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went through with training..but now what?

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  reploidphoenix 
#1 ·
So i posted here a while ago about my 5 year old german shepherd. Everyone suggested that she needed a professional trainer because of her issues. I sent her to someone even on this board is highly recognized for training shepherds. She spent 4 weeks at his facility for training.I just got her back today. He spent 2 hours going over how to execute come with her. So far i can only get her to really follow if i walk in circles like he trained her.(which he told me i have to work on until she's ready to go for walks..) He uses a prong collar and pops the leash intermittently. I would think this would be confusing as its not every time.She also lets out a bark/yelp everytime. She seemed to like him..so i'm not sure how i feel about it. She seemed very obedient to him. He also crated her(which i warned him she destroyed her last crate..), so he put her in an indestructible one. He told me she had chewed holes through the crate. When i got home 3 of her 4 canine teeth are broken..2 severely so. He wants me to return in a month for follow up training.. Any opinions..suggestions? Not really sure what to do about her poor teeth...Does she need them extracted now? they don't seem to bother her..

Opinions on training this way? and what to do about her teeth?
 
#2 ·
For her teeth go to your vet.

For the training you need to have a good talk with your trainer and express your concerns about the method and why you don't feel comfortable with it. This is something you should have addressed before sending her. If you still do not feel comfortable then find a trainer whose methods you do feel comfortable with. I believe when you get a dog back from a board and train facility it is important to follow through at home otherwise your dog will quickly regress to where they were at before training. If you can not keep up with the training at you you have pretty much wasted your money. Talk with the trainer, that is what you paid him for and if he is any good he should be more than willing to assist you.
 
#3 ·
I would be royally and supremely angry if a dog came back from boarding with two broken canines. My malinois has a broken canine and it's not a cheap vet bill. It's a big deal, an infection can wreck havoc on the dog's health.

I don't know what went on at the training without more information. Reploid- can you go into more detail about what the dog learned and got out of training after four weeks?
 
#11 ·
Unfortunately, Only thing she partly learned is to walk on a leash nice. Nothing else was learned after 4 weeks. She only obeys when on a leash which defeated the purpose of sending her in the first place. Its the same as the previous owner just using a shock collar. Considering rehoming. Shes become more then i can handle.
 
#5 ·
I mean here's the thing. You allow a dog to tear up crates at home without ever addressing it properly. The trainer doesn't want his equipment damaged so he puts the dog in a crate he can't chew out of and your dog breaks teeth because its so frantic for escape that worked before and has never been addressed that that happens. It sucks. It is very hard to watch a dog like that 24/7 and really that is what is required. The dog must be monitored 24/7 so that it can be corrected for trying to chew on the crate. You have to set it up to where the dog doesn't believe it is being watched. It is a huge huge huge pain in the ass and if I had it my way and I was to charge a client for care of a dog like that or training to get rid of it I would charge at least double normal prices for board and train. I'm not about to let a dog break its teeth doing stupid crap like that.

The crate thing needs to be addressed. Period. It is not acceptable to have a dog that can't be contained without escape or possibility of self harm. Hugely unacceptable. That being said it can happen sometimes. I've had a dog that was doing board and train and the go homes had started and the dog never showed signs of trying to break crate to get out. We have 5 days of go homes and after the first day the dog saw its owner through the crate door and had a **** fit it was so excited to see her that the dog fought correction and waiting for over 10 minutes to chill out so we could let the dog out (we never allow a dog out when its super excited or whining). During that time it was corrected a few times for biting the front bars of the crate. It didn't break teeth then, but later that night when everyone was at home the dog went at the crate for the first time it had been there and broke a tooth in the process. Unfortunate? Yes, but it does happen.

If the dog shows predisposed history of that behavior I watch them like hawks. I hate dogs like that. You are a crappy owner if you ever let your dogs get to that point, and believe me it is your fault for not addressing it early in life.
 
#7 ·
Negative comments on how i'm a bad dog owner are not helpful. I'm here to correct the problems, not get lectured. I know it is unacceptable she was unable to be crated, hence why i sent her to get trained..(she was to stay in his house for training, not in a kennel like most places). I spent over $1000 for training and have little to show for the money i paid. She has major issues with baths, anxiety, confinement and obeying commands. Unfortunately this dog was not mine until recently and is 5 years old. When she destroyed her crate a couple years ago, her previous owners decided it was easier to just not crate her. Even being locked away in their garage..she chewed apart the door handle and chewed apart the molding along the door.
 
#9 ·
$1000 for 4 weeks? Can you PM me the name of this trainer please? I don't know of any board and train that is that inexpensive.

BUT....you are beyond that point and you can't have a redo...so find a different trainer. You don't have to do a board and train again. Do private lessons. You'll get more out of them. I highly recommend Beth.
 
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