obedience class - vent ! ( long )

[samsons]

ok - i will try to make this short ! BUT i was so so angry when this happened ** sigh **

ok - we are talking a class at petsmart , the original trainer sam and i adore asked us if we minded taking a dif trainers class ( we need to socialize sam more then teach basics ) and her class was much fuller - so might fit our needs better .. sure ok .. i just wanted to be around other dogs - sam can sit , walk nicely , down .. yaddie yaddie .. just not around other dogs .. SOOOOOOOO

we are in our second week ... and this class is totally out of control - we have a poodle type dog that is a barker and not so into what mommie is doing .. the "trainer " and i am now using that word loosely .. puts a easy walk on him ( halter ) in about 2 secs ( that was kinda impressive ) the rest goes downhill ... OF COURSE the dog freaks out !! she ends up being bit a cpl times - she HELD THE DOG DOWN ON THE FLOOR , till he submitted !!! of course Sam is freaking out, as is the "pony " next to us !! trying to save this poor poodle ! i almost walked out , i couldt watch. but since i spend ALOT of time in this store , i didnt want to make such a huge statement ( i later do make one though ) and i know " submissive training " is still practiced but that is not how i want to train my dog - and not to mention the dogs owner and her ( 7-8 YO daughter ) where a bit shock up also .... and at the beginning of the class she actually handled sam a bit rough ( IMO ) even though her techniq did work , i also applied it much more gently. but i didnt like her " touching " my dog 1. before explaining to me what she was going to do 2. and using " dominet training period. i spent my money for this class to LEARN HOW TO GET MY DOG TO FOCUS ON ME , WHEN DISTRACTED not FORCE HIM PHYSICALLY TO DO SOMETHING i could have done that on my own if i had wanted to train that way !!!!!

so i went to the manager Mat ( who is one of sams fav ppl ) and told him i dont want to train my dog that way - and i was out of the class and i would be joining Hollys class on wed - as we agree on training styles - reward - reward - reward

i dont feel i over reacted -- and have no intentions of changing my mind - BUT ... after she had made the first mistakes , not acclimating a animal to a new training device - him resiting, her forcing him , ( even i could see it was not going to be good - the dog nipped at the air and gave several warnings to her ) and then her getting bit - what other ways could she have handled the dog ? BESIDES pushing him to the floor till he submitted ??

sorry so long ~ i just wanted to vent and get some ideas on better ways the trainer should have handled that !!

 

[dididuke]

Where I live there is a Petsmart and I took my dominant dog in there a few years ago for private lessons because my friend said the trainer was wonderful. Anyway Duke was about 5 at the time and he had a halti head collar on and he wouldn't let the trainer walk over him and he just went beserk on the trainer's steel toed boot and the trainer hung Duke up in the air with that halti or gentle leader head collar on trying to get Duke to submit. Duke was hung for 5 or more minutes like that and never submitted. He just kept saying Duke was so very aggressive almost to the point of dangerous. We never ever went back after that night.

I am going to enroll our new puppy in a positive training class at Super Petz here where I live I think. They told me they have heard of a lot of complaints about the Petsmart where we went and a lot of people leaving the class and never going back.

 

[samsons]

wow

i am not sure how i would have reacted to that !!

but when the trainer had sam by his collar holding his head up n way back - to MAKE him sit - i almost snatched my dog back and walked out - if she had HUNG my dog - i think i might have actually made a ass of myself !! wow ... that must have been hard to watch - and at the same time - u are thinking ... WELL ... they know what they are doing .. then u think about it .. and decide NOT !!!!!

i def wont be in her class ~ EVER AGAIN !!

 

[NateBazooka]

I get the feeling that for those PetSmart classes, it's really a crapshoot (what trainer you get), what kind of experience you'll have.

We did the puppy class at a PetSmart with Kevin, mostly for socialization, and we had a good experience, but the trainer seemed pretty competent and used positive reinforcement. Plus that PetSmart is really nice, and the people in the class were great. But yeah, I would've been upset about holding the dog's collar to force him to sit, and probably would've left the class at that point.

 

[djheitz]

We had an outreach event at our local PetSmart today and one of the trainers expressed an interest in volunteering. Since we've discussed it amongst ourselves just about every time we're there, one of the other volunteers started asking about the training they receive to become a trainer there. She said there are books and manuals and tests...and they 'shadow' another PetSmart trainer for a couple of weeks. That's it. Really no hands on requirements or any specified time spent actually working with real animals. The only thing I would consider using them for might be a puppy class for socialization. Maybe.

 

[dididuke]

The trainer we had at Petsmart supposedly trained dogs for the Air Force. He still works there. I just saw him the other day when I went in to get some puppy food for our new puppy.

 

[whiskers]

It's too bad that really anyone can walk in there and become a trainer. I mean yeah, trainers have to start somewhere, but they should probably be a little pickier about who they hire and give better training to the employees. I could probably get hired as a trainer there, . Sure, I've trained my own dog, but that doesn't mean I can TEACH other PEOPLE how to train dogs, and it certainly doesn't mean I know how to handle any and all types of dogs and behavior issues!
I will say when Juno was a young pup, we were doing some shopping at Petsmart... ran into another puppy owner taking classes at Petsmart... and that dog was quite obedient. They said he was a monster before the classes. And he had the most beautiful "watch me" I've ever seen, . Of course most of the credit goes to the owners for doing the training, but they must have had a pretty decent trainer as well.

I'd be pretty ticked off if I went to a class where they did that sort of "training" as well.

 

[devilfan]

the trainer I had at PetSmart here in Mooresville NC was really good She has 6 or more GSD and had a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Also showed her GSD.

 

[samsons]

*** sigh ** my vent wasnt about petsmart in general ( i LOVE Holly n Mat , other trainers there .. ) and pretty much ALL the staff .... just this situation .. i dont want ppl to think its a bad place .. just a class is only as good as the trainer .. and this ONE was BAD ! MAYBE i should have talked with the other "trainer" ( used loosely ) as much as i had Holly n Mat ( also the manager ) and learned more about her .. i was naive and thought well these 2 are GREAT so she is also !

i dont want to bad mouth petsmart - each place definaty has dif trainers !

 

[Darbysmom1]

Crap shoot

What a horrible experience.. Crazy to think that some people not only still train like that but do it without asking explaining to the dogs owners what they are going to do. I think trainers are like teachers for your children you need to talk to them and get to know them before trusting them with your babies. I think for PetSmart they just hire anyone so you need to talk to the trainers and make sure it is a good trainer. I have had friends who have gone there and had some great experiences.. But clearly the experiences being talked about on this post are crazy...
I think you did a good job telling the Manager because when enough people do or enough people change classes they may replace this person..