[DCluver33]

I took Dodger to Petsmart today for his "meet a dog a day" training and as I was in the middle of training this "trainer" comes up with a older lady who has a very hyper small white fluffy dog. I'm working with Dodger on his 'leave it', he did very well btw , I couldn't help but over hear him talking about different bones he said "I have this book that recommends raw hide bones." I'm thinking are you kidding me?! I would never ever in a million years give my dogs a raw hide bone this guy's nuts. He notices me giving Dodger commands and says, pointing to the little white fluffy thing yapping, pulling on the leash, while running in circles, "this dog is trained! he knows to go potty on command!" I looked at him like you're kidding me right?! nope he wasn't kidding. I replied, "my dogs know potty on command too, but they don't run in hyper circles barking their heads off." He started at me with wide eyes, shut his mouth and walked away.

 

[vat]

You have to wonder what the whole point of that was, were you supposed to be impressed???

 

[DCluver33]

You have to wonder what the whole point of that was, were you supposed to be impressed???

I don't know I guess.

 

[KZoppa]

yup.... i'm impressed! lol. A dog who can go potty on command. thats just impressive. How about one who can walk on the leash nicely, "leave it" nicely, and just generally behave? now THATS impressive. i use petsmart for socialization and training practice. The petsmart here i would pay for classes simply because i know one of the trainers and i've seen the work her dogs do. She's excellent and actually have a degree in dog training. beyond that.... nope. but according to her, Shasta is doing well enough without need for a class so i win!!! and save money too lol. Good boy Dodger for doing a good job!

 

[jressler]

Maybe he was trying to make polite conversation? I wasn't there so I don't know what his tone or body language was like... but his statement alone doesn't seem all that unfriendly or rude. But I do agree that raw hide is no good.

 

[DCluver33]

From they way I saw it was he really believed this little dog was well behaved and that he was bragging that he had trained this little dog to behave well and potty on command. I've seen this guy teach a class and I could do a better job the guy was confusing his poor clients and their dogs.

Kzoopa-'thanks I'm tring to get him to ignore other dogs so whn we re rake the CGC he'll pass it with flying colors.

 

[Lola10]

I only go to one trainer at Petsmart because she does very well with Lola. The sad part is, she had surgery and won't be back for awhile, but we are waiting for her return. I will not see anyone else there, and if she leaves, i'll be looking elsewhere.

 

[DCluver33]

I would consider going to a Petsmart trainer if I could sit in a class and watch them teach, get to know their background with dogs and training and such.

 

[Brian84]

My local Petsmart has a trainer that has been training for 30 years. She really knows what she is doing. She will let you watch the class and get a feel for it to see if you want to enroll your dog. I didn't take my dog there personally, but have friends that have and they were happy.

 

[KZoppa]

From they way I saw it was he really believed this little dog was well behaved and that he was bragging that he had trained this little dog to behave well and potty on command. I've seen this guy teach a class and I could do a better job the guy was confusing his poor clients and their dogs.

Kzoopa-'thanks I'm tring to get him to ignore other dogs so whn we re rake the CGC he'll pass it with flying colors.

well that sounds like you're already doing nicely! keep up the good work. I may try Shasta for her CGC but Riley would never make it and Shelby stands less of a chance than Riley. Riley is severely leash reactive and Shelby just refuses to listen and behave. Hubby left her outside too long and went out front today to talk with a couple who is buying one of our cars and she hopped the fence and ran around the front of the house. Thats the first time she's done that. But Shasta would be the one i'd CGC test if i ever get the chance. DEFINITELY wishing you luck. You're already doing a great job with dodger so i think you'll be fine next time i'm sure.

 

[Justin0406]

I'm currently in the fourth week of my 8 week petsmart course... It's been good because there's only one other couple in the class. She's missed some classes therefore I've gotten some one on one and the trainer is very good. My wife and I were just observing our dog on yesterday and commenting on how his behavior has changed. Moreso how our understanding of his world has impacted his behavior. Our trainer teaches us a lot about understanding his world which enable us to understand the WHY to the WHAT we are doing. It's amazing how dogs live in the now and you can modify old bad behaviors simply by understanding have they think. Since my class is small and she is fund of Justin I get a lot of additional training tips normally reserved for other classes.

 

[KatieStanley]

I will say that it depends on what kind of trainer you get. When we first got Zoe, we lived out in the middle of no where in East Texas and our only option was Petsmart- which was 45 minutes away in Longview. We had an excellent trainer and put Zoe through the puppy class and intermediate. I will say that we got the most bang for out buck out of the puppy class. We then moved back to the Dallas area and are taking classes from the K9 University. Yes, Petsmart trainers are hit and miss...but Petsmart classes are better than no classes at all.

 

[DCluver33]

Yes I agree that petsmart classes are better than nothing, but this guy clearly had no idea what he was doing because he was telling the little white fluffy dog to sit and it wasn't listening, then he was petting it while it was hyper and barking and making it even more hyper. On top of the fact before this happened I saw the little white dog and purposely went into the other side of the aisle where I was at one end and it was on the other so I can teach dodger to listen to me while there's another dog around. This guy notices and decides to bring the dog closer. I asked him nicely to not do that since dodger isn't ready for that yet and he still brings the dog, while it's still hyper, closer saying it'll be ok here let me show you. That's what made me mad was he still did this after I had politely asked him NOT to. I quickly left the aisle and ran into them again in the bully stick aisle where he bragged that he had trained this little dog when it clearly wasn't listening to him. I would have left that aisle too but I needed to get some bully sticks and go home.

*I'm not saying all petsmart trainers are clueless, just this guy was. I'm sure you could find a wonderful trainer who knows what they're doing instead of someone who has no clue*

 

[Justin0406]

I did have an interesting encounter at one of the classes. Nearing the end of one of the classes i took my dog outside to relieve himself. This guy followed me out and said justin was a fine looking workline. He asked could he pet him. He made some move and justin responsed much to the man liking . he said yoour dog has great potential and asked could he test his drive. The man wife was observing and really smiling as her husband went to his truck to retreive an item. His wife began to tell me they train dog and that her husband gets excited when he see gsd with potential. He returned and began testing Justin and justin drive was excellent.... he kept commenting good boy... yeah go for it boy... it was a ball on a short rope when always drive justin crazy from flirtpole playtime. Afterward the man told me i needed to consider a more high level training and told me to look into some Schutzhund training programs.