We have two dogs, the younger of whom suffered some early childhood trauma before we adopted him that shows up as fear-aggression. We were very explicit about his behaviors and needs with the sitters when the applied and interviewed, and believed their willingness and aptitude for managing him.
And: it’s not going well. We thought it would be best to overlap a day with the sitters, to get everyone acquainted. Unfortunately with us in the house, this dog is prone to confronting the interlopers he perceives as a potential threat to us, barking loudly at them, and nipping at sudden movements or in fear response to encountering someone in the few narrow spots in the house. We are working through it, and are activating our “Plan B” for this dog, with the older one remaining in the house with the sitters when we leave.
Our departure was delayed because of the fire situation near London Heathrow, and we’ll have another day with everyone in the house. But I am now second-guessing the wisdom of the overlap and would love any advice from other owners of reactive dogs about what works for them when you make the transition to sitters coming to the house. 
Dogs who nip / bite shouldn’t be left with THS sitters. They’re better left with paid professionals.
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@ajscholz We just went through that EXACT same situation. We were forewarned and was prepared for it, even spent 2 nights with the home owners before they departed. And you won’t believe it, but it got better after they left! The rescue was still skittish but stopped the barking and nipping after I told her off (strongly) after the owners left - I had to assert my place in the household then. And it worked!
This is because the little rescue tries to protect their household and family while they are there. Once they leave, the sitters are the care (and more importantly food) givers, and if they have worked with rescues before, they should be able to handle it.
Best of luck, it’s a tough situation for all involved.
@Maggie8K it’s hard to explain but it’s not nipping as in biting. It’s more of a warning ‘nudge’ - it may sound aggressive, but I wouldn’t classify it as aggressive.
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You told a reactive dog off? This is not a good advert for this service.
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Welcome to the forum @Kitty1970. Setting boundaries is very important, and comes from working with lots of rescues and fosters over the years. This is important, especially in a hostile environment where the rescue pet doesn’t know you, and barking at you to protect their environment, Alpha dog etc.
It worked, because the sit went very well and the little rescue dog grew very close to us over the course of 14 days. Incidentally, the previous sitter didn’t do that and then the sitter grew scared of the dog and the pet parents had to activate plan B to relieve the sitter of her duties. We are very proud of the work we do, and I’m sorry that your first post on this forum is to admonish us.
Edited to add: of course this is a case by case situation, and we would only do that if we felt it would lead to a positive outcome (read the room, read the dog).
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We had a dog who was similar in that she was fear aggressive and super protective of us. We would leave her at a kennel on vacations. They knew to keep her away from other dogs and she was always fine with the people at the kennel – once we left.
THS woud not have been appropriate for her and I wouldn’t want to take a chance on her hurting a sitter or another dog while under a sitter’s care.
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Nipping is something a dog would use to play or communicate - for instance «hey, let’s play!» or «come here!»
Biting is from fear, aggression, guarding instincts etc. «Back off!!»
The difference is in the intent of the dog. Not in the result. A nip can result in a puncture, but is nevertheless a playful act. A reactive response is not «nipping».
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Thank you @botvot – that’s exactly the kind of specific experience I was looking for. The boarding facility where our little guy will be staying as part of Plan B specializes in shy and fear-aggressive dogs, and will do some work with him on these behaviors as part of the boarding package.
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Thank you for sharing your experience, @Marion! I am glad we have a boarding place nearby that specializes in shy / fear-aggressive dogs, and will do some work with our pup on those behaviors. He’s A-OK with other dogs, and I am curious to see how he’ll do after we leave.
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The alpha dog theory has long been debunked. (by the scientist who pioneered it).
It was good to read this before I signed up. I know this service is not for us.
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I would believe it, since these behaviours have evolved around their pet parents. Remove them from the mix and the dogs need to suss out how to react around the new human carers, and often the established defensive behaviours are no longer applicable.
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@Kitty1970 we’re just one sitter of thousands! Give someone else a chance, you may have better chemistry with others.
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And, unfortunately, many do not have the awareness, presence, sensitivity and training to recognise the difference and, when possible, appropriate and safe, mitigate the behaviour.
Yes. Even many sitters.
And this is why looking for sitters in a home with reactive dogs can potentially be very perilous for all parties (sitters, ho’s and dogs).
It seems so risky on so many levels; and , even as a sitter with a lof of canine experience , I would never take on such a sit unless I had a few opportunities to be with the dog AND the ho’s prior to the sit.
This, of course, adds time to a traditional meeting and presents an “iffy” sit (meaning that a commitment cannot be made until safety conditions are met, if that is even possible).
Sadly, I agree that it would be safer for everyone to consider a kennel.
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If a potential host is quick to broad brush across an entire platform and so many sitters, it’s probably better that they don’t join. Otherwise, it becomes of question of how unfair or unyielding they might be to sitters in general.
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That is very responsible of you. We went to meet with HOs for a last minute sit yesterday, in which one of the dogs was listed as reactive at first. We spent the better part of an hour attempting to establish some form of trust, but it did not help. She snarled, growled, ran up on, almost got my husband. As he has quick reflexes, he only felt her teeth as he pulled away. We were to sit in four days, but we declined. I hope another sitter does not get in a bad situation. Lovely home, friendly people highly desirable area for us. We are new to THS, but not to dogs and life. Thank you for being smart.
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This is not a “reactive” dog. This is Dog Which Bites (calling it a “nip” doesn’t change the fact). And therefore shouldn’t be left with any sitter until that behaviour has been stopped. (Sorry, I know I’ve said this elsewhere, but I’m amazed afresh every time by people who think it’s OK to expect sitters to care for dogs which might, actually… BITE them.)
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Good that you pulled out.
The dog isn’t re-active - acting in response to something - if it runs up on you in my opinion. It is aggressive and shouldn’t be a sit on THS. Agree with fledermaus.
I would consider contacting member service and raise concern. It could be as «a question». I would think it could be of importance that the info is on file for the future sitters, but also for the host as THS might reach out and advice. I know they have done so in some cases.
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