One of the key things: Avoiding biting off more than I can chew. It doesn’t matter how nice the home or location, I don’t want to unnecessarily risk trouble or stress. That’s especially so, because I was telecommuting full time until recently. (Now, I’m taking an indefinite sabbatical, deciding whether to retire early.)
I sit solo and am very careful about choosing sits. For instance, try to anticipate the worst, which is why I avoid dogs of certain breeds, as well as dogs I couldn’t pick up and control without strain even if they turned out to be poorly behaved. That’s to avoid putting others, as well as the dogs and myself, at risk.
I also avoid sits where dogs are described as energetic or athletic, or any hint of being undisciplined in reviews.
When sitting dogs, I sit only singles, or singles with a cat or two. The only time I sat two dogs, they were small seniors who’d had back surgeries, so they weren’t walked – just stayed in their large, fenced yard and they had access in and out during all daylight hours, lots of warm sunshine.
So much wisdom here! We are meant to find the exchange enjoyable and the animals companionable !
Anything else is hard work ! Unnecessarily risky.
At my age being pulled over and breaking bones is not something I have signed up for. Unruly dogs are a danger to all.
Big dogs can be beautifully behaved. Small ones unruly, but yes if you can pick them up is an important consideration.
I avoid chihuahuas now, call me a coward!
Yes, big dogs can often be better behaved than littles. But I sit only small dogs partly because I want to be able to lift them if an unruly dog attacks them, or if they fall ill or injured and I need to move them up or down stairs or say to a car, so we can get to a vet urgently if needed.
I’m aware of that, because my own dog had an allergic reaction to a bee sting years ago and fell unconscious and became dead weight – my husband was away and I was so glad I could manage to carry and rush our dog to care.
Similarly, I sat a sickly, elderly dog who had seizures late one night and I had to carry her down two flights of stairs, to street parking and across a parking lot to get her treated urgently. It was so late, there was no one to ask for help even on the street. Thank goodness she wasn’t a large dog.
Not all people. I have never and will never use an e collar on my dog. I have trained recall using positive reinforcement only, and because I properly socialized her as a puppy to things like moving cars, bicycles, etc she doesn’t bark or lunge at those things.
I do understand people using e collars to allow dogs off leash time as at least the dog enjoys the benefit of free movement. People using them to stop barking are misguided. Barking is a normal alert behavior but some bored or overprotective dogs take it too far. These dogs need some combination of more physical exercise and definitely more mental enrichment.
Say, felinelover, you’re not particularly aware of the fact that different dogs have different temperaments and respond differently to training techniques, perhaps? We had a rescue lab mix (chow? Had a black tongue) who barked at squirrels in the backyard when we were not home so much that our poor neighbors moved! When we found that out, we got a bark collar and all went well after that. Now we have a yellow lab who’s so sensitive that we’d never use any sort of e collar cuz she’s too tender for that. Nonetheless, we’ve trained her with positive reinforcement and she has perfect manners, recall… it all depends on the dog and your situation. never is a big word!
I once took my full sized Great Dane to the vet’s. He wanted to know the dog’s weight. The dog wouldn’t get on the scales without me! I had to get on too then be weighed separately so the weight could be deducted! I guess the dog was nervous.( I don’t behave well near injections! )
I usually did walks before taking the Great Danes with me. Once, going around Ennerdale, English Lake District, I got three quarters of the way round and the dog style was let’s say woefully inappropriate. I did not fancy going back. I got my head under his belly, lifted him up over the wall.. yes it must have looked odd. The dog was bemused. Why be on the other side of the wall if my master is this side? I quickly got over to join him before he could take any initiative. He was so happy when I joined him!
Jack Russells certainly have an appeal!
I sincerely hope you disclose these behaviours - and your methods of controlling them - in your listings. Sitters need to be aware of what they’re taking on.
In over 6 decades of living with dogs, we’ve found positive reinforcement training, consistency and stimulation is all that’s needed and we wouldn’t ever accept a sit where shock collars are used. Whilst still legal in England, I believe a ban is going to be implemented .
I watch an English program called “Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly”, and the trainer applies these methods.
In 99.9% of cases, the problems aren’t the dogs, they are the owners.
Rewarding bad behaviour with attention, weak authority and so on.
His methods seem miraculous, and I like that he goes back after some weeks/months to see how they are all going. It takes that long for people to change their habits; if they don’t, the bad behaviour continues.
Stop walking when the dog pulls. You’ll have better leverage and it gives the message that if it pulls it doesn’t go anywhere. I have also found that suddenly turning and walking the opposite way quickly alerts the dog to be aware of where the walker is going rather than what they’re interested in.
For even more stopping power wrap the lead around your butt. Don’t let the dog reach its target while pulling. Ever.
A chain/choke collar is way more effective than a regular collar or harness.
There is no amount of pressure on a dog’s neck that doesn’t do harm. The neck area has sensitive “parts’ like glands, windpipe etc. These should not be crushed.
Exactly. When a dog is pulling against a regular collar, they’re putting a lot of pressure on their neck and they aren’t discouraged from continuing to pull. The chain/choke collar gives immediate negative feedback to the dog and discourages pulling, and is much safer for the dog as well as the walker.