For our youngest daughter's birthday (and her new puppy) , we purchased the puppy education classes at Pets Smart. Her little girl recently graduated!
Graduation is intense on a little puppy, too! The puppies have to do each learned command , for a small amount of time, to earn that diploma!
The Pet Smart Canine Education, Puppy Graduation was an adorable ceremony!
Each pup posed with their perspective parent(s) , donned in cap with diploma in paw, for some of the cutest pet pic's I have ever seen!
In the end, I am happy that we stayed with a local business. We had all of the advantages of supporting a local company, like Pet Smart, combined with all the pricing and convenience of a national chain.
Pet Smart students received a booklet and several hand-outs to go with their puppy classes. Unlike some other stores that have to provide a make shift training space, Pet Smart had a dedicated class area. The area was not only enclosed for safety, but surrounded with easy viewing points. A nice option for guests - and potential customers - to watch the class , without interrupting.
Among the 'student's' , there was an 'absolutely the most darling puppy' ever (next to our little Chupa , of course) , a huge St. Bernard pup! He was so cute and so unaware of his space! LOL I smile and laugh every time I think about this big fella.
He was an adoption find. Just goes to show that adoption is a viable option to those that prefer a pedigree!
The Pet Smart instructor was friendly, well informed and able to instruct her students via great communication of her knowledge base. She answered all questions with ease and provided a variety of solutions to different puppy behaviors and knew what products worked best, based on personal traits and behavior needs of each dog.
I was really surprised at the quality of instruction. It never felt like customers were lacking one on one time.
We had always picked personal , come to your home, canine education - and for the longest time, we were convinced that a personal home trainer was the best route to go.
Previously, for our other dogs, we had chosen local trainers recommended from local shelters. We experienced a few gruff , overly priced and somewhat irresponsible (especially with being on time) trainers.
I am sure there are some great local trainers out there, if you do some thorough research. We thought we had conducted our research and chosen wisely based on trusted recommendations...
Oh, the stories we could tell!
Oh, okay. If you insist!
One time , and incidentally our last time, we had a trainer show up late. She sneaked in the side gate and feigned to have been waiting for us , in the backyard, the entire time!
To top it off, she quickly snapped a piece of wood from our tree straightening device (wooden stakes and support - doesn't sound as fancy, am I right?) and went on to explain she had become so bored waiting, she started tending to the tree.
My husband , very puzzled, reminded her that we had just seen her slip into the back yard and watched her break the stake on our way out to greet her - she quickly snapped back at him, telling him the tree was straight enough - that we didn't even need the stakes anymore.
Somehow, instead of getting down to our dog's training lesson, we ended up taking apart the stakes and hosing for an hour instead.
Needless to say, we arranged - with the referring shelter - to have their recommended trainer comp what we had payed for and put it toward a shelter dog in need. A win-win, if you ask me!
Trust me, Pet Smart is a wise choice. (Repeat. Local with the advantages of a national chain.)
Pets Mart was not only a surprise, it was a relief!
Classes were always on time. Education provided as promised. Friendly instructor. Comparably priced. Plenty of extras that you do not get with home training i.e. instruction booklet and informative hand-outs addressing specific training issues. Most importantly, no trees were harmed!
My daughter may continue on with her puppy's education at Pet Smart. She is interested in the agility class. I'm interested in the agility class burning off some of Chupa's energy!
Also, our daughter found a new job this week , cashiering at a local business. Another huge relief after a very long search. So far, so good!
Our son started back at college, in another state, after some time off to contemplate life. He decided to stick with med school so we are really excited. He changed his original choice and now is looking into entering a pediatrics program.
Two down, one to go! Well, if we include the pup, it's three down! =) Not that we think the dog is more accomplished than a child *cough*
Just where does the time go?
So what's happening in your little Arizona family? Any local experiences , personal milestones? We'd love to hear!
*Some names have been omitted (fair is fair) or in the case of Chupa, totally changed, for this post. C'mon, it's a totally affectionate, yet fair, moniker!
http://www.petsmart.com/
Find a PetSmart Canine Education Class
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