Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Board and Train. Paid $1450 for 2 weeks. Sept 6, 2024 to Sept 20, 2024.I believe a lot of my dogs training time was spent in recovery from an injury received there. Little progress, if any, has been seen by myself at home.On Sunday, Sept 15, I received a message from one of the owners stating my dog had "nicked" his ear in an outdoor run. She said she did not see it happen. On Thursday, Sept 19, I received multiple messages from her blaming my dog for his ear injury.The next day, my dog was home and I took him to the vet. The vet stated that my dog had a "clean traumatic laceration removing the tip of the right ear. No scratch marks or excoriations around the ear".I am asking for a refund of training fees because my dog shows no progress. In fact, his behavior is worse. I believe his time was spent mostly recovering and in so much pain he could not focus to learn. They did not contact me about his ear except for that one message saying he nicked his ear, until it was time for him to come home. He should have been taken to a vet! He lost the tip of his ear! The vet said it is a crescent shape cut resembling a ********. But, of course, I can not prove that. But, it is not a nick. He is now on antibiotics and pain ********** not asking for any reimbursement for vet bills, only a refund for board and train. Due to their lack of care after a traumatic injury, my pup was not able to retain any training they may have given him. He is still very stressed and in pain. No condition to be in training.

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  Regarding client **** ******** on his second board and train program: 

  
  

  On Sept 15th I notified Rafe's owner of an ear injury. I let her know he had nicked the end of his ear while out in an outdoor run. I also let her know that it bled but stopped and I was giving medication to help keep it clean. Her response was "ok. Just keep an eye on it." so that is what I did. She then proceeded to tell me about previous injuries and behavior that made it seem like it was normal for him to injure himself when left alone. This happened 4 days before Rafe was set to go home. Late during the night on Sept 18th, I observed that Rafe continued to bust open his ear by rubbing it on things and scratching at it therefore making it worse. I let her know as soon as I could the following day. I was never given any direction on him coming home early, needing to take him to the vet, or anything along that nature. A vet visit requested by a client at any time is always 100% met.  

  I have spoken with the vets office and was told that it was only a suspected ******** based on owner presentation and that he very well could've clipped his ear on a fence, causing this injury. She has made up multiple story lines and changed information between this complaint and reviews.

  With that being said, Rafe was kept comfortable after the initial injury by topical medication that numbs the ear and provides antibacterial properties. He never presented signs of stress (no excess yawning, crying, anxiousness, etc) and continued to play and train as normal. (This is based on my knowledge of canine behavior learned through courses in veterinary science.) If this was the case, owner would've been made aware that extra training time would've been needed free of charge to make up for lost time, as we do with all dogs who have stress get in the way of learning.  

  We actually decided to work with this client and take this dog directly to her home at the end of training, which is something I normally do not do, to help her out since this unfortunate accident happened. When we took him to his home, Rafe showed normal play behavior, he hunted for and played with his ball, was very excited to see her, and performed all of the things needed that he learned during training. Rafe DID show some scratching at his ear in front of owner, which allowed me to reiterate on the fact he had been rubbing his ear on things and made it worse over the last 48 hours.

  
  

  It has been made very well known that continued success of a dogs training once home is 100% on the owner. We even have a signed contract by ******** that states this. We cannot control dogs once they leave our care and if an owner is not following through properly, dogs will regress back to previous behavior. 

   ******** has mental health issues that were explained to me in the past, by her. She has come to me many times emotionally dumping and unloading emotion onto me and I eventually stopped responding to it. Based on her present and previous actions, I believe she would rather attack me personally. 

   She has not reached out to me about a refund. I do not believe ******** wants to actually work this out in a professional manner and would rather publicly shame me. In fact, I had to tell her to stop speaking to me if she was going to continue calling me derogatory names. I would've very well considered a partial refund if this would've been handled properly. 

  
  

  I have multiple videos regarding Rafe during his training both before AND after his injury. Videos show a happy dog that is willingly listening and performing very well. ******** has not reached out to me about Rafe needing help during his adjustment period back home, which is a contracted requirement. She has also not requested a free private session which are there to help owners when they are struggling. Continuing to train the dog once home and cooperating with us is a requirement stated in the contract. Please see sections 10, 12, and 13 on the contract provided. I also have audio recording of the take home session provided when Rafe returned home stating that he in fact was performing new desirable actions that he was not doing before and that she understood the adjustment week can cause some dogs to be overly excited to be home. 

