Assertive K-9 Training Kennels

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 8, 2015/08/11) */ This response is in regards to a complaint that was filed with your office, regarding a dispute between our (Client) and our training facility Assertive K-9; (DBA) Thinschmidt German ShepherdsThe complaint is in regards to purchase fees and training charged for (REMY) an month old female German shepherdThe original purchase price was established and agreed upon at $with an additional training package purchased at the agreed upon price of $At the time of the purchase, the client filled out and signed the original sales agreement that outlined the purchase priceThe sales agreement in two locates throughout the contract both in bold and italicized letters states clearly there are no refunds of any kindThe client signed the contract prior to the collection of RemyAdditionally, the client was provided a complete copy of the signed agreementA complete copy of the signed agreement along with the receipt is provided for your review On September 22, 2014, our client came to our facility and collected her new puppy, RemyThe dog at the time of the collection was a happy and health month old, playful with no dietary restrictionsMoreover, Remy was of sound height and weight for a female German shepherd of this ageRemy was at a weight of approximately pounds, with a full coat and good pigmentation in her eyes, her ears were fully developed and standing erect as is appropriate for this age of female German ShepherdA full-grown female German shepherd should be on average of a weight between - poundsPrior to the client leaving our facility with her new dog, she was provided a lengthy, on average two-hour presentation on the conduct and training of her new puppyAt the time of the presentation the client never made any indication that the Remy seemed to be slightly underweight or made any notations of alleged issues with the dog, she had purchasedFurthermore, the client is provided with a complete training video to take home to better understand what to expect from the dog being introduced into the homeThe training staff additionally goes over the feeding instruction for the dog as they are currently being feed at the kennelAll our clients, and this client included are instructed to maintain this feed regiment for at least weeks to allow the dog to acclimate to the new home and surroundsA copy of the agreement has been attached for your review In regards to the training packaged that was purchased along with Remy, The training clearly outlines the expectations of the training and what the new owner can expect from their new dog at the time they take ownershipAgain, on this agreement it is clearly stated throughout the contract in both bold and italicized letters that there are no refunds or transfers of training feesAdditionally, it states in the contract that the client accepts and agrees to these terms, where she initials once and signed at the end of the contractThe client signed and agreed to the terms of her agreement of her own free will and under no duressA copy of the agreement has been attached for your review After the client left our facility with her new puppy Remy, it appears she had no understanding of or failed to follow the instructions of the training staff that indicated the dog would need at least weeks to acclimate to the new surroundsYes, many dogs acclimate faster, we say four weeks to make sure there are no new developmental issues with the dog in the new home either behavioral or in regards to trainingFour weeks, allows for a good amount of time to see any changes in the animalIn addition to training and behavioral issues, there might be issues with the appetite of the animalMany dogs when they come to the kennel or return home from the kennel will not eatThis is not a long-term issue but simply a stress issues and the dogs return to in a few daysHowever, there are those occasions where it takes the dogs longer to adjust; this adjustment again is not abnormal As stated by the client, only ten days after having Remy in her home she takes the dog to the vet for fear Remy is starvingRemy, is clearly making an adjustment to her new home that as stated prior is taking a bit longer than normalIn many cases, even following the feeding instructions as provided by the kennel staff will not make the dog eat in her new surroundingsThe client caused additional issues with the dogs feeding by attempting to hand feed herThis form of force feeding of a dog, who is clearly attempting to make an adjustment in her new home; only causes additional stress on the dog and she will withdraw even further, and lose her appetiteWe can make the same assessment of humans, when we are stressed or making a new adjustment to life changes we do not eat The Veterinary evaluation of Remy on October 1, showed that there were no issues with the animalIt appears the animal received several shots and no indication from the vet that Remy was underweightAt the time of this visit, Remy was weighed and she was a health weight at pounds, well within her weight for her ageThe client not happy with initial results, returned to the vet a second time on October 10, nine days after the initial visitDuring the second visit, there were some additional tests completed on the RemyX-rays were completed to make sure she had no issues with her digestive track, she was examined for illness and a radiology exam was completed, finally Remy was again weighed and was still well within her weight of pounds a loss of pounds in a weekThe vet was unable to determine any illness with Remy, yet nine days later and pounds he now determined Remy to be underweightThe clear sign of weight loss could have been from additionally stress of force feeding, increased activity and still limited intake of foodThere are a number of issues which could have contributed to the weight loss, however none of them detrimental to the overall health of the animalA copy of the vet report has been provided for your review The client has made accusations that we as breeders have sold