Petsmart classes raising my blood pressure

[beanieweenie628]

We got our 5 month old Goldendoodle into puppy class and tonight was our fourth week.

Every week I leave that store sweaty, aggravated and stressed out. My dog is great, she’s smart, sweet, silly, (too) friendly...but holy hell she’s so obnoxious in class. She L O V E S other dogs and people.

My boyfriend and I started training when we brought her home at 8 weeks. She’s really good with the basics and we’ve worked on our own “language”. She’s beginning to walk nice on leash. It works for us. All of that goes out the window the moment we enter the parking lot. She’s so distracted between strangers giving her attention and the other puppies, I feel like we don’t accomplish much.

The trainer is borderline rude and it mortifies me while she calls out my dogs behavior in front of the class. We know. My dog can’t keep her shit together. She jumps and we are working on it with “off” and sit”. Tonight the trainer lets my dog jump all over her while she’s rattling off all the reasons why she shouldn’t jump. This distracted the dog to the point where she didn’t sit at all. I felt my eye start to twitch.

I’ve heard good things about Petsmart classes and liked it was within budget, but I feel like this is draining all my patience and energy.

 

[dizredux]

@beanieweenie628 The unfortunate reality is that not every Petsmart is going to have the same instructor. And just because someone has the credentials to teach doesn't mean they ought to. It's a shame that your instructor belittles you and makes you feel bad about your training - that's unprofessional and unproductive at best.

A few options you have:

- If you're really annoyed with the class and don't feel like you get any value out of it, then cut your losses and don't go. Why would you pay $20/hr for someone to make you upset? There are more than enough resources online to help you train your dog.

- If there are parts of the class you enjoy, maybe you can just go for those parts?

- Put in the homework to make your puppy classes more productive and enjoyable.

The third option will consist of lots and lots of trips to Petsmart, even when you don't have class to help desensitize your pup to being there so it's less of an event. Watch some videos about capturing calm and work on adding a cue to it to help your pup focus and settle in class. Also make sure you're not just training at home - you have to add distractions at some point. Start small, and work your way up, adjusting your expectations accordingly.

Take note of what things really trigger your pup and spend some extra time working on those things. If your pup gets really crazy outside, then start with working next to the front door, and then just outside the door, then 10 feet from the door, then on the sidewalk, then in the grass, etc. etc. Each time you increase the distraction level, expect your pup to regress a bit, but don't move on to a higher distraction level until they're doing well at the current one. And reward OFTEN for every little thing you like, even if it isn't perfect.

 

[beanieweenie628]

@dizredux All of these suggestions are great, thank you!

 

[jlsmrs]

@beanieweenie628 Honestly, we are doing most of our training at home already. I’m using the Petsmart classes for socialization purposes. Our pup will start in about three weeks, but she already knows sit and down and we are working on stay.

Probably we will seek out a different training professional for more advanced work because I’d like to do volunteer therapy dog work with her.

 

[beanieweenie628]

@jlsmrs Socialization was my main reason for the class, but there is virtually zero. We’re all in our own taped off covid corners. She already knows much of what they teach. If your pup is going to work on therapy training I would totally bypass any pet store puppy classes.

 

[candice456]

@beanieweenie628 I’m sorry to hear this, we love our petsmart trainer. There’s no reason you should have to post about this for advice; the trainer should be there to help you with these exact issues. It’s what you’re paying them for. Is it possible to switch classes? I suppose you’re almost done with the class if you’re at week 4 tho.. If you’re unsatisfied I would talk to management.

 

[beanieweenie628]

@candice456 Thank you. I can’t completely snark on them because I am learning some valuable things so far. I just feel like it’s a hostile environment with crazy dogs and a snotty trainer. It’s not a total wash, just wish it were going smoother!

 

[loraelise]

@beanieweenie628 Don’t know if this will help but I take SO many treats (like almost an obscene amount but then adjust his other food for the day) to our PetSmart class. To keep my pup quiet and chill any time the trainer is talking I get him to sit and watch me while she talks and give him so many treats for just keeping his attention on me. They do also have to be really top notch and his favourite things to keep him engaged with me.

 

[beanieweenie628]

@loraelise I went through half a bag tonight! I do the same trying to keep her attention, but boyyyy it’s a challenge. I’ll kick it up a notch next week with some turkey or chicken.

 

[loraelise]

@beanieweenie628 I was taking hot dog cut up the first couple of weeks because I thought that would be like a jackpot of high value treat but the trainer had something called “Pure bites” beef liver flavour that my dog was waay more into so now that’s we take. I figure if my treats are as good as hers maybe he’ll pay me more attention.

 

[breelovesgod]

@beanieweenie628 Does your dog like bully sticks? That's one thing that keeps my dog occupied (and away from chewing my hoodie lol) when we're listening to the instructor in class