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Dog sitting nightmare

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peterwilcox

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I've looked after a few dogs in the past & we always had a dog in the family. I trained one of our dogs using positive affirmation & treats. I'm not new to dogs & thought dog sitting would be a breeze by comparison.

I signed up for a dog sitting website recently, and passed all the dog-sitting tests.

We were then asked to take care of a couple of dogs approx. 4 years old in our apartment in Newcastle. We went ahead with an initial meet to see if we got along, and asked the owner if they'd been house trained or had any special needs to watch out for, but she seemed to say everything was fine. I asked if they bark since we have a small apartment- I know from ownership some dogs bark while others don't at all- she said they don't, so it seemed a good fit for us to take care of them. :)

On the initial meet, we thought they must just be excited. However, a week later on the day they arrived to stay, they ran around inside the apartment like a pair of wild animals & went to the toilet everywhere inside while the owner stood there and said "oh that's normal, they're just marking their territory.". We then realised they also don't react to their names. When we asked the owner why they don't know their own names, she looked at us as if we were crazy to expect it in the first place. :ermm:

I asked the owner what their signal to go out for the loo is (expecting her to say they'll wait by the front door or something similar), to which she responded "sometimes they won't signal, they'll just wee in the apartment". Since then they have been pooing & weeing all over the apartment without asking to go outside, despite us taking them outside for the toilet many times.

They'll run around jumping on top of all furniture, completely out of control, like wild cats. They were barking & scratching at the door all night so we couldn't sleep, and as a previous dog owner myself, I've now noticed they don't seem to have had a bath in a long time, I suspect haven't been de-wormed or de-flead as one was dragging bum along floor, our clothes & bed sheets have become itchy & I've been itching badly since they arrived. :>

As soon as either of us leave the room for a second, they whine & scratch at the door constantly, and if we leave the apartment they bark constantly, I'm afraid we'll either come back to the find the inside of the door destroyed or evicted by the landlord. They don't respond to any commands. As soon as we open the bedroom door, then run inside & jump on the bed as if that's their domain. They refuse to sleep at all & are constantly hyper-active 24 hours a day. The only place they'll take a short nap is on the sofa, which I'm not happy about but seem to have no choice as I need rest myself & don't want the front door destroyed. I wouldn't mind if they had at least been looked after properly in terms of hygiene.

They seem to be undomesticated & untrained. I think the owner bought these dogs as puppies years ago & just let them do their own thing ever since. I've since realised the owner doesn't know what house-training means, and was just agreeing with anything we asked to get us to look after them.

I'm almost 40 years old, we have them booked in for 7 days, which isn't long enough to train them (and I can't spare the time for intensive training of 2 dogs right now otherwise I'd buy a puppy!), but it is long enough to ruin our apartment & make our lives, home & work hell.

It's too late to cancel as the owners have gone abroad. We do feel mislead. I just don't know what to do, how I'm going to get the fleas out of our clothes & apartment once they've gone, or how I'm going to get any work done the next week.
 
A dog sitter I sometimes use insists that any new dog goes to her for a day before agreeing to accept it for any longer period, that way she can find out for herself how the dog acts. Even though I have been friendly with her for years she still wanted my dogs for a day first.
 
I so wish we had done that! We still have 7 days to go.. :rant:

Unfortunately despite following all recommended advice on the dog sitting website , getting ID verified etc. , we thought trusting the owner would be enough. I never anticipated a dog owner point-blank lying "they don't bark", "they're house-trained".

These dogs are wild, go to the loo anywhere they please, hyperactive 24/7, untrained, don't know their names or any basic command, unclean, and have been rewarded with bad behaviour their whole lives (e.g barking gets them attention). It isn't a case of nerves, since the owner finally admitted it's normal behaviour.

They also flinch whenever I raise my hand to pet them, as if I'm going to hit them (which I'd never do), then scat across the flat jumping ontop of the dining room table. These need a professional care home & rehabilitation, not an online dog sitter.
 
