When I first reached out to Tommy, I was in a pretty dark place with my 3-year-old English Bulldog…read more His behavior had taken a serious turn--aggression, constant overstimulation, and a total breakdown in how we communicated. I was heartbroken and honestly starting to feel like I'd failed him. What Tommy brought into our home was a complete shift in perspective. He didn't just train the dogs--he taught us how to create structure, set clear expectations, and restore calm. After just the first session, our house felt noticeably different. The tension was gone, the barking and toy-fighting stopped, and even our older dogs--who had been keeping their distance--seemed relieved. What really makes Tommy stand out is the continued support. He's incredibly responsive, provides real tools and a step-by-step plan, and genuinely checks in on your progress. The Lifetime Guarantee is a huge comfort--knowing we have ongoing access to help if new issues arise takes so much pressure off. We're still working through things, but the difference already feels like night and day. I can't recommend Tommy highly enough--he gave us back peace and hope.

We adopted our good boy Buddie from a shelter in December. A sweet boy, but years in a shelter…read more(five!) has made him somewhat a sensitive pup prone to barking to loud noises and strangers approaching. Passing cars on walks yielded barking and lunging, doorbells ringing, more barking. We tried some "do-it-yourself" online things with zero success, and realized actual one-on-one training was the only option. Enter Tommy from Bark-Busters. His initial three-hour in-home training course was amazingly effective, so much so the change in Buddie was almost night and day to us. Upon meeting Buddie for the first time, Tommy immediately knew the kind of sensitive dog Buddie was and tailored his training to suit. His techniques were easy to understand and master and can be practiced anytime we're with Buddie. No more barking when the doorbell rings, or when a car passes, or a stranger approaches. Buddie's a lot calmer now which is more in keeping with his overall sweet nature. Highest recommendation!

Jutka is a puppy expert! She provides great input, specifically tailored to your dog. She is…read moregreat to work with and the home training is very helpful so she can give tips for our specific situation. We love how she includes the whole family and makes the training fun for both the humans and the puppy. She really understands dogs and uses positive training that is very effective.

Jutka is terrific. Our adolescent (read: energetic and stubborn) puppy responded wonderfully to her…read morethoughtful and analytical approach to training. Jutka can of course help with basic obedience and commands. Where Jutka really shines, however, is in training the dog for situations that are difficult to simulate in a controlled environment. We had a rough time teaching our energetic puppy how to ignore distractions and greet strangers with proper etiquette--taking him to crowded areas was impossible. So Jutka held our private lesson in a place just like that. With her by our side, we practiced handling situations that frequently come up in ordinary life but that are impossible to replicate in a training room. She also made training fun for the dog and for us by incorporating games and agility, breaking up the training session at ideal intervals to keep both dog and owner engaged and on our toes. She has a unique intuition for the way dogs think, and we are very grateful for her help!

Long post but please read the whole thing…read more My husband and I hired Mark because our dog was aggressive towards strangers. He was very responsive and we set up our first meeting for a Sunday. When I got home from work the Friday prior Marks card was on our door. I assumed he was just scouting the location. On Sunday 15 minutes after our appointment time he wasn't there and I called and left a voicemail. 30 minutes after our appointment time I called and left a voicemail. He returned my call a few moments later and said there was a mix up he thought the appointment was Friday when he left the card. It was odd since he did not call me that day but we agreed that people make mistakes and to give it another try. He was very reluctant to meet us after business hours and preferred daily appointments. This was rough since we both worked but the first week I had two sessions with him at lunch time. My husband couldn't be at these and he needed to learn about it also so we scheduled another Sunday appointment. Again 15 minutes past the appointment time he didn't show up and I left a voicemail. 45 minutes past the appointment time I called and left another voicemail. He called back 2 minutes after our appointment would have been over and said he was running late but it was too late now to do another appointment and would have to reschedule. My husband called him back and explained that he needs to respect our time since we respect his. He promised it would not happen again and that if he was running late he would call us prior to our appointment time. He then PROMPTLY cashed the $500 check we wrote him on the first training appointment day which we understood wouldn't happen until all 6 training sessions were finished. Regardless the next few sessions went well he called in a timely manner when he was going to be late. Our dog started to realize that we were in charge and his aggression died down quickly. The last day of our training was supposed to be the test and we were going to a dog park to prove he learned what he was supposed to. 15 minutes past the appointment time we left a voicemail. 30 minutes after the appointment time we asked him to call and reschedule. It has now been THREE days and he has not returned the call. We were shorted one appointment but honestly I wouldn't want to work with him anymore anyway. Nothing he taught us was extraordinary and having to keep track of him was not worth it. It is a bad business practice and we are out the money. I WOULD NOT recommend him.

