Hi Alyssa has been fantastic with my 3 rottweiller puppies. YES 3!!! Even my mom (75 years young)…read moreis enjoying coming ivee and not being bombarded with puppy love and jumps in excitement. The reverse board and train has helped them be ok with people coming to their home, knocking, making noise. It makes it easy to practice on my own.

We rescued this big baby, Juice, about a year ago and while he has some excellent attributes we…read morecouldn't seem to really get him to listen or obey certain commands. We needed help! After several training inquiries with multiple companies, I immediately heard back from Karma, and a call with the owner was set up. He asked me all about Juice and explained the options he thought would be best. After deciding on "board and train" he said he thought he had the perfect person in mind and they would reach out soon. A couple days later I received correspondence from Sammye Darling, a trainer for Karma, who wanted to set up a call to talk about Juice. During our call she was very confident that she would be able to help with teaching him basic obedience and jumping. We settled on a 10 day timeframe with the expectation that it would be imperative to continue the training ourselves afterwards. (She would've preferred 14 days because that last few days is really when the training sinks in but I assured her we would stay on it) Scheduling was easy and convenient while we went out of town on vacation. Sammye was warm, gentle, and friendly upon dropping Juice off with her and I trusted her immediately. She stayed in constant communication with us, sending pictures, and updates on his progress. He took some time, he's stubborn, but eventually she saw the switch and said he was doing great! I missed him so much but knew he was in good hands with Sammye. Fast forward 10 days later and the day came to pick him up and I couldn't wait to see him. I'll spare you all the details of baby talk, kisses, hugs, etc. but it was a joyous reunion that had us in awe of the things he had learned. We spent about an hour there learning the commands, how to reward them, and practicing before heading home. She worked wonders and we were so excited to go home and continue the work. Before leaving we scheduled our follow up in person training session for a couple weeks out so Sammye could come see him in his own environment and see if we actually kept up with the training which we did! He is doing great! No, he's not perfect and we're still working on certain things but he's a different dog in many aspects. He has a "place" for when we're eating and now does it without asking and gets "off" the bed when it's time (he's too big to sleep with us) so he has his own. Those are two giant wins for us and we can't thank Sammye enough! He learned so much more and we continue to work with him everyday. Karma was professional and quick to respond which is always something I appreciate. Sammye, our trainer, was a delight who was professional, caring, thoughtful, hard-working, and made Juice feel right at home (in her own home) while teaching him some manners. I can't recommend her enough! Juice definitely missed her and was so excited to see her when she came over which further solidified how amazing she was. Call Karma and ask for Sammye as your trainer. You won't regret it!

I cannot say enough positives about this facility or its people. I wanted to start early puppy…read moretraining so my GSP started as soon as she met the vaccination requirements around 3 months old and we continued until 8 months. The team worked with her to develop confidence through socialization, communication and learning basic skills including enrichment activities to help us build and support a solid healthy positive relationship. We BOTH did our homework and I am extremely happy with the foundation we have to move forward. While my previous GSPs went to "boot camps" and came back trained and were well loved (and spoiled), we did not develop the level of connection I have with Evey that has come through learning together following the program and doing the homework. I definitely recommend taking the supplemental classes they offer to help you as the handler learn, practice and hone the techniques. It truly makes a difference with your relationship with your dog.

We are so happy with our results from the reactive rover training! We learned so many new tools…read morethat we can use to better help our dog in her reactive moments. I love how knowledgeable and kind the trainers are! I highly recommend this facility! They use positive reinforcement which is amazing and works!

I have really enjoyed working with Kasia! She has helped my dog with his fear aggression, and…read morehelped me know how to handle him and help him. She has been so patient, as this has been a long road with my dog. Kasia is willing to meet at a mutually agreeable time, and is quite flexible! She understands dogs in a way that few do, and has done a great job helping me understand my dog. I would use her again in a heartbeat, and still use her to get some check-ins so my dog and I continue to get better. Thanks Kasia!

Real-world dog training!…read more Kasia was so great at deciding what my dogs needed for training. She personalized our needs as well as taught me training that I would need on a day-to-day basis. For example, I don't really care if my dog sits perfectly straight and still, but I do care that he STAY when he needs to. This is what Kasia did for me...and with three dogs (two very little and one big), the personalized help was essential.

I found this wonderful place for my dogs when we are taking longer trips! I love the fact that…read morethey're further out from the city and have property for the dogs to be able to wonder like they used to when we lived in the suburbs. My dogs are accustomed to being around, just our family and don't always be friend new people readily. They immediately took to the owner, Brian. Our dogs are on a diet where they have a mixture of dry and wet food that require refrigeration or freezing. That was no problem at all for the owner to accommodate. The fellas looked well cared for when my son picked them up! My son forgot to check for the dogs blankets when he picked them up and Brian kindly drove them down to the city where we live so that the dogs would have them. I will definitely use Hicks Farm again and I highly recommend them!

