[LondonnZack]

So, Im confused and a little peeved at the moment. I took Zack up to Petco In meridian, MS. today to pick up some food and a Kong for him because hes been staying at home a bit during the holidays. Not 30 seconds after we walked in the trainer there came up to me and wanted Zack to get in the Play Date pen with a bunch of very small dogs who were barking and growling up a storm! I basically said no we are just here for food and kept walking. I wasnt going to let him go in there with strange dogs, who id/he had never met, i wasnt told if they had their shots or asked for a vaccination card or anything! There were like 6-7 dogs in there, none of which were larger than a yorkie.

She came back up to me in the isle where I was letting him check out some toys and stuff that he liked.

I had been having some allergy problems with him and they sell Blue Buffalo, so we are trying to again and he likes it this time~! (But thats not why im posting)

Ive never had someone try to push so hard for me to get him into puppy training in my life! She tried to take the leash from me because he was playing with this little girl and her dog, doing fine i might add, and she kept tugging on him saying that my tension was flowing down the leash to him. I was kind of baffled, he was fine until she came up and starting getting in his face. I was not happy at all! i asked the little girl to get her dog because he was getting very aggrivated and all the sudden got very tense, and started barking. He was ears back tail tucked and wagging just playing and being completely friendly before this.

We went to the counter to check out and she brought me a bunch of papers and kept pushing me to take the basic puppy training there. I socialize him constantly with many dogs, people etc. Ive never seen him so irritated at a person the entire time Ive had him.

I was thinking to myself, if he nor I even like you how am i going to pay to have you train my dog?!

So there was this huge pen with all these dogs and she went to take him over there the entire time me telling her I dont think thats a good idea I dont know those dogs and I dont know if they have had their shots and they were barking constantly growling and two of them had even gotten in a small spat while i was in the store, hes 4 months on tuesday and these dogs are very small and hes going through his fear stage, so i was being very respectful and so was all the other people in the store it was great minus that trainer.

She kept talking about how much experience she had how much good it would do him, and during this whole time she kept shoving this little mixed breed in his face. I asked about the CGC class i saw on the paper because that is something i would be interested in, only to be told the ones for Dec. Had been canceled because no one signed up! i wanted to say.. "duh!"

I am looking for a good training in my area since hes past the basic obedience and i would like to socialize him more and get him more focused with distraction. But, not like this.

I dunno what to do, I have searched the area for a good trainer to no avail. The closest one is in Jackson over 3 hours away.

Anyone else have a bad experience like this? If me and my dog are both annoyed at the trainer is it a pretty good bet im not going to take him there. Ive went in without him before and never been hassled like this. I was kinda dumbfounded as I was leaving because she was in his face, pushing and pulling him closer to these little dogs when all he wanted to do was come back to me.


Am I wrong for being annoyed by this? Ive never heard of a trainer pushing the sale so hard and getting far far to close in his face with herself and other dogs, I couldn't believe it! We got in the car and you could tell he was just completely stressed out and all i wanted was to go get some food and let him meet other kids and dogs in a controlled environment with distraction and see how he did.

Id say almost everyone else in the store was just as respectful and nice as they could be, everyone asked if it was okay to pet him, if he was dog friendly, children friendly everything. He did fine otherwise but towards the end I just wanted to get out of there because he went from loose leash friendly quiet puppy to raging barking pulling and just irritated all around.

 

[LondonnZack]

You were way nicer than I would have been. I would have told her that she obviously didn't have a clue and she better back off my dog right now.

Ive never seen him so annoyed before, hes never like that. I really couldnt believe a trainer would get a dog so worked up and frightened, i was straight up with her and told her hes going through a fear stage and that i didnt think it was a good idea right now. I really was as nice as i could be but by the end I was starting to get really annoyed and I know that its a mistake to get that way and I know he knew it his attitude changed so drastically it was just mind blowing.

