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Puppy Training

Give your puppy the very best start in life. Lay the foundation for a trusting bond and well behaved dog with our individual puppy education programmes

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Dog Obedience Training

Turn your good dog into a great dog. Our approach is about education to get rid of those frustrating and annoying habits, for a well behaved dog

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Behaviour Problems

Feeling stressed? Have you desperately been trying everything and seeing no improvement? We we have the solution to your dog's behaviour problems

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Our dog friendly training is
simple, natural and 'FAST'

Our methods focus on creating a positive relationship between you and your dog to improve your dog's behaviour and obedience. Our expertise is in understanding how a dog naturally thinks, learns and communicates and then using this to show you how to be your dog’s leader. Once this relationship is established, behaviour change is a natural next step. Our techniques work with any age, any breed, any issue. You and your dog get one-on-one attention, an individualised plan to suit your family AND guaranteed support for the life of your dog.

Featured Dog Breed

Corgi

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi is an adorable, agreeable small dog whose size conceals generations of herding instincts and traits associated with much larger breeds. Ranked as the smallest dog in its herding group, the Corgi is an intelligent, tenacious, family-friendly dog that is equally loving and dep...

Golden Retriever

Border Collie

German Shepherd

Labrador

Shih Tzu

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

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"It has only been a few days since Mark came to see us, and the changes have been instant. Mark explained our 5months old puppy’s behaviour and gave us valuable management strategies to correct behaviour and to more importantly reassure our anxious little girl. While there is still work to do, we feel a lot more comfortable and doing an early intervention like this will no doubt save us plenty of trouble later on."

Katarina

Trainer: Mark Gall

"Mark taught us a completely different way of how to let our dog know what kind of behavior is acceptable or not acceptable. He is also learning that he is not the boss! Having recently moved to a retirement village villa we needed Guiness to be better behaved es[pecially around barking issues."

Pauline

Trainer: Mark Gall

"Mark from Bark Busters provided heaps of reading to get is started before we even met him, which was very informative .He spent quite a long time with us initially which was great so we developed a trust his methods were the way forward for our very reactive rescue young huntaway girl .We've had good improvement walking on the lead and reactivity towards wheels on prams etc has lessened a lot .Reactivity towards dogs when she's on lead is still huge and we're practicing our exercises hoping for gradual improvement with time. It's been very stressful for us, we're in our 60's so definitely don't handle the aggression well, Especially the pulling and lunging at dogs .We've had 2 sessions so far, we may need a few more to gain confidence in dealing with the reactivity and recall training to follow. Overall ,a good start with Mark, he's very professional and kind."

Marianne

Trainer: Mark Gall

"Mark from South Island Bark Busters is phenomenal! He’s patient but takes no S**t ! I already feel so much more confident (and supported) from just our first session. I personally think one-on-one training is so much more effective so I’m stoked to have been referred by a friend to Mark for my anxious growing Boxer Rocco."

Meg

Trainer: Mark Gall

"Mark was amazing at explaining everything, reasoning why we needed to change and how. We were totally shocked at how quickly our dog has responded and the improvement in the first couple of days has been awesome. Originally called Mark for an incident involving our Beefy a Staffordshire Bull Terrier getting very dominant and over baring with another dog. Council involved."

Brendon

Trainer: Mark Gall

"OMG we feel like this is life changing for all of us. We were on the brink of putting our lovely dog down due to his aggressive outbursts and after learning these farily simple strategies we have so much hope for a future with our dog. We accept he might regress, but we know to keep working on things. And I reflect on the behaviour of friends dogs, and while they might not get agressive they certainly show signs that could lead that way and their behaviour could so easily be corrected to solve the stress their owners are having. Life changing!!"

David

Trainer: Keith Mockett

"Very helpful to get started on some of our dogs issues around barking. Will need a further session to get some more direction while we are out on a walk. Looking forward to seeing Keith again."

Aoife

Trainer: Keith Mockett

"Mark was amazing ,we saw a change in our dogs behaviour with in the first hour. We can now cook in the kitchen without tripping over dogs, and food staying on the bench . Walking the dogs has become so much better. Indy is less stressed when cars passing her while out walking."

Suzanne

Trainer: Mark Gall

"Keith was a fantastic tutor, gave us lots of practical ideas, Echo is picking up things easily."

Trish

Trainer: Keith Mockett

"We had Mark in to help us with our 12 week old dachshund puppy, Poppy. Having never trained a dog we didn’t know where to start. Mark put us at ease straight away. He had a really lovely manner with Poppy, and our kids. The training was explained really thoroughly. Whilst different to what we’d previously been told by family etc, this new form of training makes so much sense and is very logical to follow. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Mark to anyone. Looking forward to putting it all to practice. Poppy seems to respond beautifully."

Deborah

Trainer: Mark Gall

Dog Training Services

Lifetime Support Guarantee

Our worldwide support guarantee is unique. It is designed to help dog owners resolve their dog's behaviour problems and to provide customers with ongoing support and peace of mind...

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Free Behaviour Assessment

Find out how your dog's behaviour rates. Try our free behaviour assessment. Results are emailed along with the contact details of your local trainer for expert help if needed...

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Free Dog Training Tips and Advice

At the request of our many dog-loving friends, dog owners, and partners across New Zealand, we'd like to share the following information, addressing a wide variety of dog care, tra...

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Become a Dog Trainer

Bark Busters are looking for special individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of dogs and their owners. Running your own dog training business is a dream come true fo...

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Dog Training Tips

St Patrick's Pooches...

Irish Setters are smart, loyal family pets who crave affection and activity, so if you can't provide both, you might want to consider another breed. They are distinctive with their flashy red coat, which does shed freely. Keep this breed challenged with lots of outdoor play and plenty of cuddles, and these Celtic charmers will be your best friends. Irish...

Easter Holidays...

It's that time of year again. The shops are full of chocolate eggs and hot cross buns in preparation for Easter weekend, many of us are looking to have a nice long weekend away from work, spending time with family, friends and our dogs. For children, Easter is a time of treats, egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and much more. For adults, also, Easter eggs can be...

How To Avoid Separation Anxiety...

Leaving your dog at home alone can be fraught with danger. Depending on your dog you never know what you might come home to. With us, all at home, our pets have gotten used to having our undivided attention. When that all changes, they may fret, and become destructive. That is mostly due to lack of attention and boredom. They may even bark and cry all day....

Back to school tips for families with dogs...

Before we know it, the kids will be heading back to school and everyone's routine will change. When children return to school, the stress on every family member can be huge - including the family dog. This abrupt change in routine can seriously affect our canine companions, who are creatures of habit. But with a little understanding and preparation before th...

Greeting unknown dogs in the correct way!...

If you are a dog lover, which you probably are if you are taking the time to read this article, you will enjoy greeting new dogs you meet whilst out and about. However, attempting to greet a dog in an inappropriate manner could cause you all sorts of problems, and could also put you, the dog, and the owner at risk. Dogs are taught by their mother f...