Dog problems?

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

They may be called ‘man’s best friend,’ but our furry companions sometimes do things that are less than pleasant. Incessant barking, aggression, and jumping at the television screen while you’re trying to watch your favourite show are just a few behaviour issues local ‘bark buster’ Jennifer Boyle tries to explain.

“What we do is simulate the natural levels of communication dogs have,” she said.

Boyle, a Beaconsfield resident, is the West Island and Laval area trainer for Bark Busters, a company founded 19 years ago in Australia by Danny and Silvia Wilson which aims to improve dogs’ behaviour by enhancing communication between the animals and their owners.

Boyle, a dog owner herself, initially became interested in Bark Busters when she was having trouble with her Golden Retriever/Labrador mix, Bonco.

“People wouldn’t come over,” she said, adding Bonco would bark and excitedly jump up at guests. While her dog was exceptional at obedience school, things were not as good back at home. “Everything was unpleasant. That’s what drove me to look for something more.”

As a bark buster, Boyle visits owners and their dogs at home to establish what the issues are and come up with a plan. The Bark Busters method focuses on the pack mentality of dogs and teaches owners how to demonstrate where their furry friends fit into the group through body language and tone of voice. According to Boyle, this method can work for any type of dog – and owner – no matter how old they are or what the problem behaviour is.

“Our methods are based on how dogs communicate with each other, so, at that point, the dogs are saying, finally, someone who speaks my language,” she said.

Talia Brott contacted Boyle when her one-year-old Weimaraner’s behaviour was getting out of control. For example, every time she would sit down to watch TV after a day of work, her dog would not leave her alone. After Boyle came over and assessed the situation, it turned out it was a simple matter of the dog’s position: his doggy pillow was between the couch and the television.

“Of course, it was like we were looking at him and he felt put on the spot. So, we’ve been gone for the whole day, and then we come home and stare at him for two hours,” she said. Boyle suggested they simply change the location of the pillow. “It made a tremendous difference. All of the negative behaviours he was exhibiting have ceased.”

Brott said the main thing she learnt from Bark Busters was that correcting the dog’s behaviour is not up to the animal, but rather to the owner.

“You can’t correct the dog. You need to correct yourself. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learnt,” she said. “It’s about changing your communication levels with the dog and teaching the dog you’re in control.”

Seeing positive results is what Boyle said she loves most about her job.

“We’re able to get such good results; it just turns them right around, and that’s a lot of fun to see,” she said, adding while it usually takes only one session, she guarantees her work and will do follow-up visits. “A lot of people think, because you love your dog and they’re like a family member, you have to put up with this. But it becomes a nuisance. But afterwards, a lot of people say, oh, they’re so much smarter than we would have given them credit for. They are talking to us, but they’re just not using words.”

To find out more about Bark Busters and Jennifer Boyle, visit www.barkbuster.ca or call 1-866-418-4584.