Any bully type breed not allowed at petsmart doggy day camp

[ACooper]

I was shocked to know that our Petsmart store has this policy:

Dogs that are not allowed at doggie daycamp:
"Intact (unneutered) male dogs or pregnant females
Dogs with any aggressive tendencies regardless of breed
Dogs in the "bully breed" classification (e.g. Pit Bull Terriers, American Pit bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Bull Dogs or mixed breeds that have the appearance or characteristics of one of these breeds)
Wolves/wolf hybrids"

This is their procedure before you are allowed in:

How do I register my dog?
"To ensure that all campers are healthy and happy, we employ a free, comprehensive health and temperament prescreening assessment for each prospective camper. Please ask a doggie day camp pet care specialist for more details."

I can understand the 'intact males' I can understand 'pregnant females' and 'aggression' but................
If they do a comprehensive temperament screening on ALL dogs, what difference does the breed have to do with it???????????
I guess bully owners need to stop spending their hard earned cash at petsmart!

 

[Boemy]

It seems reasonable to me. Pit bull people have a saying . . . never trust a pit bull not to fight!

 

[iamawesum69420]

You can never be 100% sure that any breed is not going to fight. There is no reason to target certain breeds.

 

[showpug]

Can't say I agree with this or not, but it also can't be ignored that certain breeds were bred for dog fighting and I think that very fact deserves some extra attention...

With that said, I think bully breeds, especially pitbulls, are some of the best dogs on the planet when it comes to how they interact with people.

 

[casablanca1]

I'm shocked too. I've never known Petsmart to be that responsible.

 

[joce]

Why don't the females have to be fixed? My unaltered females have always been much moodier than my males-don't really see the reasoning there.

 

[happyhound]

The bully breeds may also be intimidating to other people in the class and 'scare off' potential clientele. The no bully breeds rule may give potential students a more confident feeling that this is going to be a safe and secure enviroment to bring their dog to.

Not that I believe that all Pits etc. should be banned or anything--I just think this could be part of Petsmart's logic in prohibiting bully breeds from coming to classes.

 

[RD]

I'd be a little concerned about the owner if they were trying to get their Pitbull type dog into doggie daycare - a strange environment surrounded by strange dogs, excitement, etc? Not where I'd want a dog with a tendency towards dog-aggression.

Sure, you have your exceptions. Some Border Collies don't even look at sheep. But if you put them in a pasture full of them and turned your back, that dog might start acting on its instincts. Same thing goes with a sighthound and a rabbit, or a Fila and someone attacking their owner. Dogs will usually do what they were originally bred to do, to some degree.

I wouldn't trust a Pit Bull or bully-type dog not to fight if placed in a room with a bunch of other dogs.

 

[ACooper]

My point is/was if they do COMPREHENSIVE TEMPERAMENT TESTS, then why single out certain "types" that are not allowed?? Are you saying the dog may 'fake it', or 'cheat' on the test? If the test givers are that easily fooled then I would never use any doggy daycare, because I have been aggressively approached on two seperate occasions walking Orson.............one was a tiny poodle of some kind that did it's best to draw blood on him, the other was a grown german shepard who's owner grabbed him before damage could be done. I ask you, could either one of these two dogs 'fake it' or 'cheat' on the test too?


I can tell you they are not my favorite breed, I would never own one. It has nothing to do with their "rep" they are just not the dog for me. I can say that about tons of other breeds too, but it isn't fair to mark them ALL as agressive.
I say give them the opportunity to take and pass the so called test.

 

[casablanca1]

The problem is that any temperament test is only as good as the person who designed it and the person who administers it. People working at Petsmart are hired because they're willing to work for low wages and the like animals. They are not skilled at dealing with dog behavior, they're not skilled at managing unhappy humans (say, the guy whose dog just failed a temperament test) and they're unqualified to ensure dangerous dogs are kept out of a daycare. A dog-aggressive dog isn't neccessarily a dog who frothes at the mouth 24/7, and tries to eat every dog it meets; a pro would see the quiet, pleasant dog who tenses minutely, who tracks other dogs, who patrols mentally, etc. for what it is. The average Petsmart clerk (or, sad to say, trainer) is going to say "Wow, he's such a sweetie!" and welcome the dog to daycare.

Petsmart might be advertising that the daycare requires a temperament test, but they're probably aware that the only way to really do a good job is to get better people and they're unwilling to do that. So they'll bar the most commonly dog-aggressive breeds, do PR about temperament testing, and hope their peons can break up the fights that occur anyway.

