**Life-Changing. Truly.**…read more I don't write reviews lightly and I especially don't write emotional ones--but Bark Busters of San Diego quite literally gave me my life back. For years, I lived in silence and stress. I couldn't leave my home without my dogs barking, howling, scratching at their crates, and spiraling into panic. The mouth watering alone was enough to break me. So instead, I stayed home. I adjusted my life around their anxiety. I suffered quietly because I loved them and didn't know what else to do. Until one day I broke down completely. I realized this wasn't living not for me, and not for them. We deserved calm. We deserved peace. We deserved to live our "best" lives and this wasn't it. Some people complain in reviews that dog training "doesn't work." Let me be very clear: anxiety whether in humans or dogs is not something you fix by checking a box. A true behavioral therapist understands one thing above all else, "awareness". Anxiety comes from surroundings and perceived safety. The work is learning how to respond and create calm and that takes consistency. I spent three straight weeks training four hours a day, every single day. I cried. I doubted myself. I wanted to quit. But I followed the Bark Busters program exactly as taught--daily simulations, real-world scenarios, repetition, and patience. And then something incredible happened. My dogs slept. They relaxed. They trusted. Today, I can leave my home and my dogs are calm, quiet, and peacefully sleeping, knowing I'm coming back. Visitors come and go with ease. My 9- and 6-year-old Maltipoos are relaxed, confident, and happy. And so am I. Here's the truth people don't want to hear, there is no magic pill. There is no shortcut. The training never "ends" because leadership and love are lifelong commitments. And honestly? That's the gift. Once it becomes part of your daily life, it feels natural. I walk more. The cuddles are calmer. I'm no longer being climbed on out of anxiety I'm being loved in peace. And about the cost? Think about it. You've already spent more on multiple trainers, treats, wasted time, emotional exhaustion, and a very unhappy household. Bark Busters' training is guaranteed for life. If you move. If life changes. If new challenges come you're supported. That matters more than people realize. Justin and his team are beyond words. Compassionate. Honest. Direct. They don't just train dogs, they train families. Value your pet's life. Value the short, precious time we get with them. Happiness--for everyone in the home is worth the work.

I'm updating my original 6-month review now that it has been a full year since we hired Bark…read moreBusters to help with our rescue dog Mimi. As first-time dog owners, the early support really did help us. Having someone we could call during those overwhelming first months was a relief. Over time, though, I realized I was hoping the training would shift toward more positive reinforcement. The constant, harsher corrections worked at first but eventually didn't seem effective anymore and started affecting my relationship with Mimi. I noticed this during a family trip where Mimi, who is usually fearful of strangers, bonded more easily with my husband and his family. She gravitated toward them when scared, and I realized it might be because they weren't following the correction-heavy approach, while I was. I also asked for help with Mimi's fear and reactivity toward other dogs, but was told they didn't have dogs available for training and that I would need to bring a calm, socialized dog myself. As a non-trainer, that was very hard, but we tried by traveling many hours to introduce her to my husband's family dog. The experience ended up being chaotic since the family didn't fully understand what the process required, and new people and dogs kept appearing even though Mimi wasn't ready. Her reactivity came back in that environment, which made me feel like the training had only put a bandaid on deeper fear issues. Maybe I should have clarified expectations better from the start, but with a high-need dog and being new to all of this, I didn't know what to expect. Since then, we've switched to a positive reinforcement trainer who organizes structured group activities. Mimi is still scared of bigger dogs and can still be reactive, but she's improving slowly and has been able to meet a few smaller dogs. She's also still fearful of people, but she nips a lot less now, so progress is happening. Overall, Bark Busters helped us in the beginning, but long-term we found that a different, more positive approach has been a better fit for Mimi.

