The dog I am sitting for was great for the first 3 days of a sit that is supposed to be 1 month in duration but then suddenly started barking for a long time first for short periods and mostly at night to almost all night long! I am at my wits end and none of the suggestions the owners say to do are helping! I told them I cannot sleep and want to end the sit immediately they are not happy about having to cut their vacation short and say they will try to find another sitter but it’s difficult with such short notice and them not being here to do a walk through with a new sitter.
I offered to help but I will have to disclose the barking issues, correct? Is it wrong of me to refuse to put up with a dog that barks and keeps me awake? I was not told of this and it does not show up in any previous reviews of this host it’s just weird.
Is there a possibility to change the place where he sleeps? Most of the time they bark because they can hear or see movement close to the house. If there’s some more isolated place, he might be OK.
It will also help to exercise him in the evening.
You say he was great the first three days. Is there anything that has changed?
This is exactly like my first sit- it was a 5 mths old puppy and I became sleep deprived also the neighbours were totally stressed out!
Top tips for survival:
Don’t let the dog sleep too much during the day.
Increase your interaction with the dog (longer walks, more play sessions).
Allow the dog to sleep in your bedroom (move the crate or dog bed into there).
Barking=anxiety/stress so do everything to reduce this- follow routines to make the dog feel secure in your leadership.
Thank you I will try all those things! The hosts have arranged to return in 2 days so I just have to hold out that long!
This is the second time I have had to leave a sit early because of a misbehaving dog which I wasn’t told about and none of the other reviews complain about this.
When you do leave this sit, please briefly state the facts about the dog’s barking. Sandwich it in between positive feedback about the pet and home. Do this for the sake of future sitters.
After our most recent sit, which was great, we did state that one of the dogs needed to use pee pads if we were gone more than two-three hours. It was no problem for us but we stated it in our review so future sitters can make an informed decision whether to apply.
Same with your barking dog issue. Facts are GOOD in reviews.
I’m wondering why he was fine for the first 3 days tbh. Did you walk him as required by the owners? I should have thought he would have barked from the beginning…
OOOf that is a toughie. Let us know how it goes after trying the excellent suggestions here. Perhaps your (unfortunate) experience can help the homeowners have a happier dog for future sitters. No one is happy with how things are going, hopefully you can get some sleep tonight.
The HOs may genuinely not be aware that their dog becomes stressed if they have sitters, and of course previous sitters either
A. didn’t experience this
or
B. have more experience than you do and knew what to do about it.
Sleep deprivation is a terrible experience to go through…. Best wishes
Strange that issues commenced after few days, rather than at start.
A hearty subset of our housesits with dogs have involved misstatements in regards typical exercise and/or typical food. Either could cause barking or other challenges.
Some Pet Parents perhaps overstate exercise to based on best-ever day of distance or mindset of ‘my dog’s on holiday so will enjoy walking’. Some Pet Parents perhaps underestimate exercise to attract housesitters. Quite a few Pet Parents of dogs have left home without exercising dog, say due to packing or other mindset, so we have to spend a few days draining energy - but seems not case in your situation.
Some Pet Parents omit to include human food in WG (yep, been there multiple times).
Impact is often on net calories … calorie deficit = hungry dog = issues.
When we started housesitting we followed WG exactly. As we’ve gained experience with all sorts of breeds, ages, natures of dogs then we increasingly balance decisions based on our petcare experience versus pet parent instructions.
Suggest that you follow advice from @BonnyinBrighton, especially #1 - exercise is often a wonderful thing, for pets and humans.
My sister is sitting a German Shepherd at present and pulling her hair out (my sister’s not the dogs) The dog follows them everywhere, literally. Wakes them at night just for a lick and a pat, brings buried treats into the house, wants 100% constant attention. Just a few of the difficult things she is experiencing. Owner is at work most of the day so the dog (only young) is used to separation. But I feel what my sister is experiencing is definitely separation anxiety. Confused as to what is happening and where her owners are hence behaviour completely out of the ordinary. So pets can show this anxiety in different ways, maybe constant barking is this dogs way of showing that.
If you’re going to stay and try out various approaches, I suggest you get ear plugs first, because you sound like you’re at the end of your rope.
However long it takes for other approaches to start working, you need to get some decent sleep immediately. Otherwise, you won’t have the mental and physical health needed. There’s a reason why Geneva Conventions include sleep deprivation as a form of torture.
From what I’ve tried ear plugs wise over the years, wax ones that conform to your ear canals tend to work the best. They’re typically easily available online and/or via same-day deliveries.
I’m afraid that because this host has only 5 star reviews and no one talks about the barking dog and I only have a few reviews that people will think I am not able to handle the dog and it’s my fault and won’t want me to sit for them.
I walked him a LOT! Even more than they said to. He’s fine on the walks then at night he gets all restless and starts barking constantly. Nothing seems to help!
Don’t over walk the dog. That can actually lead to restlessness.
Excessive barking, especially continuously, overnight can be triggered by boredom or territorial protection (or anxiety, but really if the dog was fine for 3 days…it’s likely boredom).
Dogs are smart creatures and need mental stimulation as much as they need physical exercise. Is the dog getting regular chews/puzzles to work on? Really dogs need a ‘wind down’ routine at night, similar to humans. Humans will relax with a glass of wine, or some TV, or a puzzle, a book, whatever. Most people don’t hop on a treadmill and run miles before jumping into bed for sleep. Because that winds you up, and it takes time to wind down. So the exercise is usually earlier in the day then wind down before bed. Same for dogs.
Are you doing heavy exercise with the dog through the day, especially in the evenings, with no ‘wind down’ (chews, lick mats, Kongs, etc?)
You mentioned another sit with issues with a dog. How much dog experience do you have? Maybe think about sitting cats only, because dogs will present challenges. And you can’t continually abandon sits if you’re not able to cope with them. So, maybe dog sits aren’t a good fit for you?
It’s not always the HO not mentioning things and all the sitters prior to you lying. Maybe…it’s you?
I think if you have only a few reviews, and this is the second time you’ve had to leave a sit because of a misbehaving dogs, you should stop sitting dogs.
I’m sorry but dogs are not robots that act predictably every single time. But if in a few sits you’ve had 2 significant issues - and this dog was fine for 3 days?!?! - something you are doing may not be working.
It isn’t always everyone else. Sometimes we do have to wonder if we are the common denominator.
Sorry to be blunt and I realize you are probably quite stressed - but maybe learn and adjust from this.
The dog follows them everywhere, literally. Wakes them at night just for a lick and a pat, brings buried treats into the house, wants 100% constant attention. Just a few of the difficult things she is experiencing. Owner is at work most of the day so the dog (only young) is used to separation. But I feel what my sister is experiencing is definitely separation anxiety. Confused as to what is happening and where her owners are hence behaviour completely out of the ordinary. So pets can show this anxiety in different ways, maybe constant barking is this dogs way of showing that.