I don't care that much for dogs myself. But I have friends who are and understand how they feel about their pets. If you made it clear how you feel about them to the nanny its not ok for her to treat them that way. IMO, it has nothing to do with how the dogs behave or whether you are expecting too much. If they were a nuisance its her responsibility to tell you. If she didn't want to treat them as nicely as you want her to then its not a good fit and she shouldn't have taken the job.

Anonymous wrote:OP, something about this isn't working for me. I think it's the part where you say your husband comes home from work to feed the dogs lunch. Dogs don't eat lunch. Dogs eat every 12 hours (give or take) - breakfast and dinner. Not lunch.

Yeah, I don't understand this either. I am copying what OP said here: "He noticed our dogs, had not touched their food like they use to, concerned he asked nanny if they seemed ok. She said they seemed fine. Turns out, she had been locking them up for no good reason so when they were to eat they didn't as they were being crated. My husband would come home for a lunch breakand find the food untouched several times and then thought it was odd, its not like them."

Ok, so was this their breakfast that was being left untouched? Wouldn't they be eating that in the morning when you were leaving for work? Most people I know feed their pets during this time before they leave, after they wake up. If the dogs are eating meals and not free feeding, then there shouldn't be any food left in the bowls to judge how much they are eating throughout the day (like you can with free feeding). If you feed the dogs in the morning, then the DB comes home at lunchtime to feed them more (which they should only be eating 2 meals a day), then you would not be running into this issue at all.

For the crating the dogs part, that is just wrong unless you don't have a garage or room set up that someone could put the dogs into for a while to keep them away from you (if they are getting in the way with baby on the ground etc). But I have never heard of a dog owner that doesn't have some kind of set up to keep dogs in a large space yet separate from the main living areas when needed.

Why do your precious dogs even have creates??

troll. and a boring troll at that.

If the dogs were such an issue the nanny should have said something. She shouldn't have acted like everything was great and then crated the dogs. Also FYI it is okay to feed a dog lunch, some think it is actually healthier than as long as your still giving them the correct amount for the day. OP you were right to fire her, I've worked several nanny jobs that had dogs and I would never dream of crating them. Also, the fact that the dogs were having accidents was proof enough of abuse.

Dogs are great, generally speaking, for brief periods of time. Your dogs may be poorly behaved and/or extremely needy. I second a PP's suggestion that you ask some friends to tell you the truth about your pets, so that you can gauge just how much of an issue they TRULY are.

You either need to find an extremely dog friendly nanny and pay her what a nanny makes PLUS what a pet sitter makes, or you need to hire a nanny who will tolerate your dogs and then hire a "dog sitter" to come in to play with/walk/feed your dogs daily.

Good luck in your search for either an amazing dog/child nanny, or for two people who can do those 2 jobs.

I know some people who think their dogs don't smell because they take them to the groomers like every 2 months.. for me that's gross my dogs get a bath at least 2 times a month. I asked if they are smelly.

I think op needs a nanny for her child and a separate nanny for her beloved dogs

The nanny lied in the interview and should be let go. Crating the dogs and not giving them enough exercise will actually make their behavior worse so she doesn't know enough about dogs not to make her situation worse. She needs to go.

OP you probably need a younger type nanny who loves the outdoors and will enjoy taking your child and the dogs out often to get enough fresh air and sunshine. You might also want to think about an au pair. Au pairs that love dogs can be a great fit for families with pets. The pets also can help with homesickness.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Our dogs are not stinky. We take them to the groomers. She said that because she was annoyed with them. We love our pets so much, we take good care of them. Also she signed a contract and knew the terms. We don't expect a pet sitter, but the animals do need to be let out to potty. Water was from an electric water bowl and my husband came home from lunch everyday to feed them again and then I'd be home in just a few hours after that. This is their home and cuddling is not something to dislike. She just didn't want their hair in her. But there's lent roller for that. We are already looking for someone new and of course I'm letting her go. Pretty sad she would be so cruel to someone innocent. She knew the terms. She was paid overpaid for just taking our dogs to pee. It wasn't that hard. But she lied and abused our pets so she's done. Anyone else thinking she had a right to do what she did, just wait until you get someone to hurt somebody you care for, I think then you'll think twice. I get some people are not animal lovers, but why does that make it ok to not respect them? I'm sure some people don't like you, but they tolerate you and don't think of hurting you because they find you annoying.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see where she hurt the animals. Neglect them? Yes. And I agree that leaving them in a crate all day is not okay. But it's not actually harmful. Many dogs are crate trained and spend a large part of the day in their crate. It may not be what you wanted, or what your dogs are used to, and I agree that if you were clear that higher rate is compensation for entertaining the dogs, then she should be doig just that. But I'm missing where she actually "hurt" them. There is a big difference between not engaging properly with a pet that isn't yours and being cruel or abusive.

OP, take the PP's advice on asking neighbors, friends, trusted family, etc. about your dogs.

I am a huge animal lover, but I took a nanny position once with one child and one dog and that dog drove me to the edge of sanity. She was extremely high energy, jumped on everyone, didn't get enough exercise, had long sharp claws, would knock the toddler over as she charged by all the time - indoor and out, ignored commands, brought ticks into the house, etc. She was basically unmanageable and our days became me hauling the child around on dog related activities (hikes in the woods, trips to the dog park, walks around the neighborhood) because we couldn't do anything without her destroying it in some way.

So..you love your dogs, and maybe you don't see how wild they can be with other people? Yes, maybe they're lovely and this nanny really doesn't like dogs, or didn't realize how much work it would be (it can be very stressful trying to ensure the safety of someone else's child with someone else's dogs milling about - nannies know that even the best dogs are still animals and need to be supervised closely), but maybe your dogs need some extra training before another nanny takes over with them.

I would kick her to the curb.

Someone who is not nice to animals is never to be trusted with kids. Not the kind of personality type I want alone with my kids.

Anonymous wrote:If you are already looking for someone new... then don't post here for advice. You just want sympathy. It's annoying.

+ 1000

I thought the nanny had abused your child not a dog. While you may think of the pets as your family at the end of the day they are animals. If the nanny had abused your child would you have been as passionate? I honestly don't think so

I'm confused.
You're husband comes home EVERY DAY to feed them lunch? Why?

Also, you said the nanny down the street has been watching your DD while you 'search'. You mean search for a new nanny? Have you already fired the nanny then?