Planning to use Wolf Girl Canine Club to board my dogs for the very first time. I appreciate how…read moreKatie will try to match their potty schedule as much as possible since one of my dogs poops up to 4 times a day and easily gets diarrhea and the other one cannot hold her bladder for long. I let Katie know how anxious they can get and she has been so empathetic and caring with them. I was and am continually impressed with how she always places the dogs comfort and safety first. We haven't boarded them yet (not needed for a while), but we are working on getting them comfortable with her so that it won't be a big shock and trauma to them when I leave them for the first time. They've met with her twice and already love her. Just one of the dogs has extreme anxiety and separation anxiety so when I'm not around, they easily freak out which is why I scheduled for more frequent day care days before the boarding date in order to make the boarding less stressful. Her patience with my anxious babies makes me feel very comfortable in leaving them with her. She treats my dogs how I would treat them (actually probably even better and with more patience). And I'm so impressed that I do plan to do biweekly or monthly (depending on what my budget allows) daycare with her so that the dogs will be able to have fun away from home but in a controlled and monitored environment with someone that prioritizes their comfort and safety. Her prices are super reasonable too! Side note, the dogs are trained in another language and she makes the extra effort to learn the commands in the other language for them. I didn't expect this, and am very appreciative of the effort.

Wolf Girl Canine Club exceeded my expectations. One of the best parts is that they offer in-home…read moretraining sessions, so you do not have to drive anywhere. They come to you, which makes the process convenient and helps the trainer work with your dog in the exact environment where the behavior matters most. Katie was professional, patient, and very knowledgeable. She explained everything clearly, tailored the training to my dog's needs, and gave me simple steps to follow between sessions. I saw real progress quickly, and my dog is calmer, more responsive, and much easier to manage day to day. If you are considering dog training, I highly recommend Wolf Girl Canine Club. When you reach out, ask for Katie.

Amanda is a GREAT trainer. I would highly recommend her! My dog loved her and was super happy every…read moretime she came over for training. She knew exactly how to work with my dog, my boyfriend and myself. She taught us how to be "the most exciting things in the room" and hold our dog's attention. My little Kayla does an array of tricks: sit, stay, down, crawl, stand, rollover (her favorite), touch, high five, shake, etc. Amanda did not simply train our dog to do tricks; she made sure that we as the owners were the ones doing the training, and taught us how to keep teaching Kayla to do new tricks in the future. Furthermore, she helped us along the way with questions and concerns that we had as first time dog owners.

We came to Amanda totally desperate, thinking we may have to give up our sweet little pit bull,…read moreMaebe. Maebe is a rescue dog and she gets nervous and scared around new people. This nervousness manifested in showing aggression a couple times when she felt threatened by strangers. Since my fiance and I plan to have children in her lifetime, we were told by our previous trainer that Maebe would not be a good dog with kids in the house, and we should give her back to the rescue. We were devastated at the thought of having to give her up. We called Pit Bull Rescue San Diego and told them our dilemma. They recommended Amanda, citing her history in rehabilitating skiddish pit bulls. Our first session with Amanda ended in complete relief and hope that we can have Maebe as a dog with children in the house. Amanda showed us how to change Maebe's fears into happiness with lots of positive reinforcement whenever something scary was nearby. She worked out Maebe's fear of bikes, skateboards, and strangers. Amanda showed us how to control the situation in all cases, and keep our dog calm and happy at all times. A few months later, we now have a great, happy dog with a large repertoire of tricks. We have had parties at our house with many new people, and the dog handled it great thanks to Amanda's tips. She still gets scared of people, but we know exactly what to do to manage the situation for the best possible outcome for our dog, our guests, and our future kids. Amanda worked around our schedule, came to our house, and kept our dog in our family. I couldn't be happier!

I can't say enough good things about Philly!He took my dog Eris in on short notice for both…read moreboarding and training, kept me updated the whole time, and made sure she was comfortable and learning. He's incredibly knowledgeable about dogs and training tools, and he genuinely cares about each dog's progress. Overall, a great person and an amazing trainer. I highly recommend him!

