It may be the dream of every problem-dog owner, and a thought that occasionally crosses every dog owner’s mind: Wouldn’t it be great if a doggy specialist could simply make a house call and help you correct your canine’s bad behavior or quirky ways in a couple of hours?

Bark Busters, an Australian-based dog training company that began offering franchises in the United States two and a half years ago, has opened its first Iowa outlet, which will serve the central part of the state.

“Life is stressful as it is,” said Marci Ferguson, who in September completed an extensive training program to become a Bark Busters trainer and franchisee. “Having dogs in your life that just aren’t fitting in can just make it more stressful.”

Ferguson, a former public relations specialist as well as an artist and self-described animal lover, discovered Bark Busters earlier this year, and invested in a franchise after some careful due diligence.

The company, founded in Australia 15 years ago by Danny and Sylvia Wilson, specializes in teaching dogs — and their owners — who’s the boss. Its methods fix behavioral problems by re-establishing the proper pecking order in the household. The owners are also instructed in how to provide 10 to 15 minutes of daily reinforcement training.

“I was immediately attracted to Bark Busters’ ability to cut down on the number of dogs surrendered to animal shelters and euthanized due to behavioral issues,” said Ferguson, who has herself adopted many “special needs” animals, including a handicapped Yorkshire Terrier she rescued from a puppy mill and a black Labrador retriever mix that had been abused and abandoned.

Ferguson, who lives south of Ames, is one of about 100 trainers in Bark Busters’ U.S. operations, which have expanded into 28 states. The company hopes to add about another 100 trainers and operate in about 40 states by the end of 2005, said Liam Crowe, the company’s treasurer and chief financial officer.

“We’re overly pleased with the success so far,” said Crowe, who estimates that Bark Busters franchisees have trained about 20,000 dogs so far. Crowe and another top Australian trainer, Andrew Brook, brought the franchise business to New Zealand in 1995 before opening the master franchise in Colorado and training other owners.

“We just saw the potential here,” he said. “People (in the United States) love their dogs.”

For Ferguson, buying into a franchise was the way to go.

“Everything was set up; it’s plug and play,” she said. “And I like the fact that there are so many of us trainers out there, so that if I need help in solving a problem, there are solutions out there. As a business owner, that really attracted me.”

Besides paying the franchise fee, she completed an intensive seven-day-a-week training course at the company’s Colorado headquarters “that was like going through a year of college in three weeks,” she said.

“What we want the dog to do is to behave like a canine and think like a canine so we can show and guide and praise it,” she said. “It’s a new way of living with the dog.” For instance, if the dog indicates it wants to play or to go outside, Ferguson “takes a message” and after the dog loses interest, carries out the request on her schedule to confirm her leadership status with the dog.

As part of her “final exam,” Ferguson successfully worked with a pit bull mix with behavioral problems at a shelter, so she’s says she’s not afraid of dealing with any type of dog or situation.

Ferguson’s service costs $395 per dog, which includes a lifetime guarantee that she will return for any necessary follow-up training visits. On average, only about 20 percent of clients require followup, she said. The fee for older dogs is $100 less because their life expectancies are shorter.

“If there is more than one dog, we always recommend you do them all,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s kind of like working with only one child in the household.”

For more information on Bark Busters, call Ferguson at (515) 597-2221, or visit www.barkbusters.com.