I am on a new house sit with a nervous, timid dog that doesn’t give any indication that she needs to go out. The owner did tell me that “she isn’t a good clock for herself”, so I take her out morning, noon and evening and she is good. Except on day 2, she had an accident on a carpet in the study most likely in the night or early morning. I cleaned it up best I could and have since shut the doors. Last night day 7, she peed on a carpet at the front door. I have used the pet remover solution with the machine that was in the cupboard and have the carpet/rug drying on the deck. I hope that neither of these carpets end up with a stain. I have not communicated with the owner regarding these 2 incidences, because I have essentially removed the carpets/rugs for future accidents and she can’t do anything about it while she is overseas.
I would hate to get a negative review because of this. I am going to leave her a note upon my departure about the two incidences. What should I say?
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It sounds like the owner did disclose the dog may not alert when it needs to go out. Morning, mid day and evening are good but hopefully you let her out a final time just before bed. Also limit water for an hour before the fourth and final potty break (unless it’s extremely warm in the house, then keep access to a little water). Good idea to pick up the rugs overnight. If it’s possible to limit the area of the house she has access to overnight by closing off some doors, that’s good too.
I don’t think dog pee normally stains if it’s cleaned properly so I don’t think you need to worry about that.
You can definitely mention it to the owner when they return, but this may be the dog showing a bit of stress with the owner gone.
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In the note, just mention the number of times it happened, that you cleaned it with the solution/machine available. Not sure that you need to say much more beyond those facts.
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If you haven’t, you could try longer walks. Some dogs may pee more than once and need additional time or may have a routine that is slightly off schedule with your routine.
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I wonder if the dog knows that they can ask to go out. It might be fun to teach it a signal it can use. You can get ideas from YT if you’re not familiar with teaching this and how to reward the process of learning. The HO will be grateful I reckon….
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She could be feeling out of sorts and missing her owner. I agree with the poster who suggested longer walks. Hope it gets better when she becomes used to you.
@coastalcouplepei
Leave a polite note (about what happened) for the returning HOs and be sympathetic towards the pup’s issues. There is no reason why a HO would leave a bad review because their a pet is not house trained. Especially if you tell them how patient you were towards their dog in spite of the accidents.
As far as your review of the sit, please be factual about what you had to deal with. Sandwich these facts in between good things about the sit.
It’s super important to leave a factual review so future sitters can make an informed decision whether to apply or not.
And remember that reviews are blind.
Take care!
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That’s an ambiguous statement!
It should have been stated in the listing if the dog has accidents in the house. So long as you’re facilitating adequate toilet breaks, it’s not your fault if she isn’t house trained.
We looked after 2 elderly dogs, both of whom were occasionally fecally incontinent in the house despite them having exceptional outside access. Not their fault - of course - and we dealt with it, but it was naughty not to mention in the listing as it definitely wasn’t a new development.
Please do mention this in your review and dock stars in the relevant sections to alert future sitters. Informed choice is imperative for successful sits.
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Thanks for the advice - I am going to mention the dog’s nervousness, timid nature because it can affect how visiting sitters can adjust to her quirks more quickly than I did and I had to contact the owner to find out what she does to encourage the dog to get up and come for a walk and a bio break.
I don’t really think the owner has a clue and I believe I am the first sitter. The dog doesn’t come to her name even in the house - doesn’t come to greet me when I come home - she stays in her bed. She doesn’t come to watch me prepare her food and her food is served in the same place she sleeps - in the office. Even if I say her name she does’n’t look up - and she has very acute hearing… This is my first experience with a timid dog of people, so its all new. All suggestions are welcome and I think I will search the site for any forums on this subject. Thanks again.
We don’t understand this statement. Unless the owner-dog relationship is very recent indeed then surely the owner must be aware of its toilet behaviours.
OP does not state remaining duration of housesit. If it’s almost finished then consider short-term fixes such as increased frequency of bathroom breaks and reduced water availability - as others have noted. If significant remaining time then openly discuss situation with owner - no blame, just facts. They may confess to know about the situation and offer specific tactics that work.
We have housesit for multiple dogs with a nervous disposition - they can pee if anxious. So consider tactics that reduce stress/anxiety (e.g. walk in park rather than street).
We have housesit for multiple dogs that have used dog nappies when left unattended. Such products exist. Not sure of cost but perhaps pragmatic tactic as win-win-win for you, owner, pet.
We have housesit for one senior dog - poor thing - that had limited bladder control. Owner had cardboard on floor everywhere. Dog rarely made it from apartment to street before starting to pee. Not great. Short sit but we increased number of bathroom visits and it meaningfully helped situation.
Good luck
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I wouldn’t advocate reducing access to fresh drinking water, as this can cause all sorts of problems. Dogs only drink when thirsty.
@Happypets, fair enough. This is secondary to sufficient bathroom breaks. Regardless, monitor would be better verb than limit. Monitoring water intake may identify any excess-to-normal consumption.