@faithoverfear You wanna hear about a worse petco trainer? I was 13ish and going with my about 7ish year old heeler. The lady would take my dog each time to use as an example of a bad dog because she refused to listen to her. And with good reason. My dog would jump up to me if asked. Which was fine for me but not for her. We’d had an thing we’d do at the end where we’d swap dogs and work together with one of the others(there were small dogs but she’d always put me with the 100+ lbs dogs that would just drag me around the store while everyone else took pictures) but when I’d go back to my dog, she’d pull and jump in the air from the other person. Trainer didn’t like that so tied her to a post and made me walk up to her and away from her for the whole hour not talking to her or looking at her while she just freaked out trying to figure out what she was supposed to do(because I wasn’t even supposed to reward sitting, just do nothing). And the worse time….she pulled my dog into traffic. She was complaining that a dog should be able to listen to who ever has the leash in any situation and took my dog into the busy road and stood there while cars honked and drove around. She pulled hard away form that lady and the lady PUT HER FACE IN HER FACE and was yelling at her that she was doing bad!!! My dog had her ears pinned back and was glaring hard out of the side of her eye. She was ready for not just a snap but a full on attack because she was so uncomfortable. This was the only bad thing my dad saw with this trainer(cause it was the only time we went outside so he went with me), so he started staying around more during the training and she stopped picking on us. But still petco is the worst. I would say it was just that trainer but about 5 years ago I was there to shop. I was training a service dog at the time(now he’s just a pet because of this) so I was giving him commands, asking for sits at the ends of isles, just very basic things, and one of the worker came up to me and said I couldn’t train him in their store….. I was confused but figured maybe they think I’m trying to promote myself as a trainer and steal their business so just moved on. It made me a little anxious so my blood pressure and heart rate go up…well that’s what he’s tasked trained for and he started alerting me that I needed to sit down. The lady sees him altering(poking my leg while I said yes) and says we have to leave because we’re breaking store policy. I tell her he’s a service dog and he’s just working without me telling him anything and she said it didn’t matter. Only a petco certified trainer can train a dog while on the property…. I put all my stuff down and we left. I called petco corporate, got some heavy Indian accident dude who told me that’s right, that I can’t train my dog while at petco even if he’s a service dog. Called my husband to come get me because at this point I couldn’t drive safely anymore. He was going to sue them for kicking us out but I was way too worked up over it and it wanted it all dropped. Trying to take my dog with me anywhere now gives me too much anxiety because if a store for pets can kick us out, then everywhere else could as well. It’s not too much of a hindrance on my life, I just never leave my house anymore unless a human can go with me.
Just ranting about my Petco trainer
- Thread starter faithoverfear
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@pawel That service dog experience is illegal and your husband would have almost certainly been successful in that lawsuit. I have taken my dogs into pet stores for training a bajillion times with no problems and if I had someone at corporate tell me that I would absolutely be looking for representation. Honestly this is easy money for someone with time on their hands--pass the location onto social media and let someone who enjoys that kind of thing recreate your experience so they can sue on their own behalf.
You WILL get harassed regularly with a service dog though, to some degree in most countries, but the US can be very bad about it. So if confrontation with business owners, managers, or random members of the public make you worse, despite the fact that's it's illegal for anyone to harass you for having a service dog, you probably won't be able to use one.
You can still finish your training, make sure it's properly documented, and use it in places you know won't be a problem, or have someone like your husband who will handle any confrontations for you the first visit. It also will make sure your dog can accompany you when traveling, and not get charged pet cleaning/security deposits or things like that.
You WILL get harassed regularly with a service dog though, to some degree in most countries, but the US can be very bad about it. So if confrontation with business owners, managers, or random members of the public make you worse, despite the fact that's it's illegal for anyone to harass you for having a service dog, you probably won't be able to use one.
