Barley is settling a little more and we haven't given up...question about a dog sitter

[Sparkle123]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Just wanted to offer a little update if I may
Barley is now almost six months old. And we are all still together!
He is settling a little better. It is still hard work. He still gets up about 5.30am, and I am still exhausted.
There are hard days, there are good days.
He is played with each day, stimulated, and he loves rushing around the field not far from where we live as well as being less nervous around people and other dogs.
He can be obedient and mischievous. He is losing his baby teeth which makes any biting less painful. He can be very affectionate. And very entertaining to watch. He is highly intelligent and loves my daughter who he has got used to now and she teaches him to be more obedient when I am a little too 'soft' with him.
But our lives are still revolving around him, so we are still taking each day as it comes. We had to give ourselves a deadline in the end because we just kept talking about should we rehome him or not. And now that deadline is the middle of October. We love him to bits but we have to do what is right by him and us. As obviously we can't live the way we are 'forever'. We are hoping that he will continue to settle and adjust.
But I wanted to ask about something that happened. We got extra support (which really helped) by getting a dog sitter/carer (in their home).
There have been a few incidents where I wasn't too sure that they were responsible but they are licensed and insured.
Then yesterday, they had an elderly dog in their care and they reassured us before that they only take one dog at a time (this hasn't been true, Barley has been with them three times and each time, I have arrived to pick him up to see another pup or dog there, but I thought it would be good for Barley to be with other dogs). But this elderly dog bit Barley when we went to pick him up. Barley was totally terrified. He yelped several times, and weed all over the floor and tried to escape the house. It was a really horrible experience.
I have lost all trust in this sitter now. It is a husband and wife team and the husband didn't even apologise. And so I won't be taking Barley there again and explained all this in an email to them. They were also taking him on long walks (which is too much for him as he is still a puppy with soft ligaments) and I realised it was a mistake taking him there.
But what I wanted to ask is; do I tell anyone else about them as dog sitters/boarders? They are very popular. I don't wish to ruin their reputation and yet after what happened to us...I just know that I would very much appreciate someone warning/informing me so that my dog didn't get hurt and I wouldn't have taken him there. We could think it was an isolated incident but I am not sure that it is.
Thank you

 

[JudyN]

What a shame that happened - did you question them about the other times there was another dog there, and ask why they walked him as long as they did? Not even apologising for what happened seems unacceptable, and I think if anyone else mentioned this dog sitter I'd at least share my experiences with them.

I'm glad that things are improving with Barley, and you do sound a lot more positive. Bear in mind that the adolent phase can bring further challenges, but when you get through to the other side of that he should become much easier. Though of course, all things are relative, so he may never be an 'easy' dog!

 

[Sparkle123]

I neglected to ask them about the times another dog was there. I suppose I just trusted them and it is only now that I recall them saying they only tended to have one dog at a time. And they said that they walked him so that he wouldn't be hectic around the house. They even said they have been advised to do that. They are suggested/recommended all the time in Facebook groups asking for dog sitters. It would really stand out if I then said about what had happened to us. I am not in contact in a face to face way with other dog owners.

I don't think Barley will ever be easy and adolescence may bring some challenges but we still had to put a deadline in place that may be before that is even over because living the way we have just wouldn't be sustainable to staying alive ourselves! I had a Springer before at six months and we didn't even have a crate. I think it is just the day to day tolerance really. If that can be managed, then it will work out.

 

[Tinytom]

You may not be the Right home for Barley and admitting that isnt a failure...I think it is sad that you are focusing on rehoming him too much and I dont know if you can ever get past that ...no two dogs are the same and to keep comparing him to a previous dog is setting him up to fail ...puppies are really hard work ...
I have 2 deerhound boys 4 months between each other half brothers...the older one has been an angel the younger has been really hard work where we both thought OMG ...they are now 2 and half and the younger has only just settled...
Do you think Barley would be better with another dog around ....
As for the dog sitter I would be reporting them to the local council ....

 

[JoanneF]

What you do next depends very heavily on this -

they reassured us before that they only take one dog at a time

they only tended to have one dog at a time.

If they didn't eexplicitly guarantee having only one dog at a time, I don't think there's anything you can do. Yes, it was irresponsible and if Barley had needed vet treatment I'd expect them to pay because they didn't prevent the bite. But if they only ”tend to” have one dog at a time, I think you would struggle to get anywhere with this.

 

[Sparkle123]

You may not be the Right home for Barley and admitting that isnt a failure...I think it is sad that you are focusing on rehoming him too much and I dont know if you can ever get past that ...no two dogs are the same and to keep comparing him to a previous dog is setting him up to fail ...puppies are really hard work ...
I have 2 deerhound boys 4 months between each other half brothers...the older one has been an angel the younger has been really hard work where we both thought OMG ...they are now 2 and half and the younger has only just settled...
Do you think Barley would be better with another dog around ....
As for the dog sitter I would be reporting them to the local council ....

We aren't focusing on rehoming him too much. We made our minds up about this and set a deadline. And that is that. And I am not comparing him to a previous dog either. I am merely saying that a dog before didn't require as much. And others didn't either.
And he is more than a puppy. Saying about not being the right home for Barley...what would be? No domestic, normal home. You would have to be active all day every day from 5/30 am till midnight. And you would have to have nothing in the house that he can get into or destroy. It is that hard. And we are still here, doing it. Trying our very best.
In fact, I am proud of all we have done to have got this far. I don't know anyone at all who could have coped with all we have.
So maybe we are the right home for Barley.

