Petsmart obedience classes

[yorkietalkjilly]

My son went to one just to see how they worked and he said the trainers at his were young adults and didn't know much of anything about dog training except from a course and 2 or 3 dogs they had owned and had no idea how to properly break up a fight, calm an excited owner/dog. He was really disappointed and wound up half teaching the class.

[cherryblossom]

Your son went to which one? Pet smart or the one above your post

[yorkietalkjilly]

He went to a Petco himself as a paying member, has been a visitor to several of the big pet stores to see what the classes were like. Try to find one with an older trainer who has had years of experience dealing with all kinds of dogs in groups. If it gets ugly and a big dog attacks a tiny dog or you, you need an experienced dog handler who can keep all of the dogs and humans safe quickly.

[SophieKatesMom]

Sophie Kate went to two training classes at PetSmart when it was suggested she might do better with a different trainer (she was hogging the attention, trying to cut off dogs and getting in other people laps).

I then enrolled her in Petco, she did so much better. The trainer was much more patient with her and the classes were smaller.

[suicide_blond]

I think its like anything ..there will be good an bad ones it just depends on the trainer and that individual store..
I took Alice to a Petsmart Puppy class and i loved it..the trainer was very qualified...her pup usually sat in the back and watched :-) ...she had worked with K9 and in the armed forces with dogs and knew a lot! I learned more than Alice (which is prob how it should be) and I even signed up for individual lessons for a few problem spots ..like getting alice to stay in her bag when she was a puppy... Alice is not very "food motivated" which makes her hard to train - she doesnt like treats! go figure... but the trainer pulled out a teeeeeensy bit of hot dog and ... alice followed her right away!
but if you are not impressed with your store..i would find another one obedience training is soooo important so dint give up and good luck!
sb

[cherryblossom]

Originally Posted by suicide_blond

I think its like anything ..there will be good an bad ones it just depends on the trainer and that individual store..
I took Alice to a Petsmart Puppy class and i loved it..the trainer was very qualified...her pup usually sat in the back and watched :-) ...she had worked with K9 and in the armed forces with dogs and knew a lot! I learned more than Alice (which is prob how it should be) and I even signed up for individual lessons for a few problem spots ..like getting alice to stay in her bag when she was a puppy... Alice is not very "food motivated" which makes her hard to train - she doesnt like treats! go figure... but the trainer pulled out a teeeeeensy bit of hot dog and ... alice followed her right away!
but if you are not impressed with your store..i would find another one obedience training is soooo important so dint give up and good luck!
sb

yea, i will be looking else where. the trainer is a nice person, very friendly, loves her job and high energy. but i don't think she is aware of different behaviours in dogs. walking away from a dog with seperation anxiety and saying STAY! and the dog does not move.doesn't show the dog learned that skill... let ME walk away from him and see if he stays. he won't. cause he is attached to ME not her. things like that i need to address and find a trainer aware of this stuff. but i think it is great for exposure and it helped jobi come out of his shell most def, so for that i am happy.

i also think big and small dogs should be seperated until they are on higher levels after the basic skills are learned. my yorkie running side by side with a german shepherd down the store isle with bags of food in the way, customers walking in front of the dogs etc.. is not useful in basic training.