Just ranting about my Petco trainer

[faithoverfear]

I’m probably being over dramatic, but I had my first session with my Petco trainer and she is mildly annoying, like she’ll chastise me things that I didn’t even do or mention.

Here’s the three times that annoyed me:

1. I was in the store and there was a dog that my puppy was about 8 feet away from, and I said to my very excited puppy “oo you wanna say hi so bad!” (But I didn’t even attempt to approach them and just stood there) and the trainer ran up to me and said “NO we never have them meet nose to nose, we DONT do that” I was like ?? Wtf lady she isn’t even close to them, I didn’t even move from my spot.
2. When she asked about potty training, I told her that she’s good about immediately going potty outside and knows that’s when she needs to go potty, but there are occasions where she will pee on the floor due to her vaginitis. She immediately said “well if she still has accidents inside then she doesn’t actually know!” She literally has a medical issue, even the vet said she’ll have accidents until her first heat cycle since she physically and hold it (I even told her this)
3. When my puppy was running around I was like “I’m glad she’s not a big dog, that energy would be too much” and she said “WeLl SmAlL dOgS nEeD tO bE hElD tO tHe SaMe StAnDaRd” like I never said they didn’t

Okay I’m done, rant over. I’m just irritated and need to tell someone. I also can’t get my money back since it’s already paid

Edit:. I’d also like to mention that she gave her so many treats she threw up and she wouldn’t let me give her any water

 

[elizabethcall]

@faithoverfear The trainer is probably thinking she is being proactive / helpful, but instead comes off as condescending. Sadly, people skills and knowing how to not offend people is a huge part in being a dog trainer and a lot of people don’t… actually… know how to catch on to this.

I would just keep the peace until the class is over - it sounds like the trainer wants the dog’s best interest but sucks at communicating in a friendly manner that isn’t condescending to the owner.

 

[jvision]

@elizabethcall Yeah, when I read OP's points I was like:

1. being proactive

2. not cool, sounds like OP has a point

3. I bet the trainer sees many people that think small dogs need zero exercise and heard this coming from OP.

All in all, only point 2 seemed founded, otherwise it sounds like OP is being a tad sensitive. The trainer probably should and def could communicate better with a less accusatory tone, but OP is probably paying the minimum price as far as dog trainers go, so there is the element of you get what you paid for.

So I second following through with the training and try to filter out her tone. Then leave a review and/or write an email about your experience.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@elizabethcall Some people need to be told this actually. Obviously I don’t know this trainer but I’ve known a few people who I’ve been like wow this person is an asshole and when I let them know the way they come off the most common reaction I got was shock and embarrassment. Not all the time lol sometimes people know and are happy being dickwads

 

[faithoverfear]

@elizabethcall I think so too, but as the customer it’s a bit asinine

 

[godsdaughter50]

@faithoverfear I think the trainer was probably right on most points but hasn't learned the art of communication. They forget positive reinforcement also works on people too.

 

[stripe]

@godsdaughter50 Yes. My trainer was great at training me. She would start class with reviewing (and testing) past lessons and commands with the dogs, telling us personally the things we need to improve with, then teach us whatever was new that week and then praise us and our dogs for what we were best at. She listened to us and we listened to her. She introduced new things, reinforced the things we knew and then we played games with the dogs with the commands and other things we learned as a group with all the dogs.

Only thing I have ever ignored her on was not letting my dog on the bed with me, I chose to let me dog sleep up in the bed with me.

I’m still in contact with her today and did a few independent lessons with her about my new puppy this past year.

 

[h0peful4change]

@faithoverfear I had an obnoxious pet store trainer who rubbed me the wrong way too - I basically just took the training tips from her and then shit-talked her with my husband in the car on the way home That being said, we’re looking into secondary training classes bc I think this lady was a fine enough start but a bit too surface level. That type of class worked for my older dog but isn’t for everyone/every dog. You’re not alone, good luck!