 

[ACooper]

Good point about the people they hire...........I hear ya.
Then another question would be, why are bullys the only banned dog? Why not Rotties, GSD, and even my little angel.........Dobermans? They can be dog aggressive if they choose to be, and I doubt the average "peon" as you call them, could break that up either.
Why not just call it "little dogs day care"

 

[Paige]

I hate how people single out certain breeds but then again.... it's Petsmart. I'd rather take my dog to a better doggy daycare if doggy daycare was something I was interested in. If they are going to be frowning on my type of dog I wouldn't want to take my dog there anyway.

 

[pitbulliest]

doggy daycare is where you leave your dog alone with all these other dogs, right?

I think its unfair that they are singling them out for sure...its just dumb to mention PIT BULLS in their policy...really does target a specific breed negatively..with that being said, I would never ever leave my dog alone in an environment like that anyways..strange dogs, strange people..ME not there...no way jose!

I don't agree with pitties not being in an environment where there are lots of dogs though..whoever mentioned that here..dog parks, no I wouldn't take my pittie to....doggy daycare, no I wouldn't take my pittie to...

BUT, if we were to apply this generalization to every situation, then:

I wouldn't be able to take Messina to agility now would I? There's lots of excitement there..dogs without leashes..running around..so since I have a pit I guess I couldn't take her to agility?

 

[MafiaPrincess]

That was changed 6 or so months ago.. That's when the new 'rules' as stated in the original post went into effect, people yelled and boycotted and threw a fit and nothing ever came of it. People stopped freaking, and now it's old enough that I'm not sure there's much anyone can do about it now.

 

[chinchow]

Bully breeds are a lot more than what is listed. If they are going to discriminate against those, then they might as well single them all out. That's a LOT of breeds. And a LOT of pissed off people too, I'm sure.

 

[Bahamutt99]

I personally don't mind bull breeds not being allowed in the play groups with other dogs. I mean, we tell other APBT owners all the time not to take their dogs to the dog park, so why should this be any different? No, I don't really like that they've singled out the breed -- I think Pit Bull owners should single themselves out -- but I can see why they have. I still take my dog to Petsmart for shopping purposes. Not so much now that I have access to Southern Agriculture, which is by far a cooler store, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't.

Edit: I wonder if they'd consider my Dogo a bull breed? Of course, those darn testicles would keep him out of the play group. :lol-sign:

 

[Aussie Red]

Weither or not bull breeds are not allowed would not matter that much to me as I for one would never leave my dog with the crazy employees of petsmart to begin with. Makes about as much sense to me as leaving them in a pen with walmart employees lol. If I need a babysitter I usually have my grandson come sit for my animals. I guess I am lucky that way. If I had to have them watched I would find a very experienced care provider and one that knew something about my breed.

 

[darkchild16]

IM glad about this. Keeps the stupid pit owners from getting our dogs in trouble. The only time i have seen a responsible pit owner take there dogs to a place with a bunch of dogs is the boarding kennel i worked at. THey also had doggie daycare and my friend would bring her dog under the instructions that i took her out to play and ONLY with Walker. If i didnt work that day Lady didnt go in she came to my house.

I would never take Tytus and leave him at a place with incompetent people. Which to me is petsmart.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

I don't know about other Petsmart Doggy Daycare, but ours does not do testing.

They sign you up and there you go- that's it.

However- they looked at Buddy and his potential to be a pit and told us no. He could be boarded, but he just couldn't play. Jerks.

And it really irks me that they have some stuff that no other pet stores have..so we have to buy from there. Harumph.

 

[casablanca1]

Good point about the people they hire...........I hear ya. Then another question would be, why are bullys the only banned dog? Why not Rotties, GSD, and even my little angel.........Dobermans? They can be dog aggressive if they choose to be, and I doubt the average "peon" as you call them, could break that up either. Why not just call it "little dogs day care"

With all due respect to other breeds, they're not in the same league as pitbulls. It goes back to what they were all developed for. Rotties and Dobes were developed as guard dogs and they have a body and a brain that go along with those functions. Pitbulls were developed to kill other dogs, and they also have a body and a brain to go along with that objective. That's not an inconsequential difference. A dog-aggressive Rottie doesn't have the advantages that a dog-aggressive pitbull does; the short-haired skin over hard muscles is harder to grab than a Rottweiler's looser flesh,the pitbull's deepset eyes are difficult to reach in its massive skull, etc. Barring them from a group situation isn't unfair; it's a recognition that all breeds weren't created equal in the degree to which they can be called safe with other dogs.

And 'little dogs daycare'? I hardly think that any dog that doesn't fall into the guard or fighting groups qualifies as little.