I’m a Certified Dog Behavioral Therapist and Master Dog Trainer for International company, Bark Busters Home Dog Training out of Australia. I am your Greater San Diego trainer. Dogs are my life passion … I am the reigning 2014 & 2016 International Trainer / Therapist of the Year, as well as the 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020 U.S. Trainer/Therapist of the Year. These awards are both an honor and acknowledgment of having found my calling and all of the work I’ve put into mastering this craft. With over 15 years experience as a dog behavioral therapist and having worked with thousands of dogs, I can essentially help ANY DOG with ANY PROBLEM! There’s nothing more gratifying to me than finding a solution for every single client that calls me. The beauty is that every day, I continue to learn and improve and my clients are the beneficiaries as a result.
For the past 6 years, Justin’s protégé and wife, Jenna Finch, has been mastering her skills as a Professional Dog Behavioral Therapist. As a team, we are so excited to help you solve and guide you through your dog(s) behavioral issues in an extremely simplistic and primal methodology of communication. Bark Busters is an International company that started in Australia by Danny and Sylvia Wilson over 30 years ago.
Because of Jenna’s passion for dogs, she is also the Director of Operations for the Cantu Foundation(@thecantufoundation), a non-profit dog rescue organization that was started in 2020. Their mission is rescuing homeless dogs off the streets of Mexico. Last year alone, they were responsible for adopting out close to 500 dogs into homes.
JD is your North County San Diego Dog Behavioral Therapist and Master Trainer. For the past 20 years, Justin and JD have known each other and because of his passion for dogs, decided to follow in his best friend’s footsteps to become part of the San Diego Bark Busters team. After being mentored by Justin for several years, JD has devoted his life to mastering his craft, and helping his clients transform their dogs lives utilizing this proven Bark Busters formula.
Justin Scher gives extra holiday training tips for your pooch.
Justin Scher gives tips for preparing your dog for the arrival of a new baby.
Most behavioral issues are learned based on both experiences and environment. That’s why in home dog training is so effective because this is where most behavioral issues occur and it’s where your dog feels the safest. Because your dog can’t speak English and you can’t “speak dog” many miscommunications occur. At Bark Busters, we can teach you how to communicate with your dog in a language he understands.
Learn moreJustin Scher is amazing. Enough said. I moved to San Diego temporarily for work, and was looking for training for Leo, my rescue pup. I was desperate to find help for Leo since his separation […]
I contacted Bark Busters after seeing changes in my Frenchie that weren't resolving, regardless of what I tried. It seemed my girl was probably experiencing some type of anxiety. She had admittedly […]
I am astonished! My trainer JD accomplished a miracle within the first three hours (1st visit). I have 2 behemoth american bulldog puppies weighing in at 220lbs total at 18 months--strong willed and […]
Our 5 yr old rescue, Rav, is a VERY anxious pup who is especially fearful of strangers (men in particular), cars, and loud noises. She started demonstrating fear based aggression, even going so far as […]
Back in February, I rescued Maple, my 3 year old pitbull mix from Mexico. She is the sweetest dog and loves humans, but immediately I noticed her anxiety and aggression towards other dogs. She was […]
We've had our family dog Zeus for 7 years now. When we got him as a puppy, the breeder warned us that he was the "bully" of the litter and had a very dominant personality. Fast forward, and we had a […]
We reached out to Bark Busters for help with one of our dogs - issues included extreme leash pulling, reactivity on leash and in general, resource guarding and aggression/in-home fighting with our […]
Reaching out to Bark Busters and Justin has been a great decision and I would 100% recommend it to anyone looking to improve they’re relationship with their dog. We reached out for help with our […]
DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR PUP! Allow Jenna and Justin to guide, advise, and encourage you to give your pup the best life. I first met Jenna in February 2022. At this time, I was waving a flag of […]
