Okay so a couple weeks ago I went to our local Petco and preregistered for a puppy training class for Saphire and I. I watched the end of a puppy training class in progress, talked with the trainer and discussed how he felt about training a husky. I was happy with all I saw and heard and signed up and put down my $50 deposit.

So last night I got a call from Petco advising me that they had to "let the trainer go and hire a new one." They also told me that because of a scheduling conflict (the trainer's daughter is getting married in FL) the new trainer had to reschedule the class I pre-registered for. They recommended that I come down and meet the new trainer and sign up for a different class.

So I go to Petco and meet the new trainer and she told me a little about her training techniques and philosophy and it sounded pretty good. Then she asked me what kind of dog I have. When I told her I owned a siberian husky this is what she said and I quote:

" I don't know why you are bothering with formal training. Husky's are agressive toward people and other animals and are COMPLETELY untrainable."

Boy was I pissed.

I went straight to the manager and complained and demanded my money back. He gave me my money but agreed that Husky's were untrainable.

So I said you are telling me that they run the Iditarod with "UNTRAINABLE" dogs? Then I walked out.

Bad part is that Petco is the only place in town the offers formal training classes.

So any training advice is welcome. Saphire is house broken, leash and crate trained and knows sit, stay, come, lay down, leave it, drop it, and off. We are still working on down (although its getting better) and we have now added formal "Heel" training and are working on shake and speak.

I would write a letter to PetCo corporate. That's ridiculous and an AWFUL thing to be spreading.

Check out the training threads and read up on Nothing In Life Is Free. You'll be fine

Thats a great idea Tori. I gave the manager a serious piece of my mind before leaving, but maybe I do need to go higher up.


As for the training thats where I have gotten the advice to get as far as I have. But having never taken a formal training class, I am not sure if I am on track or if there is more that I need to be working on. I have been doing lots of research here and on the internet in general but I am just unsure if I am covering everything.

Quote :

So any training advice is welcome. Saphire is house broken, leash and crate trained and knows sit, stay, come, lay down, leave it, drop it, and off. We are still working on down (although its getting better) and we have now added formal "Heel" training and are working on shake and speak.

You'll find loads here. Just check the training forums out and I'm sure most of it has been discussed. If not post your question and people will be more then happy to explain what worked for them.

Based on your list however you are pretty close, if not surpassed intro level training courses already. Depending on the trainer and what they focus on.

You are somewhere around level 2 so to speak where they tend to focus more on the heeling and off leash training. Again every trainer is different.


If you've had dogs before you can get by training yourself... We did all our own training, or retraining, on both Ripley and Tika and they are snotty and try and get away with murder but I like to think they are well behaved and trained well. I've had a dog trainer commend me on how well Tika listens to me.... And he never once added that little jab a lot of other trainers tend to say "For a husky".

I see the classes as more of a socializing event for you and the dogs then actual training personally, but I know a lot of people swear by it and it really really helps them.


In closing, that trainer is a tool and shouldn't be allowed to train anyone's dog... I think they like to play the "aggressive breed" card because of how huskies CAN be stubborn, and they just don't want to put the extra time and effort into the class if that happens to be the case.... Like anything else in life some people just want to breeze by and get rewarded for doing the bare minimum and complain as soon as they think a little resistance is coming their way.

Just my PoV.... But again that trainer is a moron.

~Chris~

Tika wrote:

Based on your list however you are pretty close, if not surpassed intro level training courses already. Depending on the trainer and what they focus on.

You are somewhere around level 2 so to speak where they tend to focus more on the heeling and off leash training. Again every trainer is different.

Thanks Chris. . . I don't really have any specific questions about how to train (I have already gotten a lot of advice here.) But rather, having never taken a formal training class, I am not sure where I am at or where to go from here. But this definitely makes me feel better.

Tika wrote:

In closing, that trainer is a tool and shouldn't be allowed to train anyone's dog... I think they like to play the "aggressive breed" card because of how huskies CAN be stubborn, and they just don't want to put the extra time and effort into the class if that happens to be the case.... Like anything else in life some people just want to breeze by and get rewarded for doing the bare minimum and complain as soon as they think a little resistance is coming their way.

Totally agree here. I'm not opposed to paying for a formal training class. But I WILL NOT pay for a formal training class if the trainer thinks my dog is untrainable. What a waste!

I never went to any formal classes with Kale and he's a gem. Training at home, socializing with other dogs and people of all shapes and sizes, etc. is all I did. From all the commands and such that Saphire already knows, I'd say you are on the right track. At this point socialization and leash/heel training are top priority. When he learned a new trick and does it consistantly then i used to give Kale a few days repreive then start on a mew trick, while still incooperating the old ones so he wouldn't forget them lol

I agree with Tori, contacting corperate is definitely something you should do. That was very rude and extremely unprofessional. Working at a petstore, they should know that breed of dog has little to do with aggressivness, it is how they are raised and treated. The fact that a person with any breed of is willing to go to formal training classes with their dog says a lot about the owner.

Oh my completely untrainable husky, you mean the one that heels, sits, lays down, waits, stays and is learning "come" and the one that is only 5 and 1/2 months old? Or the one who licks everyone who comes in here, that aggressive towards all people husky that I own.

OH BROTHER does this make me mad, as I always say PUNISH THE DEED NOT THE BREED! The idiot probably heard of one aggressive husky and now thinks they all are. You really need to send a complaint letter to whoever owns the company.

I would have said to her, "Oh so you mean you don't have the skills to train an intelligent dog then, ok I'll find someone smarter then!"

I'd be so pissed.

