Simply Grand Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 mm I LOVE your responses!! Sooo awesome! Yay Benny doing a drop stay, that is very impressive, what a way to shut up the dumb woman! Gotta love those "smart ass puppies" (insert eye roll). What a shame you got stuck with this class I wish you could have had a better experience but I actually think you handled it great and it will help you feel confident in your abilities as you go on with Benny. See if you can find a GOOD training club to continue obedience with, I reckon you would both love it! And I agree, complain to the practice manager, in a calm and reasonable way, hopefully they will try to improve and not cause more problems for people who don't know any better (like people who feed their puppies hot dogs and fatty BBQ chooks - so hoping not bones and all). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Do not return..and send a factual calm email detailing much of what you have posted here , to teh practice manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I agree that she sounds like a goose, but also think ti would have been wrong of her to reprimand any other owners in front of the class. They shuold be pulled aside at the end for friendly chat and alternative suggestions - you only get people offside if you question what they are doing in public. Your little dog sounds gorgeous, I wouldn't be worried about him. My little Pug pup did not leave my feet for the entire 5 lessons of PPS and he growled at the other pups when they came near him. Trainer was great though, I'm surprised we got our little certificates at the end as Alvin put on the brakes and would not do one thing for us He's perfectly normal (outgoing/psycho) at other times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 See if you can find some dogs in your area to socialize him with and complain to the vet manager (by letter or email if youre a wuss like me and forget things if you complain face to face). Poms are smart little monkeys, you're better off waiting until he's over 16 weeks and taking him to a proper obedience school with proper trainers or doing it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Double post Edited January 10, 2012 by donatella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Wow - I am shocked with your experience. I know some places would be average - but this is pretty bad. I am confused as to why the vet nurse thinks the pups would be able to do a sit stay on the 2nd week. Alot of people go to these classes to learn this!! There are so many vets, pet stores and the like running puppy preschools for very young pups these days. People presume the trainers have some experience, but it seems this is not the case. I am alittle dubious about some of them as they take the pups from 8 weeks, so they have not had all their vacinations. I knew someone who was taking their pup to one at a pet store. I encouraged them to ask about where it was being held as this store allows shoppers to bring their dogs into the store. It seems you know how to train your dog so I think you would be better off orgaising play dates for your puppy if you have a suitable pup you can meet up with. I would suggest you book into an obedience club for the beginner/basic obedience class. They usually take pups at 16 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lavendergirl Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I would find it very difficult to stand by and watch someone punch a dog - and for the facilitator to not say anything is beyond belief! At the very least she should have had a word with them in private - they should have some basic training in how to deal with these situations of abusive owners. It sounds like absolute chaos and I certainly would not be returning and would put through a written complaint outlining the reasons why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 That was appalling. Definitely complain, the owner of the practice needs to know what dangerous idiots are running his PPS. I've taken my last 2 puppies to a friend's puppy classes which she runs at 2 vet practices. She's not a vet nurse but a CertIV Delta Society accredited dog trainer. Positive dog training was explained & after showing each exercise the puppies had a turn one at a time. From week 2 only 2 pups at a time were allowed off lead to explore the room & each other if they wished. She would asses which pups to let off together. The usual things were discussed like feeding, suitable toys, worming & vaccinations. Maybe give Jean's puppy pre-school a try. http://www.jeanspuppypreschool.com.au/54966/html/page.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupaDupa Mini Cooper Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I knew someone who was taking their pup to one at a pet store. I encouraged them to ask about where it was being held as this store allows shoppers to bring their dogs into the store. I am taking Cooper to one such store class, which is held in a special side room (the puppy preschool room). They did have to photocopy a vaccination certificate before we could start (even though some were not fully vaccinated, but I guess you could liken this to human babies... do you stay house-bound until they get their 3rd vaccine at 6mths?). As far as the class goes, a lot of it is information to the owners about how to care for the puppies, and the information they give is good (lots of handouts and they