My background is in communications and talk radio, which is fitting since I teach you how to communicate with your dog in a language they understand.
I am a lifelong animal lover and have always been fascinated by dogs and why they do the things they do. In college I started working with animals, working as a dog walker and at a dog daycare. As much as I loved them, I was often frustrated by the dogs I took care of because they were so unruly or aggressive towards other animals.
After rescuing my older Pitbull, I started learning about dog behavior and how dogs work in nature. For me, there is no greater satisfaction than helping a dog be understood and helping their owner have a dog that no longer misbehaves! Nothing makes me happier than seeing an owner being able to effortlessly walk their dog.
I now have two Pitbulls, one that was too aggressive to be adopted out. She’s fantastic and has a lot of dog friends now. Both my dogs have taught me that “traditional” dog training does not work in most cases. I will never ask you to do something I wouldn’t or haven’t already done with my dogs. I do not use or condone physical force or painful collars in our training.
Dogs aren’t humans. They don’t speak the same language as us. I teach you how to train your dog. I am a dog trainer, but in reality, I’m teaching the human how to communicate with their dog in a way the dog naturally understands. Our system works with all breeds, ages, issues and can be easily tweaked for each individual owner and dog.
Call me today… There is no reason you and your dog should be unhappy!
I service Fairfax, Fairfax Station, Springfield, Burke, Centreville, Clifton, Manassas, Manassas Park, Merrifield, Mosaic District, Gainesville, Warrenton and Haymarket.
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 more
Tommy has been fantastic to work with! Our biggest concern was our dog Bella's reactivity to new people entering our home. In just one session, we saw an enormous change. And one week later, we had […]
We’ve had a great experience working with Tommy and our 7 month old pup! We noticed a big change during our first visit with Tommy. Our dog had pretty bad separation anxiety, and Tommy has been […]
You can tell Tommy was born to work with dogs, he truly has the passion and natural emotional intelligence. I've had 13 dogs in the past, none of which have been trained professionally. Ive worked […]
Trixie, my 5 pound Yorkie, was having a hard time adjusting to my newly mobile grandson. As he was crawling around, she would not stop licking his face and nipping his fingers while constantly […]
I needed help for my 7 yo AmStaff mix who had issues on walks. Barking, pulling, growling at other dogs. It cause anxiety for my dog and for myself. As a pit mix, she already has strikes against her […]
Tommy has made all the difference with our babies!! Our girl Rogue has done a total 180! She had a rough start before she came to us, but now that’s all behind her. With Tommy’s help we understand […]
We recently enlisted Tommy's assistance to help with training our 1 yr old pup and are writing to recommend him 100%. We had previously done group training classes with our puppy that he excelled at […]
Tommy has had a profound impact on our puppy, both directly, and indirectly by influencing our perceptions and behaviors. I had high expectations and was skeptical of them being even remotely met when […]
Tommy Meyerhoeffer changed my pup’s life and mine. Tommy gives you the right skills and tools to correct any problematic behaviors or to manage it. My (at the time) 9-year old American Eskimo-poodle […]
Have you heard of the dog whisperer? He’s real and his name is Tommy Meyerhoeffer. My daughter’s recent move into a third-floor garden apartment presented an unexpected problem: her perfectly […]
I honestly can't say enough about the work Tommy has done with our dog. We have a VERY high-energy Weimaraner that has a hard time respecting boundaries, amongst other things. Tommy has visited us a […]
We elected to work with Tommy after researching several other trainers when our dog’s fear-based aggression got concerning. We saw results after the very first session, and Tommy takes great care to […]
We adopted an American Pitbull puppy from a foster home a few weeks back to give our 8 year old American Pitbull a sister. American Pitbulls can be somewhat difficult with training due to their […]
We just adopted a one year old pup. While she is very sweet, she has huge separation anxiety issues and since we have to go back to work soon, I felt like we need to overcome these issues quickly. She […]
Tommy is great!! He helped us with our puppies when we first brought them home. Came over & helped resolve jumping, whimpering & nipping issues. He's always available to give us advice through […]
We adopted our small dog from the local shelter and brought her home to her new family with my spouse, 2 children, 2 senior cats. She didn't have any obedience training and we immediately started it […]
When we moved from another state I was worried how my dog would handle the transition and how her history of aggressive behavior would come out. I contacted Tommy about a month before my move and he […]
My husband and I contacted Tommy after our dog had an unfortunate incident involving a neighbor's dog. My husband was wary, as another training program we had used for our older dog made him feel […]
Tommy is AMAZING!! You definitely can see the difference after the first session! He definitely not only works with your dog but with you so that you understand EVERYTHING! It's been a month since our […]
