Trainer called my dog spoiled jerk!!!!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Granted, Jack is very spoiled, eats the best food, has a lot of toys, has a lot of everything, but I demand excellent behavior from him. I love him to death as you all know, but anyone that knows me in person knows, I am very strict with his behavior.

 

I was talking to another dog mom at training class tonight about getting a dog sitter to stay in my house when I go to  National Jewish Hospital and someone else brought up that our trainer dog sits. I replied that I know that but she only lets them stay outside and that Jack is not been geared toward being outside in the hot sun all day and night. That is when the trainer jumped in and said "oh yeah Jack is a spoiled brat, I am surprised he doesn't have mud boots and a rain coat for going out" I laughed and said out of spite, "well actually he has three different sets'

 

I don't know if she was insulted because I am not using her as a dog sitter or what. She ignored Jack during the class totally, and then when another dog was up in Jacks space and Jack growled at the dog, she sprayed him in the head and said "knock it off Jack quit being a jerk" The dog kept trying to wrestle with Jack and he didn't want him to so Jack growled again and she sprayed him and smacked his nose.

 

I was so upset, not because she said Jack is spoiled, He is spoiled, I know it.. He has however been able to accomplish ever task that has been asked of him and he really does a good job in class. I asked her after class because I am honestly confused. Isn't it okay for a dog to growl at another dog when they are nothering them? Isn't that how they tel them to stop? Isn't that how dogs read each other?

 

I am okay with if Jack growled at a dog as we were walking by, him being corrected and afterwards I told the trainer that, I honestly wanted to know. She back peddled quite a bit and said Yes Jack can say no and he can growl one time. So then I asked her why she called him a jerk if he was doing what is okay, She skated around the answer and I left confused. I am not trying to be defensive of my dog. I am open to correcting him but I am not okay with making him allow big dogs toss him around and him sit there and not try to correct the behavior, That just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

Like I said if the growl was unprovoked or if he was just being aggressive I would be the first one all over his little behind, I don't tolerate that. So what am I missing here?  How is Jack the jerk for telling another dog to knock it off?

 

[Harper]

Wow this makes me appreciate our trainer even more.  She would never, ever hit a dog or say something like that to our faces.  And I have met her dog whom she loves and "spoils" herself.  What kind of dog sitter would leave the dog outside the whole time?  They do no work and just sit around your house?  Sounds like this woman works with dogs but doesn't really understand or love them.  I highly recommend finding a dog sitter that loves dogs and appreciates them as much as you!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Karen said it all. If you do go back, take a rolled up newspaper, if she says something you don't like, smack her on the nose. :>)

[Jennifer and Jack]

I can not thank you enough for your responses and for giving me the courage to drop out of the class and get my money back which is exactly what I did today. I went there and spoke to the manager. I do believe that her vocabulary is just that vocabulary. I also know that she favors dogs that are rescued as opposed to breed dogs. She has made that entirely clear. I was ok with that as long as I could get what I needed from her and that is training.

 

Jack ALREADY has his CGC, Jack has had a few issues with bigger puppies harmlessly wanting to play with him and he ended up flipped over on his back with a sore limb. He also had his his ripped out of socket by a Giant Schnoodle so he is a little gun shy. After he was attacked, I immediately took action to make sure he would not fear big dogs by exposing him the very next day to older bigger dogs that were safe.

 

He does not growl at all when we walk by big dogs, He leaves them alone. That was a big problem for him, whenever he used to see one, he would immediately growl unprovoked. I worked so hard exposing him time and time again, and correcting the behavior each time. I would say he is good about 90 percent of the time, it depends on the level of excitement in the air.

 

Last night was totally different, he was in a sit stay next to me, This dog that is only a year old was jumping in his space and would not stop, Jack growled at him, he didn't stop, Jack growled again. That is when the trainer sprayed him and hit him on the nose.

 

If someone sat here and said they saw their dog get smacked on the nose, I would probably have been one of the first to say, I would have ripped my dog out from under them and left because that is the right thing to do.. I am disappointed that I didn't do that. I don't know if it is because I know I am super protective of him that I try to over correct it.. Either way, We are OUT OF THERE.

