Dog sitting a puppy
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Hi. My in-laws have asked me to dogsit their puppy for a week or so at our house. My father in law is getting a shoulder surgery so the dog will be too much to handle post surgery.
Having never owned a dog, and listening to their constant complaints about how badly behaved and difficult the dog is, I am a bit anxious and not sure how to prepare. Any advice? Their dog is a very anxious dog. Gets very car sick. Is not great around other dogs. Will run after squirrels and rabbits. They keep him in a crate for naps. And he stays in a crate overnight. Occasionally still has accidents but has gotten better. He’s 8months old. Has a bit of a nipping problem with people. But has been ok with our kids (10 and under) when we have visited. He has never been left alone in the house except during naps. He’s scared of loud noises, balls, and too much activity. Appreciate any advice you can provide! |
Anonymous
I would convince them they should find a someone experienced to care for him. I had typed out advice but, honestly it sounds very stressful. However if you can't get out of it here are some tips. Keep it simple. Do not take him in the car and if you have to make sure he is not fed. Less likely to throw up then. Feed him when you get to your house. Do not take dog to a dog park. Keep him away from other dogs. If you walk him do NOT greet another dog on leash. If you have a yard that has a fence it might be better just to play with him out there. Get lots of chew toys and if he bites give him the chew toy instead. If he jumps on you do not knee him, yell at him or pet him. Turn away and pay him no attention. Once his paws are on the ground than give him attention. Try to find out his schedule and try to duplicate it as much as possible. Ac |
Anonymous
| In addition to crating when you are not watching the dog, I tend to use a leash in the house if I’m likely to be distracted. |
Anonymous
| I could have written this — I’m currently dog sitting an 8 month old foster puppy for a neighbor who was unexpectedly hospitalized. We spend lots of time outside (fenced in yard) and several walks on lease. Puppy is aggressive around food and thinks any thing is potential food. So I’d be very careful with him & kids. We have an eye on him every waking minutes. Lots of chew toys. Fortunately he sleeps a lot and sleeps well on his crate over night. If I leave and another 13+ yr old isn’t home watching him, I’d crate him. Good luck. |
Anonymous
Thank you I appreciate the advice. My husband thinks it will be no big deal, and that the dog is only anxious because his parents are anxious and will be fine at our house. And he also thinks it’s fine to just let him off leash in our back yard which is not fenced in at all. He also thinks it’s fine to leave the dog unattended at home. I heartily disagree on both- am I just bring over anxious about this? He has grown up with dogs so has more experience but he is gone for most of the day, so it will essentially be just me taking care of the dog. |
Anonymous
| If you do not have a fence do NOT let it off the leash out there. Give the dog lots of exercise on the morning when it’s cooler. You can use a sound machine for loud noises if need be. Our dogs get stressed in storms so we leave Alexa on if we think there is one coming. Doesn’t drown out the super loud rumbles but helps with some of it. Don’t let your kids near the dog when it’s eating. When you/kids are eating make sure it’s at the table and the dog is laying down. |
Anonymous
No, you are not just being anxious and I would be annoyed that your dh is not listening to you. Having a dog as a kid is way different than having a dog as an adult. Taking care of dogs has changed so much! The only thing I can compare is child raising and how in the past parents wouldn't go to games for your kid but, now if you miss any practice you are determined to be a bad parent. The alpha dog theory is out and it is more about trying to be companions to dogs not trying to rule over them. At 8 months old the dog is an adolescent which is a very difficult period. My dog is 1 1/2 years old and is anxious not because of me but, because it is his nature. He is on Prozac btw which helps. Do not let the dog off the leash in your unfenced yard! Pretty sure the dog has no solid recall? This means if you call him he ALWAYS comes back even when there are distractions..squirrels, other dogs, kids. Unless you want to tell your in-laws that your dog was hit by a car do not let him out. Now you could rent a yard with a fence. The app is called Sniff spot and you pay for the yard. Honestly, tell your dh/in-laws you can't do it. Your in-laws could hire a daily walker through Rover or neighborhood listserve and have the dog stay with them. I'm getting stressed for you and I have experience with animals. |
Anonymous
He doesn’t sound more experienced with dogs if he thinks it’s ok to leave someone else’s puppy off leash in an unfenced yard or unsupervised in your home. |
Anonymous
It’s not an option to say no. My husband is upset that I’m even hesitant. He wants us to help out his parents and is incredulous I’m not 100 percent on board. The dog is on trazadone for when he acts up. My husband says it’s not the dog that’s the problem, it’s his parents. And that the dog will do much better with us. Right now at his parents, he is still peeing and pooping in the house occasionally and snapping at his parents and going full crazy mode when he gets over excited and still putting everything in his mouth that he can find. So I will need to train the dog on fixing these behaviors. Any advice on training for those particular behaviors? |
Anonymous
| Maybe instead of dog sitting, you can secretly take it to one of those training places for the week. |
Anonymous
| Yikes OP. We have a well behaved, well trained 8mo puppy and it’s still really really hard. If I were you, I would read a few puppy training books and treat this dog like a very young puppy. Leashed to you at all times when out of the crate, in the crate when you’re not directly supervising. Kids stay away from the dog and do not interact with it. Treat pouch on at all times and just continuously treat him for being good. This is a lot to ask of you. |
Anonymous
I think you are right and this is what I’m realizing I’d have to do. Honestly I think arguing with my husband about it is just making me more anxious and intimidated because I know I will have to handle it all and I will be the only voice of reason and will spend extra energy trying to argue with my husband about why we can’t just let the dog out of the house off leash and every other little thing. I’m not looking forward to doing all that again. And then he will blame the dog’s anxiety on mine and it will be a viscous circle. His parents said he will just go nuts when seeing birds or squirrels or any movement and just take off. My husband said- what do you think is going to happen if we let him off leash? He has to learn eventually. I said we live on a busy street with lots of birds and squirrels and if he’s off leash he might run into the street and get hit by a car. He says, yes that happens all the time to dogs everywhere, it’s nothing new. I said…Or if we leave him in the house unattended, he might eat something he shouldn’t. He says, yes, that happens too- I’m fact in happened to 2 of our childhood dogs. Nothing new. I said- I don’t want to kill a dog on my watch. He said I need to be less anxious and stop catastrophizing. In other words, my husband’s flippant attitude is making me more nervous and not looking forward to the whole thing. |
Anonymous
| You do NOT want to call the in laws and tell them their dog was hit by a car. Use a leash 100% of the time outside. You are in survival mode babysitting a puppy. Don’t even try to train. |
Anonymous
| Woof ! |
Anonymous
| I disagree on don’t focus on training. Training tires them out and builds positive associations with you since you give good treats. Get really good treats. My kids always liked to do recall training where we stand in different corners of house and take turns calling puppy. Have items on hand that can give you a longer break: kong, yak chew, etc. leash in house is a good idea, too. We do that whenever our dog visits a new house so why not at yours? Dogs can get into and destroy a lot. |