Is the Cheyenne Kennel Club near you? They probably offer classes. http://www.akc.org/club_search/index_master.cfm?action=refresh_index&active_tab_row_A=1&active_tab_col_A=1&fixed_tab=1&club_id=403

https://www.facebook.com/CheyenneKennelClub?ref=ts

You can also ask local vets if there is any dog classes in the area. You never know!

I would gladly send a video of the training Thane and I go through to show those fools that a supposedly "aggressive toward people and other animals and COMPLETELY untrainable dog" can be trained to do anything any other "trainable breed" can do and more. I train Thane with praise, a 6ft leash and a martingale collar and at the age of 4 months he can walk off leash for a few blocks no problem and sit at the snap of my fingers :p

I feel your anger

SaraB wrote:

Is the Cheyenne Kennel Club near you? They probably offer classes. http://www.akc.org/club_search/index_master.cfm?action=refresh_index&active_tab_row_A=1&active_tab_col_A=1&fixed_tab=1&club_id=403

https://www.facebook.com/CheyenneKennelClub?ref=ts

Didn't even know they existed! They don't have a web page other than Facebook and didn't even think to look there! Thanks for the link. I will check it out!

I went through puppy class with petsmart. Well I haven't raised a puppy in a long time. I actually loved my trainer. She now doesn't work there and started her own business.

She said she absolutely loved huskies and malamutes. She said any dog can be trained if you put in the effort.

I am so sorry this happened. I would write a letter like people said. I did the rest of the training myself. I can't believe people like this are in the "dog industry"

Write to corporate, get on their FB page and spread the word!

What a ridiculous thing for the trainer to say.

It sounds like you are doing great with the training anyway. One of the things you would get at a class is some socialization with other dogs, so that might be something you could try to add in. Also, it's harder for dogs to obey commands when there are other distractions around, so you could gradually add distractions by practicing commands in other places than home (e.g. go from in the house to in the yard to in the street outside your house, to somewhere other dogs are around but distant, etc).

I think you are already well on the way to a really well-behaved husky!

This ridiculous. I took Blaze to a beginning training class at PetSmart and the trainer was great.

We are currently take both Blaze and Kerian to a second level class at PetSmart same trainer it is working out great she loves my dogs is real good with them.

Do write the letter to corp. Petco.

I am really wishing we had a PetSmart nearby! Sounds like they have good trainers.

Hey,

First off - the only untrainable beings in your story was the (new) trainer and manager. Definitely get that up the corporate ladder - you're probably not the only person those people inexcusably turned away!

Second, you're doing everything right if your pup is picking up the commands. We did our own training on Stark and at 4 1/2 months he knows Sit, Stay, Play Dead, Stay Dead, Paw, Speak, Quiet, Leave It, Drop It, and Come. All just positive re-enforcement, patience, and lots of treats!


The only thing we were worried about is socialization - honestly, try and find an off-leash dog park and see how he does there... We were worried because Stark didn't have too much contact with other dogs since we were waiting for the vaccines etc, but he did really well (Thank goodness!)

It is amazing what you can do without formal training and you seem to be on the right track! Don't worry about what other people say, do your research, and you will be amazed at what Saphire pulls off.

That's sad. With traineres in petsmarts and petcos you either strike gold or not. Trainers seem to be very hit or miss. 3 trainers from the petsmart near my moms house quit and opened thir own facility where I have taken Mickey with agility classes and Ewe does general OB. I mostly do it with Ewe because he is very reactive on the leash and working in a controlled class environment like that is great for him. I would just bring your pup everywhere you can (such as any restaurants that allow dogs outside or cafes such as Einsteins or Starbucks and work the training there.

I did all training myself with all my dogs and I've found that taking them as many new strate or weird places I possibly could really helped in creating well mannered social dogs.

WOW!

Because of all we had read about Husky's being so smart and stubborn, we asked our breeder on the first day we met her if she thought our puppy was trainable, and without hesitation, she told us, "all dogs are trainable".

Since my husband and I didn't really know the first thing about training our pup on our own, we've been taking our 6 month old puppy to formal training since he was 10 weeks old. Without a doubt, it was the best and smartest decision we made.

We have an incredibly well behaved and loving puppy!

Petco has a questions/comments phone number, I would try and give them a call. You could also try to contact the district manager. Some Petco's will give out the DM's number, some won't.


The number for questions/comments is 888-842-7257

Just an update. I wrote a long letter to Petco Corporate this weekend and mailed it this moring. I chose written because it is a proven fact that written comments are more meaningful to large corporations that telephone complaints. So I guess we just wait and see what happens now.

So just wanted to let everyone know that I received a letter from Petco Corporate yesterday in response to my complaint letter! The letter advises me that they are looking into the situation and will take corrective action and enclosed a $50 Petco gift card and a coupon for 1/2 off the Puppy Training course.

Also found out that the trainer that I originally signed up with at Petco that they had to "let go" is going to be teaching training courses through our local Parks and Rec Department. I'm stopping by the Parks and Rec Dept. Office on my lunch hour today to get more information.

Just goes to show that complaining does work sometimes!

That's awesome they took the time out of their day to try to turn your negative experience into a positive one (well, as positive as you can make a situation someone else made). I will always respect businesses more who respond to their complaints and really try to turn the atmosphere around.

I'm glad you found a way to find the original trainer you were comfortable with!

That's good that it all worked out

As I always say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

That's awesome they "corrected" your negative situation. I feel slightly better about Petsmart, but I think I will still have Juneau trained elsewhere.

Thanks for the post.

That's awesome, glad they did something to correct a bad situation!