 

[Sparkle123]

What you do next depends very heavily on this -



If they didn't eexplicitly guarantee having only one dog at a time, I don't think there's anything you can do. Yes, it was irresponsible and if Barley had needed vet treatment I'd expect them to pay because they didn't prevent the bite. But if they only ”tend to” have one dog at a time, I think you would struggle to get anywhere with this.

As they are licensed, I probably should report them to the council though. I think it is more than the one dog policy. They still allowed that to happen. They don't have the knowledge needed with puppies. And the husband especially has a totally cavalier attitude to the whole thing. It is a side project for both of them and the husband just sees it as fun, I feel. Another dog could get hurt.

 

[JudyN]

I think sometimes it helps to have a 'if all else fails' plan - in your case rehoming. I know I did in some dark patches with my dog. It can mean you feel less desperate when things are really hard, and so are more likely to push on. As for whether there might be a more suitable home for Barley - you've said before that he is much calmer and settled when your partner is around. If that is still the case, then it's possible that there's a mismatch between you and Barley that's just not working out, and that might not be the case in another home. But of course, you wouldn't know beforehand, and the worst thing for Barley would be to get passed from pillar to post.

Did you see what happened with the bite, and did it puncture Barley's skin? Sometimes things happen through no fault of the person looking after the dogs, so reporting them might not be appropriate - but I'd expect them to explain fully what happened to the owner and work out how they can ensure it will never happen again (in this case, presumably, by not having the other dog when yours is there).

 

[Sparkle123]

I think sometimes it helps to have a 'if all else fails' plan - in your case rehoming. I know I did in some dark patches with my dog. It can mean you feel less desperate when things are really hard, and so are more likely to push on. As for whether there might be a more suitable home for Barley - you've said before that he is much calmer and settled when your partner is around. If that is still the case, then it's possible that there's a mismatch between you and Barley that's just not working out, and that might not be the case in another home. But of course, you wouldn't know beforehand, and the worst thing for Barley would be to get passed from pillar to post.

Did you see what happened with the bite, and did it puncture Barley's skin? Sometimes things happen through no fault of the person looking after the dogs, so reporting them might not be appropriate - but I'd expect them to explain fully what happened to the owner and work out how they can ensure it will never happen again (in this case, presumably, by not having the other dog when yours is there).

Yes that is it. It is just a deadline to help us.
But Barley preferring to be with my OH has changed now. When he is away at work, Barley does settle with me. He is still demanding but we have even been known to both sleep on the sofa together! I think it is just easier when we are both together to take it in turns to care for him, less pressure. But it shows how things can change.
There was no puncture to his skin, fortunately. But they did know that this dog could be aggressive. I was reassured that his owner was picking him up when I dropped off Barley. That didn't happen. I am not sure if they will explain to the owner (the owner being the woman's father in law).

 

[Flobo]

If they knew this dog was aggressive, as a licenced boarder they had a duty of care not to let the dogs mix. There may have been no puncture wound but the experience for Barley was not good. As a licenced boarder you have to have individual spaces that can be allocated for each dog, if taking in more than one at a time. I'm not a fan of fb, but I would be inclined to voice your concerns with the council that licenced them. When they agreed to look after Barley they should of gone through consent forms with you for you to agree and sign with regards to his care, his needs and mixing with other dogs etc... this is required as part of the licence, amongst other things.

 

[Sparkle123]

If they knew this dog was aggressive, as a licenced boarder they had a duty of care not to let the dogs mix. There may have been no puncture wound but the experience for Barley was not good. As a licenced boarder you have to have individual spaces that can be allocated for each dog, if taking in more than one at a time. I'm not a fan of fb, but I would be inclined to voice your concerns with the council that licenced them. When they agreed to look after Barley they should of gone through consent forms with you for you to agree and sign with regards to his care, his needs and mixing with other dogs etc... this is required as part of the licence, amongst other things.

Thank you. I really didn't know that, I didn't realise there were forms to agree and sign. And that it is part of the licence. Thank you for highlighting that.

 

[Tinytom]

Around here different councils have very different rules ...we have to have a licence but the council 2 miles down the road dont ...

 

[Sparkle123]

Around here different councils have very different rules ...we have to have a licence but the council 2 miles down the road dont ...

They have a licence. You have to have one where I live.

 

[Flobo]

@Tinytom I've never understood that variation amongst councils, as far as I know it's law across the country to be licenced, since 2018.

Do I need a license to look after dogs in my home?​

Animal welfare in the UK is forever improving. From 1st October 2018 all businesses offering dog boarding, home boarding or doggy day care services need to be licensed.

Why do I need a dog boarding license?
If you want to avoid a fine, you need to be properly licensed to offer any animal boarding services. It doesn’t matter if you run a boarding kennels or if you look after other people’s dogs in your own home, from October 2018 UK law says you MUST have a license. The regulations apply to boarding kennels, boarding catteries, caring for other people’s dogs in your own home, dog day care, pet sales and dog breeding.