Dog Sitting Rant ~ NVR
I've been dog sitting 2 lab mixes for some friends of mine since last Friday night. There is a 7 and a 1 year old. Everything has pretty much been going smoothly because I've had DH here to help. Walking 3 dogs is no picnic! Then Monday happened:
I get home from work to walk them (all at the same time) and the 7 yr old breaks away from me after a duck....and into this giant canal on the side of my apts!! The other 2 dogs are trying to get to all of the other ducks around. I'm screaming my head off after this dog and she just keeps swimming and swimming to where I can barely see her. (Meanwhile; picture me freaking out on the bank, all the while yelling, cussing, hyperventilating, hoping there are no alligators or crocs, etc). I call DH (as if he can do anything to help from 25 miles away! I run about a 1/4 mile home and leave to pups there and run back. Grab number to owners of swim-away dog. 45 mins later and seriously freaking out and I was finally able to get her out. But not after I had to pretty much dive into this canal all the way up to my a$$ in jeans and sneakers!!
Then today; we all went to the dog park. HA! What an idea that was. I brought towels and shampoo for each and then the washing station had NO water = 3 smelly wet and muddy dogs in my car. I then had to take turns washing them in my tub where I had to pick up each to put in said tub....75lbs, 50lbs!!
I'm nervous to see what tomorrow brings. How do all of you with multiple animal companions do it?? I'm still thinking about adopting another, but I think I'm waiting until we move this spring into a house with a backyard!
It could be because they aren't your dogs--maybe they don't think they have to listen to you? Like when kids have babysitters and try to test their limits? I wouldn't put it past the furry beasts ;D
Sorry for your stressful experience...but it sounds like the doggies are having lots of fun chasing ducks and going to the park! They'll ask for laurenlovesgoodies to watch them every time! I bet you're they're favorite!
Best advice- fenced in backyard. Really and truly.
We moved to a townhouse and it ended up being just too much dog in one place w/o a backyard (I had a lab and a lab mix) and so luckily my lab got to go to live with my father in Arizona where he's got a fenced in yard and a pool :)
One dog is so much easier to walk and take care of! So, I guess I'm the reverse of you! I say, two is great if you've got the space!
p.s. Good luck with the labbies-- they're nutty! :)
Yeah...and I think they love all the treat I give them too! :D I'm sure they're having a good time. When I walk them all together I feel like yelling, "MUSH!" at the top of my lungs. ;D
It could be because they aren't your dogs--maybe they don't think they have to listen to you? Like when kids have babysitters and try to test their limits? I wouldn't put it past the furry beasts ;D
Sorry for your stressful experience...but it sounds like the doggies are having lots of fun chasing ducks and going to the park! They'll ask for laurenlovesgoodies to watch them every time! I bet you're they're favorite!
I definitely agree that it's because they're not your dogs, but mostly because they were in an exciting new place and NEED to see and experience as much as possible (at least that's how my dogs have always acted when we bring them to a new place). And then there's the fact that you're not used to them, if they were your puppies you'd know them...how they look and act before they're about to break away and what triggers them. I know that when I'm walking my dog and I see a tree with a squirrel in it, I need to make sure my grasp on the leash is EXTRA tight, for he knows no restraint when it comes to squirrels. And of course there will always be accidents and they'll get away from you, but when you're used to the whole process it doesn't really even phase you anymore. If you get your own pups, you'll find out what brings them back easily and what calms them down.
But it definitely is harder when they have a buddy to go crazy with, it's like they egg each other on and think it's a game :-\
Hello Laurenlovesgoodies, this is the story of my life!
I'm a dogsitter, so I am constantly chasing after big, lumbering dogs in the park who seem to know instantly that they can walk right over me. One (a lab actually- go figure!) would be running around, no problem, la de da playing fetch with me. And then, he would turn and start to sprint for the canal. I'd be behind him (at 7 am no less) going "NONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!" and more than half the times he would jump right in, have a swim, and then come out covered in murk and smelling like stank water.
But oh so happy!
Its definitely annoying, but I also think that it gives them exercise and labs especially love water, so whats the harm. Oh, except when I would try to put that lab in the bathtub. Stank water, definitely. Fresh clean tub water? "No not that! Anything but that! Please please pelase no!!!!"
No alligators in my park, however, that would be really scary.
Good luck. For all of the annoyances- the smelly house, the muddy paw tracks, the HAIR EVERYWHERE, the barking, pulling on leashes- I really get alot out of dogsitting. I connect with every single dog that I watch, and really end up loving each one. You just have to see them for their funny, cute sides, and not focus on the stressful situations they put you in!
Also, if you jog, try taking one or both of them jogging with you. That'll really wear them out.
;D Thanks for making me laugh first thing in the morning!
Right now I have two dogs and I have no problem walking both of them or taking them both to an off leash park. This is because they are mine and they listen to their mommy (usually-ha!) Plus I let them go in water if they want, that's no big deal to me. When we get home I would just hose them down outside.