 

I am learning not to be so insecure. Thank you so much for your advice and support. Jack thanks you to for sparing him from that class....

 

Love

J and J

[Bonnie and Kona]

Jennifer, I am so proud of you and pleased that you got your money back. You did a good thing. I am sure the trainer will think twice before behaving that way again after her manager tells her that she lost a client with that behavior. Jack is doing a good job telling other dogs not to hurt him. Congratulations. It has all worked out to benefit many, not just you. blessings!

[Pat and Traveler]

Way to go Jennifer!  Don't beat yourself up over not taking immediate action--sometimes you have to replay a situation a few times in order to realize that behavior like that trainer's was way out of bounds.  Sometimes when I'm feeling unsure or insecure I ask myself, 'What would an assertive (self-confident) person do?'  This question to myself always makes me grin and also usually gives me an answer appropriate to the situation. 

[Leslie and Halas]

It sounds like she was just mad because you don't agree with her philosophy that a dog should stay outside, and therefore didn't want her to dog-sit. I think most of us here on DK think of our doods as members of the family, not just an object that we keep outside.  So if the trainer thinks a dog should be kept outside, her training goals are probably not the same as yours anyway.  If you're like me, you want Jack to be a well-behaved member of the family and your household - a dog that you can have around all kinds of people in all kinds of situations, a dog that spends most of his time in the house, a dog that will sit and come when you ask him, and not jump on people, etc.  Basically a dog that will be well-behaved, considering that he lives inside your house - a dog that is easy to live with.  If you train a dog with the idea that he will be outside all of the time, I would think your training goals would be different.  Not to mention the fact that you probably aren't devoting a ton of time to training a dog that is outside all of the time while you're inside.  How are you supposed to create a bond that way? 

Sorry, I was kind of ranting there.  I think you are right to be upset, and I would leave that trainer and get my money back.  And I think Jack growling once or twice at another dog to tell that dog to back off is OK.

[cheryl & oliver]

Well she is lucky that I wasn't in that class, she would have gotten a good reprimand from me, a squirt in the face and a a smack on the nose, with that I would have called her a jerk, and then told everyone else, if that is the way she trains, we all better leave now!!!..And then I would have left, immediately!!!..I would report her to whoever runs this program, she is not a good trainor, well not in my eyes at least....

[Ginny Nightingale]

I agree with everything that has been said and feel terrible for you--my trainer is the most positive person I know and we all leave feeling as though we (dog included) are brilliant! I only want to add that this person was probably angry at you for what you said about the dogsitting and took it out on you and the dog. Not that that is an excuse--on the contrary, it is inexcusable!! Last night at the 4th week of my puppy class, three of the 6 people there were unprepared and had not done the "homework training" with their dog--it was annoying, but my trainer just smiled right through it, keeping everyone at ease.

I once had a trainer when I had a Wheaten that told me that my dog was untrainable (because he was a terrier--no other reason) and that he failed beginners. I quit trying right then and there and considered myself to be a failure too--what a mistake I made and I wasted all those years thinking I couldn't do it right. I am so glad I tried again with my doodles and someone new!

Change trainers!!

[Molly Doodle Went to Town]

Don't beat yourself up over this; just don't return. It's hard to figure out the right thing to right in the moment, and you do trust that someone who claims to be a professional in the field would know what she's doing.  But you have found out that she is cruel and irrational, so you'll do Jack a favor by staying away from her.  Through all my years of having dogs and being around dog people, I have met many wonderful people--vets and trainers and rescue people--who just adore animals and treat them magnificently. I have also encountered, unfortunately, a good number of people like this trainer who don't seem to really love the animals but are in this role for the control they can have over a defenseless creature.  When we were looking for a dog a few years ago, there were quite a few people we ran into who operated rescue shelters who were just downright nasty. It was almost as though they didn't even want to place the dogs but they just wanted to see people grovel and turn them down. 

 

I'm just sorry for you and Jack that you had to encounter one of the cruel people who claim to be animal lovers!

 

[Kathie and the gang]

A new trainer should be the first order of business. This is not anyone I would have working with my dogs. My two cents

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Karen, you hit that right.  There is only one jerk in that story and it isn't Jennifer or Jack.