Zelda, our German shepherd/husky mix, boarded with Brian for nearly two weeks while we were on…read morevacation. Before she went, I'd worked with her on sit, down, take it, leave it, and some spins with decent success. Brian took what she had and built on it, adding heel, come when called, turn, and stay. He returned a noticeably different dog. When we hit some bumps shortly after, he came back out and spent a solid hour with me going over what was actually happening...not just commands and corrections, but why she was behaving the way she was and what she needed from me to feel secure. (Spoiler: she needed me to be more confident and consistent.) He has a way of cutting straight to what matters without overcomplicating it, and more than once he said exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment. What struck me most across both experiences was how much genuine wisdom he brings to his work. He's clearly someone who has learned his craft through deep experience and observation, and it shows in every interaction with the dog and with the owner. On top of all of that, his pricing was incredibly reasonable; boarding and training combined for what many trainers charge for training alone. We felt genuinely taken care of. Kind, patient, perceptive, and exactly what we needed. Highly recommend.

We had a gone through 2 trainers (and thousands of dollars) before coming to Sydney for our…read moreEuropean Doberman puppy. Wish we had found Sydney sooner to save ourselves the hassle and time with trainers who don't know how to handle a purebred working breed. Our boy's main issue was reactivity with other dogs while walking him on a leash in the neighborhood. Sydney trained and educated us by giving us the tools to manage our stubborn, and strong, puppy. We've been going to Sydney for over a year to keep up the obedience and our boy is doing things we never thought would be possible before, such as sitting quietly in a room full of other dogs, and walking past reactive dogs in the neighborhood without incident. Thank you Sydney.

Sidney is the BEST dog trainer hands down!! We have tried other trainers for Ellie and comparing…read moreour experiences, Sidney has changed our lives for the better. He is a retired k9 police officer from Chicago and does REAL WORLD training. No tricks or treats. We first knew of Sidney when we saw him hold classes right outside of the dog park and we thought it would be the perfect training for Ellie. She would get easily distracted even by a leaf or a butterfly and take off. Also, she needed some obedience training. Fast forward, we have been training with Sidney for almost a year and we keep coming back. He knows how to read your dog to bring out the best in each of them. We went in wanting to learn obedience, and we keep wanting to learn more to see what else she is capable of doing. We truly enjoy the time we spend with Ellie in training classes each week and incorporating these skills in our routines at home. Ellie is a very well trained dog and we can actually walk her off leash with confidence that she will not wander off. We have also competed and placed in AKC rally competitions in her first weekend. If you're willing to put in the work with your dog and want to meet other hard working dog owners, come check out Total Control K9 College. We practice at Bill Archer Dog Park every Saturday morning around 9-11 AM and Wednesdays at Preppy Pet parking lot on Highway 6 and Rippling Waters at 7PM - rain or shine. Also, check out his Facebook live videos on the Total Control K9 College page to watch him work his magic on dogs who come in with behavioral issues or with high energy and within minutes he calms them down. I have witnessed this with my own eyes every week... I just can't make this stuff up!

We're about half way through the training sessions now, and I can already see the progress. If…read moreyou're patient and committed to training with your dog you will see the results. You'll get plenty of support you need along the way as long as you'll ask for it. I text Michael, sometimes daily, all my questions and concerns regarding the training, and I've never been left without an answer! He'll also provide a ton of materials (videos, books, articles) you need to familiarize yourself with to set you up for success. Me and my dogs are working on solving the fence fighting issue, and so far one of them is actually responsive to my efforts. When I reached out to Michael I didn't think that much can be done, but now I see a light at the end of a very, very long tunnel :). All our sessions have been online so far, as few days before our first scheduled meeting the stay at home order was placed. Online conference worked just as well for us, and we didn't have to delay the training any longer. A recent addition- online "support group" where his customers can share ideas and chat is a great idea too! Overall, I couldn't be happier with the decision to work with Michael.

We contacted Michael for help with our big golden retriever…read morepuppy. He was overexcited most of the time. Playtime was not fun for us because he would get too worked up and end up with what I called a "zoomy meltdown", which involved a lot of jumping and nipping. Michael taught us to recognize the signs before he got out of control and helped us to keep OUR stress level down and redirect his energy. Finn is much more relaxed now, around us and guests. Thanks to the training, we have an energetic sweet boy instead of a lot of stress and worry.

Fantastic Staff, facilities are clean and well kept. Also, they really love dogs and treat them as…read moreyou would.