Dogsitting is another story. THey are like kids wanting to see how much they can get away with from the babysitter. I have often had dogs take off on me after deer or rabbits. Eventually they come back & it is not a big deal. I've had better luck with them listening lately. You really have to show them who's boss. If they pull when you first walk them, stop, say no & make them sit. Speak to them in a firm voice when you want them to listen. It can try your patience for a while, but it is well worth it.
Even if a dog is well-trained in obedience, the minute that nose goes down to a scent, you've lost him. (Especially if said scent is a bitch in heat, but that's a whole other story). And for water dogs...a canal is basically the same reaction.
You don't say how much obedience training these dogs have had, but I feel sure that as others have said, they are out of Mommy and Daddy's sight, they're gonna try it on with the sitter! And maybe they haven't had much real training. I always worked my dogs with a slip on collar, that meant "you're working now." Whenever we took them out on the leash, they wore that slip on collar and they acted right. Take off the collar, and it was like letting their hair down!
Fortunately my dogs were well trained and I worked with them every day at home, with refresher courses each fall, so that they also knew that "go play" meant free time off the lead, but that "come home" meant just that, too.
Can you give these friends a gift certificate to an obedience course? It might be an idea.
Not sure if they are still with you....but as Lisaanddini said, you need to establish dominance over them. Try humping them both for a few minutes each...it works! :D (kidding...but i bet it WOULD work). They just need to know you are alpha. Once they do...they will want nothing more then to please you and constantly gain your respect.
In my own house with my own herd, my dogs really are so well behaved. I can leave food out on a coffee table and leave the room for an hour and nobody will dare touch it. They just know it's the "alpha's" food, and that the leader of the pack will be upset with them if they touch it. They never beg...ever. I do notice 2 things. Whenever I have a new rescue....besides them trying to find their place in the pack....they will test "me" their alpha...to see what they can get away with. They learn quickly that I offer plenty of praise and respect to them, yet they have to play by MY rules to earn my love and attention. That is what happened with the dogs when they did not obey your commands. They did not know their exact place with you yet.
The other thing that happens is when a new "person" comes into my house for the first time....the dogs will try and find where "they" belong in the pack. They WILL try to beg from that person...or just see what they can get away with. It's just how "their world" works. Commands are OK....but mean NOTHING without their respect of your being Alpha...Head MOB boss of the ...er FAMILY! it's in their nature to please.....
It took me years and years to understand how a dog thinks.....how their world works....once you go in that direction....training takes minutes, not days, or hours. It all comes down to "respect"...that is how their world works.....that and ass sniffing! ???
Hope that helps!
-d!
Not sure if they are still with you....but as Lisaanddini said, you need to establish dominance over them. Try humping them both for a few minutes each...it works! (kidding...but i bet it WOULD work). They just need to know you are alpha. Once they do...they will want nothing more then to please you and constantly gain your respect.
It took me years and years to understand how a dog thinks.....how their world works....once you go in that direction....training takes minutes, not days, or hours. It all comes down to "respect"...that is how their world works.....that and ass sniffing! ???
Hope that helps!
-d!
LMAO! I nearly spit out my coffee! ;D I stil lhave them ('til Saturday). They are a bit better. They know I'm alpha now....at least I think they do. These dogs are very well behaved at home. I think you all are right about them seeing how far they can push you.
Another random question: Can dogs get homesick and it turn into physical symptoms? Maddy (the 1yr old) is sick. I think it may just be exposure to different foods and her stomach is just adjusting?? ???
Lauren, our dog Boots definitely gets homesick :( The last time we went on holidays, the friends that he stayed with said he wouldn't eat, wouldn't play & was generally depressed the whole time. About all he would eat were the dog cookies I sent with him. When we brought him home, he was of course excited to see us but for a few days after, he had some tummy troubles. I always feel like I am abandoning him when we've gone away & I hope that he doesn't think that we have. He was a rescue dog that was in terrible shape when we got him & I swear he remembers that.
I forget who it was....mdvegan I think, that told about her cat & travelling. She put a picture in the crate with the cat, which seemed to help at first. Then the cat got pissed & took it out on the picture. It was a cute story.
Just beat the shit out of her for a few hours....she'll get over it! :o
Now...go clean your keyboard!
yeah...she can feel like she missing her parents....and her own den/home. Dogs do get territorial and she's out of her elemant....they do learn to adapt, but I'm sure she just misses her natural "safe" place. Just keep doing what you're doing and she'll come around. AND...if she wants to play fetch or something with a ball....remember...don't throw it to her or make her chase it....throw it as HARD as you can directly at her and hit her upside the head with it! :D
edit: wanted to add...I am SOOO far from "normal" and nobody should ever listen to ANYTHING i say or post....
Try humping them both for a few minutes each...it works!
;D funny
Some dogs, like some people, do somatize distress with vomiting, nausea, etc. If they are at your house--could it be a difference in the water supply? That will hit me whenever we go on vacation, my body is adjusted to our local (crappy) tapwater, but take me out of my town and I drink only a trusted bottled brand.