What's with the dog attacks?

[lengel]

Originally Posted by moondog

Whether the instructor is right or wrong in her assessment, I think you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself....for your dog's sake.

Welcome to real life!

Getting past anger and disappointment is a process - for me it usually takes more than a couple of days. It is difficult to realize after two years of using a training facility that they do not adhere to any kind of policy on aggressive dogs. This is not the first time and I'm working my way out of being a doormat about the whole thing. Also, we stayed for the class so that Zo would learn to take things like this in stride. I was certain that following up afterward would restore my faith in the facility. This was not the case so now I am well and truly po'd.

In the meantime, I have brand new fencing for my chickens who are coming in on Saturday and have calls out to other training facilities to see where Zo would fall on their obedience training levels. Hopefully there won't be too much of a hitch in her schedule. I had hoped to get her into therapy training by May but oh well.

[Marcino]

Originally Posted by OnyxGold1

Personally I would be looking for both a new place for obedience....where the instructor actually was supervising and monitoring her charges as well as a new place for Agility.....both for the same reason.

Plus is just somewhat seems to me that if there are 25 other dogs in your girls obedience class then there is no way for the instructor to offer individual assist with something that your dog might be slow at picking up or issues you may be having......I think I would look for a new trainer that offered smaller classes with the potential of more one on one assistance.

JMO....glad your dogs are okay!!
Heather Peters

I second that... 25 others is just too much. Our agility class has 8 participants... and I find that we do not always get the personalized attention. You should look for an alternative place. We have 2 classes left and we are looking elsewhere...

[DomAndCats Dad]

Originally Posted by Marcino

I second that... 25 others is just too much. Our agility class has 8 participants... and I find that we do not always get the personalized attention. You should look for an alternative place. We have 2 classes left and we are looking elsewhere...

We're starting training this weekend and the woman I chose only does one family at a time and she brings her most well trained dogs and her husband so the pups can be socialized, but she can control her dogs if they start to get to rough with my pups

[lengel]

Found a really great new facility today. They do therapy dog training there as well so we can just segue into it after Zo's obedience classes. Silver lining, I think.

[lengel]

We were asked to return to the class on the condition that the issues with the dog who attacked Zooey would be addressed. After much discussion, DH and I decided to return with Zo in the car while we evaluated the situation.

I'm so glad that we went. I couldn't have guessed how people would have reacted and now I know.

Only a third of the original class showed up.

Everyone asked how Zo was doing. When I said before class that the other dog's issues were being addressed but I didn't know if he would be returning, the owners of a shihtzu looked like they would bolt.

All but two of the dogs who returned were either toy dogs or puppies from our puppy kindergarten class. It seems that the big dog owners concluded that their dogs might suddenly attack a puppy or small dog? This made me very very sad. I had thought that the trainer's remarks had people thinking that Zo was at fault because she was a puppy.

One of the two big dog owners who showed up basically told the trainer where to get off. The trainer asked one if his mom (who had had another big dog in the class) would be there tonight and he said "She's not coming back" while backing his dog into a corner. The woman who had a Pomeranian carried her around as if she needed to protect her at all times. Again, very very sad.

PS The trainer asked about Zooey and pronounced her name correctly for the first time.

We start at our new facility mid-May.