best and easiest way to bring them back

We have a small urban backyard. I indulged my partner and got him berry plants as a gift but he would be in charge of their care. They are alive but a little untidy to say the least. What’s the best and easiest way to bring them back in line and at best production? Thanks and congrats on your book.

Recently on the forum, I read that most berry bushes bear only once on 2-year-old canes.

After the canes have produced fruit, the bushes can be pruned back to the ground to leave room for the stronger, 1-year-old canes.

Then some pruning should be done every spring to keep the plants from becoming tangled and to improve their ability to bear.

My experience was with only one bush which was never pruned and wild bushes which were never pruned.

Based on the above information I can only assume since I never pruned mine that the fruit was on new branches.

I hope this has helped.

By untidy, do you mean spreading beyond the designated boundaries?  
I have some Raspberries, left over from my earlier experiments with raspberry varieties.  One in particular loves to spread.  I use this tendency of out of bounds offshoots to propagate new beds.
Let them go for the summer, dig them up when dormant, and transplant to a wanted location.

If your partner is not knowledgable, then get him a book.   If he's really too busy, then you have multiple choices,  cut them down yearly, and hope your season is long enough to get a crop in the fall, repeat.   OR, his next present could be long armed protective gloves and long sharp loppers.

Flogging and divorce are probably off the table.  (Ha ha)