/frustrated >>

 

[LondonnZack]

They can feel your tension through the leash...the problem is the trainer was causing the tension. I've learned that sometimes you really have to be very firm with some people. "I told you No, Thank You, now excuse us" And if that doesn't work I'll flat out tell them they are making me mad. I would never let a stranger walk up and grab my dog's leash and no good trainer would ever do that. That would have been the end of it for me.

After I asked the little girl to get her dog because of his attitude change i got the leash back from the "trainer" and went into another isle, the mom of the little girl came up to me again and said sorry. I was like ohh it wasnt you guys at all. I apologized for his attitude change and said i hope he didnt scare the little girl. She said no the little girl and dog was fine and that she could tell that he got annoyed. Im a very relaxed person and ive never felt so tense with my dog in the entire time ive owned him. I just couldnt believe that I know how easy they can sense your feelings in a situation and by the end i think we were both just .. excuse my language pissed off and ready to get out of there.

The bad thing is, it couldve been a very great experience for him, and i do not want him child or dog aggressive and the trainer kept acting like it was my fault he was acting this way and i felt bad! i actually felt horrible that he was acting this way and had to catch myself and tell him it was okay once we got in the car. i wanted to sock her in the face for that wont even lie lmao

 

[LondonnZack]

First of all, I'd never ever let anyone hold my dogs leash unless I knew and trusted them. Not fair to the dog at all.
I wouldn't have been nice to that trainer either, she was out of line and overbearing.
I really don't think Petco's are a "controlled" environment for socializing, there is always one reactive dog or several and you never know what may be around the next isle.
The scents and noise can be overloading to a dog, even though we may think it is not stressful, it really can be(especially the scents)
I would also talk with a manager, just as an FYI so this trainer doesn't scare off other customers or have a fight on her hands because of the way she introduces dogs.

I didnt intend for her to take the leash, I didnt ask her to, she didnt ask. She took it and said it was me who was making him tense because i was getting irritated by the situation. Thats when he started acting up. She took him and started walking off with him to put him in the pen with the other smaller dogs and i stopped her. The other dogs owners looked at me like i was bad owner. I felt awful >> Its just Bullsh*t to put someone in that position. It was inappropriate and i honestly dont blame zack for it now. At the time i was really worried but the more i think about it the more i just realize that she put us in that position. At least no one got bitten. Thats all i care about, that and i came home and took him for a walk to the church yard to play with him some and let him get out a bit. He seemed really stressed and shy when we left there. I feel bad i will never put him in that position again. I didnt realize one persons actions in that short of a period of time could have such an effect on my dog. The worst part is it was the **** trainer that did it not the customers in the store. >>

 

[LondonnZack]

First of all, I'd never ever let anyone hold my dogs leash unless I knew and trusted them. Not fair to the dog at all.
I wouldn't have been nice to that trainer either, she was out of line and overbearing.
I really don't think Petco's are a "controlled" environment for socializing, there is always one reactive dog or several and you never know what may be around the next isle.
The scents and noise can be overloading to a dog, even though we may think it is not stressful, it really can be(especially the scents)
I would also talk with a manager, just as an FYI so this trainer doesn't scare off other customers or have a fight on her hands because of the way she introduces dogs.

I think controlled is a bad word, i meant i knew there would be dogs people etc that he could go socialize with. Not one dog besides the ones in the play pen where any problems. There was only two outside of it, one was another GSD and one was a aussy. They were very well behaved and sweet as were the children. As soon as the trainer was gone, he was fine, but as soon as she came back he got mean. I was like wow lol

 

[LondonnZack]

I've been in petco's and petsmarts where there are dogs that are reactive. You were lucky at that moment there were all social dogs. Too bad the trainers vibes were so tense...I'm sure others have felt her effects as well.
A controlled environment in my opinion is one where everyone is on the same page as far as training, and know how to control their dogs. Those places are far and few between. Is Meridian the largest town closest to you?

yes it is and yes you are absolutely right. Its no wonder why this woman has no clients, i had mentioned i had asked about the cgc and was told it was canceled. I can see why.