  
  

  If ******** would like to discuss this professionally and without name calling, then we can come to a conclusion. 

  Customer response

  09/23/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:  Their response is so full of lies, I wouldnt know where to start! Yes, I did say keep an eye on it. They never told me it was still bleeding. The Home Visit was not a favor, it is part of the program as stated in the contract. As the vet stated, It is not a "nick". It is a traumatic laceration removing the tip of his ear. I did not know how serious it was til it was time for him to come home. I immediately took him to the vet.

  You have consistantly blamed me for his behavior even though you have no idea what goes on at my house. 

  You dont take any responsibility for care or lack of training. You make excuses and blame me or the dog. Communications with you has been strained throughout but I held my peace until you neglected to care for my injured dog and now, continue to make up stories about how he was injured. And yes, I can say that because the vet put it in writing. It was a traumatic laceration not a nick.

  I wont name your other jobs, but you should be ashamed to act this way!

  Customer response

  09/23/2024

  I would like the statements about my mental health removed from public view. These statements are false. I mentioned I have ptsd but never unloaded on her and she never cut communication with me. She also told me she struggled with mental health but I didnt try to smear her reputation in public.

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  I will not be arguing back and forth over this matter as I don't believe anything I say will be believed or understood by ******** due to her having personal issues with me. 

   As you can see in the screenshots provided, there was most definitely notification of bleeding. I actually mentioned it multiple times.

  She is correct my verbiage does call it a **** in the beginning as that's just what I define as such. After he started busting it back open (overnight Sept 18th), it became more severe which is why I notified her again about the worsening condition as soon as I could during daytime hours the next day. I felt he needed a "cone" on him to keep him from injuring himself further but I did not have one.

  She is correct in that it is definitely also a laceration as a laceration means a tear in the skin. It is also considered traumatic as that means it was a sudden tear or split into the skin. It is my mistake for not using the medical verbiage. This still doesn't take away from the fact he was trained 24/7 for 14 days, even after initial injury and kept comfortable, and did fantastic. 

  The vet also informed me that the provided diagnosis is not a fact but just a suspected diagnosis based on owner presentation. (That is why it says "suspected" ********. They also confirmed the exact type of injury could've occurred from him catching his ear on fencing which is what we believe to have happened. He shows no other signs up being in a fight with a dog.)

  Either way, I'm not denying the dog was injured here 4 days before going home. I have apologized many times as it was a genuine accident. I do not like someone falsifying a story to meet their needs, though. Luckily, I have screenshots and recordings of all interactions with this owner and dog observed by me. 

  The home visit was a favor. There is nowhere in the contract that states home visits are automatically provided or required. 

  
  

  I have video proof that Rafe listens and responds to commands and has good behavior with multiple people and in multiple situations. This shows proof that he has been trained and is capable of performing everything agreed upon. Unfortunately, when only one person has an issue with a dog, it's normally an imbalance in the home between the dog and that person. This is actually well known and can be researched and explained by multiple trainers and not just myself. 

  
  

  At this point, I believe there is uncooperative behavior coming from ********. I also see there is an unwillingness to continue training in the home as that requires an owner to be reflective about what's causing an imbalance. There has been zero effort in getting continued help with any issue she observes as well.  

  Customer response

  09/23/2024

  I am rejecting this response because: 

  This business owner is well trained at shifting blame.

  Maybe instead of making me out to be mental,  you should revisit your own mental issues you told me you had. I dont know why you wanted to go there!

  This doesnt change facts. My dog had a serious injury while in your care. The tip of his ear is gone. And yes, he showed a lot of stress. And no, he didnt rub or scratch it since being home. 

  It is obvious you did very little training with him. I did not get my monies worth. 

  Read your ad. It says home visits are part of the training we pay for. If this is no longer true, change your advertisements!

   

   

  Customer response

  09/23/2024

  I guess that is the end. She made no offer of compensation. Just more talk twisting things. 

  And that is the way a conversation goes between a Peace Officer and a 70 year old disabled veteran.  Nothing new here!

  Im done. She has to live with herself

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