Mar 11, 2021
A very bad start…..
Yesterday was the first night of six puppy classes. I am going to the one hour 4PM class with Ciela on Wednesdays, the youngest by 90 minutes and the smallest. Colin is staring tonight, Thursday, with the 6:45PM class and with Carlie. I would rather not have to drive in the dark. It is 6:40PM at this very moment and it is pitch black out there. We have separated the twins as with them being litter mates they are likely to want to just be together and not participate in the class. It is good to socialize them separately. They really prefer to be side by side most of the time, although when we walk ( carry them ) separately the other is quite content on her own. Today Ciela played outside while Colin did chores while Carlie chose to come inside for a nap. Of course when Ciela came in I kept her away from her sister as she would likely have started wrestling. It took about 5 minutes before she settled and fell asleep herself. I then put her in a different bed than Carlie.
This is the medium size crate that we have used since day one with the girls. We have always kept a heavy blanket all around it except for the entrance. They is how they drove home here with us and where they sleep at night.
Our large wire crate is perfect for the two of them but is a real pain to move and set up in the car. So I borrowed a dog crate for us to use this week for transport to puppy classes.
Meanwhile I ordered this crate from Amazon which we should get in the next few days. It is much more open for the dog and us seeing each other plus the top zips right open.
Colin totally cleaned and disinfected that first blue crate before I used it yesterday. I put in a layer of plastic garbage bag and two thick towels each folded in two. I allowed myself about an extra 15 minutes for the just in case scenarios to drive to the class. I had already driven myself to a medical appointment that morning so I was confident in my driving. We have been home from Mexico for almost a full year. Colin and I have always gone out together for errands and he has driven. A few times last spring I did drive on my own to do some errands. However Colin really wanted to drive me about. He even would take me to my massage appointments and wait the full hour plus! He even wanted to drive me to the puppy class and stay in the Jeep with Carlie. I said no, that I would be fine. Ha, little did I know.
Ciela started whining just as we left the park. As we approached the highway she was being rather vocal. I tried putting my finger through the crate and could feel her licking me. Her cries became louder and louder and by the time I had driven to the far end of the lake along the highway, I could smell it. You guessed it 🙁 Wow very very stinky. I knew that I had to pull over but it was a few miles before I could turn off. I stopped in a very safe place just off the highway. I came around to her side of the car and opened the crate.
What a mess 😥 She was at the back of the crate sitting in a bunch of poop 😯 So I reached in and dragged her out. Being as organized as I am I had paper towels and wet wipes for babies. Not enough as it turns out. She had poop between her toe nails and as I kept cleaning there was even more. Then I discovered that she had also vomited. I felt so bad for her, she was a mess from top to bottom. The crate was a disaster zone. Fortunately Colin had added a bunch of towels to the car. So I cleaned her as best as I could. I had you know what all over my hands and under my finger nails 😯 Thank goodness for all the hand sanitizer in the car. So I transferred her to the the dog carry bag which was also lined with a garbage bag and towels. I managed to tie that in to the seat belt. I finally got back onto the highway and called Colin to let them know that I would be late to class. Ciela started to whine again as we drove but I was in rush hour traffic and needed to concentrate. I kept pushing her head back into the carry bag. She finally fell asleep. Once we arrived I discovered that she had vomited again. I didn’t have much more to clean her up with with but got the job done more or less. I found a clean towel to cover the bottom of the carry bag and we went into the class.
There were only four in this particular class. I apologized for being late. I left Ciela in the bag and she promptly fell asleep for the entire class. What a waste of a class. It was a lecture that should have been given out ahead of time as a hand out. No questions were allowed nor answered. With five minutes left the instructor taught two key things, how to make eye contact and how to sit. Between her being with her back to me and everyone wearing a mask it was very difficult to hear her. So one very quick demonstration of each and that ended the class and my head was spinning. I did wake up Ciela who was still stressed from the drive to the class and she looked at me and and had no idea the que pasa of it all. Actually neither did I. So we are expected to have them walking on a leash by next class and know how to sit on command. I can’t even get her to wear her harness and move with it. However no questions allowed. Others asked if they could email in questions. No!! Hmm this class is costing us $129.00 per dog.
So we left the class and ran into another mom and pup. Her dog was also 9 weeks old. She indicated how upset she was with the class instructor. Nothing we could do. However I have decided to document the class and I will go to the head of PetSmart for all of BC with my complaints. This first class was a total waste of time. Tonight Colin is at the same class with the same instructor. I can hardly wait to hear his thoughts.
Meanwhile outside the classroom Ciela got to meet Milou and they really liked each other.
Hopefully next week will be better.
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Oh no! What a horrible start to the classes. Hope the next ones go better!
We do as well. Thanks for checking in.
What a horrible start to puppy classes! I sure hope they go better next time.
They better or I will be making some noise.
Well that was a “crappy” start. My guess is that the teacher is not being hampered by Covid restrictions but is just not the right teacher for puppies. I would complain too. I had a autocratic German obedience school teacher for our Springer Spaniel who thought he could force Butch to stand and stay. Good luck with that…why stand when you can sit. Butch failed on that point. Great dog by the way. Good luck!
Yup a very crapy start. Colin’s class was very different than mine, worse in some ways. Poor Butch.
The good news is he had a tough skin, one over bearing obedience teacher didn’t dent his good humor. He grew up with our girls and was the best family dog.
Ciela was probably stressed from being separated from Carlie. Another thing is putting Static Straps on your vehicle. The Static Electricity made by the Alternator will cause car sickness.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It’s about time.
No it was not separation anxiety. They are separated a few times per day and carry on easily without the other. NO tussore it was motion sickness but it could’ve been because of the closed in crate.
It sounds to me that this instructor should not be teaching classes, if you don’t have an undying love for dogs you shouldn’t be in the business, just my thoughts.
Trying to be kind here, she might have just had a bad day.
What a disaster! Do u think it was separation anxiety, a bug? Motion sickness? U never mentioned it happening on trip home from picking up….
That instructor just seemed mean..
I think it could have been the closed in crate. The large open wire crate had no effect on them. They spend at least and hour apart for each other by our choice. So who knows. I ordered a much more open crate from Amazon.
So sorry that you and Ciela had to deal with that awful mess. I agree with you that it probably was the hard-sided crate, possibly combined with the type of roads you were driving on. At least the hard sides kept the mess from oozing onto your car seats! The class sounds horrific and a total waste of your time and money. Here in the US, the PetSmart classes generally do not have a good reputation, although they might be more convenient for pet owners. Hopefully you can find a good trainer who has their own facility and has patience in working with young puppies. If nothing else, the socialization that taking the little girls to PetSmart is positive.
One of the important things is to socialize the dogs. We have had private trainers in the past but thought this was the way to go this time. Perhaps it is more of a class to refresh our memories of what to do.
Im sad to hear of your disappointment with the puppy class . I’m pretty sure they all are alike.we have a 2 yr old shih tzu she was 8weeks for her first puppy class we never went back . The instructor was very abrasive,she wanted to know how many crate train their puppy we were the only one’s who did not crate her she said if they don’t settle down at night we were to bang on the crate very hard and yell be quite,she said she has been known to pick up the crate hold it high and drop it.we were horrified needless to say we never went back.325. Down the drain we were not reimbursed any money we complained to the company and we’re told she has very good results.