Canine Campus

Are you sure you left a review for the correct business? Our staff is small and I am management and none of us have any knowledge of this or have been spoken to about this situation. Please let me know when this occurred and in what context (I.e. what aspect of the business was being utilized) so that I may verify the situation. The technique you refer to - back turning for a jumping up dog - is negative punishment which we encourage our clients to use in conjunction with positive reinforcement for 4 paws on the ground. Thank you for the clarification. This situation has bothered me as well over the last 6-7 years as we were not able to reconnect after I had interviewed the Camp Diva who had been accused of using force with your dog. As I recall, prior to working with us your dog had been involved in rudimentary Search and Rescue training and had been heavily reinforced for jumping up on people as his "alert". This resulted in your large, enthusiastic dog jumping on EVERYONE. We discussed the realistic efficacy of giving any feedback (like a back-turn) given the reinforcement history as well as the possible confusion that could cause the dog as you were on the fence whether you would continue the S&R training. Therefore, in regards to the jumping up, we did not employ any training strategies. On the day you are referring to, when your dog entered the facility for Camp, he enthusiastically launched himself at a staff member who was escorting him to the play area. According to your account (based on information provided from your partner as you were not present) the staff member struck the dog on the head. When you spoke to me after a class about this a few days later, I was stunned and asked that all involved parties meet to get a clear understanding of what had occurred. You stated your partner was not interested in speaking with me. I then asked for the opportunity to speak to my staff member (the only other witness) to get a clear picture of what might have transpired in order to make some resolution possible. You were not interested in giving me that opportunity. It is clear from your posting that my response at the time was inadequate and for that I apologize. In my defense, I was blindsided with an extremely serious accusation as the class you participated in was letting out, and afforded no opportunity to talk with the two people who were present for it. The only possible response I could offer at that moment was complete speculation on my part, and as such my response was wholly unsatisfying. When I did speak with my employee, she reported that when the dog jumped at her, she reflexively raised her hands to shield her body and maintain her center of gravity. In an attempt to reconcile the two disparate accounts as fairly as possible, I took the following into consideration: 1) my long history of dog interactions with the staff member (over a decade), 2) my history with the clients - both two-legged and four; and 3) the fact after the incident, the dog was left in our care that entire day. It made sense to me that anyone would reflexively protect themselves from a large dog jumping up at them. More importantly, it was (and is) simply inconceivable to me that anyone would leave their dog in the care of people who they feel may strike or otherwise harm the dog. Therefore, I concluded that while the dog may have been inadvertently struck by a hand being raised to form a shield, that action lacked the intention that was later ascribed by you and erroneously used to characterize our entire training philosophy in your review. I understand that perception is reality and emotions have a significant role to play in perception. and I can only hope that this platform has served as some form of resolution for you.