hen later as she was teaching us to get the dogs used to touch, Rocky was tired of being in the class and didn't feel like doing the 'touch exercise', so he started to be 'nippy' with me and the instructor decided to put him in her lap in a submissive state and make him continue the exercise whether he wanted to or not. 
Also....I forgot to say, she brought her dog in the class to show how well trained he is, but he is 5 years old and calm, slept thru the class and when she wanted to demonstrate certain skills, he kind of slept thru and didn't really acknowledge her commands or really want to treats she gave him. So, I don't know? Her dog seemed sweet, but I don't know if he is well-traineded or just getting old and calm, because he sure didn't seem interested in doing anything.
Hmmm, just my opinion, but I would say that the things I bolded are red flags and you should proceed with caution.
The first one....Training should be kept as positive as possible. Reprimands and negatively trying to force the dog to perform when it's bored, tired or frustrated can cause the dog to become bitter towards training and unwilling to cooperate. It can cause a normally happy, willing pup to shut down and not be willing to perform at all, which isn't something you want since that willingness to cooperate and try things is what will make training easy.
Try this exercise so you can understand what your dog is thinking....Have one of your kids or a friend (or both!) choose a simple activity for you to do, turn on a lamp, the TV, pick up your keys, things of that manner, and don't tell you what it is when you come back in the room. We'll say for example the activity is to turn on the TV. Now, it is your job to wander around the room trying to figure out what your supposed to do. If you stray away from the TV, your "trainers" are going to reprimand you by going "boooo!" and giving you thumbsdowns, but they'll stop when you are close to the TV. They'll boo you if you reach behind it, but stop if you come close to the power button. You will find out very quickly how a dog feels when all it hears is "no", "No!" and "NO!!!" during training. You can even ask your friends to physically point you in the right direction, to force you on the right path. It's frusterating and you want to give up. Same for the dog, but he WILL give up.
Now do the same activity, but have your friends clap and cheer you on when you're on the right path to turning the TV on, and instead of booing you, they'll just stop cheering if your going astray. You'll figure out what they want you to do quicker, and you won't get frustrated. Same with the dog. Positive reinforcement is more effective.
So, back to your situation with your dog....He didn't "decide" not to do the touching activity. He was bored and he proceeded to occupy himself with something else....nipping you. IMO, trying to correct him for nipping by flipping him over was unnecessary, and forcing him to do the activity anyway was unwise.
Which brings me to a second potential red flag....the trainers time management! Was she doing breaks between activities? Or was she going right from one to the next?
And the second thing I bolded....This goes hand in hand with the first red flag. A properly trained dog will be enthusiastic about performing, whether it's by nature a calm dog or not, and old dog or a young dog. If you were to see me working with Angie in a demonstration, her eyes would be bright and focused on my face the entire time, her ears would be up and attentive to what I'm saying, her tail would be wagging, her reactions to my cues would be prompt and done happily and willingly. When she's being rewarded, she LOOKS like she's being rewarded. She won't look bored, unhappy, like she's being forced or like she'd rather be taking a nap. I trained her using nothing but positive reinforcement and she too is 5 years old. The same would be for my 13 year old dog.
Now, what you saw with her dog tells me that she is not that experienced of a trainer. Her dog was well behaved, yes. But well trained? No, not if he wasn't paying a bit of attention to her or acknowledging. Second thing that clues me in is the fact that the dog wasn't interested in the treats. Motivation is huge in dog training. In order for any training to occur, you have to know what motivates your dog. If she had really worked with her own dog, she would have known that he wasn't motivated by treats and she would have been using a different method that would have woken her dog up and kept his attention.
I think you have a really good head on your shoulders and it seems you are already skeptical of her and what she's teaching. You have every right to be. By all means keep going to the class, if anything, it's a good socialization opportunity. It sounds like this trainer's knowledge is mostly book learned. So listen and try, but be using your common sense at all times. If something doesn't sound right to you, you don't have to do it. If she wants to reprimand your dog again, or if she advises you do something you aren't comfortable doing, I would suggest you calmly tell her you aren't comfortable with it and you can take care of the problem yourself.
