Dog sitting was not what I thought it would be like

[EMom]

Dogs can be kenneled. If owners aren't willing, don't own one/ JMHO.

My 28 yr old stepson has a great dog. He works all day, wants to travel here and there every weekend. Always asking for "dogsitting".

NO, sorry. That's our answer every time. My own dog is enough for me. And I always kennel if we go out of town.

The OP is saving the pet owners a fortune by petsitting for two weeks and saving them the cost of a kennel. Hundreds of dollars. Depending on the area, perhaps several hundred dollars for 14 days. I hope they buy the OP a NICE gift upon their return or at least pay for cleaning her floors. Maybe they hate the idea of a kennel partially because of what it would cost them. I pay $30 a day for my catsitter. That's $420 for a two week vacation. I'd love to save that. I can see people fudging just how housetrained a puppy is to talk you into petsitting.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We use a pet sitter. Have for ten years. They are vet tech certified. Bonded and caring. It's well worth 17 bucks a visit. We have cats so they're easy.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Ugh we just came home and she peed in her crate but it ended up on the carpet in my bedroom. I really am starting to think she was not as housebroken as she was made to be. I didn't even clean up as much with my own dogs when they are being house trained. Just throwing myself a pity party lol.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't understand the "no kennel" thing. My sister kennels her dog at the Vets & she likes it. She also sleeps in her crate at night & some evenings, Sis goes looking for her, only to find she's already settled down in her crate!

I agree that there's not much you can do now. It was very kind of you not to tell the folks that their dog is a nightmare while they're on vacation. But when they get back, let them know why you won't be dog-sitting for them again.

I have never kenneled a dog. I have friends who dog sit, and if they are not available I don't go on vacation. It is that simple. I also don't crate, one of my rescue dogs I adopted with the stipulation she not be crated. No way could I leave her in a kennel and enjoy myself.

OP--You will get through this. It was very nice of you to lie and not tell the owners how bad things are. I would tell them when they get back so that they know they have much to work on with their little doggie. Good luck!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Ugh I can't imagine having a 6 month old dog that isn't potty trained. We worked so hard when we got our pups to get them trained so that stage was over with! It's the worst. I feel for you, OP, sounds miserable.

I am constantly amazed how poorly behaved and trained some dogs are, and how many owners seem not to care. I have high energy and rambunctious dogs (two boy Dalmatians who are a year and a half, and an elderly standard poodle), and boy we work hard to keep them in line and nice to be around. Our dogs are still jerks at times, but we are reaping the rewards of dogs who are being trained and who are excellent family members. But that's what we signed up for.

I hope the two weeks passes quickly and you can hand them off again!

Thanks for summarizing my feelings in that first paragraph! I seriously thought potty training was over and done with but never guess I'll have to be a hawk with this dog and watch her every move. It wasn't what I had signed up for.

 

[morgan98]

Quite frankly, I would be ticked with your friends. Who expects someone (or asks someone) to watch their untrained puppy/young dog for free for two weeks. I have pets of my own and they are quite the responsibility. We just got over a litter box issues in a brand new home with my 8 year old male cat. We were ready to pull our hair out.

No way, no how would I be losing sleep and having someone else's pet having accidents in my house while I was inconvenienced for two weeks. I would be taking the dog to a kennel myself and maybe even paying for it for some relief. The owners could be mad at me and I would not care..AT ALL!

Again, I really do like pets, but then there is being taken advantage of.

 

[HeatherC]

Haven't read all the posts, but I would suggest taking her for a couple long walks a day. This really seems to make a huge difference in dogs that are high maintenance. Just like us, if they get enough exercise, they will have a better nights sleep and feel better overall which may help her calm down a bit.

Good luck OP! I know it is not easy watching someone elses "baby".

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Quite frankly, I would be ticked with your friends. Who expects someone (or asks someone) to watch their untrained puppy/young dog for free for two weeks. I have pets of my own and they are quite the responsibility. We just got over a litter box issues in a brand new home with my 8 year old male cat. We were ready to pull our hair out.

No way, no how would I be losing sleep and having someone else's pet having accidents in my house while I was inconvenienced for two weeks. I would be taking the dog to a kennel myself and maybe even paying for it for some relief. The owners could be mad at me and I would not care..AT ALL!

Again, I really do like pets, but then there is being taken advantage of.