Justin is not a dog trainer. He is a literal dog (and lets be honest, human) behavioral therapist. We reached out to Bark Busters when our now 11 month old Dogo Argentino puppy started showing sings […]
I absolutely recommend hiring Justin as a dog trainer! He is incredibly passionate about what he does, and has transformed our Chili into a calm well behaved dog. We’ve been working together […]
Justin in San Diego has been AMAZING. It's been 4 days since we started training with him and the results are already so drastic! Ranger has a problem with pulling when on leash. Justin was able to […]
Oh. My. Dog. Seriously. They're not enough words to describe how amazing Bark Busters was. We had a 10 yr old 70 lb rescue (pitbull/rhodesian ridgeback mix) who had a checkered past (had been […]
Justin's great to work with! He's so patient with my pups which is definitely needed because I have 3 (Nala, Baxter, Chloe) that he's helping me work with. My main concern was their barking but during […]
Justin from Bark Busters was 1,000% more than we could have hoped for. We called Bark Busters after our initial trainer recommended finding a dog behaviorist for our 8 month old male Red Heeler rescue […]
It has been about 1 year since our first training session, and we are still using and loving the tools today' It's not like a one time lesson and our dog was instantly fixed. In fact, we fell off from […]
I cannot recommend Justin enough for anyone struggling with their dog's behavior. He has been a game-changer for us and our dog Ziggy. We came to Justin when Ziggy was exhibiting leash reactivity, […]
Jenna Finch is a miracle worker!! My two Havanese dogs, ages 5 years and 7 years have had numerous classes and private trainers over their lives. Despite being affectionate and friendly each had […]
Justin was INCREDIBLE. Highly recommend!!! He was truthful about the challenges of my dog and the situation in general. His feedback was so honest and genuine despite the difficult nature of my dog. I […]
I am still in shock with how quickly my dog went from an anxious aggressive dog to a calm happy dog. Justin is incredible. We have worked with multiple other trainers for over a year and within one […]
When we adopted Rin we knew nothing about her first four years of her life and we realized early on that she will need special care for her behavior. She was anxious, insecure, and wary of her new […]
Five stars for Justin without a doubt. Our Aussie was very reactive. For 5 years we were tormented with her going into a frenzy whenever she encountered another dog whether it be walking, car rides or […]
I adopted, Rowan, my 6 yr. old chocolate lab mix when he was 3. I have no knowledge of his history but soon realized that he was not dog friendly and exhibited fear behavior when around other dogs, […]
When Justin first came in, I was more apprehensive than ever while watching one of my pugs jump on his face while the other started nosing through his backpack. They were definitely pulling out all of […]
CESAR MILAN WHO?! ITS ALL ABOUT JUSTIN "The Real Dog Whisperer" I am going to keep it short and simple if you haven't ready the hundreds of reviews below and been convinced then read this one!! […]
It's been a while since I posted a review update for Justin. I rescued this little lady 4 years ago, and man was she naughty. To make matters worse, she HATED other dogs. Couldn't stand them. I was […]
I am very thankful to have found Justin. He has been a tremendous help in teaching me to understand my dog's behavior and their way of being. After trying out a couple of dog trainers, different […]
This has taken me an embarrassing amount of time to finally write this review, but better late than never! We have a small 16 lb. mix (Duke) who started turning into an absolute terror after I […]
Justin has been truly amazing to work with! If you're dealing with separation anxiety and have had tried everything, desperate for something to work- this is it. Our puppy, had separation anxiety, […]
After rescuing Bruce 4 years ago (7 months old pitbull/boxer mix) from the pound I realized the challenge I was up to was too hard to handle. Bruce's emotional damage was too deep and he was extremely […]
I HIGHLY recommend Justin! He is the ultimate dog whisperer. I went from a hyperactive dog who I couldn't control when walking to a calmer, happy boy who understands loose leash walking. We were able […]
I HIGHLY recommend Justin! He is the ultimate dog whisperer. I went from a hyperactive dog who I couldn't control when walking to a calmer, happy boy who understands loose leash walking. We were able […]
