Barkbusters

Share your favorite training tips, ideas and methods with other Positively members!

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emma-louise
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:09 am

Barkbusters

Post by emma-louise »

Has boy one used barkbusters befor? Im having trouble with jacks biting he broke the skin on my hand earlier and just bit my face :( think i need help with him and have had contact from them. They offer a 12mth treatment for 190 and life time for 260. Having never needed dog care befor Ive no idea if thats good or expensive? Sounds good to me. They seem really helpful. They offer coming back any time in the dogs life if the same problem occurs again.
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Mattie
Posts: 5872
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:21 am

Post by Mattie »

I would not use Barkbusters for anything to do with my dogs, all they get is 6 weeks training and if you have previous experience they won't take you. Most of these have no experience of dogs previously.

Were do you live? Maybe we can recommend someone.
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
emmabeth
Posts: 8894
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: West Midlands
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Post by emmabeth »

Ooooooooooh definately not barkbusters..

Yeah.... they are cheap but from all i have heard you will not actually get 'lifetime' back up, you MAY if you are lucky get someone on the end of a phone telling you teh same things they have told you before - and that is very dubious advice.

As Mattie says, let us know where you are and we can see if we can recommend someone.
emma-louise
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:09 am

Post by emma-louise »

:o
good job i asked!!!!

im from newark on trent
contacted a few people and waiting to hear back from them but they all need me to get to the middle of no where to get to the training and without a car its not possible :cry:
Ocelot0411
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 7:30 am

Don't panic!

Post by Ocelot0411 »

Hi Emmalouise

I just wanted to say don't despair on the biting front. My Doberman Ellie was a little bugger for this, for the first few months I had her. As for breaking the skin, well I was covered in marks all up my arms for weeks. There was a standing joke at work that the pressure of doggie motherhood had led me to start self harming!! :shock: It is something that all puppies do, its just when you have a big, strong breed like a Staffy or a Dobie, you just notice it more.

Also, although the yelping thing works for most puppies, it is not a one size fits all solution and doesn't work for some pups. Emmabeth will be able to give you some more pointers on this, as indeed she did for me. I must add here that I think that one of the reasons the yelping didn't work for me is that a) as I have previously said I was rubbish at it and Ellie seemed to think I was just a really big squeaky toy and b) I had tried a variety of different things before I found this website, so I hadn't been practising the golden rule of consistancy. That said, I think the key here is just finding what form of communication works between you and your dog, once you find this its a bit like finding the on switch to your PC because then you really start cooking with gas!

The other thing I would like to point out is that for many first time dog owners (Ellie is my first dog of my very own i.e. not a family pet) puppy biting can come as a bit of a shock and as such we do tend to over react to it a bit. I know that I certainly did and was convinced I had a problem dog on my hands, which was of course rubbish.

What you will probably find is that as Jack matures you will suddenly see a massive change in his behaviour. What I mean by this is that I felt that when Ellie was a tiny pup, about the same age as Jack, she was a bundle of teeth, poo, pee and not much else (even though she was soooooo cute at this age). She certainly didn't have much interest in playing with me or toys at this age. Then, what seemed like overnight, she developed her own little personality and started to interact with me properly for the first time. I personally believe that it is at this stage that they really begin to learn. When you think about it, its a bit like newborn babies and toddlers, at first baby just lies there and pukes, but eventually, you smile and baby smiles back at you.

So all I am trying to say is by all means if you want to get some further help from a dog trainer then do so, but don't worry too much about his behaviour at the moment. It is normal and although if it was left unchecked it would become a problem he will, to some extent, grow out of it anyway. Trust me on this, as Ellie (now six months old) hardly ever uses her teeth again skin now and when she does she is very gentle and applies hardly any pressure.

Just keep doing what you are doing, don't worry too much and try to be patient. The results will come. :D
Dibbythedog
Posts: 214
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:08 pm
Location: Middlesex West London

Post by Dibbythedog »

A while back they were advertising franchises in the daily newspapers. No experience was needed and a few weeks training was given and judging from what I've read on dog forums it seems they rely on throwing training disks on the ground every time the dog misbehaves :(

If you need the help of a behaviourist there is a list on the

The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors
http://www.apbc.org.uk/
and
COAPE
http://www.coape.f9.co.uk/

(Hope its ok to give the links)

Alison
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Mattie
Posts: 5872
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:21 am

Post by Mattie »

Hi Alison, we do meet in strange places :lol:
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Dibbythedog
Posts: 214
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:08 pm
Location: Middlesex West London

Post by Dibbythedog »

Hello! Fancy seeing you here. :lol:
Alison
Naked Dog Trainer
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:58 am
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
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puppy bites

Post by Naked Dog Trainer »

When your dog nips you, say the word "ouch" loudly (which you'll probably mean because it hurts) and walk away.

Don't give it attention if it nips you. And put a command to the 'ouch' like 'no bites' so that he'll start to understand that 'no bites' will mean that you will walk away if he doesn't stop.
Cheers,
Natalie
www.doglinks.co.nz - New Zealand Dog Info on the Web
www.nakeddog.co.nz- less leash, more control
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