Nazi Trainer
For those of you that read my post about our horrific experience at Petsmart, the following post will either one, totally blow your mind or two, convince you that we are totally crazy. Either way, I welcome your comments. So after the Petsmart drama, we decided to enroll Denzel in another training program at Petco. Two weeks ago, we went to the first class. Our trainer was a nice girl and seemed super excited about her job. Major Chatty Kathy. She was also extremely sympathetic about Denzel and assured us that with her positive reinforcement training method, Denzel would be listening and following every command in 4 weeks. She was very confidant. After giving a description of the course, she asked all of the parents to introduce themselves and talk about their expectations from the class. Of course, when we introduced ourselves, I mentioned that my husband is German and that we just moved from Munich back to the US. I also talked about Denzel's puppy school in Munich and how pleased we were with his progress there. When I finished, the trainer said, "Okay. Well, I'm not some Nazi dog trainer who only believes in doing things my way. If you were taught a command that works for you and your dog, then you can keep doing that. Do what works. Like I said, I'm not a Nazi dog trainer!" G and I looked at each other with the Okay....???? face. The other parents sort of looked down into their laps, waiting for the uncomfortable moment to pass. What was with the Nazi talk? We didn't say anything to the trainer but as soon as we got in the car, G told me how uncomfortable he felt. He said that he found her comment unnecessary and rude and couldn't understand why she would use that phrase. I know I don't have to say this, but I believe that most people understand that just because you are German, that doesn't mean you are a Neo-Nazi or had family that was part of or believed in the Nazi movement. I thought her comment was rude but mostly ignorant. But I am not German so I could still empathize with G being a little pissed off. We let the comment slide and went to the second class. Now the first class was only for parents. This class was the first class for the puppies. We thought there were 3 puppies in the class. It turned out to be 6. We were so disappointed because Denzel would have a lot less one on one time with the trainer and the area inside the store is only a small enclosed section, so it was cramped with 6 puppies and their parents. And then you had Chatty Kathy talking most of the time instead of actually instructing the class. In an hour, Denzel only practiced one exercise. And she said Denzel would be listening and following every command in 4 weeks? Right. But instead of complaining, we listened as best as we could and tried to get the most out of the class. She sensed everyone's uneasiness about the chaos and assured us that in the next class, the puppies would be calmer. At the end of the class, she brought us all together in the middle of the space to give us our homework. She began her instructions with, "Since I'm not some Nazi dog trainer, I won't give you a lot of homework! I mean, you should be having fun with your dog most of the time, right? I want you to have fun. I am not the Nazi trainer!" I could not believe it.
We waited for her to finish and G went straight to the manager.
We pulled Denzel out of the class and received a refund.
Are we crazy?
11 comments:
You're not crazy.
Just victims of ignance.
I agree with Cliff, but I would have told her directly.
You're not crazy--thing is, we like to demonnize the Germans because it makes us feel a. better and that b. World War II is a completely isolated incident. Well, turns out that if we think a bit deeper than that, and read a bit more, we find out that wow! Human beings in general can be pretty crappy to each other if every one just stands around and does nothing in the presence of wrong. Good job for reporting it! Also, read Stones from the River (I forget the author) but it gives an excellent account of the bombing of Dresden and accomplishes what great novels should: accentuating the universality and fallibility of the human condition.
Hugs,
lab
Like Cliff and Maria I (German) think, you are not crazy!
To me that dog trainer took her mouth too full and that in all respects!
Greetings from a warm and sunny Germany.
Anja
Stones from the River is indeed an excellent book. It's by Ursula Hegi.
It's about small town Nazi-era discrimination as seen through the eyes of an unusual kind of outsider in German society in a suburb of Düsseldorf.
Read it; it's really worth it.
Cliff1976 & Maria & Anja*
We don't think we're crazy either.
Blackgirl on Mars*
Welcome and thanks for the book recommendation:)
All I can say is: YIKES!
I don't think you're crazy. I think someone needs to speak to that trainer about having a clue.
You're totally not crazy, but I've also known people like that. It can be difficult, but they need to be told that what they are saying is inappropriate. I had to have that conversation with a friend once.
Trina & RE & Christina G*
Whatever happened to employees demonstrating TACT with their customers?
Once I was with a German, I began to notice how often Americans use that term. A LOT. I also quickly realized that they do not connect it with modern Germany and often don't realize it's a slur.
My advice: You should pull her aside and speak to her one on one, calling attention to the term she is using and how it's coming across to you and your husband. My money is on the fact that she hasn't even made the connection between the the word and the meaning.
I've had friends drop the term in front of us completely oblivious to what they were saying, and I am talking about university grads who pride themselves on being open minded and liberal. I'm thinking PetCo Girl is just repeating a term she heard without thinking about what it means.
It's not quite the same but the only other slur term in common use that I can think of is gypped or jipped, which refers to gypsies and isn't very nice once you give it a good think through. Still many use it.
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