Justin is indeed a dog whisperer, to say nothing of being a dog-owner whisperer, provided those people will listen. We adopted our Husky "Sky" about a month ago. She's a sweet, gentle dog but suffers […]
I just want to say that Justin is amazing! Our puppy (10.5 months old), wasn't a "bad" dog, but had a couple issues. Barking at neighbors especially in the elevator (live in a condo), not listening to […]
Justin is truly a lifesaver! We used to walk down the street scared of how our dog luke would react with other dogs, he was always such a sweetheart in our house, but on the street, it was a different […]
We call Justin, "THE DOCTOR". In a two hour session, The DOCTOR transformed our rescue dog, Ozzi. From a skittish, nervous dog who was becoming unpredictable and aggressive and would go ballistic when […]
I am so happy to be writing this review! Some quick background, my fiancé and I adopted a 5 month old puppy in May. He was a rescue from Mexico and although he was sweet as can be with us, he […]
I can't even begin to explain how amazing Justin is. My dog Gnarly is a 7 years old Yorkie, who has had social behavioral problems since he was about 3 years old (due to a traumatic incident). It's […]
I've had my dog Beamer since he was a puppy. He has always been an absolute sweetheart, but he had a lot of behavioral problems. My dog was, dog aggressive, would bark at anything that would walk by […]
Justin has been amazing with my rescue Pit. She was a little devil on a leash - pulling, chasing cats, zig zagging everywhere; unwalkable for me. She is the SWEETEST dog but on a leash she was a […]
Cesar Milan would be proud of Justin. Within a few short hours my rescue pitbull who had severe anxiety around skateboards, strangers and loud noises, was sitting wagging his tail while Justin the […]
"Justin has completely changed our life with his training methods. We had worked with a number of trainers who had said we just had to "manage" our dog and put him away when people came over to our […]
We called Justin after our dog Cooper started showing signs of aggression to other people. We had rescued him just 2 months previously and noticed things about his behavior that concerned us and we […]
If you want to have a well behaved, calm, happy dog then call Justin! He's not only the BEST trainer, he genuinely cares about me and my dog. My puppy was so anxious, scared and attached to me when […]
I rescued my Great Pyrenees/Shepard mix about 2 years ago. I take her everywhere and she is definitely a very social dog. She always had her quirks but recently I noticed a shift in her behavior. She […]
The skinny: The bottom line is the Bark Buster technique is extremely effective and easy to understand. Justin is incredibly personable, obviously understands and loves dogs and takes the time to […]
I've had my dog Beamer since he was a puppy. He has always been an absolute sweetheart, but he had a lot of behavioral problems. My dog was, dog aggressive, would bark at anything that would walk by […]
I wish I could give Justin from Bark Busters more than 5 stars. He is truly the dog whisperer. He helped us work through our Cane Corso named Bruno's food aggression. He walks into a room and the dogs […]
Justin is amazing!!!! He transformed our dog in 1 hour!!! My dog was rescued and was also attacked twice. With few traumatic experiences she developed some bad behaviors. She would tug while walking, […]
I honestly don't even know where to begin. We rescued a puppy at 10 weeks old from Tennessee who over the years (he's now 6) has developed fear aggression and territorial issues. We had worked with a […]
We just had our second training session with Justin and it's hard to explain what this has meant for us. Here's a little background. We purchased our dream dog, a gorgeous pick of the litter springer […]
My 5 year old male Boxer (Max) was acting very aggressively, knocking, biting down and not releasing my 14 yr old female Staffordshire terrier mix (Cinnamon). Max had done it in the past while on […]
Justin is remarkable! I have a 1 1/2 year old Boston Terrier, Bentley, who has had growing leash aggression, anxiety around other dogs, whimpering at home when dogs would walk by and just […]
If you want to have a well behaved, calm, happy dog then call Justin! He's not only the BEST trainer, he genuinely cares about me and my dog. My puppy was so anxious, scared and attached to me when […]
We called Justin after our dog Cooper started showing signs of aggression to other people. We had rescued him just 2 months previously and noticed things about his behavior that concerned us and we […]