unhealthy dogsAccusations that is not supported with any facts from her own vetCalifornia Health and Safety Code (a) states "If a licensed veterinarian states in writing that within days after the purchaser has taken physical possession of a dog following the sale by a breeder, the dog has become ill due to any illness or disease that existed in the dog on or before delivery of the dog to the purchaserAlternatively, if within one year after the purchaser has taken physical possession of the dog after the sale by a breeder, a veterinarian licensed in this state states in writing that the dog has a congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the dogOr, that requires, or is likely in the future to require, hospitalization or nonselective surgical procedures, the dog shall be considered unfit for sale." There was nothing from the client or her own vet that indicated after two visits that there was anything wrong with RemyIn fact the only thing the vet and the client were able to make an argument for was that the dog lost pounds in a week and yet she was still well within her weight for her age pounds Furthermore, the client is asking for reimbursement for fees charged for the sale and training of Remy yet she violated her own complaint by not following California Health and Safety Code (a) (b) that states the following"To obtain the remedies provided for in Section 122070, the purchaser shall substantially comply with all of the following requirements: (a) Notify the breeder as soon as possible but no later than five days of the diagnosis by a veterinarian licensed in this state of a medical or health problem, including a congenital or hereditary condition and of the name and telephone number of the veterinarian providing the diagnosis(b) Return the dog to the breeder, in the case of illness or congenital or hereditary condition, along with a written statement from a veterinarian licensed in this state, stating the dog to be unfit for purchase due to illness, a congenital or hereditary condition, or the presence of symptoms of a contagious or infectious disease, that existed on or before delivery of the dog to the purchaser, and that adversely affects the health of the dogThe purchaser shall return the dog along with a copy of the veterinarian's statement as soon as possible but no later than five days of receipt of the veterinarian's statement." In this instance there is nothing from the vet in regards to health concerns for the animal and this was confirmed with a complete examination of the animal on October 10, by the clients own vet that had seen the animal twice in a matter of nine daysAgain as stated, earlier the only statement of the vet was that the dog was underweight at pounds down only pounds from the week priorHardly a fair and accurate diagnosisAdditionally, Remy was not returned to us until November 5, almost a month after our client had the dog in the vet twice searching for a reason to cause issues when there clearly was nothing wrong with the dog, except the owner herself On November 5, our kennel against our own contract, and for complete wellbeing and safety of our dogs we graciously took Remy back from her current ownerAt the time, we took Remy, back from her owner in a matter of days she was eating with no issues and seemed to have returned to her joyful and playful nature with everyone that encountered her at the kennelAttached is a photo of Remy three days after being returned to the kennel, it is clear she is healthy and of sound weightAdditionally, attached is a photo of our client with Remy and again remy looks to be of sound weightAgain, there is nothing that can be found with Remy that would indicate she is an unhealthy dog After taking Remy back from her owner, an owner that stated she had a connection with the dog who was the love of her family's life who "could not endure the heartache of watching her waste away and with a heavy heart made the painful decision to return Remy." Upon the return of Remy, our kennel staff worked with her to make sure she was fit to be re-homedOn December 15, 2014, Remy was placed back on our company website for saleHowever, she had be renamed to "Naomi" with the American Kennel Association (a copy of rename had been attached for your review) she had the same registration number and description including date of birthBetween the re-launch date of December 15, and Naomi's sale date of February 10, to her new owner, the client of this complaint revisited our website and informed us that she was in fact interested in NaomiHow can a client that stated a dog was the love of her life and that of her family not recognize her own dog on a websiteThe simple fact is Remy never got comfortable in the client's homeThere was nothing noted by the vet after two visits indicating illness, and finally the client was not able to recognize her own dog after months of spending time with her prior to the returnThese simple facts lead to only one conclusion; the client failed to make a connection with the dog and in this frustration attempted to make issues in the form of accusation and threats to our facility; adversely affecting our past, present and future clients and the business in its totality To address the issues of this client, and the alleged sale of Lula as a replacement dogThere was never any formal agreement that Lula was to be sold to this client and in fact, we don't hold dogs for potential buyers without the representation of a depositThis client has made accusations that we sell unhealthy dogs, yet she continues to want a dog from us and a complete contradiction of her accusationsThe client had a dog that was not eating and look at the issues it has createdLula, will not ever be sold; we take great pride in the sale of and the protection of the dogs and our clientsWith that being said, Lula who is not one of our breeding but an import from German was determined to have slight issues with her elbows, which could later develop into greater mobility problems, but that cannot be determined until she is full-grownTherefore, to answer the