Dog Training Disaster Averted

To sign Toodles (and me) up for classes, I Googled "obedience training" and my zip code. All the options but one were on the other side of town. With gas prices the way they are, I figured what the heck and went to the web page.

The trainer's business is called Sit Means Sit. I sent her an e-mail message about Toodles (including that she weighs five pounds), indicated the kind of problems we were having, and asked if she could help. She called me back a couple of days later, assured me she could help, and set up an appointment for a demonstration this coming Sunday.

Having committed, I returned to Google to see if I could find any reviews of Sit Means Sit. Boy did I. Turns out, Sit Means Sit is a franchise opportunity involving--get this--SHOCK COLLARS!!!

I pity the fool who tries to put a shock collar on my baby. I sent the trainer an e-mail asking if the training involved a shock collar and before she could respond, sent another telling her to cancel the appointment. I'd made other arrangements.

We're registered for Beginner Classes at the fabulous Pawtropolis starting April 28 for seven weeks. They offer a variety of training classes, doggy day care, a spa for dogs, boarding (which they call overnights), and more. You can even watch your dog via a webcam.

If the lessons go as well as I hope, we'll be dropping Toodles off every few weeks for Doggy Daycare. My partner is looking into classes for Tico, too. We want going to Pawtropolis to be something they get excited about.

Hopefully Toodles will learn to play with other dogs instead of screaming bloody murder. I hope so. If so, the folks at Pawtropolis will probably see a lot of Toodles, Tico and...

The Crotchety Old Man