Bark Busters Home Dog Training Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasanton -

Emily Hilton Wetzel

I called Bark Busters after adding a new puppy to our family. We have a 9 year old Yorkie who was pretty irritated with her all the time, and very reactive to her because she harassed him constantly, and I just couldn't figure out how to get them to coexist peacefully. I also couldn't figure out how to get the new pup to listen, and to go to the bathroom in appropriate places.

I called Bark Busters and set up an appointment with Dan. He came for our initial visit and spent a really long time with us, going over some basics, and I immediately saw a change in the behavior of our dogs. Over the next few weeks, we practiced what Dan had taught us, and their behaviors changed so much for the better. Dan came for a follow-up visit to refine some things, and after only about three weeks of implementing the tools Dan taught us, our lives have completely changed. The dogs are getting along so much better. In fact, our older boy will now initiate play with the baby, which is lovely to see. And the baby is now following commands and pottying in the appropriate places! It's been a game changer!

I will say that the onus of training is on the humans - you have to put in the time to practice the tools you learn from Dan. But Dan is very available and responsive to questions, and I feel like with his support, and with consistency, this program is so incredibly effective.

Thank you Dan, and thank you Bark Busters for helping our family to this happy place!

Hilda Sanchez

Like a different dog within Dan's first visit.

Our beautiful mutt is almost 3 years of age. She is extremely loving, however we have always dealt with issues due to her high energy, like jumping very high when excited, wanting to kiss strangers, and overstimulation in general which leads to excessive pulling of her leash and loud barking. This program has dealt with it all. Dan is great at teaching you how to understand the dog vs. human thought processes, and why you need to be assertive/show control. We loved that this a torture-free, treat-free method of getting you dog to actually listen to you. From the first few hours in (less than 3) our pup started showing very different behaviors, like not launching herself after food that falls on the ground and understanding invisible boundaries. Dan is attentive and patient. He is willing to work at your own pace. Our pup seems more relax and calm after just 3 visits. She now listens and self-corrects her inappropriate behaviors. The only regret we have is not knowing and investing in this dog training program earlier, which would have saved us many headaches. Do yourself and your family a favor and call Dan. It is a life-changing decision that ultimately makes your everyday life dynamics and your pups' better, happier and healthier.

Holly Matsuoka

We rescued Charlie, our dog, from the SF SPCA when he was 5. After two months with us, his behavior worsened—he became reactive, aggressive, and confrontational, even biting three people who tried to pet him. Despite trying various online courses, self-led training, and other resources, progress was slow or nonexistent. On walks, Charlie would react to every person and dog, leaving us anxious both at home and outside. Desperate, we turned to Bark Busters for help.

Dan Franco quickly taught us things about Charlie that we never knew. His methods made an immediate difference—Charlie went from aggressive and reactive to calm and obedient in just one day. Now, we can walk Charlie without issue, and he’s often calm enough to ignore other dogs entirely. Dan has truly transformed our lives, and I can’t recommend him enough.

Todd Stern

Dan is amazing. We have a lovely 3 year old rescue who is great with people but had a lot of leash aggression issues. Every time we would walk by another dog, she would start snarling. It got to a point where we felt like we were apologizing to other people more than we were actually walking.

We contacted Dan and described the situation. He took the challenge and we scheduled a time for an in-home visit. After just 2 hours, we felt like we had a different dog. She behaves on walks now, often ignoring other dogs. Granted we are still doing a lot of work to keep everyone in check, but Dan's tips and guidance put us on the right path.

We are now continuing to work on other training - respecting the door, walking at heel, etc - and feel like we're going to continue to make huge progress.

Our only regret is not contacting Bark Busters sooner. We can't recommend Dan enough.

Andrea Chen

Our dog Luna is an angel when alone with us, but is very anxious and loud in unfamiliar situations. A few sessions with Dan has made a huge difference! Luna used to bark at random noises, jump on house guests, lunge at other dogs, and refuse to go on walks. She has shown such an improvement in all these behaviors, and while she still has a ways to go, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our previous trainer would keep recommending harsher punishments for her, but we knew that wasn't what she needed. Dan understands the root of her behavior and gives us creative ways to help her. We really appreciate Dan teaching us to work with Luna's anxieties so we can all live a happier life.

Victoria C. Martino

Dan Lan Franco has changed our home forever in the best way possible! My husband and I were hesitant to do training since our dog is a 3 year old chocolate lab. We tried training her ourselves as a puppy, but it did not work out so we just gave up. After our son turned one years old, we knew she needed some extra training since us training her as a puppy was not as successful as we wanted. Not even 3 sessions in and our sweet girl is doing amazing!! She is listening 10x better, respects our space when we get ready to walk out of the door and is barking way less at visitors. We have more sessions to go but even our neighbors have seen a huge difference in her. We just got a puppy and plan to add him on to training because we couldn’t imagine live without Bark Busters now!!

Jenny Cardona

Dan is my partner’s brother and has been helping us train our 2 yr old Boston Terrier, Winston. He has helped us with leash aggression and clamoring the front door space. Winston has reacted very positively to the techniques Dan has taught us. He’s become manageable on his leash, which makes it all the more enjoyable to walk around the neighborhood.

We highly recommend Dan and the Bark Busters training process.

Sara Faraji

I can not express my gratitude enough towards Dan!!! We got a new puppy and he was all over the place! Dan helped us so far with potty training, claiming my kitchen, front door and sooooo much more!! I constantly get compliments that he is such well behaved puppy!!! I cannot agree with everyone more and all that credit goes to Dan guidance and coaching. He always returns call/emails quickly when questions comes up between sessions. I highly recommend him. He is truly amazing!!!!