My boy will not enter PetSmart

ekhalil

ekhalil

New member
Abu will be 4 yrs in March...This morning, he refused to enter PetSmart as if the place was cursed...This is not the first time he felt apprehensive about a pet store - in general he does not like to go into pet stores at first, however previously we were able to coax him in...He was so scared and nervous...why is his fear getting worse...

Has anyone dealt with similar situation ?

Abu is intact and wicked stubborn to begin with but he never had any bad experiences in any of the pet stores...

How do I fix this ?
 
CathyC.

CathyC.

New member
Treats and toys every time he gets near the place. Replace his apprehension with positive associations. Gradually get closer to entering the store. It might also help to follow a more confident dog friend in.
 
M

mcme

Member
Could it be the floor? I took Dublin to a Pet Smart or Petco, I don't remember which, once and he sat down and refused to move. He was afraid of the slippery floor. That was surprising, as we have tile at home and he's fine with it.
 
B

BLCOLE

Active member
mcme said:
Could it be the floor? I took Dublin to a Pet Smart or Petco, I don't remember which, once and he sat down and refused to move. He was afraid of the slippery floor. That was surprising, as we have tile at home and he's fine with it.
Click to expand...
Had the same problem with my second Newf, Vinnie. Took him to Benfield to get a rabies vaccine when I first brought him home. Got to Benfield, which is at the very back of my local PetSmart. Went to the back of the store okay, and took the shot okay. But he would NOT move to leave afterwards. Had to get a dolly and roll him out of the store.

NOTE: Vinnie DID have some orthopedic issues which caused his rear to slide around a good bit.
 
Brandie&Maggie

Brandie&Maggie

New member
mcme said:
Could it be the floor? I took Dublin to a Pet Smart or Petco, I don't remember which, once and he sat down and refused to move. He was afraid of the slippery floor. That was surprising, as we have tile at home and he's fine with it.
Click to expand...
This. Maggie liked to go but got nervous on the floor. It's really slippery.

But honestly if it's just pet store type places, I would not force the issue. Don't make him go if he doesn't like it and gets stressed by it.
 
Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
I think the floor is the problem.
Decker went to Petsmart for puppy classes and after about 4 weeks he decided that he couldn't possibly go inside. All sorts of bribery didn't work and so we now don't take him there. We have Canadian Tire stores that allow dogs and the same thing happened there and the floors are shiny.
 
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