refer to specific information for each of our dog breeds). As to the play side, I have a shy puppy also - the first week Cooper wouldn't come out from under my chair, the second week wasn't much better. They had the big dogs off-leash together then the small dogs off-leash together (there were 3 of each) which worked ok. This last week (after 2 weeks break for xmas/new year) the regular instructor wasn't there and I don't think the fill-in was qualified. She tried to get Cooper to walk down the middle of the 3 big dogs while they were held on leash to the sides which didn't work very well. Also, because the other 2 small dogs were absent, Cooper was the only small dog so he didn't have anyone his size to interact with, so he spent 90% of the time on my lap (despite the regular instructor telling us at the beginning we weren't allowed to hold any dogs) because one of the big dogs kept trying to nip at him. It has taught me that the instruction side is useful, the play side is not-so-great. I will continue with the last 2 sessions (and hope the other little dogs are there too), but I wouldn't bother with a puppy preschool again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerProwler Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Oh Minimiss what a terrible experience! I definitely second (third/fourth?) contacting the practice owner and placing a complaint. We have our first puppy class tonight, so wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pockets Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I used to run puppy pre-school and I would most certainly never push a puppy into a situation, thats just asking for trouble there is nothing wrong with a dog that sits there and watches, nor would I ever be concerned of their was a pup the first couple of weeks who hid under a chair, as long as I saw the pup making progress and that the owners didnt pander to the puppy and pick it up. I also used to let puppies off in small groups, usually based on size, age etc. if it was a pretty calm group then I would allow all the puppies off lead, however some groups were more boistrous, so the play needed to be controlled so that ALL puppies would enjoy and benefit from the sessions Vet nurses dont have to do any training in canine behaviour to be able to work in a vet, nor do they have to do any such training to run a puppy kinder, unfortunatley many think they must be good cause they are a vet nurse I really hope that you can find another puppy preschool, the good thing for you owning such a small breed is that even if he was 16 weeks many other puppy kinders would let you join in even if their cut off was 16 weeks. goodluck finding another one, as the good ones do benefit your puppy and you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimiss Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thank you for your responses! It's made me a little less upset about the situation even though every time I think of it I start feeling angry again . Even though I know Benny is just being sensible by not playing with the larger dogs and staying close to me it still feels so awful having someone be mean to him. (Not to mention witnessing the bogan woman hurt her puppy ) I've seriously had stressful days at work that have made me feel a lot better than that class did. The wine and chocolate for dinner made me feel a little better :p I think the suggestion of writing a letter is a good one, which I may draft up something tonight to post. I wont be signing my name off on it, as it would make for some very awkward moments when I go to the Vet but I will cover all of the points I mentioned in both of my posts. These things anyone could have / would have seen. I'm also going to call up to remove Benny and I from the class list to inform them I wasn't to impressed with the class, and I don't think Benny and I are benefiting from the classes. All the puppies are much larger, and the 2 other smaller puppies (Poodle, and a Poodle X Maltese) are so very boisterous which also makes it difficult as there is really no puppy he would feel comfortable with. At least with a written letter, and my phone call, they can put two and two together and assume it was both me, or they can assume it was 2 separate people. I think this way may gain more attention than just one method of complaint. I'm not sure if I'll go ahead and look for alternative classes as the training part we're doing fine, it really was just for the social aspect which like many have said it would probably be more beneficial to set up playdates with similar sized dogs with similar personalities. I really hope DOLers reading my rants aren't put off and do go on to find wonderful classes AND trainers . I'm definitely sure they're out there (somewhere ) - Just do the reasearch and make sure you're happy, and your puppy is happy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerProwler Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thank you for your responses! It's made me a little less upset about the situation even though every time I think of it I start feeling angry again . Even though I know Benny is just being sensible by not playing with the larger dogs and staying close to me it still feels so awful having someone be mean to him. (Not to mention witnessing the bogan woman hurt her puppy ) I've seriously had stressful days at work that have made me feel a lot better than that class did. The wine and chocolate for dinner made me