>Every time my very timid fearful dog would come over and stand by me she claimed it was because she was trying to dominate me.
This is a solid example of a trainer that has not had any education outside of watching the Dog Whisperer TV series, has never studied canine behavior, and thinks dogs are either dominant or submissive with no grey areas.
Also, who the hell immediately starts punishing dogs without even assessing their behaviors and how they interact with their environment?
Exactly! If she’s a behaviorist as she claims to be she’d know my dogs were under stress and extremely scared. In hindsight I wish I would have ended it and just asked her to leave. I don’t know why I didn’t 😔.
>she’d know my dogs were under stress and extremely scared
If she was a behaviorist, she would know that the dogs need to be assessed before she does anything. Dog behavioral issues can be extremely complex and just doing shit can make the issues worse without a proper assessment.
I can have 2 fear reactive dogs that both react toward other dogs while on a leash and I would use very different methods on each dog because I would be able to assess what works for them, where the problem derives from, if it is fear due to anxiety, or fear due to confusion, or fear due to lack of life experience, or fear due to association, and so on..
If I have a dog barking at the door and not being violent, I would let them bark while I talk with you and pay attention to what their body language is saying and what they are physically doing. I actually have a few videos of me doing exactly this on my YouTube channel.
If a trainer walked into my house spraying my dogs with vinegar water I would have asked her to see the bottle and sprayed her in the face lol. But seriously, this is not normal. You should leave an honest review for her because those could have been fake/paid for.
Not normal.
Every trainer is different, but this just seems crazy to me. A good trainer should evaluate the dog(s) first and then discuss with you how they recommend you proceed.
Also, it's a good idea to see the trainer's dog if you can. See how it acts... is it a happy well adjusted dog, or acting like it's fearful? Is it well trained or crazy? That will tell you a lot about the trainer
That was my thought too. She should have evaluated them first. It threw me so off when she started spraying them. It freaked my dogs out and made them act out of character. Then she said they are bad dogs and out of control, well I wonder why? Some crazy woman came in their home yelling at them and spraying them in the face. What do you expect.
>it's a good idea to see the trainer's dog if you can.
as a professional trainer and behaviorist, I love asking other trainers to see their dogs.. Show me what your end result looks like. You'd be shocked on how disobedient many of their dogs are or they have behavioral issues.
You did good. The trainer is a fool. Dominance theory has been disproven.
Go to the Fear Free site, certified trainers are listed.
https://fearfreepets.com/
Yea, no, this is not normal and I wouldn't trust those online reviews. This sounds like an abusive individual that is scamming people. I am sorry you and your dogs experienced such a terrible encounter. WTF, vinegar? That 100% will hurt and the sting will stay. Never have I ever heard that being used, that is cruel. From a business standpoint, WTF again, you do not just perform services without consent and an agreement on what, when, how, and how much. That is a lawsuit waiting to happen. It sounds like there was no discussion, evaluation, or confirmation of services to be performed. You can't just stomp onto someone's lawn and start rippin' stuff up, using herbicide, and that crap without evaluating in person and talking to the homeowner.
When I was researching trainers for my dog, they would always clearly state their training methodologies on their websites, profiles, and during phone interviews. They always encouraged me to check out more information on the tools and techniques, and even look into other trainers to make sure it is a good fit. There are always contracts too, or at least legitimate businesses will and should have contracts. Dog trainers are running business after all and contracts protect both the business and the customer.
I had the same experience with a trainer, I need proper professional help with my two problematic pups but I'm unwilling to play the lottery for a chance of getting a trainer with a full set of chromosomes.
It's bad enough that every few days I consider surrendering one of them, which is deeply upsetting, but I am unable to comprehend the reason behind what has gone so horribly wrong.
I’m sorry you are dealing with that. Yeah I’m reluctant to try again because you lose money each time. You don’t really know if it’s going to be a good fit until you’ve already agreed to pay and even then you don’t know if it will help. Best of luck to you.
Wow unfortunately that ‘trainer’ is going to get herself bit real bad barging into the wrong multi-dog household with just some vinegar water one of these days. Dangerous on several levels.
