The trainer popped my pup on the nose

[Good_Karma]

Originally Posted by kidkhmer

Hey....in the US can't you sue this person for doggy abuse ?

Hey Khmer, don't make come over there and sue you for sarcasm!

[Navah]

I would have probably have said something and then demanded my money back for the remaining classes. I would advise people to not hit my dog and unless they want to get hit by me. I am HUGE into positive reinforcement and have only seen good with this method.

I suspect I am somewhat in the same boat as you. My puppy is very hard to train and while positive reinforcement is taking longer then every single dog I have ever trained in my life lol it’s getting there and we have a respect for each other. Her jumping was the worst. Sure I can smack her on the nose when she jumps up or kick her in the chest OR I can turn around a few times for a few min until she sits and get the same results without hurting her physically. It’s all patience, I’m not about immediate results it’s not necessary in the long run.

Don’t listen to all this jazz about being spoil either, I get this all the time. So what? My dog IS spoiled, she is my best friend, I love her to death, she would do anything for me and I don’t see anyone else wagging their butt for me every time they see me lol. It’s a whole new doggy world out there, the alpha position is being debated and you can train AND spoiled your dog at the same time.

As for a bop on the nose, a dog’s nose is one of the most sensitive parts of the dog’s body and they have a ton of nerve endings there. I would suspect it would hurt more then people think because of that. IMO a dog’s nose is made for kissing only!

NEVER feel that you are overacting as a dog owner, never. Your dog can not talk, it is up to you to protect your dog from the world and I think you are a fabulous and loving owner to even start this thread. Your dog is lucky little girl. Sorry for the novel as well lol.

[Zoeys mom]

"Don’t listen to all this jazz about being spoil either, I get this all the time. So what? My dog IS spoiled, she is my best friend, I love her to death, she would do anything for me and I don’t see anyone else wagging their butt for me every time they see me lol".


I think that should be the quote of the week,lol I sure don't have anyone but my dogs wagging their butt for me when I come home....everyone else just wants something or has a complaint

[PaddyD]

Dog's nose is sensitive? Tell my dog that. She uses it to bop my hand for a pat. She uses it as a shovel to bury bones, rocky soil doesn't bother her a bit. She bops her own nose all the time without a wimper. She has a head like a stone.

[Stevenzachsmom]

Totally agree with Navah - 0nly spoiled pets live in my house. Guess I am lucky they are willing to share the space with us humans. LOL!

[kiya]

I don't think the trainer should have corrected your dog in that manner. Personally I would have been pissed, no one has the right to "hit" another persons dog. It is hard to judge something unless you witnessed the action in person so thats all I will say.
I've been with my trainer for 8 years I don't think I have ever seen her hit a dog, leash pop yes because there are instances when she will "ask" a handler for thier dog to demo something (most times she uses her own dog) or she will tell the handler what to do to correct a behavior.
There is an exercise you can do to help your dog with "treat delivery". In the livingroom (or where ever) I place my dish of training treats on a shelf, no matter where the dog is (or I am), after I "click" the behavior I asked for I go to the dish and give the treat. Sometimes my delivery is slow unless Im rewarding motion.

[codmaster]

A "bop" on the nose?

When we took the Herding instinct test a while ago the evaluator told the small group of GSD owners (about 8 of us there) that she would protect her sheep if our young dogs got too frisky with the 3 sheep in the corral. So we all said ok and the test began.

She took each dog in one at a time and around after the sheep they would run - and of course almost allof them got very excited in chasing and herding the sheep. First sheep that any of them had ever seen of course.So she has this very long flexible pole and as Baron and others are running around and around chasing the sheep, she had to swat them on the muzzle some times to slow them down.

Most of the dogs reacted to it quickly and did back off the sheep (1 or 2 actually came running back to momma (owner in the ring). My 18 mo stopped momentarily and then started chasing again -took a few bops to slow him down.

Didn't seem to bother him and his relation with the one who bopped him - he was just as friendly coming out of the ring with her as when he went in and vice versa. As a matter of fact I felt proud as heck when she said to me as we were coming out thru the gate "I LIKE that dog!". And he passed!

Point is that an appropriate "bop" on the muzzle never hurt a dog and might go a long way to quickly improving their behavior.

[codmaster]

Originally Posted by JazzNScout

I am big into positive reinforcement. I don't hit my dogs. The most dramatic I've gotten is smacking a newspaper against my leg to catch their attention if they've done or are doing something REALLY bad & are not listening.

Today in class, my puppy's trainer popped her on the nose with her hand. Layla is 8 months old, testing boundaries and can be both stubborn AND pushy. She wasn't doing anything particularly outrageous, just not going along with the game plan. I have never touched this dog in a punishing way -- never. She is very sensitive to being reprimanded by voice (I have a really funny video somewhere on here that shows this). Both Layla and I were taken aback. What I really hated was to see Layla's reaction -- she was really confused and didn't want to go near the trainer again. Her face looked like, "Enough of THIS...that hurt!"

I told the trainer I'd take over from there. It was clear she had ruined the dog wanting to be near her, violated the trust that had been built up, and Layla was done working with her.

Am I overreacting because she's my little baby? Or was this way out of line? The trainer later alluded to Layla being a tad spoiled. Well, she is, yes. Not quite sure that's the way to "cure" it, though.

It would depend a lot on any previous relationship that I and my dog had with the stranger. Had she handled the dog a lot before?

And also what she was doing to elicit that reaction. And also of course - how hard a "Bop" was it?

Some dogs are very "hard" when it comes to handling a correction - meaning they can take it and go on with training. Others are much "softer" and react very much to a correction. the correction level has to be appropriate to the dog and their temperament to be effective.

Sort of like people - a good manager or coach will know that they can't yell at some folks while others a loud explanation will work most effectively to improve them. Culture also plays a role - military is very different place than most commercial organizations.

[Sunstreaked]

"Don’t listen to all this jazz about being spoil either, I get this all the time. So what? My dog IS spoiled, she is my best friend, I love her to death, she would do anything for me and I don’t see anyone else wagging their butt for me every time they see me lol".

I'm hearing this already, too. The looks that are exchanged by my mother to my sister and back.

Somehow they seem to forget that the DH and I raised two kids who are mannered, responsible, have an amazing work ethic, and who are smart as heck. I "spoiled" them too.

Those kids - and this dog - work for what they get (NILIF for the dog) and I'm not surprised to find out I did this for the kids too - although I didn't know it was called that!

What I'm going for is consistency and fairness. Either shoes are off limits always or they can be chewed any time. No wishy-washy conditions.

The hubby and I do NOT hit the dog. This is our rule for our dog.

She is a baby and learning what is acceptable and what is not. I would rather repeat a word and a hand signal 1,000 times than make her afraid of my touch.

I know others raise their dogs how they want to, but this works for us.

[CaliBoy]

I would finish out the lessons you have, but just tell the trainer not to physically strike your dog, on the nose or any other body part.