better understand our dog's behavior, and how to deal with it appropriately. With Kim's help over the last few months, we have seen a drastic improvement in our dog's reactions to both us and to strangers, and we know how to predict and better manage his behaviors. Kim is the perfect mix of firm and compassionate, and we are so grateful to her for sharing her expertise with us. Thank you Kim!

I was shocked at how fast my dogs bad behaviours were eliminated completely. In home training was so valuable to me & my unique living style. It was so important for her to set up my practice lessons that suited my small spaces & my limited mobility. Simple actions explained by Kim had my dogs training in the fast lane. Kim is amazing to work with. Her guidance has totally changed my dog from a crazy dog who would charge people & dogs at first site, to a calm confident dog that looks to me for guidance. The transformation has been incredible! Knowing Kim is available to me whenever I need her is very reassuring. All her training techniques will be with me for a lifetime. I now have a dog that people compliment me on how well behaved she is.

We contacted Kim last summer. There were many things but our dog would not get in any vehicle and that was a big one with us.Kim communicated with us right away over ZOOM to train us with some things about WHY this was happening.We set up an appointment where she came to our home and we saw instantly how she handled our dog.For us, learning from Kim was/is paramount.And It really is about training us too!Kim guided us so that our confidence-level and actions would reflect on Laddie’s behaviour and trust with us.We have learned so much through Kim about how WE handle situations with Laddie that it has changed him all together.Oh and He now jumps in and out of a vehicle with no problems. What a relief!As I write this, I’ve had to get up and correct Laddie for something - but it works!!We now have the tools and techniques to be better pet owners.Thank you Kim with strong recommendations.

Our dog had issues with leash reactivity, both to dogs and humans. We had tried everything we had seen to help our dog with her issues, but nothing worked. In two zoom sessions and one in-person session Kim had identified what our dog's problems were, taught us how we could communicate to our dog effectively, and gave us tools and strategies to correct the bad behavior and reinforce the good. The transformation has truly been night and day. Walks used to be so stressful, and now they're something we look forward to. Her behavior in the house has improved as well. Our dog views us as the leaders, and everything has fallen into place after that. I would 1000% recommend Kim to everyone experiencing behavior issues with their dog. I'd give her 6 stars if I could.

Kolton and I reached out to Kim when our 18 month old Lab x started showing some mild leash reactivity concerns. We also wanted to work on his recall and leash walking as he’s big and he knows it! He had a tendency to pull when over excited. After only two in person training sessions and proper equipment, Louie is like a different dog. We are now able to walk by dogs with zero growling and with a much calmer demeanour. Kim even brought her dog to our house to practice polite on leash greetings! It is definitely a work in progress but we are so confident in Louie and our ability and we are so excited to see huge progress with just two in person sessions. We would recommend Kim to anyone not sure where to start as the Internet has a ton of conflicting information.

My dog has always had aggressive, reactive, stubborn behaviour. I used to think it was her being over protective so I held onto that excuse for as long as I can remember.One day we had enough. I searched everywhere and talked to an endless amount of trainers. I got off the phone with Kim and felt a sense of hope. she seemed to want to understand the situation rather than fix it (which we tried an endless amount of times.) That spoke volume to me.From the beginning kim has always assessed before anything else. She dove into my dogs background and helped find the root of the problems. She has taught us to understand our dog instead of try to make our dog understand us. We take so much value in everything she teaches us and we will hold onto it for the rest of our lives.We have gone from being afraid to have people over, go on family camping trips and walking her in public places to doing them all with confidence now!We just went to Banff national park in peak tourists season and had complete control over every situation.Although we know we still have along road ahead of us, we are counting the small wins every step of the way. Consistency is always key.Thanks again to Kim at bark busters for all of her hard dedicated work towards us and our pup!

We have adopted two rescues from the Korean meat trade and one came with elevated level of trauma. We worked hard for almost two years to over come some of the fear but came to a place where we need more help to get these beautiful dogs to the next level of confidence and comfort. We had a call with Kim Madsen from Barkbusters who listened to our story and agreed to help us. Over the last 5 weeks we have made some significant steps forward with our rescues and it has been so rewarding and heart warming to see the difference for the dogs and for us. We now are the leaders of our pack, we have control over the door and we are working on recall which is always the hardest thing to gain with a rescue if they do not trust you.Thank you Kim

One of the best decisions we made after getting our pup was to contact Bark Busters and Sarah Clair! Sarah clearly has a knowledge of, and passion for, dogs that provides her the wisdom and patience to support people in raising a well-adjusted, obedient dog.I am excited and pleased at the changes in our dog during and after our visits by Sarah. What could be better than having your dog-trainer come to you, (and she is Lovely!!), who will be there to support you for the life of your dog? The training style used by Sarah and Bark Busters is gentle, yet so powerful, easy to learn and use... and you don't need to have treats in your pockets at all times! This is indeed the best decision we've made since getting our dog, and have recommended Sarah to our friends, who are equally delighted... even in cases of older dogs with some challenging habits!