Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We scheduled our dog to be trained and boarded with the Distracted dog from March 15th to April 5th. We understood this to be training/boarding where he would be with them 24/7 (advertised on their website). We understand that he was in their home and staying with them, but we thought he would be getting more attention than he got. With dogs of their own, as well as training sessions daily with other dogs we realized our dog was not getting the training and attention we thought he would for $3,000. He was basically being boarded for that money and we began to worry about his wellbeing. We were not permitted to drop him off at their house (where the business is located) so we did not know what it looked like, how much room they would have for dogs of his size, and where he would be sleeping at night. we asked for a picture a few times before the training and never got one. we finally received one on the 4th day he was there. they call it a 5x10' run. the picture we were sent is not of a run but a small fenced in area that looked like it was probably in their garage, maybe their basement. During his short stay I would check their ******** to see if they were posting any pictures or videos with our dog and all I saw was training sessions with other dogs and other board and train clients at parks while our dog's tracker showed him in the "run" at their home. Seemed like they had at least two other dogs they were doing this program within their small house. I asked if our dog would get to interact with them and was told he would not have loose interaction with them. This made me wonder how he would get as much training as they said he would with all the dogs and other training they had to do. We decided to pick him up on March 19th for his well-being because we did not feel that the situation would be beneficial. We offered to give them $1,000 for those for days that he spent in the kennel and was told they do not do refunds, but could set up 8 sessions of other training

  Business response

  04/12/2024

  Hello, 
  
  
  I am sorry that you feel that this was your experience. However, this experience does not fully fit reality and is a majority, just speculation. Throughout the process of working with **** and the ****** (*** and ****) there has been substantial communication back and forth that I will provide screenshots and documents attached. Any “claim” or piece of information I bring forward I will reference with the appropriate attachment. I will also try to address each claim that was mentioned in the initial statement in order to the best of my ability to keep everything clear and concise. 
  
  
  I would like to start by saying, before addressing any issues, that here at The Distracted Dog it is our top priority to ensure that every dog in our care is taken care of to the best of our abilities and the highest standards to ensure their comfortability and a consistent progress. 
  
  
  To Begin:
  Claim 1) In regards to their understanding of 24/7 being advertised on our website. On our website it says “your dog gets the chance to live with a Professional Dog Trainer 24/7. During their stay we make sure to get in multiple sessions a day to ensure consistent progression.” Nowhere in that claim do we state that the dog will be attached to a trainer 24/7 and this was discussed in person as well as through email. (Please see attachments of screenshot of our website as well as attached email messages where we state that **** would be in a dog run periodically throughout the day before we even had him in our care)
  This claim then states that they thought he would get more attention than he got. This claim is just speculation. They have no way of knowing how much or “Little” as their claim suggests, training was done each day because they were not there. However, during his stay (5 days) we did send updates and check in photos to let them see that **** was indeed training and starting in our program (see attached group text threads). 
  
  
  Claim 2) “He was basically being boarded and we began to worry about his well being”
  This claim is also just speculation as stated above. Here at The Distracted Dog we have a strict and structured acclimation process for every dog that comes into our home. Especially with **** exhibiting reactivity towards people and animals. Our process is making sure to get a good foundation of our markers and building a solid relationship of communication with a dog before taking them out into situations that random variables could appear for the safety of the dog and people/animals that might be present. We need to have an understanding of the dogs triggers and what will set them off into a spiral of barking, jumping and nipping/mouthing at people and animals before introducing them into that scenario. Also as stated previously we sent updates and photos of **** so they had no reason to worry about his well being and if they did have concerns, they did not mention them to us to allow us to make changes if needed. Upon reaching out to pickup **** from his stay, *** apologized for his “Crazy wife” multiple times and stated that the reason they wanted to come pick him up was “nothing negative” (as shown in message screenshots attached) 
  