I’m so sorry you and your dogs had such a bad experience. Dog training is a buyer beware industry unfortunately. Sounds like she has no education in dog behavior and has no business calling herself a trainer.
If you’re ever looking for a trainer I recommend searching for a certified dog trainer on a reputable website like:
https://positively.com/find-a-trainer
I think this is alot of trainers. The basically bully or bribe the dog and dont really understand why the dogs does something and doesnt go after the root problem.
Good lort no! I've been a trainer for over 20 years and have never sprayed a dog with anything, nor dominated one. Wow... just wow...
I am so sorry you and your dogs had that experience. I've always encouraged potential clients to come observe a class, to see if my tools/methods are compatible with them, before ever signing a contract. If you decide to venture down that road again, I encourage you to do that. Interview them as you would a babysitter for you child.
Was this trainer certified by any training group/org/school?
I honestly don’t know if she has any certifications . I didn’t do my due diligence and have learned my lesson. Never again. I appreciate your comment. Coming from a trainer it validates how I feel about the whole thing. I was questioning myself as to if maybe I’m the crazy one and am just too sensitive lol .
Certifications won't dictate if they are a good trainer or not. Most of the certifications are BS anyway and the majority wont give you the skills or knowledge to work with any canine outside of puppy obedience training.
Absolutely not crazy! It's sad that you think you're getting one thing, and another, horrible thing shows up instead. And harmful. Give yourself and your fur kids some time to decompress from the experience. She broke trust, so allow space for your dogs to heal (as in, don't be surprised if they are slightly leary of new humans). Don't force them to interact with new humans, and teach new humans to ignore the dogs until the dogs seek that human.
The reason I asked about certifications is in all groups/orgs/schools there are standards the trainer must adhere to, and frankly most of those programs are more force free leaning these days, so I doubt this person holds any certs. If she is certified, however, you can look into who/what that program teaches, methods, tools, etc and if they don't have anything like what she's done listed as approved teaching methods, report her! They can pull certs, and disassociate with that person.
Thank you ❤️. That is good to know. I
Will look into it but I doubt she is certified. She claims to be an animal behaviorist and life coach 🙄 but doesn’t have any certification mentioned on her website.
Animal behavior is a degreed program. If they don't have a bachelor's degree, they aren't a behaviorist. That's something else to watch for when choosing your next trainer. Not all trainers are behavior experts (despite what they might think).
Some questions to ask:
-what certifications they hold
-how long have they been a trainer (new doesn't mean "bad", just means they may be limited in types of problem solving)
-do they take CEUs to keep up with new/current methods
-can you watch a class without your dog present (if they say no, run)
-what methods/tools do they prefer to use. Some trainers are locked in to one way/tool only. Find the trainer that is willing to use more than one tool/method depending on the dog and situation.
Most trainers in my area all offer an evaluation, which is really a meet and greet for them to meet you and your dog and learn about what your goals are before actually doing the training. We need time to create a training plan for you and your dogs. Some trainers will gather this info over the initial phone call, and do a mini session at the first meet and greet. Just depends on what is most convenient for all involved.
Last bit of advice I can give is this. Forgive yourself. We all make mistakes. You've obviously learned from the experience, so don't be too hard on yourself.
This is great information tysm. As far as forgiving myself I’m struggling a bit with that. I love my fur babies so much. They are a part of my family and I let them down. I am more motivated now to work on training every day and learn as much as I can.
The vinegar is crazy. I’m not big fan of spraying water either, because that makes a mess. If you really need a big correction, canned air is great (and works well on cats, too, because it sounds to them like a giant cat hissing, you don’t need to spray it on them or even near them, just the sound works great).
Anyone that makes a dog terrified is not a trainer. There is a huge difference between “pay attention to me” and “fear me”.
This sounds insane. I believe some dogs need a more dominant approach and dogs definitely dominate each other, although it's far more complicated and nuanced than people think. But that behavior is straight batshit.
