Hmmm my first thought was to talk to the trainer about it but you mention she and the lady are good friends. That's too bad.. I don't know what kind of person the trainer is but if she seems reasonable and a good listener, maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to her anyway about it? Sounds like that snotty woman could learn a lot from her dog if she would open up her mind.

I don't really know what other advice to offer, though I have to agree that I'd hate to see her "win" and drive you and Malone away. At the same time if it's making the class particularly stressful or miserable for you, there's no reason you have to put up with that either. So I guess it really comes down to how much it is bothering you and how much you are able to shrug it off. I'm personally horrible at shrugging things off from a person like that.

Dogs are so much easier to deal with than people sometimes!