Ursa
Well-Known Member
Today was puppy class #2 and once again Bob wasn't interested in off lead following. He did get up this time and followed me for a short distance which was a major improvement over last week! He's doing so well with everything else that we're working on that I'm very happy with his overall performance.
Our trainer annoyed the heck out of me today though. She seemed to think it was acceptable to make fun of Bob during class. One or two comments wouldn't have bothered me but every exercise that involved working in place - a sit-stay, a down, ignoring people and paying attention to the handler, even handling his feet - was prefaced with a "Bob will excel at this - he doesn't have to do anything" or some similar comment. The last straw was when she started doing the "duh" sound effect (think cartoon slack jawed yokel here) while Bob was very patiently allowing me to put socks on him. Seriously? Was that appropriate? That one crossed the line from "maybe she thinks she's funny" to "she's being an a$$". I wanted to remind her that no, he's not one of the 2 service dogs in training that are in the group but that doesn't mean he's stupid. He kicks their hyperactive little tails when it comes to paying attention and staying in a sit!
I'm kicking myself for not saying anything. I didn't really know how to respond to that without making a scene (cause I was NOT happy). Should I let it go unless it happens again? Go early to the next class and have a talk with her? I've already started looking for a new place to train because the current facility is a 45 min drive from my house so maybe I should just shrug it off and finish the class quietly.
For what it's worth - I do feel like Bob gets a lot out of going to class - I'm just tired of hearing her crap.
Our trainer annoyed the heck out of me today though. She seemed to think it was acceptable to make fun of Bob during class. One or two comments wouldn't have bothered me but every exercise that involved working in place - a sit-stay, a down, ignoring people and paying attention to the handler, even handling his feet - was prefaced with a "Bob will excel at this - he doesn't have to do anything" or some similar comment. The last straw was when she started doing the "duh" sound effect (think cartoon slack jawed yokel here) while Bob was very patiently allowing me to put socks on him. Seriously? Was that appropriate? That one crossed the line from "maybe she thinks she's funny" to "she's being an a$$". I wanted to remind her that no, he's not one of the 2 service dogs in training that are in the group but that doesn't mean he's stupid. He kicks their hyperactive little tails when it comes to paying attention and staying in a sit!
I'm kicking myself for not saying anything. I didn't really know how to respond to that without making a scene (cause I was NOT happy). Should I let it go unless it happens again? Go early to the next class and have a talk with her? I've already started looking for a new place to train because the current facility is a 45 min drive from my house so maybe I should just shrug it off and finish the class quietly.
For what it's worth - I do feel like Bob gets a lot out of going to class - I'm just tired of hearing her crap.