This may sound crazy but these aren't even what I would classify as friends, more acquaintances of my husband through work. They are really nice people though and did ask if we wanted something for watching her. We didn't think it was right to ask for money etc. because it's not like we are running a business and we understood the sentiment of not wanting to board your pet in a kennel so we wanted to do them a favor. We just didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. I made sure to ask about crate and potty training and was told that she was fine with both things but now I'm not so sure that was true.

I don't think I could dump the puppy at a kennel even though she is quite a challenge. I would feel too bad for it because it's really not her fault that she is not trained to the level I expected. She really is a sweet, sweet dog.

 

[morgan98]

This may sound crazy but these aren't even what I would classify as friends, more acquaintances of my husband through work. They are really nice people though and did ask if we wanted something for watching her. We didn't think it was right to ask for money etc. because it's not like we are running a business and we understood the sentiment of not wanting to board your pet in a kennel so we wanted to do them a favor. We just didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. I made sure to ask about crate and potty training and was told that she was fine with both things but now I'm not so sure that was true.

I don't think I could dump the puppy at a kennel even though she is quite a challenge. I would feel too bad for it because it's really not her fault that she is not trained to the level I expected. She really is a sweet, sweet dog.

OP, you and your husband are really nice people to do this for work friends. I appreciate wanting to do them a favor. I just think that having other peoples pets doing their business inside of your home goes above and beyond doing someone a favor. I guess I am in the camp that I do not see having to board a dog for a vacation as something horrible. That is what kennels are for. That is fine that they sound like they do not believe in kenneling their dog. But, they had no problem not telling the truth about their pets behavior.

 

[Ambear]

Hah, the puppy phase almost made me regret getting a dog... though now I love him to death and realize how awesome it was to have him as a puppy and be able to crate train him and train him to ring a bell for outside. I don't understand the bad rep kennels get. We've always used one because our dog is 90 pounds and even though he's well behaved, I'd never expect someone to take him into their home. We use a kennel where they have webcams and can email us every night how he's doing.

Maybe you can try putting some puppy pads into the crate with the dog when you're away. That should help soak up any messes so at least it doesn't get on your floor...

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

OP, you and your husband are really nice people to do this for work friends. I appreciate wanting to do them a favor. I just think that having other peoples pets doing their business inside of your home goes above and beyond doing someone a favor. I guess I am in the camp that I do not see having to board a dog for a vacation as something horrible. That is what kennels are for. That is fine that they sound like they do not believe in kenneling their dog. But, they had no problem not telling the truth about their pets behavior.

Yeah I do regret taking this on after cleaning up so many accidents but since I gave my word to take care of their pup, I have to do it. Six more days to go! I've boarded my dogs before but that is my last resort. I am lucky that I have parents who love their granddog.

 

[CanBeGrumpy]

This may sound crazy but these aren't even what I would classify as friends, more acquaintances of my husband through work. They are really nice people though and did ask if we wanted something for watching her. We didn't think it was right to ask for money etc. because it's not like we are running a business and we understood the sentiment of not wanting to board your pet in a kennel so we wanted to do them a favor. We just didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. I made sure to ask about crate and potty training and was told that she was fine with both things but now I'm not so sure that was true.

I don't think I could dump the puppy at a kennel even though she is quite a challenge. I would feel too bad for it because it's really not her fault that she is not trained to the level I expected. She really is a sweet, sweet dog.

Aww, you are doing such a nice thing for this doggie--taking her in so she doesn't have to go to a boarding facility. I am one of those people that could never enjoy a vacation if my dog was in a kennel, and I am super grateful that we have a neighbor that loves to watch her. As for the dog not being trained, it is possible that she doesn't behave like this at home, so maybe the owners really did think it would not be an issue.

My dog (a mini poodle) has been trained for years, but if I dropped her off at a completely unfamiliar location, I can't guarantee she wouldn't have an accident out of fear or nervousness. She never has accidents at our normal dog sitter's house, but who knows what would happen in a totally strange environment? Also, maybe the dog you are watching has some sort of medical problem contributing to her accidents? Hard to know for sure, but you are doing the right thing by keeping her (and not dropping her at a kennel) in spite of all the work she is causing. Try to enjoy her sweetness, and the way she plays with your dog (I think you said your dog enjoys her). You are a good person!! I bet the owners give you a nice gift card when they return!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Aww, you are doing such a nice thing for this doggie--taking her in so she doesn't have to go to a boarding facility. I am one of those people that could never enjoy a vacation if my dog was in a kennel, and I am super grateful that we have a neighbor that loves to watch her. As for the dog not being trained, it is possible that she doesn't behave like this at home, so maybe the owners really did think it would not be an issue.

