[selzer]

It sounds like the individual was given a review telling him/her that she needed to sign more People up for their training classes if she wants to keep the position.

I would not be surprised.

I think you should call the store manager and tell them that you will not shop their anymore if you are harrassed to join their training classes.

It is true that as you got more and more frustrated with that woman, your pup was picking up on it. So you really have to maintain your calm for your pups sake. So with a gigantic smile all over your face, calmly and quietly tell the person accosting you: "if you do not stop bothering me, I will call your boss and complain."

If THAT does not stop them, then you are dealing with a lunatic. Keep interface to zero.

 

[selzer]

He's a baby. Puppy classes are great if the dog is not intimidated in them. I would not let some pushy nutcase lead me into a puppy class headed up by her.

And just because the puppies might be smaller, if they are older that could be the worst thing to do to a youngster like yours.

Yes that would bother me, but I master my reactions when I am with puppies.

Last year, I was at the Crown Classic with my sisters kids who were just three, and almost three. Some lady acted all impatient, and I stopped and asked her if she had a problem. She made and completely rude and unnecessary remark about my nieces (we were in the booth area where people were hawking their wares, not near the breed rings, and she told me that dogs have the right of way -- the kids were not walking fast enough for her).

I thought I would tell HER a thing or two, but then I looked down at the girls, and the last thing they needed to see was their aunt susie being rude or an idiot to this woman. So I turned and walked off with the girls.

It is not always easy to check our emotions when people do things that is negative concerning them, but for the kids' or dogs' sake, sometimes that is the best course of events.

If I meet up with that lady again with no dogs or kids in tow though....

 

[selzer]

You probably did just great. But you do have to be ready for people to do the dumbest things. You have to be ready to remain calm, and get your dog our of stupid situations that people out of the blue think up.

People barking at your dog???

People shoving their hand in your car window???

People grabbing the leash to show you how to do an alpha roll?????

Yes, people can be REALLY crazy. They do not see touching or doing something with your dog as though they were doing it to your person, or your kid.

I mean, when people smack their hands together above your dog's head, or even just reach over and roughly rub the top of your dogs head, it kind of makes me want to reach over and rub their kid on top of its head!

My personal favorite when I was busy paying by credit card with my parents' dog innocently sitting by my side, some six year old kid walks up and gives him a full body hug, then skips back to her father to tell him that she hugged the doggy.

I did not even bother to tell him that if the kid did that to the wrong dog she would be in the ER getting her face fixed.

 

[selzer]

Our PetsMart started doing this after they added their new training area. They came out in the aisles and picked a dog, came over and started complementing the dog, and then started talking about their classes, and steered you over to the sign up area, and before you knew what hit you, you were signed up for classes.

Yes it did happen to me, I did sign up, and I did take the classes. Unfortunately, the nice lady complementing my pup was NOT the trainer. The trainer's claim to fame was that he currently owned a two year old blood hound and he completed the PetsMart training for dog trainers.

He did not have a clue. It was a puppy class and there were no other puppies. For three weeks, I sat there with Ninja and Listened to him go on about his blood hound. The third week he brought her in. She was completely untrained, LOL. On the fourth week he had another victim in there with us. He started telling her stuff that made me queasy, and I decided that I could not possibly manage another week of this. I quit.

I had a class there before, and it was actually pretty good. The trainer actually worked with her dogs and got titles on them. So it does depend on who you get.

For a while, the PetsMart people were pretty high pressure too about getting you to sign up. Now they pretty much leave me alone. Maybe I am just a lost cause now.

Maybe they do not want to lose me as a grooming customer.

 

[selzer]

Yeah, I figured that is how it is in those places. I had one trainer who was ok, and one who definitely had only the two week course.