 

[raw83]

@h0peful4change Same! Our pet store trainer came off condescending the majority of the time but seemed to truly want what's best for us and our dog. We applied what we learned from the class but still talked shit all the way home lol

 

[eerrr1]

@faithoverfear I think her intentions are good and I could probably go through each one of your points and explain why she would say what she said. The beauty of the training world is that there are all different type of trainers. If you don’t like one, you can move on to another one. If your dog is progressing in class, I would say stick it out til the sessions are over.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@faithoverfear Peter/petsmart trainers are to dog training as security guards on empty construction sites during 3rd shift are police.
They aren’t, they’re stoned teenagers, or worse.
That’s not to say they can’t offer helpful information, but this women seems like she’s far more interested in convincing you (and herself) that she knows what she’s doing, instead of doing what she should be doing well.

 

[cinderedsoul]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Yessss And the bit about feeding treats to the point of vomiting is just so indicative of that.

 

[fliphkd06]

@imagebeastmarkbeast That is absolutely an incorrect, unfair brush to paint retail-based trainers with.

There are plenty of Petco/Petsmart trainers who are experienced but choose to work in that environment because of the guaranteed pay/clientele/health benefits -- or because they just don't care for the hassle of running a small business themselves, and ready opportunities for trainers outside of those two avenues are limited. There are also many who do it as a second job, because their other training gigs alone don't cover the bills.

Regardless, can we stop with this "stoned teenager" nonsense? It's really unfair to act like teenagers are stupid, drug-addled, or don't care about their jobs just because they're teens. It's talk like this that convinces the public that people who do jobs but just happen to be young don't deserve to be paid fairly, despite being expected to do the same amount of work as someone older.

 

[mart1994]

@faithoverfear Like anything else it all depends on the location/trainer. I have 2 of my dogs currently training at Petco and I love our trainer. She emails me during the week asking about how the homework is going etc. I can't say enough about her...
Luckily I'm in a rural area so it's not too busy, 1 of my dogs is all alone in class and my other only has 1 other dog.

My office manager took her pup to Petco in metro Boston area and had a terrible experience because they had so many other dogs there, she said it was a waste of her money.

 

[laurie4321]

@mart1994 Same. I'm also in a rural area so Petco was basically the only option but our trainer has been great. The first puppy class was just one other dog so it was basically like private lessons (and the two dogs are now best friends).

 

[milos]

@faithoverfear Petco trainers or any of the other pet smart trainers are a bunch of baloney. You are not getting your moneys worth at all, higher a professional trainer that has experience and the know how. Look in your local area for puppy classes that a company that’s specifically geared to training dogs. You’ll definitely be treated better and have more success, because these Petco trainers get paid either way. Professional trainers get paid by the success of your dog getting trained.

 

[ronaldfbarry]

@milos I have to say the trainer at the petco i went to was. Amazing. I should find her name. She was so smart and handled everything so well and she changed how i train my animals -and deal with people and kids. I got hella lucky

 

[milos]

@ronaldfbarry Very lucky

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@milos I wouldn't disregard all Petco/petsmart trainers but you're definitely not entirely wrong. There are trainers out there working at those shitty stores that are actually quite experienced. Usually they work at petsmart/Petco for the job security even though that is still not great.

For reference, my mom is a petsmart trainer. She has 30 years of experience and has been deeply involved in the dog world for just as long. She's legit (I know, im biased).

I tried telling her that she could have a much better job at a non-corporate training facility but it really is a gamble sometimes. I've definitely passed up training jobs that had some red flags during the hiring process.

She HATES petsmart with a burning passion but won't leave because she's close to retiring and she has decent job security. Her store is the best one in the area, by petsmart standards lol.

That being said, she regularly gets clients from other petsmarts in the area. I guess one particular store had a trainer that used pretty heavy positive punishment and was actually scaring his customers, as well as just generally being creepy towards female clients.

I guess my point is that some Petco/petsmart trainers are actually legit and only work there because its a last resort/fallback job. But you aren't wrong, a lot of them are not legit at all.

 

[fliphkd06]

@imagebeastmarkbeast I agree with this. Many experienced and dog trainers (and groomers) work at Petco/Petsmart because of the job security and benefits... and because working for a private facility/salon can be a huge gamble in terms of how it's run (and whether it can survive at all).

The environment is a typical retail environment, which is pretty awful, but I've seen my fair share of private facilities that are run by crazy people who are nightmares to work with/for and may not even cough up your paycheck on time.

Obviously there are bad trainers/groomers at these places, too... but there are also awful ones in private facilities.