feel a little better :p I think the suggestion of writing a letter is a good one, which I may draft up something tonight to post. I wont be signing my name off on it, as it would make for some very awkward moments when I go to the Vet but I will cover all of the points I mentioned in both of my posts. These things anyone could have / would have seen. I'm also going to call up to remove Benny and I from the class list to inform them I wasn't to impressed with the class, and I don't think Benny and I are benefiting from the classes. All the puppies are much larger, and the 2 other smaller puppies (Poodle, and a Poodle X Maltese) are so very boisterous which also makes it difficult as there is really no puppy he would feel comfortable with. At least with a written letter, and my phone call, they can put two and two together and assume it was both me, or they can assume it was 2 separate people. I think this way may gain more attention than just one method of complaint. I'm not sure if I'll go ahead and look for alternative classes as the training part we're doing fine, it really was just for the social aspect which like many have said it would probably be more beneficial to set up playdates with similar sized dogs with similar personalities. I really hope DOLers reading my rants aren't put off and do go on to find wonderful classes AND trainers . I'm definitely sure they're out there (somewhere ) - Just do the reasearch and make sure you're happy, and your puppy is happy too. Glad to see you're feeling a little bit better today, and it definitely seems like you're making the right choice for Benny (who looks absolutely adorable BTW)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavstar Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 OMG!! That is just terrible! I personally would phone the practice manager to complain & also ask for a refund & then put it all in writing. We goto puppy preschool at the RSPCA & although I've only been to one session I couldn't fault it. All the dogs were on leads & she said that next week they can come off to play with similar size dogs in a sectioned off area with the owners in there as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimiss Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thank you for your responses! It's made me a little less upset about the situation even though every time I think of it I start feeling angry again . Even though I know Benny is just being sensible by not playing with the larger dogs and staying close to me it still feels so awful having someone be mean to him. (Not to mention witnessing the bogan woman hurt her puppy ) I've seriously had stressful days at work that have made me feel a lot better than that class did. The wine and chocolate for dinner made me feel a little better :p I think the suggestion of writing a letter is a good one, which I may draft up something tonight to post. I wont be signing my name off on it, as it would make for some very awkward moments when I go to the Vet but I will cover all of the points I mentioned in both of my posts. These things anyone could have / would have seen. I'm also going to call up to remove Benny and I from the class list to inform them I wasn't to impressed with the class, and I don't think Benny and I are benefiting from the classes. All the puppies are much larger, and the 2 other smaller puppies (Poodle, and a Poodle X Maltese) are so very boisterous which also makes it difficult as there is really no puppy he would feel comfortable with. At least with a written letter, and my phone call, they can put two and two together and assume it was both me, or they can assume it was 2 separate people. I think this way may gain more attention than just one method of complaint. I'm not sure if I'll go ahead and look for alternative classes as the training part we're doing fine, it really was just for the social aspect which like many have said it would probably be more beneficial to set up playdates with similar sized dogs with similar personalities. I really hope DOLers reading my rants aren't put off and do go on to find wonderful classes AND trainers . I'm definitely sure they're out there (somewhere ) - Just do the reasearch and make sure you're happy, and your puppy is happy too. Glad to see you're feeling a little bit better today, and it definitely seems like you're making the right choice for Benny (who looks absolutely adorable BTW)! Aw thank you he really is my little bestie! Your little one is just simply gorgeous too.. Did you have any luck with your puppy preschool class? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 sounds like a good plan. Being a small dog though it is critical that she meets large, well behaved dogs during her critical development period too. I socialised my little boy with large, calm dogs when he was a pup and he deals well with dogs of all sized - he wasn't fussed by the super-large Black Russian Terrier that now frequents our park, or the two newfies or the great dane. The vast majority of dogs (even the not-so-small labs) went absolutely nuts though. The issue with socialising a small pup with large dogs though is that what many large dog owners believe to be "well behaved" can be very different to what us small dog owners see as well behaved (because of the sheer size difference). Cosmolo from this forum (underdog training) has 4 of the most well behaved large dogs I have met, and one little well behaved cutie. I know that