Petsmart training

[jay]

Has anyone ever had any experience with petsmart's training program. I know they use the same methods at all the stores. Just wondering if they were a good choice for training. thanks

[nern]

One of my coworkers took her dog there and was happy with it.

[Freedom]

It depends on who the trainer is, most of the trainers are just random people who take like 2 week courses and then they are "certified trainers" according to petsmarts standards. When Freedom was 8 weeks old I enrolled him in the petsmart training classes to work with his socialization. Luckily our trainer was a man in the army who trained military dogs and did this on the side, so I lucked out. If I were you I would look around your area to see if your AKC has a local training club. Here in winston-salem the AKC has a local dog training club which does dog training, plus agility and other training for AKC events. The trainers are titled AKC handlers so there is a mighty long waiting list, but its worth the wait.

[spencerpits]

Freedom is exactly right. To be exact - it's a whole 3 weeks training (oh joy!). A friend of mine was going to apply at Petsmart and they were telling her about the training and grooming positions (grooming requires a whole 2 weeks training). The only experience I've had with them was a potty training course (with the 1st dog my husband and I owned as adults, an adopted Terrier mix). I'll be honest, I was terribly disappointed. All the girl did was tell us #1 what we already knew, and #2 the exact same things every book, magazine, etc tells you about potty training. It's like she simply ignored the fact that we had tried those methods and they weren't working. I guess she didn't know any other methods, so she just treated us like we were dumb or something (she wasn't demeaning to us, just told us to do what we had just got done telling her we were doing).

[oso]

I HAVE OSO IN TRAINING AT PETSMART, AND IT TRUE IE DEPENDS ON THE TRAINER. YOU CAN TALK TO DIFFERENT TRAINERS FIRST WHICH IS A GOOD IDEA THAT WAY YOU LEARN THEIR CREDENTIALS.YOU CAN ALSO GO TO THE STORE WHEN A CLASS IS IN SESSION AND SEE THEM AT WORK. IM LUCKY I HAVE A GOOD INSTRUCTER, SHES VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. MY CLASS IS AN 8 WEEK CLASS, AND AS LONG AS YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK, THE CLASS IS VERY HELPFUL. I GO EVERY WEEK AND PRACTICE AT HOME, AND YOU CAN SEE WHO DOSENT DO THEIR HOMEWORK. THE CLASS REALLY TEACHES YOU HOW TO TEACH THE DOG.

[oso]

I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT OSO IS IN THE CLASS CALLED PUPPY PRESCHOOL, WHICH IS I THINK THE SAME AS THE BASIC CLASS EXCEPT THE BASIC IS FOR OLDER DOGS, IF YOU HAVE ANY ???'S JUST LET ME KNOW.

[honeybears]

I think dukesdad from other dogs forum has his dog in petsmart training now and it sounds like it is going pretty good.

honeybear

[Piper's Mom]

From talking to others, I agree that it does depend on which instructor is training the class. I have been taking Piper to "Social Hour" at Petsmart each week for the past 2 months for socialization. This has gone well, but I was cautioned by an employee in the PetsHotel area not to board her with them. Apparently, their corporate policies are not very "pit friendly". She told me they are NEVER allowed to let Pitbull's out with the other dogs to play or even go to the bathroom. No exceptions. She did not believe it was in a Pit's best interest to stay with them. I like shopping in the store, but would not consider leaving my baby there after such a conversation. The good news is that this lead me to ask my vet to recommend a training and boarding facility. Piper just finished a 2 week "Board and Train" program with great results. They also offer Doggie Day Care. I would highly recommend our new friends to anyone in the Dallas area.