Bark Busters Home Dog Training NoVa Beltway Annandale, Maryland

I adopted my approximately 6 year old Lab mix ("Fletch") in early November 2021 and he soon began displaying some behaviors that concerned me. I knew that he was really smart and sweet but didn't understand the root of the behaviors and where to begin with training. I was impressed with the many positive reviews of Jeanie with Bark Busters VA Beltway and after an introductory call with her I knew she was the right fit for Fletch and me. Fletch responded to the techniques and exercises shown to me by Jeanie immediately and by the end of the first session he was like a different dog. He was listening and respecting me in a way that he had not previously. Jeanie gave me several exercises to practice with Fletch in between our first and second session and he has continued to make progress every day. Subsequent sessions have built out further training goals such as loose leash walking, ignoring other dogs/critters/people while out on a walk, and being respectful and calm when guests are over my house. Her positive approach to training, experience in working with a range of different behaviors, and clear love for the dogs she works with has really made a difference for Fletch and me. Highly recommended!!

Fantastic experience with Jeanie from Bark Busters! She helped me get my stubborn, independent girl heeling beautifully and responding to my commands in just two weeks. Can’t say enough good things, it was well worth it!

I have an older rescue dog with separation anxiety and have tried other trainers before working with Jeanie and I’d never seen such fast results after just one training session. She equipped me with everything I needed. Her methods are simple and straightforward and the structure it provides for my dog Alfie has helped him beyond just the separation anxiety issues. I’m finally seeing the kind of results I’ve been hoping for!

This review is long overdue. Our dog, Charlie, is a 6-year-old German Shepherd mix. We called Jeanie because he had grown increasingly protective of us (reacting aggressively towards people and dogs while on the leash walking in hallways through our apartment building), more vocal (barking loudly anytime someone walked past the hallway outside of our front door – our downstairs neighbor even complained to management about his barking), and demanding (we’d have to secretly put on our shoes when we were getting ready to take him outside because the minute he saw us he’d bark non-stop and act crazy, running around and trying to usher us out the door as quickly as possible). We also struggled anytime guests came over our apartment – he would bark non-stop and annoy them anytime they were not petting him. Similarly, whenever we would come home from work, we’d have to race to pet him, so he’d stop barking and calm down. It grew to the point where we needed to research local trainers and came across Bark Busters. We were encouraged by the reviews, although most were for younger dogs and new puppies, so we were skeptical. We had our first session with Jeanie virtually where she briefed us on all the foundational Bark Busters philosophies and techniques. At first, many were eye-opening to us but as we implemented some of the active and passive techniques, they made a lot of sense. Once we started working on the different exercises that Jeanie explained to us, we saw results very quickly. She understands dogs and their needs and makes it very easy for us to understand as well during the training process. She was available to answer any questions we had via email or phone and stayed very flexible for appointments. Charlie is a very quirky dog, and she was able to quickly adapt some training techniques to fit his personality and needs as well, which was a concern for us prior to beginning the training. In just a few weeks, we noticed a huge improvement in his attentiveness and obedience. “Stay” actually results in him staying. “Sit” actually results in him sitting. Us coming home after work is no longer a huge ordeal – he sometimes doesn’t even get out of bed when we walk in the door. There has been a huge difference when guests come over – we follow Jeanie’s guidance and now he no longer barks non-stop and bothers them. He rarely barks when people walk in the hallway outside our front door – all we get are low grumbles or a single bark now. We don’t have to secretly put on our shoes when we are getting ready to take him out – he is calm and waits for us to be ready to put his harness on. An essential part of the Bark Busters method is that the key to achieving long-lasting change is consistency – you must be dedicated to employing Bark Busters’ practices 24/7/365 with your dog. There are active training techniques and also passive ones that help the dog understand that you are in charge, not them. Even though Charlie has some struggles some days, we have seen so much improvement and are looking forward to continuing to work with Jeanie. One of the best things about Bark Busters is that the training is good for the entire lifespan of the dog – that way we can call Jeanie whenever we have a question, need a refresher, or want to concentrate on something new. That gives us peace of mind. All of this to say – we encourage anyone whose dog has similar issues to Charlie to reach out to Jeanie. She is an amazing trainer, and we are very thankful to Bark Busters and Jeanie for the help and continued guidance.

Jeanie is amazing! Nothing but praise for Jeanie and Bark Busters. Our Pickles is a rescue dog whose past history was completely unknown to us. She is naturally skittish and fearful, and has had many challenging traits, like pulling on the leash, nipping at men and barking, etc. Literally one session with Jeanie and we saw 80-90% improvement in Pickles' behavior. During our second session, Jeanie shared additional methods that we are currently working on to complete the training. It is nothing short of a miraculous transformation. The techniques work. Follow Jeanie's instruction and you will be very satisfied with the progress!