Well future Bark Buster customer.. I'm sure you've already read a ton of reviews. The reality is that Justin really is everything and more! I have been working with Justin for almost a year and I […]
Justin deserves every review including mine! He definitely knows what he's doing. He is very passionate and loves his craft! He really cares...He has a lot of patience too. Justin is very supportive […]
Justin is simply an amazing trainer!! First let me tell you what poorly behaved dogs we have. First there is Sedona a pitbull mixed with ridgeback who is very aggressive and super protective of me […]
There is clearly a reason why Justin has all 5-star reviews. He is an AWESOME dog trainer who lives up to every. single. review. We found Justin through Yelp (after reading all these amazing […]
Justin at Bark Busters is the absolute real deal, but what do you expect from the Trainer of the Year and International Trainer of the Year award winner? Just like many of you, my wife and I read […]
Justin is a miracle worker! My baby was a spoiled brat and now he is just spoiled. I used to hate taking him anywhere because all he would do is bark and pull on the leash as well as jump on others. […]
Jesus, I mean Justin...I get them confused some times. Oh I remember, Jesus turns water in to wine and Justin turns dog owners into pack leaders and skittish dogs into calm and obedient followers. […]
Where to even begin? Justin deserves every single 5 star review written here and more. My dogs are my babies. I have 2 boys, a 2 year old dachshund I've had since he was a pup and a 1 year old […]
Needless to say we were the classic case of SRDS (Spoiled Rotten Dog Syndrome), luckily we did find a cure... Justin from Bark Busters! He is seriously one of the best investments we have made for our […]
Our story: We have two large dogs (Rottweilers) both under three years old. We were having aggression issue with our younger male dog. He would go after other dogs while we were on walks, and […]
My husband and I both work at the zoo as animal keepers and trainers. We adopted an 8 year old dog about 2 years ago from a shelter and he was a great addition to our household. The only problem […]
Justin of BarkBusters has worked a miracle with our dogs. Our 6 year old chocolate lab and 2 year old boxer/husky mix, while super sweet, suffered from a severe inability to walk without barking […]
To sum it up, Justin is a miracle worker! I used to dread taking my dog, Jax, for walks. He would pull, not walk in a straight line and bark like crazy when he saw another dog. We also had problems […]
Wow! I found Bark Busters here online after being extremely frustrated with my dogs behavior on the leash or when guests were over. I had previously gone to Petsmart training where the trainer said […]
WOW, Justin from Bark Busters is INCREDIBLE!! This is one case where we need a scale of more than 5 stars!!! My sister was referred to Justin from a co-worker to help with some behavior issues she […]
Justin is a lifesaver! With two beagles use to their own acre to roam in Washington, coming to San Diego (for my husbands work) and living in an apartment is a difficult transition. After […]
Thank you for bringing Justin into our lives! I pride myself on researching restaurants/Services. In this case I didn't know anyone that used Justin before. So I was flying solo! As a proud […]
I've had my dog Beamer since he was a puppy. He has always been an absolute sweetheart, but he had a lot of behavioral problems. My dog was, dog aggressive, would bark at anything that would walk by […]
In a nutshell, Justin is the best. My house had hit rock bottom with my two female dachshunds. They took sibling rivalry to another level. In 6 months, they fought twice - both instances resulted […]
I'm not one to ever really leave reviews about a service I have experienced, but I most definitely feel compelled to write about how amazing Justin is! I have a 2 yr old Pit Bull/Rottweiler mix that I […]
My 40 pound rescue dog's nickname in our complex was "Scary Harry". It was well deserved because he was an equal opportunity lunger and growler - he went after anything that moved. Walks […]
I was on my last home study visit to be approved for adopting a child when my 15 year old Chihuahua-Terrier growled at and kinda tried to bite the social worker. My adoption was put on hold til I […]
