I'm with Molly and the others. I would press charges but since the business owner was so nice about it I would probably leave him out of it and just pursue the trainer/daughter. She is after all the one at fault. You have video evidence of her mistreating your dog. I don't care who you are, alpha rolling someone else's dog during boarding is not acceptable.

I have to wait 20 minutes after reading your post so that I calm down enough to make sence. LOL Maybe my wife is right I have anger issues. But still I have to ask did the tapes skip any I hate to put that in your head but did the times match. Next I wouldnt trust that show by the own full heartedly around here I know owners that just say what ever gets the customer out of their hair and pat the employees on their back as they leave for lunch. I have even played that game before. If he was so damn conserned he should have known what was on the tape when you got there.
If I wasnt going to press charges. I would want to know what he was going to do to fix the problem. I feel you have the right to know. Just like I said the truth is he cost you money and time is always money. He just got a business partner or his business closed meaning that I would have to be told what he was going to do to fix the problem. Like will he really send his daughter home did he even make her ask for your forgivness. I have to say this is the nices thing that I have thought of so I would sue and drag their names in the mud if I wasnt sure he corrected the problem.

Now how is your pup doing. Have you made anyprogress with her.

 Quote: randy allen

It's up to you what you want to do Cameron, but off hand I'd say whom ever was trying to 'train' your dog is very lucky she (your dog) is a soft animal. With a different dog it could have gotten very ugly.
Still all around, it bites big time.

Hows your pooch coming out of it?

Randy

She is very lucky my dog was taken out of protection work and started on S&R. My dog is very soft, which is why I found her a better job more suited for her temperment. That being said, she HAS done bite work (see sig pic below) and she COULD have bitten for sure. The woman DID actually get bit by her when she lunged for the ball (I saw it on video too) but she was not bitten very hard. My dog probably thought she had *no* clue how to play the game ;-)
Kavik is actually bouncing back quickly. I took the ball off the string and gave it to her to play with, no strings attached (pun intended) That worked well, and I have laid off on OB work completely. (she is still very obedient so it's not a problem.) This morning I brought out a jute tug (from when she was a pup!) and she latched on well, but she isn't completely biting down. I have gone out of my way to not take it from her, but gently playing tug and praising big. By the end of 15 min or so she was starting to get pretty excited, which is when I ended. She actually jumped up trying to snatch it back when I put it up, so that is good too. I'm going to keep "letting her win" a lot and encouraging her to tug harder. Depending on how she does tonight I may put the string back on the ball and see where we are at, but I'm in no hurry. I'm increasing as she does, so hopefully by the end of the week she won't be as concerned about holding onto the ball. I've also gone out of my way to prevent her from getting into situations where I would have to correct her to keep everything as positive as possible.
As far as that woman, I'm taking some time to decide what to do. As much as I'd like to go after her, there are sometimes when that is not the best choice. I don't want to regret anything later, either way. If I do go after her I want to make sure that is the best idea before I do it.

I am really glad to hear that she comeing around to the ball.

I was very observant on the tapes, all time was accounted for. I think his reaction was genuine, he had been out of town for the past three weeks, and his daughter even mentioned that he was out of town when I was getting the walk through before all this. As far as what he will do, that will remain to be seen. As much as I am angered, I am also trying to remember that some people do what they do because that is all they know. It's no excuse by any means, but I would like to at least see some kind of positive change come out of all this. One thing my grandfather taught me a long time ago was to always be kinder than is deserved - we all have someone who was kinder to us than was deserved at some point in our lives. I am conflicted on what I want to do at this point I guess. I am trying to figure out my MOTIVE for going after her before I do it. If it's because I am pissed and want her to pay, then that is the wrong reason. If it's because I think she was abusive (I do) and that it was bad enough to warrant criminal charges, then maybe it's not. I am trying to get a clear head before I proceed.

 Quote: cameron feathers

... When she would sit or down but stare at the person they would yank her onto her back in a "submissive take down".... She never did stop making eye contact with them (good) but they took her down a lot for it ...

That's enough for me to want assurance that she is fired.

That's not someone who doesn't understand your training.

Someone alpha rolling my dog? For staring?

I understand where you are comeing from. I think you are doing the smart thing.

I just had an idea convence her dad that she need to be trained on how to handle agressive dogs. And give him a cut rate if you can stomach seeing her once again. That way you know she understands that she had no business doing what she did and that she was wrong in how she treated your dog. It would be a nice passive aggersive way to say your a stupid ____. lol

Cameron
I think this woman is afraid of dogs (correcting for eye contact).
I like the training (the woman) idea. I also think watching some Leerburg training videos should be required for all employees.

I think it would be within your power to implement some positive changes in the way they handle dogs.

Personally, I would seriously consider suing, at least small claims for amount paid for boarding and "re-training" costs. The fact is that the dog went in and you had reasonable expectation that the dog was returned to you in the same condition it went in. You did not pay for "training". You did leave detailed instructions. You invested time and money to train your dog in a particular way. I would sue, but that is just me.

Other than that, I wish you the best.

Ok, talk about funny. I got a call this morning from the owner asking me if I would come out to do a demo on OB work for his staff and to discuss proper handling techniques.

Edited by Cameron Feathers (05/15/2008 10:16 AM)
Edit reason: added smilie!