Pet training at Petsmart?

[mss]

I was at a Petsmart a little while ago, looking at merchandise, and their trainer approached me and gave me a sales pitch for their training classes. She has been training there for years. They have quite a large fenced-off area now, and she volunteered that they sanitized the floor. But she also said that part of the training included walking around the aisles.

I am not very comfortable with that. But the dog I may be taking to classes is about 6 years old, so I think he's not so vulnerable.

I'm not sure I want my dog to have to meet the supplies-customers' sometimes poorly behaved dogs in the aisles, especially where food and treats are involved. Maybe we could decline those "expeditions" outside of the sanitized training area.

[Rose]

Oh, that doesn't sound good. I don't want her walking around the isles. I will have to skip that part.

About Parvo, I heard there is no cure, but is there any prevention besides avoidance?

[mss]

Full vaccination, that's all I know.

[LJSquishy]

Rose, I was just checking in to see if you & your puppy have started the Petsmart training classes yet. I think it will be a great start for you both and I can't wait for an update.

[SugarBob62]

We took Nelson to Petsmart. We LOVED our trainer. She is the trainer of all the dog trainers in our area for all the stores. However, we were really disappointed that there was only 1 other dog in Nelson's class. When we started we were told there would be 5 total, only 3 showed up to the first class. Then sometimes only 2 (counting Nelson). And sometimes none, people were so inconsistent and didn't care.
That is what Nelson needed though, the socialization part. He got none basically. So we are having major issues with that now. Don't even know what to do about it now. They graduated him, he was the only dog there that day...it was sad.

So yeah whatever you do make sure you get the full number of people signed up allowed. We woulda picked a different day if we knew it was going to be like that. It really didnt benefit him at all. They do 4-5 for a puppy class. So we got really ripped off on that part. But yeah it depends who your trainer is. Ours had been doing it for like 13 years, she was really awesome.

[Rocky's Mom]

I don't know about Petsmart... I took Rocky for 6 or 8 weeks to Petco. The trainer there was very knowledgable and certified, but in a group setting you don't get that one on one attention. Rocky was already trained except for leash walking and needed help with socialization. He still prefers people over other dogs.

[Aliza]

Hello..............


I think it depends on the trainer.

At our local Pet Smart, I saw a woman who really knew what she was doing. Never met her personally, but I know a few people who had their dogs/puppies trained with her and who are very happy with the results.

On the other hand, sometimes they're just the average Jane or John who needed a job and got placed there.

I'd watch a few classes, if you like what you see go ahead and join. If you know someone who has already completed the class, you could also ask them about it.