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Jumping on furniture, aggression, pulling on leashes during walks — the pet owners who gathered in Poolesville on Saturday said their lives have gone to their dogs.

About 20 people, plus their four-legged friends, were at Kunzang Palyul Choling temple to learn new tricks from three dog whisperers, who teach owners to change the behavior of their pets. The event, a fundraiser for Tara's Babies, a nonprofit pet rescue affiliated with the Buddhist temple, was the most well-attended of four events hosted by the whisperers in the upcounty last week, according to Tara's Babies volunteer Christine Birkbeck of Gaithersburg.

"It really does work. I brought my dog here last year, and it made a huge difference," Birkbeck said. "Before it was her walking me instead of me walking her."

After a brief introduction by "America's Dog Whisperer" Mark German, founder of America's Dog Whisperers Academy in New Jersey; "New Jersey's Dog Whisperer" Janice Wolfe; and "Maryland's Dog Whisperer" Susie Homire, the owners took their dogs on a walk around the temple's grounds. The whisperers observed the attendees and gave them tips, such as focusing on the dog's good behavior and correcting or ignoring them when they act up.

"It's all based on leadership. The humans need to be the leaders, and most people don't know that and they let the dog be in charge," said Homire, who uses the techniques on the dogs Tara's Babies adopts out. "You can't expect to do one thing and have the behavior change."

The pet owners learned about consistently enforcing rules and the importance of good nutrition as well as gentle submission techniques.

"I learned how to not let my 5-pound dog drag me around — so that's a huge step — and not bark at other dogs," Jill McDougall, 30, of Montgomery Village said of Beast, her Yorkie-poodle mix. "If someone's calm and in control, things are going to get done."

The group sessions are also a good way to spot dogs that need one-on-one guidance, Homire said, though it's mostly the people who need to change their behavior. For instance, one woman complained that her dog would bark whenever she ate to the point where she would pick up dinner on her way back from work and eat it the car, but a home visit revealed that the woman gave the dog a treat to quiet it every time it barked.

"If you're not the leader then the dog takes charge, and the dog doesn't want that job," she said.