1) Trainer was one of the staff, all of 20 yrs old, has only owned a dog 6 months, has no qualifications or experience at all.
Definitely a big 'X' in my opinion too. The trainers at Petsmart had training certificates and a few years training.
2) On arrival all pups are expected to go in an x-pen to 'socialise'. As you can imagine this pen is tiny and pups have no room to get away from one another if needs be. First week there was only a chihuahua so I let Merlin go in. Second week there was a very big and bouncy lab pup (utterly gorgeous :wink: ) He pretty much filled the pen by himself, Merlin was completely happy with him as he 'gets' labs, but another pup could be intimidated and scared. Not a good thing for socialisation.
Another big X. The puppies in the Petsmart puppy class socialized at the end of class when they weren't as excited and full of energy so less chance of hurting each other. They were also closely monitored and weren't all put together at the same time. Pups were matched up according to size weight and temperament to avoid bad experiences, it wasn't just a free for all.
3) When trainer discovered Merlin did not pull on the lead, he wanted to set him up in a situation that would cause him to pull so he could show me how to correct it. I politely refused.
Not unheard of. My trainer often does this so we can learn how to correct them. But keep in mind that my trainer uses strictly positive re-enforcement, so their rewarded for the correction (I can explain more if you want to PM me). If you were uncomfortable with what the person wanted to do with Merlin then you were right to say no. Good for you!
4) First 1hr+ session was entirely devoted to recall training! Not only was it monotonous for owners, but incredibly tiring for the pups. I again withdrew Merlin when I felt he was getting too tired from the exercises. (By this point I was getting a little unpopular :wink: )
MUCH too long for puppies, again, good job following your instincts. 
5) The sessions were far too long, expected too much, didn't take account of the pups' ages and didn't allow breaks for rest.
An hour is often too long for a puppy, let along more than an hour. Sadie and Ginny couldn't train for more than 45 min. and never for 5-10 minutes at a time, so they got lots of breaks.
6) I was told there would be clicker training. I brought my clicker and have be using it from the start. On the second session the 'trainer' appeared and asked me how I used the clicker. A bit stunned, I explained, he stated;
"That's not how I use it. My dog sits when I click it."
So he used it as a command, rather than a reinforcement marker :? What a waste of a clicker. He then wanted to try it on a rottie pup. I loaned him my spare clicker and off he went. I listened to him for a while, after 2 or 3 minutes he returned and gave it back.
"Didn't work." He stated - no of course not he hadn't primed it or anything!
I'm lost for words on this one. I can tell you I was in a similar problem with a calculus teacher when I was taking night school in college. I actually had to tell the teacher how to do a problem, because he couldn't. And I am NOT overly good at math. Myself as well as someone else put in complaints and had the teacher removed.
7) A serious concern was that the shop is open at all times during the lessons and pups are loose in the store. I did not know this at the start and thought the shop would be shut (The lessons are 6.30pm). The lab pup nearly escaped out the doors and into the busy car park!
WOW! That is terrible! Our classes were always closed off.
8) Pups are forced to progress too fast. I feel partially responsible as I have done some pre-training with Merlin so he looks good, especially at hide and seek recalls. The trainer then moved dogs onto hide-and-seek with distractions, fine for Merlin, but the rottie pup hadn't mastered a basic recall so this was of course a failure. Pups were effectively being set up to fail through inexperience.
Thats what I thought. Recalls are usually something you learn toward the end of the course when they've mastered more basic skills like sit, lie down, manners, leash training, etc. Just these things take approx. 6 weeks! Hide and seek is too much for a first class, let alone with distractions!
9) By the second session owners were asking
me how to train their dogs because I appeared more knowledgeable than the trainer, particularly when it came to the clicker!
Sounds like my calculus class!
10) Sadly pups with behavioral issues where being brought to the classes and serious damage could be caused by the inexperienced and ignorant handling they were receiving.
Yup
So do I complain?
- Do you really need to ask after making all of those negative points? 