Our recently adopted (newly neutered) 2 yr old pug was a huge problem on leash: always pulling,…read moredistracted, chasing after squirrels, cars, everything. He was also rather aggressive to other dogs, trying to dominate them. In the beginning, I had wanted to make sure he got plenty of exercise, but my inability to manage his behavior was not making it easy for us to take long walks, and I felt bad that my lack of skill was keeping him indoors so much. Stress! We wanted to take him to some group training classes, but none were starting at the time and we needed help quickly. I checked out yelp and found Mark, who had very good reviews. I called him, told him about our situation and he was very interested in helping us. We had a good, long conversation, where he offered his thoughts about why our dog was behaving that way, and what we could do now to alleviate some problems. We met a few days later. It was obvious Mark had good energy because our dog, who gets overexcited with any newcomer, seemed to relax very quickly when Mark arrived. Mark observed me and my dog and saw that the dog, though he listened, was rather reluctant to listen and act, and this was a problem. I am a first-time dog owner and so I didn't think it was strange that our dog would lazily respond to my commands. Mark showed me how to get the dog to respond enthusiastically, what kinds of incentives to use, how to adjust my voice and petting. We moved outdoors to work on the leash. Mark showed me some techniques to get our dog to Heel, which worked rather well. Mark gave me other hints and tips to work on outdoors. We all were working very hard and felt like we accomplished something! We had another lesson with Mark, who taught us some new commands, which our dog seemed to pick up quickly. We worked outdoors again, our biggest challenge, and Mark again showed us techniques to keep our dog in check. What I found interesting in these sessions is that Mark is training the owner more than the dog. Mark showed me how to be a stronger leader, whom my dog would respect and follow. I have learned a lot and my dog obeys me more enthusiastically, though we have some way to go. But I definitely feel Mark gave us great tools to mold our dog into a great companion. Mark is very interested in giving you what you want in the lessons. He is a good listener and freely offers lots of comments and advice. He encourages you to call him outside the lesson when you need additional help. He really cares about your dog and wants to inspire the dog to listen to your commands. Overall, Mark is great and I would recommend him wholeheartedly.

Mike is a wonderful and professional dog trainer that helped turn our strong headed Samoyed puppy…read moreinto a wonderful and disciplined dog and companion. Though he is tough and firm with the dogs, it was wonderful to see how much our puppy loved to be with Mike and his well he responded to him. But perhaps most importantly, Mike didn't just train our dog, he trained US and made us - our entire family including the kids - much better dog owners. I frankly don't know where we would have been with our Samoyed had it not been for the guidance and training Mike provided.

(I took this down, but I decided I'm going to keep it up)…read more Mike did a good job of assessing the root causes of issues that we were observing with our dogs. In addition to that, he did provide sound guidance on how to work with these, as well as a frank opinion. The techniques that he used with our dogs were effective, but the logic that he used to explain behaviors made me raise my eyebrows a few times. Mike subscribes to pack theory. Pack theory is outdated and was debunked by the same group of scientists that performed the study. (If you don't believe me, go to google scholar and look up some recent studies from academic papers.) Those notes aside, I do find Mike's professionalism to be highly questionable. Multiple times, Mike had directed condescending comments towards me flat out saying that women (unlike men) were more prone to making emotional (and i guess the implication was that they consequently make irrational and irresponsible) decisions. From how he talked, I was under the impression that he was coming into the consultation with this attitude, because I am female, even before meeting me. This is due in part because his phrasing indicated that he felt that my husband was the "rational" decision maker. I felt very disrespected in my own home. This behavior is very concerning, especially since he said that his daughter had made him aware that these types of comments could be perceived as sexist. I would assess other trainers first. I suspect you can get the same results, for the same/better price, but without the disrespect or outdated logic.

