Bark Busters Pinellas County

UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL 5-STAR REVIEW - 7 month later: I originally left Sharon a 5-star review, but months later I feel obligated to update it. I contacted Sharon because I was desperate to help my newly adopted dog with severe separation anxiety. I spoke with several trainers, but Sharon presented herself as someone who specializes in separation anxiety, which is why I agreed to pay $495 for a 3-hour session. She was friendly, but I had to leave after two hours. According to my then-partner, once I left she immediately asked about payment and tried to finish the session early despite us paying for three hours. Looking back, that was my first red flag. The biggest one came the very next day, when Sharon asked me to leave a Google review and specifically suggested mentioning “how quickly” she had helped with Snuffkin’s separation anxiety. I was excited about what seemed like immediate progress, trusted the process, and left the 5-star review. But how can anyone know after ONE DAY whether severe separation anxiety has actually improved? It hadn’t. The only improvement we saw was with his walking, and that lasted about two days, despite continuing the exercises. His separation anxiety did not improve at all. In fact, the day after she asked for my review, I messaged her because I had left him alone for about three hours and he was distressed the entire time. We were also instructed to use methods that I later became extremely uncomfortable with, including growling at him, clapping/correcting him, intimidating body language, and correcting him during separation exercises when he became distressed. After the training, we began seeing concerning fearful/aggressive behavior, including snapping and attempted biting. When I contacted Sharon for help, she herself described his behavior as “fear-based.” Her solution was another $495 session or upgrading to the $1,795 lifetime program. When I asked for basic guidance because I was concerned about safety, I was told follow-up support was not included in what I had purchased. Since then, I have consulted with multiple other dog professionals about the methods we were taught, and their feedback made me seriously concerned about using correction/intimidation-based methods with an already fearful and anxious dog. Looking back at the whole experience — $495, a request for a positive review the very next day, no lasting improvement, and then being asked for hundreds or thousands more when I came back needing help — I was left feeling that making another sale mattered more than actually helping my dog. I deeply regret leaving my original review after only one day. I would not recommend this service for dogs with separation anxiety, fear, or complex emotional issues. Please research the methods being used and give yourself enough time to see real results before leaving a review.

Brisket is a 2–3-year-old rescue and was ready for some training after a month of acclimation and getting healthy in her new home. My research of local trainers brought up lots of qualified folks but Sharon at Bark Busters kept coming up again and again. Several doggie-day-care facilities even handed me her card; turns out Sharon trains a lot of folks (pups too)! Our 3-hour session was completely different than expected and just what I needed. No treats, just quiet visuals; we didn't even utter the first verbal command until the beginning of hour 3 for that rare situation it might be necessary. I worked with Brisket for the last two days to see how she was doing with my new training (yes, I got trained) and I just can't believe how well it has gone. Brisket played with other dogs for the first time off leash and was such a good girl and even recalled perfectly in spite of all the beautiful chaos happening around her. THANK YOU BARK BUSTERS! Brisket (with her new kayaking life vest)

Working with Sharon from Bark Busters was such a great experience! She texted before arriving at our home so we could start off by learning what to do to de-escalate the mayhem that sometimes happens when a new person comes into our house. She explained many tactics to my husband and me, while at the same time demonstrating with the dog. I have always had dogs, but never heard of tuning into the dog's perspective, but once I did, it made so much sense! From day 1, my dog now looks at my face when I go to enter or leave the house, waiting for me to signal after I proceed through. We now know how to tell him, effectively, without ever raising our voices, not to jump up on us, and he responds appropriately! Sharon was very professional and friendly and it is obvious that she loves what she does. She followed up with us 2 days after her visit and was extremely helpful in answering some questions that came up since our meeting. We are completely satisfied! We are foster dog parents and will be able to put these lessons into practice with every dog that comes through our home in the future. Many thanks to Sharon and Bark Busters.