"The PetSmart's where you live must really suck then. The trainer at the one near us is awesome. I've never been to her, but talk have talked with her several times. She's been training for a loooong time and has even taken some dogs to title in agility. A friend with a pretty aggressive Pit worked with her and had amazing results.
You must have had a bad experience there or something?"
No, I'm just a seasoned trainer and I know what the policies are for PetSmart's trainers and I know for a fact that while each have a different background before working for PetSmart they are limited to a large extent on just how much of their past is allowed to influence their practices while teaching at PetSmart. It's a corporate policy, not theirs. Now it is possible that the store manager of the PetSmart that you're talking about having good experience w/ this trainer at is just being lax, possible. But the general concensis is, and they should be honest and tell you this, is that they DO NOT have the experience to work w/ certain behavior disorders appropriately. A LOT of their techniques are about avoidance and never really teaching the dogs to stop the habit all together under any circumstance. But I'm glad you like this trainer! Many people who have come to me AFTER going to PetSmart or PetCo for their training liked their trainer as an individual and as a trainer too, just not for the results they were looking for.
I think it's great that PetSmart exists w/ the training program they have. Their prices are reasonable and like I said, not everyone wants to use just a leash and collar nowadays to train their dogs. It's GREAT to have diversity.
As far as what "I" charge for a phone consultation? NOTHING! Call me ANYTIME!!! Here's the number again: 847-223-2822, Oh, and Evaluations are free too (where you actually bring the dog in and meet me and I show you a couple of things and we discuss what options are probably best for your situation)
Private lessons (1 hour) are $50 and classes are $150 for an 8 week course and there's boarding and training as well, but that depends on the size of the dog in order to determine the boarding rate. |