I could not say better things about Philly or the training and boarding services he provides. From…read morethe very first time I reached out, Philly's kindness, professionalism, and humility were evident, and the way he took the time to explain his training philosophy, services, and pricing with complete transparency made me feel genuinely comfortable. There was never any guessing or confusion - just sincere, open communication that showed how much he truly cares about the families and dogs he works with. We recently boarded our two dogs with Philly while we were away on a family trip, and I can't express how relieved and reassured I felt knowing they were in his care. Philly went above and beyond. He created a group chat for my husband and I to streamline communication, and we received consistent check-ins, videos, and the sweetest pictures. You could see it in our dogs - they felt happy, safe, comfortable, and genuinely cared for. That kind of peace of mind is priceless. Philly is an exceptionally talented trainer, and his passion for what he does shines through in everything he does. He has such a natural, intuitive way with dogs - patient, gentle, confident - and it's clear that this work is not just a job for him, but a calling. He treats every dog like family, and that level of genuine care is incredibly rare. If you're looking for someone who is skilled, trustworthy, and deeply committed to the well-being of your doggos - someone homegrown, family-oriented, and wholeheartedly invested, Philly's the person you want in your dogs' lives, especially when you're away. We trust him wholeheartedly and plan to board with him again in the future! Thank you again, Boss Dawg K9 Training!

In October 2025 as a favor for a friend, I agreed to take care of Jeffrey for two months while…read moreJeffrey's sibling recovered from knee surgery. Jeffrey is a male lab mix and was 10 months old when he came to stay with me. When Jeffrey came to stay with me, I already had Koda, a male chow-huskie mix, four years old. About two months into his stay, Jeffrey became my forever dog. Also, at about that same time, Jeffrey and Koda began to get into some bad fights that needed human intervention to stop. My friend had taken her dog to Devotion to Dogs with great results, so I took Jeffrey for training. Jeffrey completed his training about one month ago and no fights with Koda have occurred after the training. Josh was great with Jeffrey and did Jeffrey's home visit. I am grateful and thankful to Josh and the whole team at Devotion to Dogs!!

What a great place to take your dog for training as a puppy to one on one professional trainers who…read morehave years of experience and make your idol their top priority.

Cannot say enough good things! We rescued a 5 year old borzoi who was very sweet but had no…read morecommands and also no motivations to help train her, John helped us find one specific treat that worked for her and helped us learn how to work with all her other weird kinks and now our girl can settle at restaurants and has basic commands down! He helped her become more confident and comfortable in the world, book with John you won't regret it!

Summer of 2024 I had an anxious, reactive, fearful, unwalkable big rescue dog. She broke harnesses,…read morepulled me to the ground, was afraid of people, and snapped at strangers and other dogs. My friends nicknamed her Cujo, it was that bad. I couldn't invite people to the house. Summer of 2025 I have a dog that loves meeting new dogs and people and runs around OB dog beach off leash. She's not reactive, she has great recall, she makes friends, I can have people over, she listens to commands, and she's so easy to walk. I took her into the vet this week and they removed the 'bite risk' warning from her file, they said it's like a completely different dog. She's not anxious or fearful. She's confident, playful, and so happy. All of this was because of training with John. He is patient, gentle, and kind. I can't put into words how grateful I am that we found him. I recommend him to every dog owner I know.

Love this place! My dogs have the best time ever and Thomas and family take great care of them…read more They hike with the dogs every morning and evening on their 5 acre property.

Very communicative with families and even sends texts. Even when you have a discrepancy, it is…read morehandled with professionalism We were very pleased with the service and will continue to bring our dog. Bailey was clearly well taken care of. Overall we were very happy with the service this ranch provides and our dog seemed to be happy when home... and tired. Hard to do for a lab. Great business. Great communication. Great service. Great price.

This was groomer number 3 that we tried. My dog loved this place! I inquired about day care and he…read morewas 'interviewed' to see what he was like with the others at daycare. He passed! Everyone here is super nice and my lab agrees!!

Jose was absolutely wonderful! He was very kind and really listened to exactly what haircut and…read morestyle we wanted for our puppy, Coco. Coco was pretty nervous at first about meeting someone new, but Jose was so patient and gentle with her. She came back happy, calm, and looking absolutely beautiful. We couldn't be more pleased with the experience. Highly recommend!