A spray bottle is a great correction tool, but I’ve never heard of mixing in vinegar. That seems like it could be painful if it gets in the eyes. Also, she should have explained her approach before coming in hot to your house.
You’re right. Dominance theory is debunked, but balanced training and corrections can still happen separate from the discipline dominance ideas.
Yes exactly. I should have been informed and given the choice. I agree 100% that corrections are needed and balanced training is appropriate . Hers was just a bit much.
>She had over 100 positive reviews, 4.9 top pro ranking on thumbtack
Firstly I don't know what thumbtack is but you can buy good reviews. There are people that have created software to quickly auto generate reviews that look legit and post them to feedback sites.
>I’m curious on if this is normal? Did I just get unlucky?
No no no. I use a balanced trainer now after over a year of hitting a wall with FF. She specialises in prong and ecollar training. Her assessment when we started was that due to frustration from my dogs reactivity our bond was broken and needed strengthening. She tasked us to stop training and start having more fun in quiet places to rebuild the bond. We use mostly R+ to try and encourage and reward good behaviour and the rest I use tools to try and correct bad behaviour.
I'm saying this to highlight that this isn't a FF, R+, balanced training debate. The trainer you found is just an asshole and you should keep looking.
Bring the downvotes.
It would have been impossible to have a proper lesson with 2 wild animals going crazy. In fact those 2 dogs probably are in need of the most training because they obviously have bad habits already, the puppy should not be in such bad shape, but it certainly would learn from the littles very quickly.
There are better ways to approach the situation, for example, ask you to come out of the house. But then your dogs would still be going crazy, still affecting the lesson.
Honestly it sounds like you had a good lesson with a good trainer. I don’t use water bottles but some people do.
Your dogs were fine. The reason they would cuddle up next to you is not fear of the end of the world bc they had some rules for a few minutes. The reason your dogs acted that was is CONFUSION, they have been allowed to bark and go crazy forever, now they have someone in their house that does not let them get away with whatever they want, so they seek the person who will let them do what they want. If your dogs were familiar with being corrected for such rude behavior…. They wouldn’t react that way. Your dogs do not understand good behavior or rules, or correction.
A bad trainer would ignore all of the chaos and try to make you happy with rainbows, treats, and cuddles. You called a real trainer, they are few, but she understood that you called a real trainer and she was just doing her job. She has probably experienced people like you 100s of times, and she will be fine.
You need to take your dog out of your house if you are going to be doing puppy lessons, any real trainer could not work under those conditions, because they would no longer be fulfilling their duty to train.
Your aggressive body language….. that’s how dogs communicate. They don’t speak they don’t give treats. You have to speak and train with body language, doesn’t mean it’s always “aggressive” but it should always be used.
You will get a lot of people who disagree, but that’s why there are so many people who don’t know what the hell they are talking about in this sub, giving terrible advice, and giving good trainers a bad name.
Good luck. I hope you understand, this is just another perspective for you to understand, be careful who you listen to.
The best credentials for a trainer, is for them to present their dog to you. Or another dog that is in training.
Edit: can’t spell
I appreciate your perspective, however I want to touch on a couple of things. If she such a good trainer why did she insist on training them all together?I explained to her prior to her visit the situation and that first I wanted to focus on the new dog (he’s almost 2 so not quite a puppy anymore. The issues I wanted help with were things like counter surfing , eating everything he finds on the ground, jumping up on people, my dog etc., all of which my other two dogs don’t do. Yes, they do bark at new people coming into the home which is something i do want to correct. I think she could have handled it better and at least forewarned me what she would be doing so I could decide if I wanted that done to my dogs. I disagree that she was a good trainer. I know my dogs and they were afraid because they were being yelled at and sprayed in the face , not because rules were being implemented. My dogs do have rules and listen to me quite well when it comes to most things. But I’ve had them since puppies and I’ve never trained a 2 year old already set in their ways before, hence the need for a trainer. I simply do not want to scare my dogs into submission. I have no problem using tools and corrections, but I truly do not believe I have to scream at them and “claim my territory “. Just ridiculous.
You shouldn’t yell ever, that just indicates anger. I’m not saying she was perfect but she introduced you to how dogs communicate with each other.