Professional and so helpful! Very thankful to have found them and will continue to get help…read moretraining my puppy.

SCAM. I signed up and paid for this program and was supposed to have a year long access to dog…read moretraining and assistance. The representative, Esteffany, came for the initial home training once and I never heard back from them again. No follow ups, no checking in, nothing. More than $1,000 wasted. The original issue I needed help with correcting, excessive barking, did not improve. Their solution is growling and spraying with water bottles, which in the end was not helpful. I expected so much more for such a steep price. Not sure how this place is still in business, but perhaps it was just me and my pets that got screwed over.

We received our video training from Pat Conn, independent franchisee in the Houston, TX area. We…read moreare in Tennessee. Very disappointed with this local franchise of Bark Busters that claim such a vaunted reputation spanning several years. We engaged Bark Busters for our dogs' (2) behaviors. In discussion before the actual training session, we were told we would not have to pay if not satisfied. In later discussion, it was claimed by the trainer, Pat C, that we had been told we had to say we were not going to pay by the very end of the training session, and not any later. Naturally, we disagree over this restriction on timing. We could not get a refund from him. The lesson required making a particular sound which I cannot make for legitimate medical reasons. That, and other items, were never told us before we engaged the lesson. We were told it was a positive raining. It was not. Again, we were not apprised of program components before we engaged the training service. There was very little awareness of what the training involved which could have been, and should've been, explained before. If it is considered proprietary material, then a broad scope of whatever would take place could've been made. It turned out, the methods were not revealed until the session began. As it became revealed, the philosophy was misrepresented. The positivity was not evident in training. It was not cruel, but it was not positive. My wife inquired about what positive would be. She was told he would deal with that later. Never happened. The trainer was pleasant enough, though. By the end of the lesson, why didn't we say anything and decline to pay. First, we didn't know that was when we had to mention it, and the only time, despite what Pat (our trainer) may claim he said. Second, we were so overwhelmed with information and parts of training we were still wondering about, as they had not been addressed, we were sort of mentally "floating" by the end of session. U strongly suggest, given this franchisee's "guarantee," that you do noy pay, and give yourself a chance to think about what you experienced in the training (BTW, this arrangement for the dissatisfied paying/or not by the very end of the training session or not is not a company-wide one. Third, payment is an almost automatic response to pay for a person's labors when the job is done. When we asked for a refund, we were told we had passed the deadline and couldn't get one. I strongly suggest. If you want to consider Bark Busters, particularly the franchisee we had train us, make that you feel comfortable and informed of how the training will be presented and its content. I cannot speak for all trainers, but Pat made statements that weren't kept, did not disclose methods and philosophy beforehand, and only (not enough to make an informed decision) the day prior to the session did we get anything that told us some of the content of the program. The training was incomplete, ineffective, showed no promise, despite the claim of the million dogs that allegedly have trained by this company. However, I cannot make a judgement on the parent company, but only on the way this franchisee presented the material and the way he ran his franchise, and my experience.

This company is a scam. You pay a ton of money for a three hour consultation to tell you to growl…read moreand spray water on your dog. That's it. Oh and they send you newsletters that you can find for free online to tell you to continue to growl and grunt at your dog and show them you are the pack leader. 1,700 dollars for that. You never see them again. This company should be reported and investigated for fraud. There reviews are probably friends or paid . See for yourself.

When Bob says: "training for the life of your dog" he means it!! We met Bob five years ago when we…read morebrought home Diesel (our Doberman). Great initial training, helped us learn how to successfully walk such a big powerful breed, we were off to a great start... Fast forward to this winter, we've moved to a new house and neighborhood, much bigger yard, and Diesel nearly refuses to go out side. It's the week after Christmas, we left Bob a message and we're thinking, I doubt we'll hear back from Bark Busters till the new year. We were HAPPILY surprised to hear back from Bob and within a few short hours, Diesel is HAPPILY going out with us to the back yard. Bob is truly dedicated to making sure you and your dog know how to communicate. That you have all the tools and training you need to have a happy and healthy relationship with your pup. (Even if your 'pup' is an 85lb dobie-dog.)

Desiree trained our Great Dane, Lady, for two weeks. She was fantastic! We received daily updates,…read morevideos and pictures. When I went to pick Lady you could tell that she had developed an affinity for Desiree and had been very well cared for. I could not recommend them enough! Definitely worth the investment. It's great to see that people's passion in their careers shines through the results. Fantastic group of people

I was skeptical at first that anything could be done with my 3 year old Chihuahua/Terrier mix, and…read morewhile she didn't learn all of the commands in the 2-week board-and-train, there is definitely a marked and pronounced improvement in her behavior.