 

[LondonnZack]

Wow, you were so nice and restrained. I would immediately have ordered a manager to be paged. It could be that you just have one of those really friendly faces that makes strangers think they can immediately take advantage of you or start bossing you around.

I dont know if I have a friendly face i guess but i also will only take so much, this is my dog, hes my responsibility and my friend and if someone had acted that was towards a human friend i wouldve restrained but still gotten them out of the situation. lol

I posted a pic on the owner thread, maybe i do lol

But still... it was uncalled for.

 

[LondonnZack]

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.

Well hopefully i wont have to be in that situation and yea i did get irritated i had no idea she was going to do that. I tried to keep my cool but when she took the leash i know anyone could tell i was pissed. If a salesperson was pushy and you said no and came up to you and took the leash you wouldve been pissed too. I know how badly it can go so i will be more prepared for next time, but ive never been in that situation before and yes i probably couldve been calmer but jesus lol

 

[LondonnZack]

The leash would never have touched the hands of that trainer...though my dogs are a bit intimidating. I doubt she would even try! How old is your pup?

hes going to be 4 months on tuesday. She only had the leash a second before i got it back. Just her being there he didnt like.

 

[LondonnZack]

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....

i wasnt rude or cross or anything i just got back control of my dog after he freaked out. I got nervous when she took his leash, yes ill admit that but i couldve reacted alot worse than i did, i never raised my voice or said anything out of the way. I was actually pretty calm about it. I just wanted her to go away. I was tense yes but the woman took the leash from me, when i got it back i was mad. I know he fed off that but i was as calm as i could make myself in that situation. There was also a little girl by my dog with her puppy when it happened. It wasnt just the womans actions that made me tense up, no ones perfect and it was my first experience with a person like this and i dont think i reacted nearly as bad as i could have.

 

[LondonnZack]

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.

holy crap! See im still new to GSD's and i didnt even think about that, i couldnt imagine if that kid had gotten bitten! thats crazy that kids parent is retarded! Well now i know, ive learned my lesson, it sucks that it happened but at least i can be prepared next time. People dont seem to get that its a dog, with teeth, if you scare it it cant cry, its going to defend itself, my dog is very close with me she even commented saying how maybe i was spending to much time with him and thats why hes so "protective" i was thinking to myself the entire time that she put herself in that situation my bf laughed and said she must be trying to get workmans comp if she is that stupid to get in the dogs face and take his leash like that. I wasnt scared about her taking the dog that i can handle myself hes still a pup, i was more worried that she did it by a freaking child, and ive been working so hard to socialize him and teach him to expect the unexpected with children.

People can be so stupid sometimes, its just sad that a "trainer" should out of anyone know better. I swear i will never let anyone or myself take their dog to that "girl" she was like 22 maybe if that. She was talking to me like i was a child who had no idea wtf was going on. I knew exactly why he was acting that way, i even told her "look hes in his scared phase please do not force him in there with the other dogs" as calmly as i possibly could before taking the leash back from her.

I dont even have any training experience and i seriously think i could do a better job than her.

 

[LondonnZack]

wow that really sucks you had to deal with that! I would have gone off the minute she started pushing. It got to the point back home that I would only take Zena to the petco or petsmart because the trainers would approach and try to push training classes because they would see an unruly and excitable dog at the end of the leash instead of the actual dog. I stopped taking Riley with me because he was severely reactive at pet stores. I took Zena because despite he reactivity, she would settle down but whenever one of the more pushy trainers would approach and start asking questions and being obnoxious, i could just tell them to not come any closer because Zena didnt like strangers approaching. By which time Zena would be growling and i'd slowly be letting the leash out. Anyone who even tries to take the leash out of my hand can expect a crazy woman type reaction. You should report the trainer. There is a very obvious reason as to why they never have anyone sign up for anything.

haha! thats awesome, maybe ill try that if i have to go back, i love being able to take him with me which is why i do. I like that he can play with kids and stuff and the parents are almost always very respectful there. I dont know why she thought it was okay but maybe when hes bigger they wont do that! I didnt realize that it was a common thing, thats insane >< and sad tbh, wonder how many people let them push them around and then end up taking the training classes .. O_O scary!