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God that sounds awful. What breed of dog are they? Some breeds tend to be more hyperactive than others. But this still isn't normal behaviour for any dog. I'm a dog sitter, not long been doing it and I have been very lucky with the dogs I have had so far. Though I try and choose dogs that I think would be friendly with my cavachon. Like cockapoos, cavapoos, other cavachons. I would rather the spaniel variety than a terrier. From experience of having had a west highland terrier growing up. Her temperament was completely different to that of my Cavachon.

I recently had a Jack Russell and she was a bit crazily hyperactive, but she had only just turned 1. I think more than a weekend would have been hard work. Though she was very lovable. Yes I think talking to the owner normally gives you a good clue as to what type of person they are and normally somebody willing to pay for their dog to be looked after tends to be quite caring. Is this a free dog sitting service you provide?
 
Poor you and your home, what a nightmare!!

As much as I dislike crates for convenience and putting dogs in them for hours on end, have you considered this. You will at least know what the little blighters are up to!!

Do you know anyone who could lend you a couple or maybe purchase a couple second hand.
 
How awful for you! Is there any kind of insurance offered by the site you registered with? The owners should pay to clean up your apartment really.

I used to dog sit and I am afraid that many dogs have less than desirable habits. Surprisingly enough it was two cats that did the most damage to my home :( None of the dogs I had was as bad as the two that you have been landed with.

As ExcuseMe says you might like to use crates to contain them until you can take them out for toileting etc. Walk the legs off them so that they sleep more?
 
Thanks for your replies.

Yes, they're both small dogs, both are mixed, they're about the size of west highland terriers. When we signed up for the website, I set the price lower than anyone else's in the area as I'm doing it because I love dogs rather than for money. So I guess we're charging a very low price, almost a token amount. I've also spent more on trying to find a dog treat they like than we're earning in the first place (they don't particularly like anything, not even quality high-value meat from the butcher ! ). They'll eat it eventually, but the treats are useless as a means of persuasion.

I think charging the owner for the extra care & damage would be pointless as I get the impression they don't have much money (especially after the second meet, noticing the owners' hygiene & the way they've "looked after" these dogs). They're nice people but I've now realised are clueless and perhaps only chose us because we're cheap.

The website only has insurance for a "third party", so any damage to our place is not covered. Only to a friend's place (none of whom will take them in of course!)

The odd thing is that this website, along with most others I've found, seem to put an emphasis on making sure all dog-sitters are reliable & have good ratings but it seems to be assumed the owners are always reliable so they don't need vetting or ratings. It's in the owner's interest to tell the truth about their dogs yet this owner doesn't seem to even be aware that things like going to the toilet inside is even a problem. :rant:

Their dogs are showing clear signs of many problems, the least of which is severe separation anxiety. We thought perhaps it's just because they're away from their owners, but they've since told us it's "normal" behaviour.

The owners clearly aren't taking care or training them properly. I guess some people don't understand just owning, feeding & cuddling dogs is not necessarily enough to keep them happy.. they need washing, de-worming & flea treatments, some need structured training & discipline, and they're much happier as a result. I tried training one of them to "sit", but even after around 300 repetitions, still hadn't caught on. I guess they've been de-trained for so many years, it's harder for them to catch on. It feels like training a wolf or fox might be easier :ermm:

We don't have any crates or cages. More than anything I feel so sorry for these dogs, as we're going to have to put them in a room with no furniture & just re-paint the door after they scratch it to smithereens & bleach the floor to clean up all the remnants of faeces & wee. We'll take them out again today to *try* to tire them out although nothing seems to stop them going to the toilet inside the apartment. It's slightly nerve wracking even on a lead as they're constantly pulling & manic, the owner said their collars sometimes come off & I get the feeling they would run away and never come back.

Counting down the days...
 
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Anxiety stops dogs from eating treats. The adrenaline sets them p for fight/flight and tells the stomach to not take any more food on board. You, and we, know you are offering them a better home than their owners but they don't realise that. They are anxious. This will also prevent them from learning any new behaviours or be open to training.