client, Lula was not sold to spite you, better yet to protect you, even in lieu of all the all the negativity and accusations you have raged against our organization A full refund was at one time addressed with the client and she refused the offerAfter the refusal of the refund by the client herself for her dog Remy, the client became greedy and now wanted a full refund for the dog and the trainingAfter a period of time and not being able to come to a reasonable agreement with the client, she continued to rage war against our facility with her threats of lawsuits and complaint with the Revdex.com and her thwarted threats of making her anger known to all by addressing her issues with our facility on YelpBecause of the sole actions of the client throughout this process, her clear disregard for the contract in which she signed and agreed to the conditions of no refundsIt is our inclination, to honor the contract that was signed by the client of her own free will knowing there were no refunds or exchanges of any kind at the time of purchase In conclusion, Naomi (Aka Remy) was sold to a family in Arizona on February 10, Attached is an email from the new owner that indicates the dog is great, full of energy and yet she still has an eating issueThis dog that just needed some time to show her lifestyle needs and her needs are not of eating huge amounts of food to maintain a healthy and active life styleThe owner of his dog currently has figured a way to maintain a balance for the dog that is health and she is thrivingThe current owners have taken Naomi to the vet several times and there are still no medical issues While we understand, any issue with your animal that we cannot determine or understand is a hard adjustment and one that can be filled with fear and uncertaintyThat being said, we take great care in making sure the animal and the new owner are provided all necessary information and training to assure this adjustment is a positive one, which will unite the dog and the owner in a positive manner at the inception of their relationshipAdditionally, we take great pride in the services we have been providing to our clients and community for the better part of thirty yearsMs [redacted] and her dog (Remy) like all our clients were provided with the greatest care and professionalism, which I demand from my staff to all clients that afford us the opportunity to provide a service in a very competitive field Thank you for your timely attention to this matter Respectfully Submitted [redacted] Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 17, 2015/09/09) */ ***Document Attached [redacted] The breeders Revdex.com response to my complaint is quite elaborate, however, her recounting of events is rife with misrepresentations and inaccuraciesShe attempts to portray me as hysterical, ignorant and incompetentI intend to show that my complaint is valid and that the refund which I seek, and was previously offered, is indeed justified The purchase price for Remy is stated as $3,but, in fact, was $3,which included a deposit of $paid on August 4,The breeder's attached records to her response confirm both transactionsShe states that I purchased the training package of $implying this was optional, when it was actually a non-negotiable part of the total cost for the dogThis was training that occurred when she was a puppy and was paid by her original owner as wellI assume it was also subsequently paid by the third owner who followed meSo, it appears that the breeder was paid three times for the same serviceI did sign a contract, as the breeder states, that there were no refundsHowever, I naturally believe I was purchasing a 'teenage' dog who was still growing and would put on weight, as was represented to meThe breeder asserts that, at the time of the purchase, I received a two-hour presentation and also never expressed concern about Remy's weight statusThis is blatantly falseI spoke to both [redacted] and [redacted] [redacted] , her daughter, was the manager at the time but I am told has since left the businessI also spoke with [redacted] , [redacted] 's brother, who functions as a trainerThere was no two-hour presentation on conduct and training although I was given a notebook with information regarding care that I have referred to often, as I am always eager to become a better ownerThese definitive statements are surprising since she was never present during any visits to the Thinschmidt facilityIn fact, I have never met or spoken with her Next, I am accused of overzealous behavior when taking Remy to the vet soon after bringing her homeAlthough I did not wish to take her to the vet so soon, incredibly, her rabies vaccination was about to expireSince it takes up to weeks to confer immunity, I felt it responsible to address this as soon as possibleI must admit surprise that this was not already accomplished while under the breeder's care, especially in light of the cost of the dogAlthough concerned about her weight, it was not initially a major topic of conversation with the vetI knew, contrary to the breeder's insinuations, that she was in an adjustment phase to her new home and surroundingsWe returned to the vet at a later point when it was clear that she was only eating a fraction of the amount needed to thrive and growThis was especially perplexing as I was following exact instructions on feeding from [redacted] After Remy started losing weight instead of gaining it, the vet recommended some tests to rule out a pathological cause The breeder states that I caused additional stress by hand feedingIn truth, this only happened a couple of times near the end of her five weeks with us in an attempt to get at least a little food in herThis clearly was not an adjustment or connection problem as Remy seemed to love us and played happily with my male dogIn fact, three separate owners have now had the exact same problem with Remy which is substantiated by the breeder's own statement and attached documentationThis is poignantly expressed in the email from the latest owner in a plea for advice and assistance from Thinschmidt regarding