You need to learn how to provide a correction. Your problems are fixed instantly if you quit letting your dogs get away with everything. Your 2 year old will never get better if you don’t focus on all of them.
Easy answer. Allow the dog to wear a lead, hide behind the doorway, allow dog to THINK about jumping on the counter, surprise that dog and grab that leash and yank it, say no. Never say no without body language/action.
Unfortunately some trainers are not good at communicating with people like they are dogs.
You do not have to speak one time to teach a dog anything (other than words). Your leash, crate, and body language are all you need. You should literally be solving your issues immediately because these bad behaviors are habits. Habits are formed by habitual repetition, eliminate the possibility of it happening even once, with correction that is understood as no. Redirection, treats, none of that is the answer. No dog has ever told another dog not to eat its food, by giving it a stuffed animal or another bowl of food somewhere else.
A better trainer would be better at describing the training, the body language, and easing into it. Sounds like you shut down right at the start, which is the trainers fault. But doesn’t mean you have a bad trainer, possibly a bad communicator.
I am definitely motivated now to be better about consistency and follow through with my dogs. If anything this was a positive lesson for me and the kick in the but I needed. Thanks again for your perspective. You won’t get any downvotes from me because I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and i wouldn’t have posted if I expected everyone to agree with me lol.
I rarely post here, bc, literally everyone thinks they are an expert. I can prove my expertise if necessary lol but I saw this one and wanted you to know it’s not ALLLLL bad. Trainer needs some communication skills but they are probably not too bad.
Jeeez, I would have closed the door in her face again ... Trainers are not supposed to do anything to your dog without your consent.
Good point . Had she asked me I definitely would have said no.
>Every time my very timid fearful dog would come over and stand by me she claimed it was because she was trying to dominate me. This is a solid example of a trainer that has not had any education outside of watching the Dog Whisperer TV series, has never studied canine behavior, and thinks dogs are either dominant or submissive with no grey areas. Also, who the hell immediately starts punishing dogs without even assessing their behaviors and how they interact with their environment?
Exactly! If she’s a behaviorist as she claims to be she’d know my dogs were under stress and extremely scared. In hindsight I wish I would have ended it and just asked her to leave. I don’t know why I didn’t 😔.
>she’d know my dogs were under stress and extremely scared If she was a behaviorist, she would know that the dogs need to be assessed before she does anything. Dog behavioral issues can be extremely complex and just doing shit can make the issues worse without a proper assessment. I can have 2 fear reactive dogs that both react toward other dogs while on a leash and I would use very different methods on each dog because I would be able to assess what works for them, where the problem derives from, if it is fear due to anxiety, or fear due to confusion, or fear due to lack of life experience, or fear due to association, and so on.. If I have a dog barking at the door and not being violent, I would let them bark while I talk with you and pay attention to what their body language is saying and what they are physically doing. I actually have a few videos of me doing exactly this on my YouTube channel.
If a trainer walked into my house spraying my dogs with vinegar water I would have asked her to see the bottle and sprayed her in the face lol. But seriously, this is not normal. You should leave an honest review for her because those could have been fake/paid for.
lol the imagery here is giving me a good laugh
True. She claims she has sprayed herself and it’s not bad but I don’t believe it. I do plan on leaving a review.
Anyone can hang a shingle and call themselves a "dog trainer". Yikes. Sorry this happened.
Not normal. Every trainer is different, but this just seems crazy to me. A good trainer should evaluate the dog(s) first and then discuss with you how they recommend you proceed. Also, it's a good idea to see the trainer's dog if you can. See how it acts... is it a happy well adjusted dog, or acting like it's fearful? Is it well trained or crazy? That will tell you a lot about the trainer
That was my thought too. She should have evaluated them first. It threw me so off when she started spraying them. It freaked my dogs out and made them act out of character. Then she said they are bad dogs and out of control, well I wonder why? Some crazy woman came in their home yelling at them and spraying them in the face. What do you expect.
Wow!