Jeanie is phenomenal! I was struggling with my dog Benny for 2-3 years. I had tried every bark collar and calming tool I could find. I spent thousands of dollars at doggy day care and he’d STILL come home barking. He was constantly barking and had awful separation anxiety. I am now able to leave my house without him barking and his separation anxiety has become SO much better. I cannot thank Jeanie enough for all the support and help! The BAH method is life changing. Thank you Jeanie!

My girlfriend and I have recently moved from San Diego to Arlington for school. With us is our just over 1 year old dog Sam, a mix of Amstaf, White Swiss Shepard, and Bull-terrier which we found and adopted while on vacation. Needless to say he's a very intelligent and hard-headed dog. We put him through all the Petsmart training (18 weeks worth) and he was top of his class. We trusted him off leash in almost every situation and never had any serious issues. As he got older treat based training and rewarding held little value and the stubbornness of his breads began to show. Needless to say when we arrived here in Virginia we had a completely different dog. He pulled on the leash like his life depended on it and was hyper focused on every dog, squirrel, cat, etc. (An issue we never had before). He wouldn't listen to simple commands anymore (unless he felt like it) and was extremely disruptive throughout the day. Anyways, we tried everything we could, but it got to a point where we couldn't handle it anymore. We did a ton of research for various personal dog trainers, and when we found Bark Busters we couldn't ignore the reviews. Dog owners with issues way worse than ours were praising Jeanie and the program stating after the first session alone they had a completely different pup! And a lifetime guarantee of support and training that follows you around the world after one payment? How could this be?! We are here to add to the list of excellent reviews. The Bark Buster program focuses on understanding the psychology of your dog and establishing understandings rooted in the ancestry of our dogs. To the point, Bark Busters is revolutionary and after 2 sessions Sam is a completely different dog, no treats, no punishment. Just guidance. Jeanie is friendly, patient and eager to help whenever you need it.

Jeanie has been incredibly responsive and willing to work with our crazy little boxer. She has given us ample things to help with our dogs’ separation anxiety, hyperactivity, barking. When one thing doesn’t work, she ensures that we are administering the training properly, and then will suggest another option that may work better in the future. 10/10 would recommend!

We had a great training session with both of our dogs. One is a 7 month puppy and the other is a 9 year old rescue. We've tried other places in the Northern Virginia area, but actually feel we got more out of Bark Busters! We now have the tools to help our energetic puppy and to help with our 9 year old rescue's triggers. I would highly recommend!

We had a great session with Jeanie, who is helping us with behavior/obedience issues for our 8-month old corgi. She gave us a great training regime, which is working! Looking forward to working with her more in the future!

Jeanie at Bark Busters was amazing to work with. She helped with our 3 year old pup, who responded right away to her techniques. She is extremely responsive and reliable. We will definitely continue to reach out to her if more training is required.

Jeanie with Bark Busters was amazing. We had a very nervous/anxious dog, and I was a little skeptical that anything would help him because he was just so scared of everything (every little noise in our house, anyone knocking on the door, thunder/fireworks, etc.). I thought this was just his personality and that was it. But we really wanted to try to get him training now, because we're expecting a baby in December, and we definitely didn't want any incidents with the dog and his nerves. We had a couple of sessions with Jeanie (you get help for the lifetime of the dog), and he has improved so much already. We're continuing to work with him, but the tactics that Jeanie showed us, and me especially, are already proving to be successful. I'm so much more confident about how he'll be by the time the baby gets here. Couldn't recommend Bark Busters enough, really!

I have a 1 year old Sheppard mix from Wolf Trap Animal Rescue. I got him when he was just 2 months. He went to a 2 week training in Culpeper, VA and learned the basics with a prong collar. …

Jeanie was fantastic with our bernedoodle, and we look forward to applying her recommendations for the long term (already paying off). Jeanie was very nice to work with, and extremely knowledgeable.

