Ellie's Fifth Rally Class--I AM SO MAD!!! (Long post)

I am by no means a professional dog trainer but I AM a trainer for my club and my actions in class reflect on me AND the club in general. I do my best to remain professional. The photo session seemed more important to her than her class. If that was the case, she should have cancelled the class and refunded the money for that 1 class day or extended the session another week. I would have spoke up about that early in the night because I'm not paying for her to ignore me for dog picture.

As far as the Rottie is concerned, I'm glad Ellie looked to you for protection rather than reacting. That dog should NOT have been allowed to continue in the class or, at the very least, the instructor should have insisted the handler keep the dog away from others.

I'm VERY glad you told that woman off. I really do hope she opens her eyes to reality before someone gets hurt and the dog pays the ultimate price for the handler's desire to remain clueless.



I've had motion reactive dogs in class, most of the time with a handler who doesn't have clue one how to control the dog. I handle it one of two ways depending on how bad it is. (1) I set up a tunnel to divide the room and have the reactive dog work on the far side of the tunnel where it can't see the other does; or (2) I have the handler do a removal technique and take the do out of the room until it calms down. The VERY first thing I teach a dog/handler team like that is "Watch me"/"Look" to try and get the dogs focus on the handler.

I've yet to have to dismiss a dog from class due to reactivity or aggression. Before doing that, I'd ask one of the board members of the club to observe the class to see if anything else can be done. I am on high alert when I have a reactive dog in my classes; always watching out of the corner of my eye.

I teach the Intro to Agility (level 100) class for my club. Everything is on leash work. The class after mine, where contacts and waves are introduced, starts to also introduce some off lead work. I REFUSE to OK a reactive dog into the 101 class because there is NO WAY they can be trusted off leash. I've had students leave and never return because I've recommended they take a step back and take the basic obedience class rather than move forward in agility.

You know what, I'm glad they left. We don't need handlers who really don't care in the club. (With that said, I give kudos to one Mom of a Junior Handler who realized the dog needed an obedience class and, in the 2nd week of this session, switched from my 100 class to the obedience class. The dog is doing very well there and may be back for my 100 class in July.)

 

I my mind, this shouldn't matter one bit. You are paying for a service - a training class. Everyone, member or not, should be treated the same. If anything, knowing you aren't a member they, the whole lot of them, should have really tried to make a good impression on you so you'd consider joining the club also.

Instead, they managed to alienate you and anyone who happen to talk to about this organization. REALLY bad business model, club or not. Its a known fact that someone with a bad experience is going to tell more people than someone with a good experience. That is even more magnified in today's world of instant communication and social networking.

Oh well, their loss all around.

 

Gosh, what's going on?! Is it a full moon or something? What is UP with all the Shelties getting attacked?

I don't buy into the "blame the victim" mentality, either in people or dog parks. This kind of thing is 100% the other dog/owner's fault. I told off the other owner too when Buffy got attacked. I'm not especially proud of this, but honestly, don't let your dog bite my dog or I will want to punch you and/or possibly kick your dog. (Yeah, OK, I'm not very imposing. But I'm scrappy!)

I'm sorry to hear about your class, especially since Ellie was doing so well. But it sounds like the right decision to find another club. Ellie's safety comes first. I don't know if I feel the same way about my class--I thought my instructor handled the situation well and it wasn't especially preventable, even though she assumed responsibility right away. But I (somewhat irrationally, I know) don't know if I want to go back right away. However, I think my current trainer teaches the best classes I have been to and I've been to a variety, including agility, obedience, therapy, and CGC. She's very professional and you really get your money's worth.

But there are a lot of trainers out there and I am sure you can find a class that is right for Ellie. I bet it's good for her to get more positive experiences being around other dogs so she can ignore Evil Neighbor Dog better. BC trainers usually work well for Shelties; there's one around here that I've been meaning to check out.

 

My obedience school is 40 mins from my house worth every minute of drive time. IMHO. I would travel further to go to a place I felt comfortable with. There is a school about 5 minutes from my house and I would not walk across the street to go there.