I feel for you. Please leave an honest factual unemotional review about the dog’s behaviour for the benefit of future sitters.
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Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I left an honest, and I hope kind, review for the sit that prompted me to start this post. It’s not always easy, but as sitters we all rely on other sitters to leave honest reviews and I’m happy to do my part.
In the future I will be asking very detailed questions about the “walk experience “ before I accept a sit. If the owners lie, I will include that in the review. I will very likely just avoid large dogs that are young though. Thanks again for all the great tips.
One of my fingers is still sore but otherwise I’m recovering and feeling more optimistic. Im sitting the most well behaved dog ever right now, so that’s helping and I’m SO GRATEFUL for owners who put the time and effort in to have well behaved happy dogs.
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I feel for you as I’ve experienced similar situations a couple of times in the past with dogs.
Most recently, a few months ago, I looked after a dog that would bark very aggressively and lunge towards any other dog or human when out on walks. This was even if they were some distance away that he would start barking and rearing up on his hind legs. I had to be on a high state of alert and in a constant state of hypervigilance. It was also incredibly exhausting having to restrain him from physically going for other dogs and people. This dog viewed every other living being as an enemy to be attacked.
The owner of course hadn’t disclosed this in their listing and it wasn’t mentioned at all during the pre-sit discussion.
From now on, I’ve learned to always ask this essential question beforehand and whilst there’s no guarantee of an honest response, usually their body language will somehow give it away if they’re not quite being straight with us. Something will just feel off. That’s what I’m looking out for now to really pay attention to help me decide whether or not I want to proceed.
I mentioned all of this in the review to warn other sitters what they’ll be having to deal with if they decide to go ahead. I also awarded only 2 stars under the communication category as neglecting to mention something as important as this is completely unacceptable.
Nobody should have to suffer injuries the way you have on a sit. I really do hope the pain starts to subside for you soon.
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If a dog wasn’t controllable by me on a sit- I’m afraid to say I would not take it out on walks and would invite the HO to arrange for professional (behaviourist) dog walker to come by to do the walking. I’d continue with the sit… but my personal safety is always going to be my priority. My sister in law’s St Bernard wasn’t walkable by me, unless with two large guys holding onto two leads and even then he was borderline dangerous. Eventually he simply didn’t get taken out…
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We recently sat 2 big strong St Bernhards. The host asked if we’d like to walk them and said she could put us on her insurance to drive them on her van to the dog walking areas. She also said we didn’t have to as she also had a dog walker she ‘occasionally’ used.
We opted for the dog walker. These two were huge!!
The dog walker came three times during our sit, always returning muddly and wet from the walks. The first time we had a good chat & he said the HO never walked them herself as she couldn’t handle them at all! In fact his dog walking pals also did not like to walk them either. He was the only one who ever walked them!! She basically lied to us and could have put our safety in jeopardy had we agreed to try and walk them.
Then she dropped a star on self sufficient! We don’t know if not walking was the reason as no explanation was given but… maybe!
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I used to be a dog trainer and have only had ‘trouble’ with one dog walking out. She was a Romanian Mountain Dog and her head was up to my chest. A gentle giant. I was worried with the size and weight of her that I may not have full control of her, she was two years old. Thankfully, the owners had a huge back garden.
Normally before I take any dog out, I practice in the back garden a dogs recall. Then when walking a dog, I keep it to my left on a collar lead. The dog has to walk alongside me, not overtake. If it does, I stop walking. I repeat until I’m happy to walk outside. It doesn’t take long for a dog, with a treat to learn.
Plus, the lead is held in my right hand and checked with my left. My left hand controls the dog and to walk with me. If the dog is distracted it may slip my left hand but my right hand is ready to restore order. I’m 69 years old and have been HS for two years now.
Hope this helps.
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I believe you are talking about a head lead which is not a muzzle.
As has been mentioned, Halti and Gentle Leader are 2 brands. Not all dogs will tolerate a head lead but for others they can work well.
Handling the dog was not the issue. The dog was handled, which left me bruised in my hands and with a sore shoulder FROM handling her.
@DarkAloha That’s clearly not acceptable, and the behaviours should hsve been stated in the listing.
Then again, how many times do we see people out walking dogs who are pulling excessively on the lead? I suspect some pet parents don’t even view it as out of the ordinary.
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This is my situation, too. I left a review that described my attempts at correcting behavior, along with the reality so that future sitters would know. I’m sorry about your experience. I’m frankly so traumatized by mine that I don’t plan to do this again any time soon.
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