I think every sitter will agree with me that some pets are easier to get along with than others, depending on various factors but behaviour is certainly one of them.
I’m starting this topic lightheartedly but what things annoy you about looking after pets that you’ve had in your care temporarily?
At present I’m looking after a boisterous puppy and he is a lot of fun. I’ve noticed something that only he does which annoys me. The older dog I’m also looking after never does it!
Ok so the dogs can lie on the beds, sofas chairs in the house and garden. What I object to is wherever I’m sitting, when I get up to do something and then return to my seat … the puppy invariably has got up and moved to enjoy my warm seat!
I’m not sure if he’s just appreciating my natural warmth or whether this is an Alpha dog putting me in my place! Ha ha!
I’ve never noticed this behaviour with any other dog I’ve sat.
It made me wonder if other sitters have “pet” hates too.
Another thing he does when he knows we are about to go out on a walk and he needs to wear his harness with tracker on, he hides under the table or skulks in a corner while the other, older dog calmly comes up to put his head through in compliance… Every time! So now rather than chasing him, which he would love! I head out to the garden and he doesn’t want to be left behind so rushes to follow and accepts the inevitable harness at the garden gate… the last possible moment before we head out!
I like to think I’m winning!
I did two separate sits with year-old dogs, one recently rescued. I didn’t hate their behavior. I just found that they outmatched my energy level, especially because I telecommute full time. So now I don’t sit dogs their age or younger. They were perfectly lovable and I still think of them with affection.
The rescued one turned out to have separation anxiety (during their humans’ first long trip away). And both dogs were crazy jealous of the cats in their households.
In the case of the rescued dog, those cats were so lovable, I felt badly that I couldn’t give them more attention. They had to be separated on another floor or the dog would try to tackle them.
In the other case, at least that cat (also very sweet) went outdoors most of the time, so I didn’t have to constantly keep the dog away from her. That pup always tried to chase her and would jump up and down and whine in protest anytime I gave her affection, food or treats.
I looked after a wonderful large dog a while back, who was delighfully behaved in every way, except… After eating he would go bonkers and start humping the sofa, gathering cushions to create a substitute mate.
I am very far from a prude, but his visible passion and amorous energy were rather off-putting.
Oh, that’s such an interesting topic. Honestly, there’s not much that really bothers me about dogs. But one thing that absolutely drives me crazy is when dogs eat every bit of crap they find outside and have zero recall. A Beagle once really pushed me to my limit with that behavior.
But there’s no point in getting too mad, so I let it go and use some training tricks I’ve picked up along the way.
I’ve only ever had one pair of dogs — Vizslas — that were absolutely spot-on with their training. One of them once chased after a deer and got really close, but with one whistle, she immediately turned around, came back and sat down next to me without another word. Wow, that was seriously impressive. Their parents did an amazing job.
I hate when dogs pull on the lead (and it’s not mentioned in the listing or disclosed during our chat, despite being asked about that). And I’m not too keen when dogs claim the sofas for themselves. We can handle such dogs but, we’re not there to re-train them, so it’s much better when such things are made known at the outset.
People can make their own decisions about what constitutes acceptable manners in their own dogs, and that’s fine, but it’s just sensible to make sitters aware of what to expect, so we can make an informed choice when applying for sits.
I should add that the first time the dog started going crazy after eating, I let him out into the garden (large, fenced, secured) to run off some energy, and he came back in after 3 or 4 mins.
I immediately received a text message from the owner asking where the dog was, when I explained what I had done and why, the owner told me ‘it is Fido’s house, not yours’ and I was not to put him outside…
(They had previously-declared external cameras).
Needless to say, that soured the entire sit, and influenced by review.
Very surprised by the Home Owner response about the dog being outside of the home for a time. I’m sitting a huge dog here who has an upset stomach and had a severe diarhoea yesterday morning before I got up and was made aware. I cleared it up and let the home owner know. The dog was off its food yesterday but was provided lots of water throughout the day. This morning things seemed better and he ate some food but he’s out in the garden now- especially as he’s long haired and used to sitting on all the chairs and sofas! The weather is mild now and it’s easier to clear things up outside. Some parts of the electric circuit are out after storms here so maybe the external cameras are out too… but I have my reasons for keeping him out. There are seats outside and plenty of water.
I don’t let dogs dictate so they soon stopped some unnecessary barking to unnerve me.
The well dog is there to keep him company while I shower and have my breakfast in peace!
Sitters need a break too!
The comment about cats being second class citizens when they share a home with dogs reminded me of a sit where the cats were bought first and their restricted kingdom became the upstairs when the home owners decided to get two dogs… Viszla s! The Viszlas lived in the breakfast room downstairs enjoying the Aga. The cats had to run the gauntlet through the breakfast room and past the wary Viszlas on their way to the kitchen and the cat flap of the kitchen door… it kept everyone on their toes for sure!
Dogs pulling on the lead ruin a walk for me too. I think it’s a basic that needs to be trained and rewarded with treats for good conduct when out and about.