It is probably too late now but you could try an Adaptil plug in diffuser to help calm them down. It comes in spray form and as a collar too.
 
Thanks..

I agree about the treats & anxiety.. although we just heard from the owner who says "that's normal", apparently they're never interested in food or treats! All of this doesn't seem normal lol :ermm:

We tried the diffuser & also tried leaving some quiet tv in the background for them. It helped a bit, but not enough.

So anyway, here's the latest update (brace yourself):

We walked them to tire them out & put them in a room with no furniture while we tried to get some sleep for the first time in days. We woke up to the horror of finding they've managed to scratch a hole through the wooden door so you can see through to the other side! I think if we'd left them any longer, the hole would have been large enough for them to fit through! Then they'd have destroyed the rest of the apartment. The entire door will need replacing, but as the dog sitting website insurance won't cover it & the owner won't pay, we'll have to just use wood filler after the dogs have gone.

In the meantime, we spent 2 hours trying to figure out a way to cover the hole to keep them at bay while we go out for an hour to get things done. We both need to work & are at risk of losing our jobs because we've had to take so much time off. We're exhausted.

I suspect they owners aren't deliberately bad at care, they probably just shower these dogs in cuddles with no training or discipline, and I get the impression there's someone at home to cuddle them 24/7. They literally seem to need to live on someone's lap 24/7 and sleep in bed with humans, these dogs are desperately unhappy otherwise. When you hold one, the other wants attention. When we take them in a car to go for a walk, they bark in the car constantly so you're deafened whilst driving.

I wouldn't mind holding both of them 8 hours a day if I could at least have 2 hands free to do my work some of the time. We're both itching & all our clothes are itchy now so goodness knows what bugs they've brought in... we're tempted to bath them both but afraid of what drama that'll cause knowing their behaviour and the fact they've probably never been bathed before. I called up the dog sitting website, but they were closed all weekend, and today just told me they don't know how to help as the owner is away on holiday.

The house smells like a zoo & we've cleaned up poo and wee from pretty much every space on the floor.

Can't wait for the nightmare to be over..

I think the next time we look after a dog, it'll be our own puppy! Suddenly owning a puppy seems like a cakewalk by comparison. >_<
 
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How horrendous!

Would they settle in a crate? I am afraid that I would be tempted to crate them when you can't hold them. You could have the crate right beside you while you work and tickle them through the bars?

Just had a thought! Although the owner's house insurance does not cover for pet damage to the owner's home it does, sometimes cover for damage to other people's homes. I think it is designed to cover for visits to friends/relatives houses etc. It would be worth getting the owners to check their home insurance when they get back. I would certainly try to find some way of getting compensation from them.
 
Thanks.. we don't have crates though, and I suspect it would traumatise them not to mention the extra cost to us for 2 crates (I wouldn't put them in the same crate, as one attacks the other when they're stressed). All we have is our small apartment, which is why we told the owner we only wanted to take well-behaved dogs older than 1 year old. I think the owner is living off benefit, doesn't understand what "well behaved" means, doesn't realise that most dog owners don't cuddle their dogs 24/7 and do train them & doubt trying any form of conversation to claim money back would be worth it in terms of time vs. money. I would happily pay £200 to replace the door if it meant not dealing with this or any similar owners again.

In all of this, it's the dogs I feel sorry for as much as us. I almost feel like calling the RSPCA but doubt that'd be helpful, as the owners clearly love these dogs.. they're just ignorant unfortunately.

We're just surprised there aren't other horror stories with owners online- if this has happened to us, surely it must happen all the time...
 
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When I used to home board, we had a large garden for the dogs to chase around in. We also used to have crates and stair gates etc for keeping dogs confined when necessary. In all the years I did it we never had dogs like the ones you have encountered. Boisterous, yes, disobedient, yes but not living on their nerves like your two boarders are. We do live in a country area, though, and most of the dogs were owned by down to earth, sensible, people.

