I do right now. Not that I actually will, of course, but these three dogs are running me ragged.
The listing had stellar reviews when I applied - although several of them were from before the latest addition to the dog pack; a stray puppy that has, since the photos on the listing were taken, grown into a full-sized dog. This dog wakes me up at 3-4 am every morning, barking and growling. I’m so sleep deprived I can’t think straight. (Take naps? Unfortunately, I don’t really work that way.)
Also, the dogs are used to being allowed to run wild in and out of the house all day long, dragging mud and dirt everywhere, so it’s an endless cycle of sweeping and mopping and vacuuming just to make the place livable. Last night, the youngest pup chewed up both my yoga blocks, and during the night, my therapeutic cushion. My bad for leaving my stuff where she could get to them, but right now, lack of sleep is adding to the irritation.
I let the HO know about the morning issue, and they said: “Just feed them and let them out in the yard, and go back to sleep.” Well, that’s if you can sleep through non-stop barking for hours.
Sorry if I’m sounding negative, I love doing sits, I love animals, but sometimes, this ends up feeling a lot harder than expected. Anyone else felt like this mid-sit?
Thank you.
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That sounds horrible! Only a few more days? So sorry you are enduring this.
Where are you? It sounds like you must be out in the countryside, where it is okay if dogs are barking outside in the middle of the night. No nearby neighbors?
Please, please, please leave an honest review.
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Thank you so much! Yes, it’s out in the country, neighbors are (hopefully) far enough away so they don’t hear the barking. I’ve got one more week here.
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Sounds horrible. Are they being fed kibble/ dry dog food? It might not work if they are being fed separately/ different food (and some dogs don’t understand it) but my dogs get busy for a long time if I just threw the kibble out on the grass. They could go sniffing a good 20 min (and long after they had found the last one). There’s also other options that make dogs having to work for food that keeps them occupied. One option is to freeze som goodie in the middle of an ice-block (can’t play with that indoor because water but could work great outdoor. )
Some ideas - more online:
Regarding mud - I would probably limit available rooms if possible - to save time and work.
Please leave an honest review.
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Thank you for the advice on the kibble! I’m definitely going to give that a try. Kibble should taste better than yoga blocks anyway, even if they have to work for it. 
Thank you so much!
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You haven’t lost your sense of humour that’s great ! It’s very tough with a gang of three! I had a hyper Border Collie pup but the owners had taught it to get toys out of its box if it woke early! That saved my life! I hate sleep deprivation and now I’m a proud grandad don’t expect to revisit it!
I can nap and take siestas but not through barking!
I think we may need sedatives in our bag of life saving equipment on challenging pet sits!
It’s a bag that gets bigger by the day!
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Thank you for sharing! You made me smile over here!
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I’m really proud of how you are handling things… been there and know how unreasonable it can all become! A sense of humour is the first thing to pack for these unexpected challenges! Puppies are a different species!
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One sit, I wanted to quit immediately I walked into the house.
No dogs but a cat who disappeared. “Rattle the food tin and he’ll come back”. 2am still not back. Gave up and went to sleep. I’ve never done that before or since.
The house smelt. Not quite the watering eyes smell but bad enough. I got on my big girl knickers and scrubbed everywhere I was going to be. Took my ages.
The only thing that made me stay was the host. She looked after her severely disabled husband. She was extremely depressed and didn’t know what to do or where to get help. Her son arrived to pick her up. I pointed her to the door and wished her a lovely break. Copious amounts of wine, takeaways and my sense of humour got me through it.
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In this situation, I take the homeowners advice, feed them, put them outside, put in earplugs and go back to bed
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You can’t pour from an empty cup. Self preservation finally kicks in. The hosts expected me to have the dogs in with me at night. They put the dog cage in my room before they headed off abroad. no Welcome Guide, of course! No mention in so many words…
Now I am not squeamish: we cuddled on the sofa in the daytime.. but I need my sleep.. tried one night then they had two other bedrooms to choose from!
The dogs got my reasoning and were so happy to see my cheery face each morning! We got up at 6.30, refreshed!
Better that than waking GRUMPY!
We all loved our two weeks together !
Not my house but my rules on my watch.
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@ElsieDownie So sorry to hear you went through that! Thank you for sharing.
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@livinglife2 Oh no, it sounds absolutely horrible. We’ve had barky dogs in Spain and Italy. It’s enough to drive you bonkers and make for very grumpy sitters. I’m not sure I have advice, I just want to wish you luck and sanity.
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Yes…and the sit was only 24h !
You’re not being negative you’re describing your horrible reality.
I’m sorry that I have no advice for you …and that you won’t be getting hazardous duty pay for your troubles and loss of sleep !
I’m sorry you’re having to endure this and please, please let future sitters know what they’ll be signing up for if they sit.
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Ugh, that’s why I don’t adopt dogs under 2 years of age. I don’t have that kind of energy anymore.
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@ElsieDownie Bravo for helping the poor lady out. Being a caretaker to a sick family member is stressful and hard work. You gave her a glimpse of rest and freedom.
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No advice, just big hugs. One thing Iasknduring the video chats is if the pet has any behaviors or conditions that leads to overnight responsibilities between the hours of 11-6am. I even spell out examples like cat meowing to go outside.
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@Garfield Throwing kibble out on the lawn was a lifesaver, I’ve been able to sleep! Thank you!!!
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So glad it worked!
The next idea for someonecould be to prepare this the night before. Don’t. The creatures of the night are then fed. 
Have a snoozefest!
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The lack of sleep is a killer- we sat a puppy and it was exhausting….. never again! I’ve learnt my lesson. I operated on a few hours sleep for the 2 weeks and it took a whole week just to recover from the sleep deprivation. Learn from this sit- and write down a list of how you can spot the red flags in the future. Please write a helpful review so that other sitters do not suffer in the same way.
Best wishes and empathy from afar.
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