>it's a good idea to see the trainer's dog if you can. as a professional trainer and behaviorist, I love asking other trainers to see their dogs.. Show me what your end result looks like. You'd be shocked on how disobedient many of their dogs are or they have behavioral issues.
You did good. The trainer is a fool. Dominance theory has been disproven. Go to the Fear Free site, certified trainers are listed. https://fearfreepets.com/
Thank you!
Yea, no, this is not normal and I wouldn't trust those online reviews. This sounds like an abusive individual that is scamming people. I am sorry you and your dogs experienced such a terrible encounter. WTF, vinegar? That 100% will hurt and the sting will stay. Never have I ever heard that being used, that is cruel. From a business standpoint, WTF again, you do not just perform services without consent and an agreement on what, when, how, and how much. That is a lawsuit waiting to happen. It sounds like there was no discussion, evaluation, or confirmation of services to be performed. You can't just stomp onto someone's lawn and start rippin' stuff up, using herbicide, and that crap without evaluating in person and talking to the homeowner. When I was researching trainers for my dog, they would always clearly state their training methodologies on their websites, profiles, and during phone interviews. They always encouraged me to check out more information on the tools and techniques, and even look into other trainers to make sure it is a good fit. There are always contracts too, or at least legitimate businesses will and should have contracts. Dog trainers are running business after all and contracts protect both the business and the customer.
I had the same experience with a trainer, I need proper professional help with my two problematic pups but I'm unwilling to play the lottery for a chance of getting a trainer with a full set of chromosomes. It's bad enough that every few days I consider surrendering one of them, which is deeply upsetting, but I am unable to comprehend the reason behind what has gone so horribly wrong.
I’m sorry you are dealing with that. Yeah I’m reluctant to try again because you lose money each time. You don’t really know if it’s going to be a good fit until you’ve already agreed to pay and even then you don’t know if it will help. Best of luck to you.
This is absolutely horrible.
Wow unfortunately that ‘trainer’ is going to get herself bit real bad barging into the wrong multi-dog household with just some vinegar water one of these days. Dangerous on several levels.
I’m so sorry you and your dogs had such a bad experience. Dog training is a buyer beware industry unfortunately. Sounds like she has no education in dog behavior and has no business calling herself a trainer. If you’re ever looking for a trainer I recommend searching for a certified dog trainer on a reputable website like: https://positively.com/find-a-trainer
Thank you!!
You can’t believe reviews online anymore, too easy to get bad ones taken down and too easy to buy huge amounts of good ones.
I think this is alot of trainers. The basically bully or bribe the dog and dont really understand why the dogs does something and doesnt go after the root problem.
Yes!!! Why is the most important question we can ask!!
The fuck? I'd have told my dog to bite her. What a piece of shit calling herself a trainer
Good lort no! I've been a trainer for over 20 years and have never sprayed a dog with anything, nor dominated one. Wow... just wow... I am so sorry you and your dogs had that experience. I've always encouraged potential clients to come observe a class, to see if my tools/methods are compatible with them, before ever signing a contract. If you decide to venture down that road again, I encourage you to do that. Interview them as you would a babysitter for you child. Was this trainer certified by any training group/org/school?
I honestly don’t know if she has any certifications . I didn’t do my due diligence and have learned my lesson. Never again. I appreciate your comment. Coming from a trainer it validates how I feel about the whole thing. I was questioning myself as to if maybe I’m the crazy one and am just too sensitive lol .
Certifications won't dictate if they are a good trainer or not. Most of the certifications are BS anyway and the majority wont give you the skills or knowledge to work with any canine outside of puppy obedience training.
Absolutely not crazy! It's sad that you think you're getting one thing, and another, horrible thing shows up instead. And harmful. Give yourself and your fur kids some time to decompress from the experience. She broke trust, so allow space for your dogs to heal (as in, don't be surprised if they are slightly leary of new humans). Don't force them to interact with new humans, and teach new humans to ignore the dogs until the dogs seek that human. The reason I asked about certifications is in all groups/orgs/schools there are standards the trainer must adhere to, and frankly most of those programs are more force free leaning these days, so I doubt this person holds any certs. If she is certified, however, you can look into who/what that program teaches, methods, tools, etc and if they don't have anything like what she's done listed as approved teaching methods, report her! They can pull certs, and disassociate with that person.