Here the dogs are used to running free on a dry riverbed where they chase rabbits and foxes. However to get to the dry riverbed we have to walk through a residential area and past some cats in a colony here as well as homes with cats in. The dogs pull like mad on the leads and know exactly where the cats are!
After lots of rainfall the safe dry riverbed is now slippery and treacherous so I have to take them further to a disused railway path but that is also used by cyclists, walkers, runners and other dog walkers. This results in putting the dogs frequently on the lead as strangers approach. The dogs aren’t always reliable on recall let’s say!
The issue of eating rubbish is also relevant here as they go off into scrub land and catch and eat rabbits etc. I would prefer an extendable lead to have more control of the dogs in my care but the owners use a tracker on the puppy dog and I have to follow their rules.
Dogs are pretty resilient whatever they get to eat but it is something I also struggle with watching.
Cats bringing in dead offerings which get partially eaten and you have to hunt out the remains under beds is also a pet hate of mine!
Yes dogs trained to the whistle are great! What a delight it is to share a walk with such creatures !
I tend to go out for more walks and longer ones where the dogs are well trained and well behaved when encountering other dogs and their walkers.
I’ve always thought that training should be a given but of course rescues come with complicated histories and bad habits are hard to break.
I do agree with the comment we are not meant to be trainers whilst House Sitting but I do try to improve matters where I can!
Eating their poo and their sick should be at the top of the list!
I also hate walking beautifully white coated dogs who love to roll in fox poo whilst out and about or launch themselves into ponds and clay pits full of mucky water!
One Home Owner had rigged up a hot water hose and there were five drying towels to be used in the drying off process before the Springer Spaniel could gain admission to the cream carpeted home. The Springer enjoyed the ritual so much she was an absolute Mud Magnet!
This list is getting longer! Ha ha!
I agree that we’re not there to be trainers. And I don’t do long enough sits to really train any pets. But for the week or two that I’m there, if I can help improve the pets’ lives, I do.
For instance, I got an undisciplined and spoiled year-old pup to sit side by side with the poor cat, rather than tackling or chasing her. If nothing else, I showed the hosts what the dog was capable of in a short time — they even mentioned in their review that they’d never accomplished such pet détente before. I can only hope that they continued such efforts after I left. I pitied the poor cat.
We are taking care of the older Samoyed at the moment and this is our first time dealing with such a stubborn, strong-willed dog. She’s also constantly looking for things to eat on our walks, just anything really so…@Fatamorgana yeah, I know exactly what you mean!
I heard about “velcro” dogs but never experienced life with such a dog until last year - to the point where the little thing wanted to be with us, sitting on us, like all the time. Like @Maggie8K said - I didn’t hate it but we won’t be sitting for similar dogs again.
Before Christmas we did one week sit with an older schnauzer, the HO casually mentioned before the sit that the dog, despite of having many bowls with water in the house, likes to drink from the swimming pool outside. Our fault, we didn’t ask more about this, I thought okay, we’ll let him out a few times per day, it’s fine. In reality, the dog wanted to drink the water ONLY from the pool and was barking to be let out many many times during the day. Also - it was a three-story house with a multiple balconies/doors leading outside to the garden and the dog always wanted to be out from a different level AND chose a different way to come back, completely ignoring me. So even I was waiting for him on the lower level, he would come back, watching me, on the top one! Funny at first but quite annoying after a few days
This sounds funny, but I can see how that would get old quickly. I wonder whether the dog liked the taste of pool water and might’ve been willing to drink it if put in his bowl. Though I don’t think it’s healthy to be drinking pool water all the time, apparently those hosts were allowing it regularly anyway. And curious: Why would any hosts let such a habit begin anyway?
That would really annoy me too! You were lucky it was for just a week! You must have been happy to see in the New Year!
Yes I sat two Velcro dogs who wanted to share a two seater settee with me.
My wife announced at the start of the joint house sit that the single leather chair left would be hers while we were there.
Fortunately we had the bedroom to ourselves!
Oh wait… the two cats came and joined us!
Fun fact - that HO have a company selling innovative pool control systems The dog, 15yo old man, was in excellent physical condition but I’m with you, I don’t think it’s a healthy habit! I’d probably ask more questions after the sit but it was our first blind handover and we didn’t have a chance to meet our hosts in person.
I get annoyed by the Border Collie constantly watching me prepare my food even if his full food bowl is in front of him! He likes to smell my food and imagine himself sharing it… in his dreams!
He follows me to the loo too! It really is STALKING!
I’m sure I’m going to miss it once I leave this housesit though! I know how predictable his checks on me are ! A Border Collie with separation anxiety would be my idea of purgatory! He sleeps with one eye open I swear!
Funny edit wouldn’t let me put H E L L but purgatory was ok… I suppose it’s only half way there !
I do get respite as he has a cage for when I need time out!
Which reminds me of a joke.
Father says to child “ it’s time for bed “
Child replies, “ but I’m not tired!”
“ Maybe, but you’re making me tired! “
So true!
Sleep well everyone!
The dog, 15yo old man, was in excellent physical condition but I’m with you, I don’t think it’s a healthy habit! I’d probably ask more questions after the sit but it was our first blind handover and we didn’t have a chance to meet our hosts in person.