We are very happy to have Jeanie helping us with our dog, Buckie. He is part Beagle and hound, and has been a real challenge for us. Jeanie has helped us in many ways, though Buckie is still a work in progress. We are glad that we know that we can reach out to Jeanie to come and help us when we reach an obstacle. Jeanie is very knowledgeable and patient with us and our hound. We feel confident that Jeanie's and the Bark Buster methods will solve our behavior problems with our little Buckie! ~ Diann and Jim Carlson

We adopted our second rescue pup, Joey, in July 2019. We anticipated an adjustment period as our first pup took many months before she realized she was finally 'home.' Joey has taken much longer to adapt and we fondly refer to him as our 'velcro dog.' We are not certain of his breed but he's definitely part Greyhound. Joey was afraid of everything - going outside even just to potty was a terrifying experience for him. He is the first dog I've ever met that runs away and hides when we grab the leash for a walk. For a long time we just resorted to using puppy pads and did not push him to learn basic commands like 'sit' or 'stay.' After nearly a year of this behavior, I began researching training options. Friends told me to send him away for weeks long boarding and training. I knew Joey would not respond well to that because he is so attached to us. I also knew Joey could not take a group class because he'd be too afraid of the other dogs. Bark Busters came up in my google search so I sent out an inquiry. Jeanie responded within a day and explained the program to me. It sounded exactly like what we needed so I booked our first session. Due to the pandemic, we did the first half of our session over Zoom. My teenage kids and I gathered around the monitor as Jeanie explained some techniques for gaining compliance on the basic commands. Joey is not food motivated at all; but we learned that he responds to LOTS of praise. We immediately saw progress with Joey while practicing those commands. At the conclusion of our Zoom session, we agreed to reach out and schedule an in person session. It took Joey a couple of weeks to master the commands with each of us. We hesitated setting up a second appointment since Joey is afraid of the outdoors. We explained this to Jeanie, and agreed to meet in our little fenced backyard, which has just enough space to socially distance. Jeanie coached us through leash training and eventually we left the backyard to practice on the path behind my home. We used the Bark Busters collar and Joey initially resisted – he tends to lay down or pull backwards when we’d walk him. Rather than choking him as our previous collars have done; or him slipping out of the harness and running home; the method Jeanie showed us really worked. Within an hour, Joey was walking next to us. We also practiced turning around, stopping off to the side, and veering off the path when needed. We learned little tricks to help Joey manage his anxiety when we are outside. We’ve had just two sessions – about four hours total – and Joey's progress is incredible. We ended up getting the BarkBusters harness too, and just yesterday we walked Joey for about a mile. What we like best about BarkBusters’ model, we paid one fee for unlimited sessions and consultation for Joey. I absolutely recommend BarkBusters, and especially Jeanie, for anyone that needs individualized training for their dog. When Jeanie rolled up for the onsite training, the kids and I felt like the Mary Poppins of pets had arrived. Jeanie has the patience of Job and a wealth of experience that results in customized training along with tons of relevant advice. Humans and four legged friends alike will agree she is the best trainer around.

We got in touch with Bark Busters at the start of the new year in January. Our dog Luke was such a sweet boy in our home, but he had developed awful leash-reactivity issues. We live in an area with a lot of other dogs walking around, and our walks with him were absolutely miserable. It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Inside, our sweet pup respected boundaries and was very polite. Outside, he was out of control. We had just one session with Jeanie back in February. Jeanie explained exactly how dogs communicate with each other, and how we can use those methods to communicate with our dogs. She helped us set boundaries with Luke, and she showed us how to correct him while we're walking. No treats, no e-collar, just communication and redirection. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was like a switch had been flipped. Ever since that one session with Jeanie in February, our daily walks are completely different. Luke walks calmly by our side, and he follows commands. He knows not to growl at other dogs, and he will wait patiently by our side until we allow him to "go free" and sniff in the grass. I honestly cannot recommend this service enough. Thank you so much, Jeanie!

Jeanie came to our house last night for me and my fiance's dog's first in-home training session. Before Jeanie came she was very easy to reach and ensured that everything was in order before we began our training session. When we sat down and talked Jeanie was very knowledgeable of dog training, more than any other dog trainer I have encountered. She told us stuff that we should change and what we should start doing to stop some of the bad behaviors that we were encouraging without even knowing that we were doing it. she showed us methods of training that I would never have thought would work with our dog. When we got down to the actual training i was honestly amazed at how well her methods were working with our dog. Just one day later I noticed a significant difference in our dogs listening skills and behavior. all together Jeanie is a wonderful trainer and I am looking forward to our next session. I would highly recommend her and her services to anyone!

Jeanie at Bark Busters was very pleasant to work with! She taught us the basics of dog behavior and we started working with our pups right away! Within the first 15 minutes of training, our pups responded to the commands. My husband and I were amazed of how quickly we saw a change in behavior. Jeanie was patient with us and the pups and she was very detailed on why we do certain techniques. She is very responsive to emails and phone calls and will always make time to answer your questions. We highly recommend using Bark Busters and Jeanie as your trainer.

