# You think petsmart trainers are bad ?



## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

I must say, my 'beginning class' trainer was astounding (I have bragged about him many times before) But today he just went from astounding to the BEST MAN ever  I told him that I couldn't afford to take the intermediate class after our beginner class ended.

He called me three days later and told me that if I would keep it between us, he would let Rocky continue to train with him for the next 8 weeks for free.

I told him I couldn't possibly do that, it's how he makes his money....

And he said that he didn't become a trainer just for the money. He said that he knows how hard I have worked with Rocky and he knows how much progress we have made, and he really wants Rocky to be a great representation of the breed so people stop thinking of german shepherds as aggressive and bad.

Wow. What a nice person. There aren't too many left out there...

I will make sure to save up the money to take the advanced class  Luckily, I start my new job May 15!


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

That is so awesome. Yes - there are still some nice people out there.


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## GSDGunner (Feb 22, 2011)

That's so nice of him. 

Is he a Petsmart trainer?


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

Yep!


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## GSDGunner (Feb 22, 2011)

I was just curious because I didn't know that they (the trainers) made money that way.
I just assumed they got paid a salary. So that must be why the Petsmart trainers are always trying to sign people up. 

Good for you though, that was nice of him to do that for you.


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## KatieStanley (Apr 27, 2010)

I know that most view Petsmart trainers as jokes, but we had a really awesome older lady as our trainer when we lived out in East TX and actual K9 training facilities were non-existent. She knew her stuff!!! It's affordable training...and any training is better than none. It's all about the individual and how dedicated/educated he/she is.


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## webzpinner (Mar 7, 2011)

Wow. The PS trainers I've seen have mostly been S-heads... my wife's BFF had her lab trained at a PS, and we might take Jakey there just to entertain his brain a bit on weekends.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

x0emiroxy0x said:


> i must say, my 'beginning class' trainer was astounding (i have bragged about him many times before) but today he just went from astounding to the best man ever  i told him that i couldn't afford to take the intermediate class after our beginner class ended.
> 
> He called me three days later and told me that if i would keep it between us, he would let rocky continue to train with him for the next 8 weeks for free.
> 
> ...


 
great!


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## Baron_KY (Mar 14, 2011)

That's great, very nice of him!


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

GSDGunner said:


> I was just curious because I didn't know that they (the trainers) made money that way.
> I just assumed they got paid a salary. So that must be why the Petsmart trainers are always trying to sign people up.
> 
> Good for you though, that was nice of him to do that for you.


They make an hourly wage, so the guy isn't losing any money. The only reason they try to sign people up is because if they don't get enough people to sign up per week, they get written up by the store manager, and eventually fired.

Plus if they don't have a class running, then the manager makes them face the store or clean up dog poop lol.


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

When I worked there it was hourly plus commission and I did not work the floor at all. This was eight years ago so maybe it's changed. The actual training manual was written by respected positive trainers and has very good info.


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## wilbanks17 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wow, that's great!


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

The trainer would probably get into a lot of trouble if Petsmart knew that he was letting someone in for free... so I would be careful about telling people about it!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I don't think PetSmart trainers are all bad; I just think that they vary widely, kinda like personal trainers at big-box gyms. Some are really good and some are terrible. Unfortunately you don't always know which is which until you're a few weeks in to your class. Sounds like you got a good one!


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## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

Aside from letting my friends on germanshepherd.com know, my lips are zipped shut! I would never want to get this awesome guy in trouble!


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## JOSHUA SAMPSON (Feb 21, 2010)

:thumbsup:


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## TriadGSD (Feb 19, 2011)

what i would do when you start your job and get some money just pay him if you can that way it shows your appreciation on what he is doing for you.


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## GSDGunner (Feb 22, 2011)

Syaoransbear said:


> They make an hourly wage, so the guy isn't losing any money. The only reason they try to sign people up is because if they don't get enough people to sign up per week, they get written up by the store manager, and eventually fired.
> 
> Plus if they don't have a class running, then the manager makes them face the store or clean up dog poop lol.


Then I'm confused. The OP said "it's how he makes his money" when she felt bad he was offering it for free.

I'll have to ask another gsd friend I have who is a trainer there.


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## London's Mom (Aug 19, 2009)

I don't think it matters how he makes his money. The PS trainer made you a kind offer and that is all that need to be said. I am happy for you! A kind gesture shouldn't have to be dissected.

Good for you and your boy! Have fun in the Intermediate Class! To me, that is the level where the fun begins.

Also, CONGRATS on your new job!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I think they get an hourly wage but I also thought they got a commission on top of that. The ones at petco do.

I agree they aren't all bad, but unless you already know what you're doing it's hard to tell if THEY know what they're doing ahead of time. I know an excellent petco trainer who I've taken several classes with in years past, but unfortunately they didn't offer anything beyond puppy and basic. They did run an "advanced" a couple times but that was it. It was by "invitation" only from the trainer to the qualified handlers and dogs in class, and wasn't openly advertised about. I have no idea if it was even an official class or if it was registered as basic and run as advanced.

Sounds like you found a keeper OP.


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## GSDGunner (Feb 22, 2011)

London's Mom said:


> I don't think it matters how he makes his money. The PS trainer made you a kind offer and that is all that need to be said. I am happy for you! A kind gesture shouldn't have to be dissected.