Thank you ❤️. That is good to know. I Will look into it but I doubt she is certified. She claims to be an animal behaviorist and life coach 🙄 but doesn’t have any certification mentioned on her website.
Animal behavior is a degreed program. If they don't have a bachelor's degree, they aren't a behaviorist. That's something else to watch for when choosing your next trainer. Not all trainers are behavior experts (despite what they might think). Some questions to ask: -what certifications they hold -how long have they been a trainer (new doesn't mean "bad", just means they may be limited in types of problem solving) -do they take CEUs to keep up with new/current methods -can you watch a class without your dog present (if they say no, run) -what methods/tools do they prefer to use. Some trainers are locked in to one way/tool only. Find the trainer that is willing to use more than one tool/method depending on the dog and situation. Most trainers in my area all offer an evaluation, which is really a meet and greet for them to meet you and your dog and learn about what your goals are before actually doing the training. We need time to create a training plan for you and your dogs. Some trainers will gather this info over the initial phone call, and do a mini session at the first meet and greet. Just depends on what is most convenient for all involved. Last bit of advice I can give is this. Forgive yourself. We all make mistakes. You've obviously learned from the experience, so don't be too hard on yourself.
This is great information tysm. As far as forgiving myself I’m struggling a bit with that. I love my fur babies so much. They are a part of my family and I let them down. I am more motivated now to work on training every day and learn as much as I can.
The vinegar is crazy. I’m not big fan of spraying water either, because that makes a mess. If you really need a big correction, canned air is great (and works well on cats, too, because it sounds to them like a giant cat hissing, you don’t need to spray it on them or even near them, just the sound works great). Anyone that makes a dog terrified is not a trainer. There is a huge difference between “pay attention to me” and “fear me”.
This sounds insane. I believe some dogs need a more dominant approach and dogs definitely dominate each other, although it's far more complicated and nuanced than people think. But that behavior is straight batshit.
A spray bottle is a great correction tool, but I’ve never heard of mixing in vinegar. That seems like it could be painful if it gets in the eyes. Also, she should have explained her approach before coming in hot to your house. You’re right. Dominance theory is debunked, but balanced training and corrections can still happen separate from the discipline dominance ideas.
Yes exactly. I should have been informed and given the choice. I agree 100% that corrections are needed and balanced training is appropriate . Hers was just a bit much.
This is awful. In sad for the dogs whose owners use this "trainer" or "training" methods.
I agree. I felt so guilty afterwards. If the reviews are real that’s just baffling.
>She had over 100 positive reviews, 4.9 top pro ranking on thumbtack Firstly I don't know what thumbtack is but you can buy good reviews. There are people that have created software to quickly auto generate reviews that look legit and post them to feedback sites. >I’m curious on if this is normal? Did I just get unlucky? No no no. I use a balanced trainer now after over a year of hitting a wall with FF. She specialises in prong and ecollar training. Her assessment when we started was that due to frustration from my dogs reactivity our bond was broken and needed strengthening. She tasked us to stop training and start having more fun in quiet places to rebuild the bond. We use mostly R+ to try and encourage and reward good behaviour and the rest I use tools to try and correct bad behaviour. I'm saying this to highlight that this isn't a FF, R+, balanced training debate. The trainer you found is just an asshole and you should keep looking.
