[pyrnet] not sure about trainer's methods

[Katie Allison Granju <kgranju@yahoo.com>]

> Last night Leo and I attended our first obedience
> class since his puppy k-garten class. We signed up
> for
> a class local to me with a trainer who raises and
> trains Pyrs and has had excellent success in
> obedience
> with his champion male Pyr. 
> 
> So we arrived there and I met the kennel owner and
> the
> trainer and then the six or seven other handlers and
> their dogs all filed into an indoor training area.
> The
> trainer began his first night "lecture" on what to
> expect from the class. All was going along smoothly
> until he asked us if any of our dogs have nuisance
> behaviors. A woman with a gorgeous young Australian
> cattle dog said that her guy jumps up on people. So
> the trainer approached the dog speaking to him in a
> sing songy sort of voice that seemed to me to sort
> of
> encourage/tempt the dog to jump up on him. When the
> dog jumped up, the trainer swiftly raised his knee
> and
> knocked the dog backwards on the floor! I was
> aghast.
> If he had done that to Leo, I would have left
> immediately. Leo is a very balanced dog --neither
> dominant or submissive, but he totally trusts that
> humans will not intentionally frighten or hurt him.
> He
> would have been very freaked out if that had
> happened.
> So anyway, I sat there feeling very uncomfortable (I
> could tell the other dog's owner felt unsure of this
> as well but she wanted to trust that this guy knows
> what he is doing). So the trainer goes on to ask if
> anyone else's dog has any nuisance behaviors. The
> owner of a young Rott said that his dog barks too
> much. SO the trainer got a spray bottle of bitter
> apple and walked toward the dog (who had already
> demonstrated that he was nervous and feeling
> aggressive) and as the dog began to bark at him, the
> trainer said "good speaking" in a soft, kind tone
> and
> then he squirted the dog directly in the face! When
> the dog cowered next to his owner and stopped
> barking,
> the trainer said in the same tone "good hushing!".
> The
> cattle dog then barked (because the other dog had)
> and
> got the same treatment. By this time that dog was so
> frightend of the trainer that he tried to hide
> behind
> his owner any time the trainer came near him. I
> found
> this approach incredibly confusing and I think the
> dogs did too. There was NO WAY I was going to tell
> the
> guy that Leo barks like a madman way too much of the
> time. 
> 
> The final thing the guy did that made me
> uncomfortable
> was to suggest that every dog in the class would
> work
> better with a pinch collar. He said that he strongly
> discourages the use of a buckle collar when working
> any dog. Leo does not need a pinch collar and I am
> not
> getting him one.
> 
> So anyway, how does all of this sound to those of
> you
> who are more experienced with trainers?
> 
> Oh yeah, one final thing, it was interesting for me
> to
> see that Leo is WAAAY bigger than either of his show
> Pyrs (both adults -- one male, one female)
> 
> Katie
> 
> 
> 
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