When we decided to take on an adorable 9-week-old puppy (that would eventually weight more than us) we knew we were going to need some guidance. What we didn't realize was that most of the advice out […]
Bark Busters has been AMAZING! I cannot tell you just how much I appreciate the talented and helpful staff at Bark Busters. I reached out to them about a month ago because I had a dog that was dog […]
After rescuing Bruce 4 years ago (7 months old pitbull/boxer mix) from the pound I realized the challenge I was up to was too hard to handle. Bruce's emotional damage was too deep and he was extremely […]
It's not even like Justin needs any more 5 star reviews (since he already has 70+ of them!), but of course I'll add my input. I got the two sessions with Justin, and the first session was a few months […]
My wife and I just met with Justin for our first session, and we were both blown away with the results that we saw from just a couple of hours together. First off, Justin arrived early, which I […]
My wife and I adopted a shepherd-mix puppy at 8 weeks last year. We quickly realized we were in over our heads and immediately signed up for obedience classes. Simultaneous to these courses - we […]
My wife and I adopted a shepherd-mix puppy at 8 weeks last year. We quickly realized we were in over our heads and immediately signed up for obedience classes. Simultaneous to these courses - we […]
This service is worth every penny! We adopted a severely emaciated rescue who was a stray and god knows what the previous owners did to her.. She had major separation anxiety when we left the house, […]
My dog Hendrix was having horrible separation anxiety. He would bark nonstop, drool excessively, shake and pant. I tried everything, including the thundershirt, with no improvement. My neighbors were […]
Thank you Justin! Justin met with my boyfriend and I to help with our three year old dog Frankie (Chihuahua - Westie mix) . I contacted Justin because I had heard positive reviews about the Bark […]
OMG! I called Justin because we just adopted 2 Yorkies, 1 year old after our 15 year old passed away. We have a 10 year old Corgi/Lab mix who flunked out of dog obedience when we adopted her 8 years […]
My wife and I have an 11 month old Boxer puppy. He is the sweetest, cutest dog you can find. We got our puppy when he was very young, and as sweet as he was/is, man did he have crazy energy! And I […]
Our story is a bit of a rocky one. Don't worry though, there's a happy ending, all thanks to Justin :D Seriously, call him ASAP if you need help overcoming any dog issues - no matter how major the […]
Justin was awesome. I called Justin because Jenna, 2 years old, is a little crazy. She is a mini pin / pallilion mix and a rescue. She is overly protective and pushes my 2 cats and other dog away […]
Harry was acting like Cujo until we met Justin! Our Chinese crested is fear aggressive and insecure, but in two hours Justin transformed him into a calm and relaxed pooch. Perhaps more importantly, he […]
Our Olde English Bulldog, Olive (1 1/2 old) suddenly started developing some anxious and aggressive behavior. She had become overly protective of our house (or any house she was visiting), we were […]
My boyfriend and I had adopted a pitbull mix and have constantly worked with her for almost a year, but was really having problems with her fear with males and listening to us. After struggling for […]
I can't thank Justin enough for training my dog & I. Milo developed separation anxiety a few months ago due to a pack member moving away & us moving to a new apartment. It was just too many changes at […]
When i first got my dog Todd from the shelter i saw that her needed some work, as most dogs from shelters do. I emailed a LOT of dog training companies and I found Bark Busters! My dog Todd was very […]
When I first got my puppy I knew that I wanted training for him (or actually me) so that i would have a well behaved dog and in turn both of our lives would be less stressful. I hire a trainer to […]
The love of my life has four legs, weighs about 40 lbs, and is made up of a bit of boxer and pit bull. Her pouty face and doe eyes made everyone smile... until she started attacking anyone and any dog […]
Justin is amazing! We had issues with our 4 yr old Pomeranian, Jack. Like many other small dog owners, we catered to his needs and allowed him to take over. We didn't realize it at the time, but we […]
My Goldendoodle Oliver has had extreme separation anxiety since I picked him up from the breeder. He gets crazy when crated, and has caused a great deal of damage to my home and car due to his fear of […]