You can still finish your training, make sure it's properly documented, and use it in places you know won't be a problem, or have someone like your husband who will handle any confrontations for you the first visit. It also will make sure your dog can accompany you when traveling, and not get charged pet cleaning/security deposits or things like that.
@kittyc Yeah, he had a lawyer on the phone when he picked me up(he had apparently called the store to ask what happened and they told him what I said only they made it sound like I was just wondering around and not shopping while I did it) and he said the lawyer was excited to take the case but again, I gotta avoid stress. Just talking about it gets me a little worked up and after talking to my doctor about it again, we think my condition may worsen if I’m always stressed when I travel with him. I still have my referral paper for him to be a SD but it’s not longer something I consider and if someone asks I’ll tell them he’s retired. I have had to go to stay at a hotel once though since having him retired and there was no issues, people didn’t even ask to see the paper work, so at least we got that.
@faithoverfear If you find the class helpful, keep going. If it's not helpful, take the money loss. Don't go because it's paid. Try a different trainer later and have a good experience. It should be enjoyable for you and your pup. It will not be good if your pup senses anxiety from you during training times.
@faithoverfear Tone is everything in situations like this.
None of these tips would be annoying if they were said in a conversational/instructional way (except the vaginitis one), but no one likes to be scolded.
It's probably hard for trainers because they don't know what you know and don't know, so it's safest to share all of your information. But there's a way to say it that's less abrasive.
For the treats - can you get her to just use your dog's kibble instead? We portion out our dog's food for the day and split it into breakfast , dinner and training 'treats' so she's not overeating. Then we just use high value treats for extra good behaviours/difficult tricks.
None of these tips would be annoying if they were said in a conversational/instructional way (except the vaginitis one), but no one likes to be scolded.
It's probably hard for trainers because they don't know what you know and don't know, so it's safest to share all of your information. But there's a way to say it that's less abrasive.
For the treats - can you get her to just use your dog's kibble instead? We portion out our dog's food for the day and split it into breakfast , dinner and training 'treats' so she's not overeating. Then we just use high value treats for extra good behaviours/difficult tricks.
faithoverfear
New member
@joegar007 So I did bring in her kibble to use instead of treats, but she told me no and that she wants to use her treats instead
@faithoverfear Did she say why? Loads of professional trainers suggest just using some of their kibble for training... If treats are making your dog sick, I would insist on using something her stomach is used to.
faithoverfear
New member
@joegar007 I’m 100% gonna insist on using only her kibble next week when I go
@faithoverfear I guess the one thing is that some dogs need a *higher value* treat than kibbles when they are starting out. This helps them focus on you and see you as more exciting than the other things around. As you bond with their dog and their training improves, you can scale back to kibbles. That's what we did with our dog.
If your dog responds to kibbles, fabulous! Otherwise maybe look into "training treats" they are small, more like kibble sized. I used them for a long time and would break them into quarters so they were even smaller.
If your dog responds to kibbles, fabulous! Otherwise maybe look into "training treats" they are small, more like kibble sized. I used them for a long time and would break them into quarters so they were even smaller.
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@faithoverfear Try getting some of the freeze dried meat treats. They’re single ingredient, making them a safer and healthier choice. I prefer the chicken (if your dog can have it) because it breaks up super small. On top of that, there is always dust at the bottom of the bag. If you sprinkled that onto her kibble and shook it up in a bag, it would turn her kibble into a higher reward treat!
faithoverfear
New member
@joegar007 She also told me I should give her hot dog pieces and string cheese as training treats ?
@faithoverfear Yup I've heard of people using those! But they're not super healthy, so I wouldn't give her too much. My dog gets a LOT of 'treats' while training so if I only used those she'd probably get sick. But as a high value treat mixed in with something healthier it would probably be fine.
My dog is totally happy with her kibble as treats and the occasional regular training treat. She's a little food monster though, so it may be harder with a more discerning dog lol.
(I'm not a dog nutritionist by any means though, so you might want to look more into it!)