the her eating issueThey too were concerned enough to seek answers from a vet It is put forth that I did not follow time requirments in order to receive 'remedies' for my purchaseIn fact, I was in contact with [redacted] during this entire episodeWe cared for Remy and wanted to give her more than adequate time to adjust and, hopefully, to start to eat normallyEventually, she advised me to bring Remy back for a full credit on another dogI felt pressure since [redacted] said it was a limited time offer and we needed to decide as it would only become more difficult for everyone as we became more attached to herAs I said, I never had any interactions or discussions with *** The next point to address is NaomiThis was an extraordinary revelation to discover from her statement that Remy had been posted for sale on their site under another nameWho could have imagined that? I do remember inquiring about a dog named Naomi and was told that she had been sold to someone in ArizonaThe breeder accuses me of not recognizing my own dog and this does sound incredibleLuckily, pictures were attached to her Revdex.com response which I believe exonerate meShe looks like quite a different dog with a wider face and somewhat different coloring and it had only been a few months since she was with usMy family and I had a hard time believing this was RemyI find it so strange that nothing was said to me at the timeWhy was this kept secret? I don't know which was more shocking, the previous story about Remy/Naomi or the revelation about Lula, whom I was interested in purchasing months after Remy with my credit from the breederOf course, at this time I was still unaware of Remy's difficult history with her previous owner and what was ahead with LulaThinschmidt has some beautiful dogs and I liked the fact they had training which was how I rationalizaed such a high priceThe breeder states now that Lula would never be sold due to joint problems with her elbows yet she was posted on their site for saleUpon meeting her, I asked [redacted] why she was being soldI was told she was not going to be used for breeding as intendedWhen asked why, he did not know and explained that [redacted] was the person who decided which dogs were to be soldI never accused the breeder of doing anything to 'spite me' as she says, but merely felt it unprofessional to sell her the very next day without warningShe states that they require a deposit to hold a dogBut, Thinschmidt not only had my deposit, they had full payment for a dog! She now contends they were protecting me by not selling her but it begs the question- why was she listed for sale at all? And why was she still listed as available on their site as recently as today? Why was it determined the very next day after I met her not to sell her? They knew about the elbow issues then, did they not? Why did they not tell the truth at that time? My conclusion is as follows: I cannot speak about all Thinschmidt dogs but it's amazing that both dogs in question that I have had contact with have health issuesThis was belatedly confirmed in Remy's case and later discovered in Lula'sThroughout my interaction with Thinschmidt they have intentionally deceived me and have caused pain and suffering which could have been avoided by being honestGiven the breeder's illuminating statement, which I believe is actually self-incriminating, it would be impossible to conduct any further business with themUnfortunately, they still have my $6,and I have no dog I am willing to swear in a court of law to the veracity of my statements and look forward to doing so at the earliest opportunity Final Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 20, 2015/10/13) */ October 13, Revdex.com [redacted] WShaw Avenue Ste [redacted] , California [redacted] Ref: Client Complaint Complaint ID: [redacted] Attn: [redacted] This response is to address the final offer for payment to the client in the above addressed matterAs discussed in prior documentation there have been offers made to the client in an effort to resolve this matter, however, the client has failed to accept any of the offers presented to herIn fact, each offer that has been presented the client has resulted in a demand of additional moneyIn a believed effort to satisfy her alleged losses of a dog, which she voluntarily returned to the breeder where there was not a single issue noted with the animal at the time of return, except the reported loss of pounds that was even identified by the clients vet on two separate occasions Since the start of this tragic situation for the dog (Remy), the client, and our business there seems to be no possible resolution the client will be in favor of acceptingAs a lack of her favorable acceptance to any of the offers presented to her, she has taken it upon herself to make many attempts to cause financial difficulties for our businessHer efforts have included negative remarks on Yelp where the client blasted our business and all of our alleged wrongdoing, taking no accountability for her own actions in this processToday, because of her efforts in writing negative reviews we can accurately account for the business losses, which were a direct result of her words, and misguided truths about the integrity of our business and the quality of the dogs that we place in hands of our clientsAdditionally, we have had to retain legal counsel in preparation of the threatened impending lawsuits the client has stated she will file against our business if she is not paid the amount she is demanding of $The client was made aware at the time of the sale that training will never be refunded and she signed the documents to that affect To date, the client in her efforts of filing and misleading yelp reviews she has cost the business approximately $20,dollars in documented direct sales as a direct result of her wordsAdditionally, she had cost the business, approximately $in attorney fees to respond to these complaints and address additional matters in lieu of having a lawsuit filed by the client as she continues to threaten via email and certified mailed letters