My dog (a mini poodle) has been trained for years, but if I dropped her off at a completely unfamiliar location, I can't guarantee she wouldn't have an accident out of fear or nervousness. She never has accidents at our normal dog sitter's house, but who knows what would happen in a totally strange environment? Also, maybe the dog you are watching has some sort of medical problem contributing to her accidents? Hard to know for sure, but you are doing the right thing by keeping her (and not dropping her at a kennel) in spite of all the work she is causing. Try to enjoy her sweetness, and the way she plays with your dog (I think you said your dog enjoys her). You are a good person!! I bet the owners give you a nice gift card when they return!

Thank you! We're not totally a strange environment since she has been over and has slept over for a trial run. It is totally possible that she is much better at home and was nervous in the beginning. But now it's been over a week and she still has them. Perhaps she has regressed. Either way I'm counting down the days lol. My golden and her love to play together but my golden now looks at her like is there no off button?! Her energy level is super high.

 

[mom2rtk]

I hope their 2 weeks away was for something really important and unavoidable.

 

[ZachnElli]

Small dogs are VERY hard to potty train. I'm not surprised a 6 month old yorkipoo isn't potty trained. It took a good year to get my 2 small dogs completely trained and even then, if we are gone all day, they physically can't hold it. Small dogs= small bladders. I got that from my vet. I went from 2 goldens to 2 small dogs (then 3 small dogs, and now 2 small dogs and a golden!). Goldens are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH easier to train than small dogs!!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I hope their 2 weeks away was for something really important and unavoidable.

Does going overseas to visit family count as important and unavoidable? After this experience I'm done dog sitting for anyone. It's just not worth the stress.

Small dogs are VERY hard to potty train. I'm not surprised a 6 month old yorkipoo isn't potty trained. It took a good year to get my 2 small dogs completely trained and even then, if we are gone all day, they physically can't hold it. Small dogs= small bladders. I got that from my vet. I went from 2 goldens to 2 small dogs (then 3 small dogs, and now 2 small dogs and a golden!). Goldens are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH easier to train than small dogs!!

After taking care of this pup and hearing from everyone who has small dogs and the level of difficulty training them. I'm definitely sticking to goldens!! Nothing like their personalities too. I'm done dog sitting for anyone. It's way too stressful.

 

[hegsag]

CookiesandOatmeal, you are a good person! I hope they bring you back something good! If someone was watching my pet for free, I would be so grateful and appreciative that I would definitely be bringing them something awesome!

 

[robinb]

Thank you! We're not totally a strange environment since she has been over and has slept over for a trial run. It is totally possible that she is much better at home and was nervous in the beginning. But now it's been over a week and she still has them. Perhaps she has regressed. Either way I'm counting down the days lol. My golden and her love to play together but my golden now looks at her like is there no off button?! Her energy level is super high.

I know you are getting a lot of validation of your feelings on this thread, but it seems to me that you are really starting to resent this little yorkiepoo puppy and her owners now. You are even anthropomorphizing your own dog!
Yes, it's a PITB to clean up after a puppy, but I think I would give her the benefit of the doubt. She's just a baby in a new place with a new family has no idea that her "parents" are coming home. I think things will go worse for you if you en up signalling your resentment to the dogs.

I would recommend that you try to make the best of it. Literally attach her to your hip so she can't potty in your house and return her to her family a happy little dog.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have my first small dog and potty training wasn't a problem.

We also dog sat a needy, shivering, seizing dog this summer and we had no real issues.

OP you are nice for doing this, but I have to say, there are some things in your posts that have me scratching my head. Besides your Golden's, do you have any other experiences wtih dog training?

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I have my first small dog and potty training wasn't a problem.

We also dog sat a needy, shivering, seizing dog this summer and we had no real issues.

OP you are nice for doing this, but I have to say, there are some things in your posts that have me scratching my head. Besides your Golden's, do you have any other experiences wtih dog training?

I'm not a dog trainer if that's what you're asking. My first golden who passed away 2 years ago was a CGC and went through multiple levels of training classes. The golden I have now also went through multiple dog training classes and is involved in NoseWork.