If one of these dogs is attacking the other, when stressed, then their stress levels must be so high. The underdog must be living in fear all the time. As you say, it is so difficult to not feel sorry for the dogs living the way they do. RSPCA will not be interested. Their criteria is that if the dogs have shelter, water and food then there is very little they can do.
 
Yes we never had any problem with dog owners from the south, london, or country areas, all our friends are from those areas.. and we've taken care of their dogs.. but since we recently moved in to this northern city, this is the first time we've looked after dogs from the owners in this city. When we smile, say hello to locals & their dogs, they usually look back with suspicion or anger.. then on the rare occasion they talk to us, we ask jokingly "are they well trained?" they respond with "what do you mean by trained?".. When we go into details, it turns out they genuinely have no clue, and their dogs don't even know their names.

We perhaps naively assumed there was a basic level of care / intelligence in human beings regardless of area. Certainly had our eyes opened since living here.. we won't be doing this again in this area..
 
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This situation is truely shocking and I feel for you. Infact its unbelievable.

I do take exception however at refering to the 'North'. I feel the area of the country has no relevence .
 
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Always, and without exception do a free trial night.  You can save yourself a lot of stress and money...  But don't give up because of 1 bad experience.. every day is a learning day!   

Good luck with your next charges.
 
My word, what a baptism of fire!  :eek:
I'm sorry U had such a miserable  experience, & i do hope U at least asked the owners for some recompense for the damaged door?  - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

They might say they have no household insurance, or that their deductible is too high to cover that, but i'd then ask them to pay it out of pocket - perhaps half when they picked up the dogs, with a promissory note for the remainder by a certain date, then signed by both parties.

for future reference -
 a simple contract in which the dog's owner promises to make good personally on damage done to the house by their dog / cat / other pet, is not difficult  - & i'm surprised the petsitting website does not provide a downloadable contract that includes a clause for damage compensation.  After all, a cat can shred part of a couch in a single day while U are at work, blissfully unaware, & U shouldn't have to repair damage done by the visiting pets.

I have to say that here in the USA, 90% of dogs get no training whatever, other than housetraining  [& that only if they live indoors - dogs kept in kennels outside, or chained, or who live in the fenced yard / garden with a doghouse as shelter, are not housetrained, & often not leash-trained, either].
The vast, vast majority of U-S pet dogs can 'sit for a treat' if the treat is visible, but even those dogs may not know the verbal cue, 'sit' - nor any hand-signal.   <_<   They see or smell a treat, & plant their butts as a reflex in hope of reward.  It's a great pity. So much could be done with so little effort, to make all these ignorant dogs much, much better companions & keep them in their homes for their entire lifespans.

There are, of course, owners whose dogs are beautifully mannered & very compliant, who recall reliably even under intense distraction, who walk politely, tolerate rude dogs, & so on - but they are the exception, not the rule.  :(   That said, the sort of OTT behavior U described is FAR from usual.
 - terry
 
I'm really surprised that the % of non trained dogs in US is so high.  I've no idea what the figure would be here in UKmind but would have assumed less than 90%.  Not necessarily becauseof the huge benefits this brings to dogs and owners but because of the large amounts of money to be made from setting up training schools etc.  as with the dog clothes market (of which I'm not a fan) which I gather is a big money making business.
 
It's a very weird thing, @Peegee - personally, i can't imagine living with a dog who literally knows nothing other than Sit-for-a-treat, & Void-outdoors, 24/7.

Walks are a nightmare with dogs who pull, lunge at other dogs or ppl or cats in the street or _____ , they zip from one side of the path to another & trip U up, wind the leash around U like a Maypole dance, don't halt at curbs for traffic, blow thru doorways or gates, etc, without allowing U to recon for hazards on the other side, leap out of the car before U can grab the dragging leash, etc.
Indoors, dogs can't be blamed for not understanding that "leap on the sofa with muddy feet & wet belly" isn't the same as hop on the sofa when i'm dry & clean - but an untrained dog won't stand on 3-legs to have their feet & belly wiped, either, or even give U a few seconds to flip a waterproof throw over the sofa before they're on it, as they don't know, 'Wait'.