My dog is totally happy with her kibble as treats and the occasional regular training treat. She's a little food monster though, so it may be harder with a more discerning dog lol.
(I'm not a dog nutritionist by any means though, so you might want to look more into it!)
orvillejparker
New member
@joegar007 Just adding in here - I used bologna for a bit when I ran out of dog treats and accidentally gave one of my poor babies a mild case of gastritis 
That shit ain’t good for humans or doggos! Stick to the stuff made for dogs (and if you want cheap go to Costco and just cut up the big ones really small. I love Zuke’s but can’t bring myself to pay that price for the amount of training we do)
That shit ain’t good for humans or doggos! Stick to the stuff made for dogs (and if you want cheap go to Costco and just cut up the big ones really small. I love Zuke’s but can’t bring myself to pay that price for the amount of training we do)
frustratedhusband
New member
@orvillejparker It might be because my pup isn't crazy food motivated, she likes it and different treats definitely have different values, but sometimes she'll do something perfectly and I'll give her like one of her better rewards and she'll just be "nah, maybe later" and continue on. But anyway, what I was getting at, my husband and I break the little round zukes into smaller pieces. Again, it might be because she's not that food motivated, but she doesn't really seem to notice the difference between getting half a treat or a whole one. We obviously try to treat a lot more and with high value for things like recall, but for normal training, breaking them into smaller pieces is totally doable.
faithoverfear
New member
@joegar007 Since my dog is a pug, I’m trying to stay away from people food since they usually have sensitive tummies. Which is also why I wanted to use my treats/kibble
@faithoverfear Oh ya, definitely just stick to kibble etc. then. Our dog doesn't have stomach issues, but we still don't give her people food except for small amounts of some fruits and veggies.
That kind of advice would make me question her judgement a bit.. If your dog responds to food that's healthy for her, why on earth would you give her junk that's bad for her?
That kind of advice would make me question her judgement a bit.. If your dog responds to food that's healthy for her, why on earth would you give her junk that's bad for her?
jamesapado
New member
@faithoverfear I’d try to let it roll off as miscommunication: Petco isn’t known as the home of the worlds most experienced or successful dog trainers, instead, it’s a corporate environment that aims to offer a service at the minimum cost to themselves and sell you stuff along the way! Still, lots of good trainers get their experience there!
A while back, someone gave me great advice when I was thinking about not doing in person training classes; the class itself is probably the least important thing about the experience! What matters most is the process of getting ready, driving somewhere, seeing other people and dogs, and training something in a strange new place. The trainer, what you train, kind of important? idk, the skills I most want my dog to learn, like recall and fetch, we aren’t even covering in class!
A while back, someone gave me great advice when I was thinking about not doing in person training classes; the class itself is probably the least important thing about the experience! What matters most is the process of getting ready, driving somewhere, seeing other people and dogs, and training something in a strange new place. The trainer, what you train, kind of important? idk, the skills I most want my dog to learn, like recall and fetch, we aren’t even covering in class!
brotherbeedo15
New member
@faithoverfear The three examples you listed aren't terrible on their own, but I know what it's like when there's countless other subtle jabs and how the people say it that can't be conveyed over text.
However, feeding your dog until they vomit AND refusing water demonstrates their incompetence.
However, feeding your dog until they vomit AND refusing water demonstrates their incompetence.
@faithoverfear I've done training and some trainers like dogs, and some seem to be doing it because they can't do anything else.
The bad ones: Master your dog! That dog doesn't have feelings, it just needs your commands! It must obey instantly!
At my Petco, if you get too much of that, you can wait and switch your money to another class by a different trainer.
Ignoring what you said about a medical problem! I might switch anyway.
The bad ones: Master your dog! That dog doesn't have feelings, it just needs your commands! It must obey instantly!
At my Petco, if you get too much of that, you can wait and switch your money to another class by a different trainer.
Ignoring what you said about a medical problem! I might switch anyway.