You're right. This man's responsible was his own dog not yours.If everyone took care of their own,doggie world would be a lot more comfortable Good luck with the course,be interested to know how you got on

Responsibility, I meant to say

I don't understand this. you are the customer, just tell him?

Also you are the trainer, so your job is to choose suitable environment then control that environment, which includes giving people instructions. - so again, why not just tell the waiter dog is. nervous, getting trained, please serve us ignore dog and leave??

Oh yes I agree...and I did ask the waiter not to tease the dog...

Sadly things don't always work out as we plan... the real world is full of idiots....

on a lighter note- Update on the dog in question.....massive improvements

Good news on the dog

I asked as I never have these sorts of problems if I ask someone to leave us alone they always do LOL.


but then I don't do that British thing of making it sound a conversational request! I'm just polite but straight to the point which leaves them in no room for doubt.

I used to be able to take my Cavvy out everywhere with me because she was so good (would just lie under the table with a drink nearby) unless and until anyone approached her with an ahhh or an ooohh or a 'hello and what's your name?' or 'Isn't she good?'

Before they got close enough I'd tell them (quite forcefully) 'Don't speak to her or touch her please - she is only being good because no one is paying attention'. And tell them if they started fussing she would come out and want to play or start running round the table and we'd have to leave.

But, as you are doing this as a job, I think you should make an effort to find somewhere SUITABLE to do this training. People are only doing and saying what people do do and say. Perhaps see if you can find a field to rent or get permission to use.

If you need to do the training where no members of the general public will be milling around or approaching you and the dog.

I assume these places are places open to the general public to use for their leisure. You can't expect them to accommodate you using them for your workplace.

I think these comments are a little unfair?

I am very responsible and take great care when arranging any training to be done in public places. this thread started with just letting off a bit of steam at when thing like this happen, and sometimes they do, even with all the best intentions. this was just one of those times.

Under normal circumstances the chosen place should have been suitable, but as it turned out it wasn't, thats why we left...

Just on a side note, nothing is actually random, everything has a cause and effect.

And yet, there is a wonderful anarchy, in that the milkman chooses when to arise, the rat picks the tunnel into which he will dive when the train comes rushing down the track, and the snowflake will fall as it will. How can this be? If nothing is random, and everything is predetermined, how can there be free will?

But wouldn't you agree that if you want to train a dog you would need to go into a public place eventually, because if you only train at home or in class, the dog will not necessarily behave in the same way outside among other people?
Perhaps waggytail should have been more clear about telling the cafe owner not to tease the dog, but sometimes things don't work out that way. But as she described in previous posts, the dog has issues in exactly those moments, when among people and noises etc. So the best place to train is exactly there (unless it's extreme anxiety, then obvs it would need to be built up gradually).

I mainly try to ignore interferances, but when something happens that I can't prevent, then I have to accept that it happened. There's nothing I can do and my dog and I have to live in a world where other people talk to us, tease us, are in our way, walk past us etc.