Penny had basic commands, but my husband and I were struggling with getting to that next level of good behavior. She would pull on the leash, jump up on people, dig at our couches, and had no personal […]
We were so pleasantly surprised at the difference we saw in our dog in just one 3-hour visit from Tommy. Our recently adopted 1-year old lab mix pulled really badly on walks and was overly excitable […]
I am so happy with the progress my dog has made since working with Tommy and Bark Busters. My pup is a large mutt - hound, lab, pit, pointer - a lot of hunting instincts in one 80 lb stubborn boy. […]
We have a two year old female Golden Retriever that struggled mightily during walks (pulling) and barking at things outside of our house. Tommy came in and spent a few hours showing us how we can […]
I highly recommend Bark Busters Fairfax. Tommy Meyerhoeffer is an excellent dog (people) trainer and was prepared and professional during our home training session. We have two hound dogs, one of […]
Tommy was phenomenal. The techniques he taught us have changed my 2 stubborn dachshunds' behavior dramatically. I waited to write this review to be sure the behavioral changes lasted and they have. We […]
If I could give more than 5 stars I would!!! I've never tried dog training before but I am beyond pleased with Tommy and all he has been able to offer us. Well worth the investment for greater peace […]
I want to start by saying that this is only the second time that I’ve ever left an online review for a service, product, restaurant, etc. but Tommy deserves it. We adopted our dog back in April […]
I couldn't be happier that Tommy is our new dog trainer. We had an unfortunate experience of our dog getting over excited and protective of my kids, and then biting a child, and I was fearful that we […]
Tommy came out today to meet with me and my two dogs. One of the dogs has barking/anxiety issues and the other likes to bark for, what seems to be, attention-getting purposes. Tommy trained me on […]
Tommy is FANTASTIC. We are very grateful for his initial help and continued support. From the first session, he gave us so much hope which is huge to us. He is extremely professional and focused on […]
Tommy worked wonders with our newly rescued dog, Muggsy. We'd only had him a week and saw the need for some training. Within about two hours he was no longer trying to bolt out the door to get outside […]
Simply amazing. My family and I have had dogs since I was a little girl. We had always adopted our dogs directly from the breeders and raised them from puppyhood on to adulthood. So, I felt I could […]
Tommy was a great trainer with my dog Harlem. Harlem picked up the training during the 1st session and we have continued to work on it by ourselves. Tommy was a great choice to fix Harlem’s […]
If you are looking for a great dog trainer, this is your guy. Tommy of Bark Busters is the third trainer that I have worked with in this area, and he is absolutely the best. He is responsive, a great […]
Tommy Meyerhoeffer definitely speaks dog. After just one session we had a different dog. The pooch no longer rules the roost. We've been able to modify his behavior in a very easy way with no gimmicks […]
I adopted a wonderful dog from a local rescue this past Fall that had severe separation anxiety, and I realized I needed some professional help to make sure he would be safe when he was alone. Tommy's […]
I reached out to Tommy at Bark Busters for help with my 11 year old Chihuahua, Oscar, and recently adopted 10 year old Pitbull, Roo. I reached out on a Thursday morning and Tommy was able to come that […]
I found Tommy Meyerhoeffer while generally searching online for help with our new puppy. While mostly house trained our pup was still peeing and pooping in the house in odd ways that seemed […]
I found Tommy Meyerhoeffer while generally searching online for help with our new puppy. While mostly house trained our pup was still peeing and pooping in the house in odd ways that seemed […]
Our vet recommended Bark Busters to help train our puppy, Bailey. With our past pets we always took them to group training with little to no results. We decided to do something different with […]
My boyfriend and I just got a 3 month old collie retriever named Chino. I was a little rusty on puppy training since it's been 10 years since I had to a puppy and wanted Chino to have a good start in […]
We hired Tommy a bit last minute through bark busters while visiting in town from abroad. Bark busters is a bit more expensive so we were a little wary and went back-and-forth on whether it would be […]
My husband and I were so impressed with Tommy's visit yesterday. Not only was he well spoken and personable, he helped us train our dog when we thought she may need to be re-homed. Just after two […]
Tommy Meyerhoeffer visited us to help integrate our new 9 month old, a shelter dog, into our home. We already had another female, 6 years old, and saw signs of dominance and some aggression from both […]
Thank you for all your help with Jake and Penny yesterday. I was truly amazed at how effective the training techniques were! I was surprised at how well Jake responded. I was really worried it was too […]
Tommy saved my sanity! I rescued a pitbull mix and it was IMPOSSIBLE to walk him on a leash. I had raised dogs before and even took some pet store training courses to help with his pulling. NOTHING […]
Tommy helped me with training my head-strong miniature dachshund, Dallas. She had extreme separation anxiety. She would chew through her crate, cutting her mouth in the process and then completely […]
