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  Animal Psychology Center

  910 E Watertown St Rapid City, SD 57701-1349

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  Animal Psychology Center

  PO Box 471 Philip, SD 57567-0471

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/16/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I sent my GSD to APC in June; he spent five weeks there, and cost over $*****. I thought this was extremely expensive but I was desperate to help my dog and when I spoke to Kathrine I explained the issues I was having with my dog and how much I would like to help him because it had become problematic for me. She assured me she specialized in my dogs' specific issues and that she could help. My dog was aggressive towards other dogs and had severe separation anxiety. While there, she suggested that I have him neutered to help him calm him down and make him less aggressive, while hesitant I complied. When I picked him up, he was great, extremely calm and seemed to do well around the other dogs. She showed me how to handle him and I took what she taught me home. He did well for about two weeks then right back to how he was before I dropped him off. I contacted her and she explained to me what I need to do with him. I tried all her suggestions. No luck. So I took him back to her for a refresher course, along with my parents as they were having issues with him also when watching him for me. He was acting up in front of her and she showed us what to do. It worked while there. Again I bring him home and back to the dog he was before I sent him. I contacted her once again and she told me that it's best to get rid of him because our personalities we will never match and he'll never behave for me. Not only did I spend all that money for no improvement I now have a neutered dog that I obviously cannot breed to help compensate any of that lost money. The only suggestion she had for his anxiety was to give him Trazadone, which she used while he was there, instead of fixing the actual problem. His lack of training has nothing to do with our personalities; he does not behave well for anyone else either despite my showing them the training techniques she went over with me. For this amount of money I should have a brand new, well behaved dog. Sadly, I do not.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/27/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/22) */
  We do specialize in animal behavior here at Animal Psychology Center, and we are one of the only facilities in the area that will work with highly aggressive dogs. This German Shepherd is one of the highest anxiety and aggressive dogs that I have ever seen. Adrianna explained that his bloodline comes from a Police K9 background, which would explain his high drive. Our cost for a five week rehabilitation program for this caliber of dog is justified, because they need to be monitored constantly all day by employees until the dog has earned trust. The German Shepherd arrived with near zero training: he was so anxious he had to be in an indestructible crate, severe separation anxiety, he would pull so hard on his leash that the owner could barely hold on to him, he would attack other dogs with no warning, no respect for pack order, he would jump all over the owner constantly, and would also attempt to urinate on females. We were able to address all of his negative behaviors one by one during his five week stay. He needed constant supervision for the majority of his time here and had strict boundaries that were enforced to keep him from misbehaving. This type of dog requires very strong leadership skills to make him respect his handler; without strong leadership skills the dog will assume the Alpha role and act out on his own without respecting the handlers command. My client has lacked these leadership skills since she has owned her German Shepherd. After receiving proper leadership, he was able to progress through the training program and become incorporated into a dog pack without any aggression. He was a well behaved dog, who walked on his leash very well. While he did still have a high level of anxiety, our local vet did prescribe him Trazodone. We have had success giving Trazodone daily with similar breeds and anxiety levels over an extended period of time, this would aid in his transition back to his home. After his five week program was complete, the dog was acting completely differently than when he arrived, he was not exhibiting any of the negative behaviors when he left. When the owner came to pick up her dog, we walked her through his training as well as coached her on what she would need to do to maintain control of her dog. Everything went well during his departure, as my client explains, he was doing very well back at his home for the first few weeks. He then set into his old ways, as he was allowed to by Adrianna. She was not able to follow his strict training protocol and he was losing respect for her.
  
  With our aggression rehabilitation training package, we offer two included refresh courses in case the client is having new troubles after bringing their dog back home. Adrianna took advantage of one included training session and brought her parents along. I coached her, as well as her parents, on leadership skills so they would all be respected by the dog. While they were here, the dog began to listen to them and respecting everyone's authority. We also incorporated him in with other dogs, which they were all unable to do at home. They all agreed that he was acting like a completely different dog when you have proper pack order and leadership. They seemed satisfied with the new information, but when they arrived home they were unable to utilize their new leadership skills and he again set into his old ways. His behavior is now getting worse while living with her: he is now even more aggressive towards other dogs, began defecating in the house, as well as marking in the house. These behaviors especially show a lack of respect from the dog. He did not exhibit any of these behaviors during his training program here at APC. Adrianna is welcome to come for another training session which is included in the training package that she has paid for. However, at this point she does not want to have the dog anymore. I advised that it was probably the best decision for her to find a new home for him, because it did not seem like she would be able to gain the necessary leadership role for her dog to respect her. I do think that he would be a great dog for someone that has a lot of experience with police working dogs, he has a lot of energy and will work for you all day if you have enough leadership skills to keep him from acting out. He is a smart dog, and learns quickly, which is a big part of the reason that he is comfortable becoming the Alpha of his household. He requires a lot of mental stimulation, as well as strict discipline. I do not believe it was the right choice for a dog for Adrianna. In my opinion, I think she would be better with a lower drive dog similar to a Labrador or Poodle.
  
  While Adrianna has requested a full refund, she was made aware that there would be no refunds once our training has begun. This has always been our policy and is shown on our receipts. During the first week of his training, Adrianna had called me and asked for a guarantee that her dog would be perfect when she received him. I explained to her that what she had signed up for was a aggression rehabilitation program which we sometimes compare to a drug rehabilitation program for humans. We do specialize in this training, and we do our best to ensure all of the dogs safety while incorporating these types of dogs into a dog pack. Like human rehabilitation, some participants will accept the rehab much better than others. Some will fail out of the program completely and can not be rehabilitated. All of this was explained to her, that we could not guarantee that he would be a perfect dog, but he was already showing good progress and my evaluation was that he would have a positive outcome from his rehabilitation. She was aware of the cost of the training program before we began the training, and she also knew that she had the option of relinquishing the dog and getting a new one. Adrianna still chose to go forward with the aggression rehabilitation program here at APC. Her dogs behavior changed dramatically during his rehabilitation while he was at APC and only after spending time with Adrianna, he began acting out again. I believe that we did everything possible to rehabilitate her dog, and was initially considered a success by everyone involved. Adrianna was unable to follow up on his strict training procedures at home and has failed to regain respect with him. She agrees that he was initially behaving how she was expecting him to, but she is not responsible enough for a dog of his caliber. Now she worries that she will not be able to breed her dog, which is very irresponsible. It is the best practice to only breed dogs with the best temperaments and pedigree. If she were to breed this dog, it is possible that his offspring will retain his very high drive, and could also become aggressive like him. She fails to understand the seriousness of situation, and decided to get a dog that she was not capable of keeping under control. She has been irresponsible for putting her dog in situations where he has the opportunity to attack other dogs. Adrianna is also irresponsible in shifting blame to me for her dog's problems. I do not believe that she is owed any amount for a refund as his training was complete when he left my facility, but she failed to follow up on his strict training protocol.