 I was not dissecting the gesture. I was just curious, that is all. I was simply trying to understand how PS trainers are paid, since it was noted that he makes his money from customers. I was wondering if they get paid commission. 
It was not anything against the OP nor was I questioning the gesture. 
The trainer was very generous and the OP is lucky to have been the recipient of his kindness.


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## beaderdog (Dec 23, 2010)

The trainer who helped us get Pip through his CGC & who is now working with us to retrain my son;s service dog as a mobility dog for me is a PetsMart trainer & she's excellent. So is the other trainer who works at that store. I suspect the level of quality of the trainers is probably related to the store manager & how he/she runs the place, which is often the case with retail chains. There are 4 PetsMarts close to us & the level of service at the one that has the great trainers is of much better quality than either of the others. They also don't push training classes, probably because the classes they offer fill up quickly. The level of service at 2 of the stores I mentioned is so poor that I'd be extremely reluctant to use their trainers.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

Maybe it's different where the OP is, but the ones here don't make commission. Their hourly wage is higher than everyone else's though.


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## TriadGSD (Feb 19, 2011)

^ yeah because they go through training they have certificate stating they completed it


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## nysirk (Apr 15, 2008)

I am a former petsmart trainer and I was paid hourly pay plus commission for each class sold. Trainers do make the bulk of their money through the commission, mangers make their money through bonus for reaching sales plans. I believe that every store is run different and you will find good and bad within ANY profession. With Petsmart being a big corporation, money and meeting sales goals is priory, if sales goals are not met mangers do not get their bonus's. Therefore when a trainer can't sell enough and make their sales plan, it is likely and common that they will be pushed out of the position, hours cut and/ or let go and replaced with a better salesperson regardless of that trainers dedication, knowledge or experience. 
I am sure your Trainer would be fired if his mangers found out he let you in without paying the class! 
The information booklet was written by some of the best modern positive reinforcement trainers, however years back they changed it and ended up cutting out tons of good information into a very small sad little booklet, and very short handouts, which the bulk is pretty much little pieces from Terry Ryan's excellent book "How to coach people to train their dogs" Petsmart dose not offer any higher education, or any finical rembursment for a trainer that spends their time and money self studying and learning more on their own through books, seminars ect.. Pet-Co on the other hand is working on ways to offer more learning opportunity and education to their training department. 
The dog training world is evolving and very fast, I personally only work my dog with trainers that stay up to date on all thees new advancements. Although there is nothing more important then socializing and working your dog in a group class with real life distractions, so if its your only option as said above petsmart training is better then no training. If you find your local petsmart trainer is not dedicated to higher education, or gaining more experience then I would recommend looking for one that dose, the APDT and CPDT are great places to look. 
Much of what you will get information wise will vary trainer to trainer, depending on their personal dedication and motivation to self study...


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

First off, that's so neat that your trainer likes you so much that he wants you to keep taking the class! If I were you I'd make him a big batch of cookies every week. 

And secondly, the first dog trainer I ever worked with was a former PetSmart-type trainer (I don't remember for sure if she worked at PetSmart, but it was a store like that which did in store training). Anyway, she was really awesome, and had struck out on her own to do training. The only reason we didn't continue using her was because we wanted to be in a class with more dogs, plus she didn't have a place to hold the classes indoors. I definitely don't think that PetSmart trainers are necessarily an inferior class of trainers by any means.


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## texaspeg49 (Jul 15, 2011)

I read your post about the PetSmart trainer you had in ETex. Where was that? I'm looking for a place to take my dog. Thanks


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

thats awesome! not all petsmart trainers are bad. Found one i actually liked and respected back in NC and i never even took a class. she was very good at her job and helpful to everyone.


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## tsteves (Jun 7, 2011)

I LOVE our PetsMart trainer. Our class is actually her last class at PetsMart and we will most likely go with her where ever she goes.


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## MountainGSDs (Jul 25, 2011)

Petsmart and pet store trainers are as diverse as pet owners. Some are great and some aren't. Anybody that dismisses a trainer just because they work out of a pet store is doing all trainers a disservice.

PS there is a well known trainer and author that started in pet stores training. I think her name is Ali Brown.


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## Sunstreaked (Oct 26, 2010)

We, too, got a GREAT trainer at Petsmart. We're taking intermediate classes now and most likely will go advanced. I know we're the ones getting trained  and that's ok with me!


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## fgshepherd (Sep 1, 2010)

That is really great! Best of luck to you and Rocky! (my dog is also Rocky, good name for a good dog!)


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## Brian84 (Feb 13, 2010)

The petsmart by me has a really good trainer. I have never used her personally, but everyone that I know that has, raves about her. She's been doing it for quite some time and knows what she is doing.


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## Rodeo. (Feb 25, 2011)

I think it really depends on the trainer, I've heard of some bad experiences but I LOVE our trainer here. Rodeo is graduating the intermediate class Sunday and I plan to start advanced classes right away. The only thing I hadn't already taught her myself was the stand-stay but Rodie enjoys the classes and it provides a great distraction to work through. Plus, it's nice having some help to work through any problems that pop up.


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