they run puppy classes in a few locations and bring some of thier dogs with them. They're on holiday at the moment but it may be worth finding out when they're running their next class so that your pup can meet some calm, very well behaved big dogs? Alternatively, you could arrange a private class and do a meet and greet - well worth the cost in my view. Even my crazy, I-hate-dogs-in-my-face reactive girl looooves Cosmolo's dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I think the suggestion of writing a letter is a good one, which I may draft up something tonight to post. I wont be signing my name off on it, as it would make for some very awkward moments when I go to the Vet but I will cover all of the points I mentioned in both of my posts. Good on you for being proactive and providing constructive feedback to the surgery. Can I suggest you do provide your name though, as they may very well want to reply and thank you for letting them know! It sounds like they've already spoken about the 'shy' puppy so will probably know its you anyway. If you keep your letter matter of fact and give examples of what you thought they could have done better, and a compliment if they do something well, there should be no reason they would ever treat you differently. Some people give feedback by walking, so they're lucky you're going to the trouble of letting them know you weren't happy with their service. I work with someone who once had an argument with a Vet's practice manager over a bill (the Vet told her one amount but she was charged $200 more after the work was done). She paid in shock but after ringing to let them know she wasn't happy she got a refund and an apology from the Vet. She told me she doesn't care if they don't like her, she likes the Vet and she'll be returning anwyay! :D Good luck with your puppy, its scary when a person attending lessons knows more than the instructor! Its a shame because those lessons could be setting a new puppy owner up for future success with their dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerProwler Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) Thank you for your responses! It's made me a little less upset about the situation even though every time I think of it I start feeling angry again . Even though I know Benny is just being sensible by not playing with the larger dogs and staying close to me it still feels so awful having someone be mean to him. (Not to mention witnessing the bogan woman hurt her puppy ) I've seriously had stressful days at work that have made me feel a lot better than that class did. The wine and chocolate for dinner made me feel a little better :p I think the suggestion of writing a letter is a good one, which I may draft up something tonight to post. I wont be signing my name off on it, as it would make for some very awkward moments when I go to the Vet but I will cover all of the points I mentioned in both of my posts. These things anyone could have / would have seen. I'm also going to call up to remove Benny and I from the class list to inform them I wasn't to impressed with the class, and I don't think Benny and I are benefiting from the classes. All the puppies are much larger, and the 2 other smaller puppies (Poodle, and a Poodle X Maltese) are so very boisterous which also makes it difficult as there is really no puppy he would feel comfortable with. At least with a written letter, and my phone call, they can put two and two together and assume it was both me, or they can assume it was 2 separate people. I think this way may gain more attention than just one method of complaint. I'm not sure if I'll go ahead and look for alternative classes as the training part we're doing fine, it really was just for the social aspect which like many have said it would probably be more beneficial to set up playdates with similar sized dogs with similar personalities. I really hope DOLers reading my rants aren't put off and do go on to find wonderful classes AND trainers . I'm definitely sure they're out there (somewhere ) - Just do the reasearch and make sure you're happy, and your puppy is happy too. Glad to see you're feeling a little bit better today, and it definitely seems like you're making the right choice for Benny (who looks absolutely adorable BTW)! Aw thank you he really is my little bestie! Your little one is just simply gorgeous too.. Did you have any luck with your puppy preschool class? Thank you! And thankfully we had a great time. The vet down here actually had a dog trainer come in to do the puppy classes and she was really informative! I think she said she used to breed and show, but I didn't get a chance to ask her about it after class. We had a really big class though, 10 dogs - but they were originally expecting 12 A litter of 6 Golden Retriever x Lab's, A male "Border Collie x Staffy", A Mini Schnauzer, The tiniest little Cav, and Onyx! We didnt get a chance to do anything offlead with all of the boisterous GR's, she's going to attempt that next week. Edited January 12, 2012 by FlowerProwler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 How many handlers did they have with the litter. That sounds pretty crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerProwler Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 All bar one of the dogs had 2 people there. It was mayhem at some points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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