Cross Training Playground

Happy to report down several inches and a few more pounds without a crazy fad diet. Love this gym!

I really did enjoy the workouts at Cross Training Playground — until his Great Dane Onyx bit me last night. It is a shame — I think that Brian could have a successful business if he put his customers’ safety and well-​being first over his desire to let his two Great Danes roam free, unsupervised, in the front room of his building. You have to walk through the front room to get to the gym — unless you want to walk around the warehouse to the back door, which at least one member does because he doesn’t want to walk past the huge dogs who are always in the front room during business hours.
They displayed aggression toward me twice as I was walking in to the gym. Last night when entering the building, they both jumped toward me and suddenly my right hand was in the dog’s mouth. I whipped it away before she could clamp down, so I still have my hand.
There is an official complaint filed with Lake County Animal Control, who visited the gym today and talked with Brian. The Lake County Police are also aware. Please be aware of this if you choose to enter his establishment. You can contact animal control with your concerns at 847−377−4700. They have this incident on file.
Brian agreed to put the unsupervised, unleashed dogs in the kennel during business hours last night, in front of about 5 witnesses (other members), yet when the warden visited him today, they were roaming free. He lied to the warden about not knowing about the first incident — the one when I entered the room in tears and told him about it. He said that he «doesn’t want to make a mountain out of a mole hill» and that «Onyx wouldn’t bite someone — now maybe Oreo would, but not Onyx.» Oreo is the other Great Dane. Strange thing to say, right?
I don’t have any confidence that Brian will crate his two Great Danes going forward, so please be aware that if the dog bit me, she or the other Great Dane could bite you or your child.
Because it is Brian’s place of business, animal control can’t force him to comply with their recommendations. All I can do at this point is warn others of the danger. If the dogs are unleashed, unsupervised, and their owner isn’t even around, who knows what they could do.
This has emotionally been difficult for me, and I’d hate to see this happen to anyone else. Thank God I reacted as quickly as I did, or I may have been seriously injured. What makes this so hard is that I love animals (I adopted an adult pit bull, and couldn’t love her any more than I do — and realize I am 100% responsible for her actions, as her owner). This shouldn’t have happened — and Brian shouldn’t act like it is no big deal, because it is. His smug, condescending response was disappointing, to say the least.
Beyond the dog bite incident, and the incident when the same dog showed aggression to me by bearing its teeth and pushing my arm (scary, given the size of the dog!), he is far from a hands-​on, attentive trainer that you may be looking for. Many times he isn’t even in the gym, so you are working out alone and without his guidance. Even when he is in the gym with you, he isn’t coaching you at all — so really I was just using his equipment and following the exercises he has up on the board. Really not the type of service I would expect, given the significant amount of money he charges.
What happened to me last night made me feel like a victim, and really shook me up. Please think of what happened to me as you or your child consider visiting Cross Training Playground. I WOULD NEVER LET MY CHILD NEAR THIS PLACE, as those dogs could kill someone in a flash if they wanted to. There are other gyms nearby that hold themselves to a higher professional standard. You should ask yourself if attending is worth the risk of being attacked by one, or two, Great Danes. It’s not worth it to me.