Photo by Ed Waters, Jr. Maxine Medaglia gets a kiss from Diva as she holds Fraek. In the background, John Trobaugh holds Krangel. They also have a fourth dog, Rolly. The couple owns a Bark Busters franchise that offers home dog training.

They get us to pet them, give them treats, let them get away with mischievous behavior.

What a dog owner needs to do is become the "pack leader," according to Maxine Medaglia and John Trobaugh, dog behavioral therapists and trainers, and the owners of a local Bark Busters franchise.

In fact, it was dogs that brought the couple together, Trobaugh said. They both lived in the same apartment building and met via their dogs.

Now, they live on Tower Road, near Thurmont , with four dogs.

Bark Busters uses voice commands and body language to train dogs, not physical means or even tasty treats.

"Dogs are pack animals," Medaglia said. "They look for the dominant leader."

In some cases that may even be a small dog that uses "passive leadership" simply by having other dogs to play with and protect it.

"Those little dogs will say 'I'm so cute, pet me, hold me,'" said Medaglia. "That is a way of training people to do what the dog wants."

Bark Busters started in the mid-1980s in Australia. The founder, Sylvia Wilson, a member of the Australian version of the ASPCA, was disturbed by her nation's strict rules on behavior. An unruly dog was simply put to death, no second chance.

Wilson launched Bark Busters to help people with dogs that could get into trouble and developed the system using voice and body language by the owner.

Bark Busters is now in 10 countries, with 260 franchises in the U.S.

The couple goes to the home, talks with owners and observes the interaction with the dog or dogs.

"When you have several dogs, the owner sometimes doesn't know which dog is in charge of the pack," Trobaugh said.

They come up with a plan that will work best for the dogs and allows the owner become the leader of the pack.

"Puppies are not trouble, yet," Medaglia said. "They are fun to work with and you can take care of problems early such as nipping your hand or barking."

Trobaugh said after the couple gets the dogs in order, clients say pets are so relaxed some thought they might be sick or have become boring.

"Couples get a dog as a surrogate child and spoil it. Then they have a real baby and that can be stressful for the dog and the people," Medaglia said.

Trobaugh said people are investing their time and a home for the dog and want to make it a peaceful place.

The couple have even worked with people who have professional show dogs, but may have a dog that needs their expertise in training.

"There is always an improvement. We may not solve all of the problems immediately. We may go back two or three weeks after the first session," Medaglia said.

Both had worked at Fort Detrick. Trobaugh had retired and Medaglia, who did biomedical research, wanted to get into something different. They looked at different franchises and their love of dogs led them to Bark Busters.

"It is perfectly suited to Frederick ," Trobaugh said. "We are not morning people. We do most of the work evenings, when people are home from work, or on weekends."

They get the entire family involved, he said, to be sure the dogs realize that the humans are the leaders. Even children have to be a part of it, he said.

Bark Busters provides written lifetime guarantee that cover recurrences of problems, or even new ones, at no extra cost. With franchises across the country, even if a client moves, they can have a Bark Buster franchisee help them at the new location.

And it is not just barking that is controlled, but aggressive behavior, jumping on people, not coming when called, basic obedience, chewing and other destruction, and digging in the yard and more.