  
  Claim 3) (About coming to our place, and sleeping at night)
  Due to keeping dogs at our house, we do not allow clients to come to our home. This is simply to be able to keep work and personal life separate, as well as a protection against potential “crazy” clients randomly dropping in/trying to hang around the property. Just like everyone in the world we like our home to be our safe space for us and our dogs (Personal and client) where we do not have to worry about intruders and people showing up at random times of the day/night. We did offer to send photos of where **** would be staying and of any of our training areas if they would like but they only requested a photo of where he was sleeping at night. This claim then transitions to them “not knowing where he would be sleeping at night”. Please see attached emails for reference. On Feb 23rd you can see in my email that i answer her question of where **** would be staying at night and in his free time would be in a 5x10 dog run because they specifically asked multiple times to never put **** in a kennel so we made the adjustments to have him in a run instead as per their request. Then once he was staying with us they requested a photo of where he was sleeping and i sent it within 2 hours of the request. **** was indeed in a 5x10 dog run with an elevated bed, water bowl and he was happy and content. They state that they asked for a picture a “few times before his stay” which is not the case. As you will see in the email threads attached, they asked one time in a set of messages that also have multiple other questions attached. The photo was not something i had ready to send at that moment and I forgot to get a photo later in the day. This was their only request for a photo until he was in our care as stated above when I sent it within 2 hours. 
  
  
  Claim 4) “the area he was being kept in was not a run but a small fenced in area” 
  A dog run is legitimately a fence in a shape to contain a dog. Also as stated in my emails BEFORE they dropped **** off (feb 23rd), I state that the run he will be sleeping and staying in is “essentially a 5x10ft fenced off area inside”(attached). I'm extra confused at this claim because he complains that where **** was staying is exactly what i stated it would be. 
  
  
  Claim 5) Social media and tracker.
  As for our social media. We are a busy business so we have a social media manager that schedules out posts almost a week out every week. The photos that they were seeing on social media were from board and trains and clients that we were working with in previous weeks. Also we never state that we will post your dog on social media or make any promises on that. As for the tracker. Yes we did find 2 trackers on ****. One airtag on his Collar, and one airtag hidden in his bag (Found by my iphone letting me know I was being followed by an airtag). This is extremely suspect to me in the first place having to send trackers to your trainers house including one secret one, but that is beside the point. For whatever reason she felt the need to track his every location. I would hear the airtag making noise at least 3-4 times a day and it was always her checking his location and he was with me so i would hear it.
  As stated in the New Client intake form “**** is an itchy dog”. Because of this we didn't leave his collar on him at all times. Any time we would use a different leash or collar we would remove his original one to prevent excessive scratching or discomfort for ****. Also as stated above, we have a strict process on how we introduce dogs to new situations and environments. During ****’s stay, (5 days) we had worked on building our relationship, started to introduce our marker system, and were beginning to work him around other dogs now that we had a better understanding of his triggers. This system was stated multiple times during our in person evaluation with them and they were completely on board with the system. 
  
  
  Claim 6) Its a little all over the place but the portion I'm referring to is “I asked if our dog would get to interact with them and was told he would not have loose interaction with them(Dogs). This made me wonder how he would get as much training as they said he would with all the dogs and other training they had to do”
  Yes we do not allow loose interaction between dogs to prevent any unwanted fighting or disagreements between dogs. Dogs are animals and can be very unpredictable, this is always the safest route. 
  The remainder of this is just speculation and imagination but i will still address it because it is an attack on our brand and our character. Here at the Distracted dog we have 2 full time dog trainers that live in home with the dogs that we are Boarding and Board and training. To assume that 2 full time dog trainers could not manage (3? About how many dogs they mentioned were in our care) dogs at once seems to be a little far fetched. Also it draws into the conversation what compelled them to leave their dog here in the first place if it is so bad and there is so much neglect? We never stated that their dog would be the only dog in our care or that we would work with for the 3 weeks. We also never hid any of this information from them before, during, or now after this whole incident. Also, as seen in our emails, they had more than a week to sit on the information i provided them before dropping **** off. They did not have any issues with my answers or how we planned to care for **** before he was here. It seems concerning, or almost like a setup, to send your dog with 2 airtags to someone who you “dont trust” to take care of your dog just to demand them back 5 days later and ask for a refund after signing a contract that states no refunds after training has started. (Attached)
  