to the office of the business Because, of the continued losses to the business that seems to be a direct result of the client and her actions with negative reviews on yelp; threats of law suits that force our business to retain legal counsel to defend our businessAny refund that was willing to be paid to the client at one time, and additionally, her outright refusal of the refund offered to her, now was needed, and has been reallocated to defend against her barrage of negative publicity and threats of legal actionHowever, in an effort to attempt a good faith effort our office is willing to pay for the veterinary bills acquired by the clientWhere the veterinarian found nothing wrong with the dog both on October 1, for $dollars and the second veterinary bill acquired on October 10, for $for a complete total of $This will be the final offer made in regards to this situation, as we have exhausted all efforts to satisfy the client, unfortunately resulting in negative results Respectfully Submitted, [redacted] for [redacted] Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (3000, 22, 2015/10/16) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Oomplaint ID: The following is my response to the last letter from a representative for the breederI have never asked for additional money, rather the amount has consistently been $6,which I originally paid for Remy in July Contrary to their statement, I did accept the offer of a full refund in July of this year but, unfortunately, this offer was rescinded the very next day and the breeder then offered only the partial sum of $3,This led to my subsequent efforts through emails, certified letters, and eventually the Revdex.com to resolve this matterTheir need, as stated, to retain attorneys is a little puzzling as the only legal process I have alluded to is small claims court where no attorneys are allowedThe total cost to me so far has been $for two certified lettersThe fee to file with small claims court would be $I am toldThere is a complaint from the breeder about the piling up of legal feesSurely, it would be more cost effective to reimburse me for the $6,rather than accrue thousands of dollars in legal fees I don't have lawyers or legal advisors available to me to write intimidating lettersI am just one individual seeking justiceAs a nurse, I recently had the experience of testifying in court and, fortunately, that case was ruled in favor of the hospitalWhile it is not a pleasant experience, it is very gratifying to be able to tell the truth under oathIn this case that truth is this: 1) Remy was purchased in good faith and loved and cared for exactly as instructed 2) In spite of the fact that I was promised she ate a normal, healthy amount for a growing dog her size (cups twice a day), she never consumed even half that and on occasion nothing at all 3) Veterinary evaluation and testing was sought 4) After several weeks with continuing eating issues and the encouragement of [redacted] (the manager at the time), I brought Remy back to the breeder 5) I was given a document for full credit for another trained dog for the original sum of $6, 6) Months later I found one of their available dogs I wanted, the very next day I was told she was soldOnly months later from breeder statements in this Revdex.com process find that she, in fact, was not sold but had joint issues 7) Only then did I discover a litany of complaints against Thinschmidt German Shepherds which included the revelation about Remy's history of the same eating, health issues from the original owner which had been completely denied by the breeder at the time of purchase 8) A full refund was offered by [redacted] in July 2015, of which I have a recording 9) The next day only a partial refund was offered 10) The offer is now $for incurred vet costs 11) I have no dog and no money It is stated that my comment on Yelp has resulted in the loss of revenue represented to be $20,My one comment recounting my experience with Thinschmidt was merely the latest of several complaints on Yelp and Ripoff Report citing similar situations and difficulties resolving problems with this company In an effort to move toward resolution, however, I would like to propose a compromiseI will accept the kind offer of $for veterinary reimbursement, which was never included in the original amount requested from the breederI will happily subtract that sum from the amount of $3,which was previously offered on July 15, This is a reduction of almost $2,from the original amount paid to you for a dog last yearIf we entered into arbitration through the court, both sides would be expected to compromise, which I am willing to doBut, if this case is unresolved through the efforts of the Revdex.com and moves forward to small claims, I will be asking for the full refund that was originally offered and I truly believe is rightfully due to me Sincerely, [redacted]

I bought a ten week old puppy from Thinschmidt (Gonzo and Helen) and he is just turning two years oldHe has a fabulous temperament and can go anywhere with me, such as off leash hiking, Macy's, the bank, my office, other people's homes, etcI opted to train him myself and go to their group training classes which worked out greatHe is smart and highly trainableHe is my fourth shepherd and although I have not had him x-rayed, I know he doesn't have dysplasia, since I am well versed in the symptomsMy first two shepherds each had elbow dysplasia and one had to be put down for degenerative myelopathy and my third had a severe overbiteSometimes congenital defects pop up through no fault of the breederEvery purchaser of a large breed dog should inform the breeder of any congenital defects regardless of a warranty so that the breeder can be informed and act accordingly to eliminate the defect from their bloodlinesTemperament was the most important thing to me and Thinschmidt deliveredI would definitely buy another puppy from them and I would recommend them for training help as wellMy dog is now doing nose/odor work and is an enthusiastic participantI look forward to many years with this dog