 

[LondonnZack]

you should of excused yourself and left her standing where she was.
if she continued to follow you you should of became firm with her.
how was she able to take your dog to the other dogs? did you give her
the leash? was your dog irritated or did he want to play with the other dogs?

I explained all this in my previous posts but since i know its alot to read, ill explain. I did excuse myself, twice in fact.

The first time she came up to me when he wasnt tightly leashed because he was rolling on the floor playing with a little girl and her pup.

No, I would never hand my dog nor his leash to another person I didnt trust, in fact ive only handed it to one person, once.. at halloween and this person is also a GSD owner and a family member who i trust greatly.

He never got put in with the other dogs, i stopped her and took him back before she even made it out of the isle. The second time she got him i had his leash hanging from my finger, he doesnt pull anymore so i dont have to have the leash wrapped up on my hand, not once during the whole thing did he try to get loose, he was pulling away from her not towards her, the issue was the opposite direction of the darn trainer was towards a child (the first time). The second time was towards a woman with a ferret >> lol which he didnt react to at all. He likes fuzzy small aminals as you can see from his best friend patience in some of the past pics of him and her. I understand everyones saying I was either to reactive or not firm enough, I am very very non confrontational and I dont think I handled it badly, of course besides getting very tense when some strange retard grabs my dog. lol :crazy:

 

[LondonnZack]

So, i contacted the store and spoke to a manager, and she was pretty helpful but bluntly honest. She said sadly to corporate headquarters thats how they want them to be, she said she didnt think the girl went overboard at all. Im a little stunned wont lie. She said they have to meet a quota for a certain period of time and the store just wasnt making it. Good to know that the store managers back these actions up. I might just order online from now on, thats ridiculous.

 

[LondonnZack]

I did inform her that i was writing corporate and that she had lost a customer, or two because of this. If Zack had been an adult dog, i dont really know what wouldve happened. I was able to grab him quick from being by the little girl. If he was 90lbs.. i have no idea and dont wanna think what couldve happened.

 

[LondonnZack]

that is funny about different areas..but I DO agree, not to get off topic, but there are alot of big box stores in this state, you go to one around here, pricing may be higher than the one in two towns over..

yea its really weird in cali before i moved the petsmart and petco near me was awesome, petsmart more than petco. When i moved to the coast of MS the petco down there was freaking awesome. Here I only have one option Petco, and i doubt ill ever go back with an animal or by myself for that matter.

Also a little OTopic Zack loves BB food now and has been wound up all day and his itching seems to have calmed a bit already, good sign! :apple:

 

[LondonnZack]

Ugh! I cannot stand the Petco trainers!

They hounded me when I brought Sinister in when he was a puppy, he was very well behaved and she kept telling me that he needed work and that he would grow up and become extremely aggressive and unmanagable without professional training.

My ex and I trained Sinister, we took it very seriously, we socialized the wazoo out of him and we made sure he has excellent recall. He knows lots of tricks and he knows hand signals.

My GSD, will not wander from me, he will not leave my yard (it's not fenced in) he loves people, kids, cats and other dogs, he is very well behaved in public places like my mom's salon, my cancer hospital, Petco/Petsmart, parades and birthday parties. He listens extremely well, he always wants to please me, he always wants to do something for me, he's eager to learn and catches on quick.

I think we did a pretty good job with him, without the "help" of a professional Petco trainer.

This is pretty much what she told me, before he even started acting up, when i walked in and all the little dogs were yapping and being irritating he stayed cool. He did not want to go in there or near the place but still. I wouldnt either! lol