  
  Claim 7) “We decided to pick him up on March 19th for his well-being because we did not feel that the situation would be beneficial. We offered to give them $1,000 for those for days that he spent in the kennel and was told they do not do refunds, but could set up 8 sessions of other training”
  On their message to pickup **** they state that the reason they want to pick him up is “nothing negative” and that they feel “training classes would work best for them” (attached). We did not hesitate to bring **** to them and he was back in their care within 2 hours of their request. 
  As stated before, in our contract, we do not allow for refunds after any training package or program has been started. However, we did offer to honor his request of transferring ****s program to Lessons. Upon offering this compromise they just ignored the idea, His idea initially, and then requested a refund. I let him know that there are no refunds once training has been started and then here we are. 
  Also the portion of “for the days that he spend in the kennel” is just not accurate. In his own words it was not a kennel but a “fenced area” as we stated, also known as a dog run. Also, he was not just in the run during his stay. As stated in our emails back and forth, “his time will be balanced between the run and training and bonding time. We set aside time for each aspect daily to ensure consistent progress” “he will be out frequently with plenty of training sessions each day. Its a balance of making training fun and building up their endurance/tolerance to longer sessions over time.” 
  
  
  In Conclusion: 
  Ideally we would like this taken off of our BBB profile account.
  I feel that based on the provided information as well as the signed legal contract stating no refunds for any reason once training has started are more than enough to justify and clear our name and reputation. Just like with a vacation, you cannot book a vacation then bail half way through and get a refund. You still paid and took someone else's seat on the plane and in the hotel, or in this case, at our place. We hope that the BBB can review the above statement as well as the attached documents and clear this complaint off of our profile. We at the Distracted Dog would be devastated if this deterred any potential future clients from using our services due to one family's personal issues. We help a variety of people and dogs all around central illinois and look forward to continuing helping more dog owners in the future! 
  If there is any additional information needed please do not hesitate to reach out. We have nothing to hide and will gladly post up every message (email,and text) we have between us and the ****** in order to clear our name. 
  
  
  Thank you for your time, 
  Now, back to the real priority, training dogs! 
  
  
  edit: it will only let me attach 5 files. Please let me know how to attach more if you feel that you need them. I was not able to attach everything I referenced in the message but I have them to be presented if needed. Thanks 

  Customer response

  04/18/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:

  Throughout this process we were under the impression that **** would be with the Trainer 24/7. It is stated on their website that, "your dog gets the chance to live with a Professional Dog Trainer 24/7!" This was the selling point for me and I understood it to mean he would not be kenneled and would be comfortable and engaged at all times. (This is why I agreed to the $3000.00 price that is much higher than other trainers providing similar services).

  We were unable to see the facility where he was staying and requested a picture of where he will be sleeping multiple times. They did not send a picture until I called and personally requested Patrick to send one to my wife. (This is when I apologized for my "crazy wife". This was tongue in cheek and I was trying to make light of the uncomfortable situation of calling him to again request a picture (after multiple requests) of where he was sleeping. When we finally received the attached picture, we immediately noticed the empty water bowl and decided to get him out of there as soon as possible.

  When we were able to determine that **** was in fact spending most of his time locked in a kennel; (with the attached photo showing the empty water bowl), we wanted to get him out of the situation as soon as possible. I requested to come pick him up because we absolutely did not want him locked up for three weeks with limited water. At the time of pickup I apologized because I was trying to keep the meeting cordial. This was not the time to air our grievances while trying to get our dog out of the situation. I stated that we could discuss later what would be a fair refund.

  The contract is void because the service was represented as a great experience for the **** when in fact, he was being kenneled just like he would be at a kenneling service for 5 to 6 times the cost and he didn’t even have water in his bowl. This is not what we agreed to for **** at all.

  This contract states that there are no refunds once training has started. This was interpreted as, once training sessions or program regimen has started (for example a training session in the park or a training course for an agreed period of time.) This contract does not state that no refunds will be given for unused boarding time.

  I am willing to settle this dispute and I propose that:
  1) The Distracted Dog change the contract to state that no refunds are given for interrupted board and train in addition to the other situations mentioned.
  2) The Distracted Dog refund $2000.00 of the $3000.00 because **** was in their care for 4 of the 21 nights.
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