I had never had a dog before I rescued 2-year-old Ralphie--a Golden Retriever mix who had been mistreated early in his life. Within the first 2 weeks of having him home with me, I started noticing some behavioral problems; he would growl and bark at anyone who came into his territory (i.e., his house; his car), even if they were clearly my friends and not at all threatening or scary. He scared one friend so badly that she was afraid to open his crate to walk him while I was at work. And he had met her twice already; she even gave him treats and petted him. He adored me, but he was wildly unpredictable with others--especially men. Facing the prospect of losing all of my friends, I started researching dog trainers in Northern Virginia. Bark Busters was the only place that kept popping up in my searches as an organization that came to your house and trained you how to work with your dog to overcome unpleasant behaviors. They also had a list on their site explaining all of the common dog behavioral problems they address (e.g., separation anxiety; aggression), and they were well established and had good reviews. Jeanie was listed as the NoVa Bark Busters trainer, so I contacted her and decided I'd make my decision based on how our phone conversation went. Within 15 seconds of hearing Jeanie talk, I knew she was the right trainer for us. She was down to earth, easy to talk to, and really knew her stuff. At some point during our 30-minute conversation, I realized I was nodding in agreement with everything she said. In our first 4-hour session, Jeanie went over a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation on her iPad, and then we jumped right into training. Basically, Bark Busters trains you to train your dog to understand that you're alpha. You are the leader of your pack, and because dogs are pack animals who instinctively need one leader, your dog responds very quickly to the idea that you are now in charge. It's almost a relief to the dog. I could actually see Ralphie relaxing into the realization that he no longer had to carry this heavy burden of being the leader of our house--a burden that manifested itself in aggression toward "interlopers" and severe anxiety when I walked out the door for work. I'm really, really happy with the results of Jeanie's training. I feel empowered because I now have the tools to train Ralphie myself. I know I can do this myself forever because I now understand what my dog needs from me. I do realize it's going to take perseverance and consistency. Like Jeanie said, all dogs are opportunists; if they see your leadership slipping, they'll capitalize on it. So it's up to me to practice every day what Jeanie taught me. And I have no problem doing it because it works so well. I already have another session on the books with Jeanie, so I'm looking forward to showing her how well her methods are working and maybe learning a few new things from her. She's worth every penny.

Jeanie Bieniek from Bark Busters came to our rescue, and saved the day. Sam, our 77 pound mixed breed dog came to us when he was about 6 months old. He immediately became a member of the family and went on trail walks, to soccer games, …

I've had my pup since she was 3 months old. Now at 5 years we've moved to a much smaller apartment community and she has some barking / aggression issues with the other dogs in the community. We contacted Bark Busters, and Jeannie came out …

Great training, for puppies or seniors. Positive experience with results. This training is a great learning experience for your dog and you. …

Jeanie was absolutely amazing! The Bark Buster philosophy changed my mindset and approach to dog training to think from a dog's perspective versus the human's. The instruction to the owner is essential. Jeanie is so knowledgable and a great …

After a year since training, our sweet pup had slipped into being in control of our home and even pulling us over on walks when excited by bus or other dog or some perceived "threat." After one hour of refresher with Jeanie, our pup is …

I have a 10 month old double merle Border Collie whom happens to be deaf. Waylon has a habit of chasing shadows. This habit concerned me because he was getting a bit obsessive and he would crush his face into the carpet. There was this one accident where he hit the carpet so hard that he got a bloody nose/mouth. It has only been a week since Jeanie came out to our house and we have already seen improvements. Her methods really do work. She helps you understand your dog’s way of thinking in order to create a training method suited for them.

Our whole family worked today with our trainer, Jeanie, to learn how to curb several behaviors, including pulling us hard at the leash and lunging at other dogs during walks. Fast forward to a late evening walk with our dog and we were amazed at how well our dog remembered the training (and that we remembered too). Our entire walk was tug-free, relaxing, and such a joy...after one training session! Jeanie taught us so much more and will be there if we need more help in the future. I'm so happy we choose Bark Busters and that Jeanie was our trainer!

Jeanie came out to our house to help us with our two miniature dachshunds. She was amazing! We were able to see results immediately. We now know what to do to help our dogs be successful in every setting!

Jeanie is a joy to work with. She is professional and knowledgable, and was incredibly patient with our persistent 9 month old lab mix during lessons. She explained to us not only which tactics to use with our pup to modify behavior, but …

We called Jeanie since my dog Storm has been having issues with separation anxiety and not listening when there are distractions. Jeanie came out to our apartment last night and worked with us for 3-4hrs. I’ve had dogs before and had “trained” Storm, but she is my first German Shepard and very stubborn. It was clear that Jeanie has tons of experience and we were able to get some immediate results. Towards the end of the session Jeanie gave us some training exercises to continue working on, but said not to hesitate to contact her should we have any questions/need her to come out again...this gave me peace of mind to know she will be there when we need.