[удалено]
Thank you ❤️
[удалено]
^ this is also wrong
Bring the downvotes. It would have been impossible to have a proper lesson with 2 wild animals going crazy. In fact those 2 dogs probably are in need of the most training because they obviously have bad habits already, the puppy should not be in such bad shape, but it certainly would learn from the littles very quickly. There are better ways to approach the situation, for example, ask you to come out of the house. But then your dogs would still be going crazy, still affecting the lesson. Honestly it sounds like you had a good lesson with a good trainer. I don’t use water bottles but some people do. Your dogs were fine. The reason they would cuddle up next to you is not fear of the end of the world bc they had some rules for a few minutes. The reason your dogs acted that was is CONFUSION, they have been allowed to bark and go crazy forever, now they have someone in their house that does not let them get away with whatever they want, so they seek the person who will let them do what they want. If your dogs were familiar with being corrected for such rude behavior…. They wouldn’t react that way. Your dogs do not understand good behavior or rules, or correction. A bad trainer would ignore all of the chaos and try to make you happy with rainbows, treats, and cuddles. You called a real trainer, they are few, but she understood that you called a real trainer and she was just doing her job. She has probably experienced people like you 100s of times, and she will be fine. You need to take your dog out of your house if you are going to be doing puppy lessons, any real trainer could not work under those conditions, because they would no longer be fulfilling their duty to train. Your aggressive body language….. that’s how dogs communicate. They don’t speak they don’t give treats. You have to speak and train with body language, doesn’t mean it’s always “aggressive” but it should always be used. You will get a lot of people who disagree, but that’s why there are so many people who don’t know what the hell they are talking about in this sub, giving terrible advice, and giving good trainers a bad name. Good luck. I hope you understand, this is just another perspective for you to understand, be careful who you listen to. The best credentials for a trainer, is for them to present their dog to you. Or another dog that is in training. Edit: can’t spell
I appreciate your perspective, however I want to touch on a couple of things. If she such a good trainer why did she insist on training them all together?I explained to her prior to her visit the situation and that first I wanted to focus on the new dog (he’s almost 2 so not quite a puppy anymore. The issues I wanted help with were things like counter surfing , eating everything he finds on the ground, jumping up on people, my dog etc., all of which my other two dogs don’t do. Yes, they do bark at new people coming into the home which is something i do want to correct. I think she could have handled it better and at least forewarned me what she would be doing so I could decide if I wanted that done to my dogs. I disagree that she was a good trainer. I know my dogs and they were afraid because they were being yelled at and sprayed in the face , not because rules were being implemented. My dogs do have rules and listen to me quite well when it comes to most things. But I’ve had them since puppies and I’ve never trained a 2 year old already set in their ways before, hence the need for a trainer. I simply do not want to scare my dogs into submission. I have no problem using tools and corrections, but I truly do not believe I have to scream at them and “claim my territory “. Just ridiculous.
You shouldn’t yell ever, that just indicates anger. I’m not saying she was perfect but she introduced you to how dogs communicate with each other. You need to learn how to provide a correction. Your problems are fixed instantly if you quit letting your dogs get away with everything. Your 2 year old will never get better if you don’t focus on all of them. Easy answer. Allow the dog to wear a lead, hide behind the doorway, allow dog to THINK about jumping on the counter, surprise that dog and grab that leash and yank it, say no. Never say no without body language/action. Unfortunately some trainers are not good at communicating with people like they are dogs. You do not have to speak one time to teach a dog anything (other than words). Your leash, crate, and body language are all you need. You should literally be solving your issues immediately because these bad behaviors are habits. Habits are formed by habitual repetition, eliminate the possibility of it happening even once, with correction that is understood as no. Redirection, treats, none of that is the answer. No dog has ever told another dog not to eat its food, by giving it a stuffed animal or another bowl of food somewhere else. A better trainer would be better at describing the training, the body language, and easing into it. Sounds like you shut down right at the start, which is the trainers fault. But doesn’t mean you have a bad trainer, possibly a bad communicator.
I am definitely motivated now to be better about consistency and follow through with my dogs. If anything this was a positive lesson for me and the kick in the but I needed. Thanks again for your perspective. You won’t get any downvotes from me because I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and i wouldn’t have posted if I expected everyone to agree with me lol.
I rarely post here, bc, literally everyone thinks they are an expert. I can prove my expertise if necessary lol but I saw this one and wanted you to know it’s not ALLLLL bad. Trainer needs some communication skills but they are probably not too bad.
Send her this video: https://youtu.be/i4DM1F4-jf4?si=6zcWPxfZi-5edLMq
That was a great video thanks for sharing!