I think the biggest thing you can learn from this is " DO NOT LET ANYONE TAKE YOUR DOG FROM YOU EVEN IF IT IS IN THE NAME OF """TRAINING"""" !! "

For many years the primary breed in obedience competition was the GSD. They could physically and mentally handle the level of compulsion used to train in those days.

I think what the pup had going on is that it's a bulldog, and along with that goes confirmation and health problems. Pointing even stronger to a trainer that doesn't know the breed that they are working with.

Anyone? Really?

I've trained with the best names in positive-reinforcement behavior modification. Would you not hand over your puppy to Trisha McConnell, honestly?

I'm pleased to hand over my pup to people like that. In fact, I leave my pups at their homes for overnight and several day sleepovers. My pups grow up to be independent dogs who have no issues passing the GCG or staying overnight at the hospital. Their surgeons always remark that they recover from surgery easily because they're not fussing and freaking out all night long. They don't have to be sedated to simply get xrays or spend the night.

It's not the handing off that's the issue; it's certain trainers that are the issue. I don't give a puppy to anyone I don't know or trust completely. Heck, I don't hand off an adult dog to a trainer I don't know extremely well.

I would not have handed off a pup to Selzer's trainer. I would have walked out of that class and sent an email to that Petco manager and Petco corporate.

I've walked out of one training class never to return (an expensive class, where there were sunk costs that I considered an expensive lesson learned). But that's because of that ONE trainer. I don't assume all trainers are dangerous. I don't want my puppies to learn any sort of lesson like that. They're supposed to learn other humans are safe. I'm just careful to only let safe people near them.

I'm incredibly cautious. I do a lot of research. But I'm not paranoid.

Here's the thing, there might be a day when your dog DOES have to be handed off. You may be out with him and have an emergency (you may get sick or there may be an external emergency, from an earthquake to a heck, a crime incident), and someone ELSE will need to take your dog -- maybe a police officer or friendly stranger. If your dog doesn't have a lot of experience beding passed off to people he doesn't know and believing that he can trust them, what then?

I'm not directing this last part at you, specifically. I just get weary (and wary) of folks who won't let their dogs be handled by others, and who proudly state that their dogs won't obey a command given by a trusted stranger. I just don't think we do our dogs any favors when we leave them without any skills to exist in the world without us. The last several months have shown us that the world is a place where unexpected things happen quickly; where dogs DO get separated from their owners, and we need to give our kids skills to function until we can be reunited.

I think the biggest thing you can learn from this is " DO NOT LET ANYONE TAKE YOUR DOG FROM YOU EVEN IF IT IS IN THE NAME OF """TRAINING"""" !! "