Every day of their lives, i'm sure, there are things they do in all innocence that would drive me nutz - but their owners, altho they grumble & complain endlessly, can't be bothered to teach their dogs manners & cued behaviors, let alone do any B-Mod, NOR PAY SOMEONE to do any of the 3 for them.
Well-behaved dogs can go virtually anywhere; their lives are so much richer than any untrained dog's life, & their families don't have the constant stress of What did Fido do, now?...

The ppl who enjoy their dogs as companions in the wider world are the ones who tend to train, & some really get hooked - HTM / Freestyle, agility, ski-jor / bike-jor, carting, & so on, are all popular. // I don't know if Rally-O continues to be a draw, it was taken over some years back by a new organization, & i haven't followed it since.
AMBOR [Am Mixed-Breed Obedience Registry] was an alternative for comp-obed, as the AKC is too dam*ed prejudiced to allow crossbred dogs or random-bred dogs to be in the same ring as their precious purebreds, LOL - the UKC is much-more open-minded, & any dog can enter most dog sports at UKC events.

There's a small fraction of really beautifully trained dogs, another small chunk of the popn is sorta-trained, & the vast majority are as ignorant as rocks - tho much cuddlier, & no dog's lack of schooling is the dog's fault.  To a large degree, we live with the dogs we create over time;  even dogs that we adopt as adults are amazingly flexible, & can learn almost anything we are willing [& able] to teach them.
I'd love to see local dog-training clubs in the U-S, as there are in the UK - but there doesn't seem to be much popular interest, even in urban areas. And the sheer size of the U-S adds to the problem; no pet-owner wants to drive over an hour each way, for social time with other owners & their dogs over mutual training goals.
Training for potential competition, sure - everyday manners?... nah.

When i was 12, 14, 16, i was a firm believer that every owner, ideally, should be a trainer - but  4 decades have passed since, & a Certain TV-Host  unexpectedly revived the dying corpus of aversive training / intimidation / harsh handling / punitive 'correction' over 10-years ago, which - as DVM Nick Dodman said - "set dog-training back TWENTY YEARS".
I can't believe that every dog-supply in the U-S still sells choke-chains in every length from 8-inches to 2-feet, so many years on - but they do. :(  

Knowing as i do what dogs are capable of, the re-animation of aversive training after pos-R had finally become mainstream was probably the worst emotional blow of my training life. I was angry with Natl Geographic for putting a gloss of scientific respectability on a half-baked collection of Old Husbands' Tales; i was outraged at the sheer profit-driven gall of the host; & i was heartbroken, to see dogs & even puppies manhandled on the public sidewalks, in ways i hadn't seen since i was a teenager.

I wish aversive training was a literal zombie - we could behead the dam*ed thing, or if it was a vampire, put a wooden stake thru its putative heart.
Or maybe this would kill it, once & for all -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9647904/Buried-with-a-stake-through-a-heart-the-medieval-vampire-burial.html

I've concluded that ppl like to punish; it SEEMS to work, it makes them feel empowered, & using other methods seems cumbersome & silly.  It's a human default setting.
*sigh*  I wish it weren't. :(   I keep trying, but after so many years, i admit i'm discouraged - i do not think post-R will become the standard in the U-S in my lifetime, not if i live to be 120-YO.  I wish it would, but i don't believe it will, any more than i think over 50% of all the dog-owners in the U-S will decide to attend puppy classes with every dog they get.
[I'll be delighted if i'm wrong!   :thumbsup:    :D    :cheers:  ]

 - terry
 
I'm wrong - while looking for info on AMBOR trials, i found a training-club in L-A, Calif -
http://www.wonderpuppy.net/compobed.htm

there's a 2008 weblink for the "new website" for AMBOR, which is - bizarrely - now, a very-badly edited lawyers' ad page. :blink:  
their description of "how to get divorce papers" has to be read to be believed -
http://www.ambor.us/

I'd say AMBOR is officially dead - NADAC probly killed it; pity.
 
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