5 stars all around!…read more We just finished Puppy Manners (~positive enforcement training for puppies under 5 months of age) class with our Mini Goldendoodle Winnie and had such a positive experience that we've already signed up for the next level, Basic Manners (~puppies over 5 months of age) classes. Lee-Ann is our trainer and she was very sweet and thorough, and was able to answer all of our questions and concerns. We also plan to go up to Manners Level II and Advanced Manners courses as well. You also have playtime after Puppy Manners to enhance your pup's socialization skills! Classes are in a small group setting (up to 4 dogs) so each puppy receives individualized attention in addition to the opportunity to learn in a distracting environment. We attended the classes at PetValu in Fairfax and had classes both inside and outside of the store which provided different environments for Winnie to train in. It was not only a learning experience for our pup, but for us as well since we learned ways to positively train and reward her. They also offer private in-home training classes. If you're in the area, I would highly recommend Rudy's Friends for your pup!

Beau and I are so thankful for the Puppy Manners class we took at Loyal Companion in Vienna, VA…read more Our trainers (Janice and Anne) were very responsive, and I appreciated their positive reinforcement approach to training. I see such an improvement in Beau's confidence and our bond is stronger since starting the class! This is the best value for price I've found in the area, and I've already signed up for the next level up (Basic Manners Made Easy). Thank you Rudy's Friends!

My family hired Annmarie to give us tips on how to manage our puppy. We are first time pet owners…read more I didn't even have a pet when I was a child so it was all new to me. Annmarie started out by giving me a comprehensive consultation asking exactly what we envisioned. Further to that meeting and hearing our requests, we began our training of Roxy. I was surprised at how fast the puppy understood all the basic instructions and actually enjoyed the training sessions. Annmarie is very knowledgeable and experienced and is a dog whisperer. She has a way with dogs that is remarkable. After our sessions, Roxy, understood our expectations of her and is a much happier and more confident dog. Our family is also very pleased as Roxy understands basic commands and obeys and is not unruly like before. I highly recommend these dog training sessions for all pet owners. Money well spent.

Annmarie was prompt, kind, and very informative during both our initial phone call and our first…read moreevaluation/consultation appointment. She took the time to hear what we have been doing with our dog, observed us as we demonstrated our current techniques, and gave comments and critique where needed. The delivery of her feedback was very warm and informative - we never felt as if we were being insulted or belittled like I have experienced with other trainers. She offered an explanation of *why* our technique may not be working and explained a way to alter our training so that we could help our pup be successful. We have already decided to schedule future training sessions with Annmarie and are very excited. After just the initial evaluation session I noticed a marked difference in how well my pup walked on leash once I implemented her suggestions. We are very happy with our choice!

Our dog suffered from severe leash reactivity. On the recommendation of two trusted friends and…read moreneighbors, we took him to Dog University for training. Our dog boarded and trained there for two weeks. James spent a lot of time with our dog to overcome his reactivity. We met with James and our dog in Reston Town Center on a Saturday afternoon and were amazed how far our dog had come to tolerate being near other dogs. James worked with us for an hour that afternoon, instructing us how best to minimize leash reactivity while our dog encountered other dogs. Our dog is not perfect and we continue to work with him under James' guidance, but our dog is significantly improved. Additionally, we found the Dog U facility clean and well-managed. Dog U's staff has always been professional, helpful and friendly. We highly recommend Dog U.

James and his staff are simply amazing! He works wonders with all dogs. Is willing to go above and…read morebeyond with every owner who is having an issues with their dogs. James is good with all dogs but where he really shines is helping the dogs who really need it. I have yet to hear of a dog that James won't take in day care and won't attempt to work with. Which is not the norm of the industry. He also does a lot of work with local rescues to help them with dogs who are struggling getting adopted. I would highly recommend Dog University and James and his staff. It's where my dogs love to go when we are out of town! Bonus they are exhausted when we get back!!

I called, emailed, and even yelp messaged this place as we needed immediate private lessons for a…read morepuppy we had adopted who had severe anxiety issues. I never received a follow up and ended up having to give the puppy back to the rescue. I still wonder sometimes if we could have had a different outcome if this place would have called me back. Unfortunately, the quality of life for her is as getting worse by the day and it was unfair to keep her in our environment where we couldn't make her feel safe.

We LOVE Krazy K9 Dog Training! Ken and team area a pleasure to work with and really know their…read morestuff. They are able to adjust training to the dog's needs and use all the tools in the toolbox available- martingale collars, pinch collars, ecollars, etc. and always praise and treat driven rewards. The training work has made a very positive difference in my rescue dog. She is much more confident than she was before and her leash manners are envied by other dog owners in our neighborhood. During Covid everyone involved wears masks (properly over both nose and mouth) and all training takes place outdoors or in a pet-friendly location like Home Depot or Pet Supplies Plus. Would highly recommend Ken and team!