Where do you go for pet advice on a challenging sit?

Sitters
#1

If this forum had been around two years ago, I would have been on here asking for advice about a challenging dog I was looking after. He was a 7-month old borzoi-whippet cross and sooooo untrained! Monty was like a mini-horse in stature and speed and he nearly broke my finger trying to dash off the lead. Then the next minute he’d lay on the grass and refuse to budge. And it was some kind of fresh hell when he dug a dead possum up in the park and refused to let it go (he was not food motivated, either).

Luckily I received some helpful advice on a FB group, but I’m glad there is a forum on here now for us to all share.

What about you? Have you had to look after any untrained or deranged pets?

3 Likes
#2

:scream: What a “challenge”.
I appreciate that this isn’t the thrust of your post & I’m not ignoring the point of the forum’s usefulness for calling on help in a crisis but this also feeds into the conversations elsewhere about how sitters and owners can be reticent about giving negative feedback. Did you have any, even veiled, hint of the dog’s behavioural issues prior to the sit? Did you leave any, ahem, “constructive” feedback after the sit?
And again, yes, a forum topic dedicated to help & emergencies might be a good idea.

2 Likes
#3

They had just mentioned that he was a puppy in their ad. When I got there the night before, we took Monty for a walk and he was misbehaving and (in true Melbourne hipster mode), they shrugged and make a joke about it.

I did the ‘leave no feedback as feedback’ - as you point out, it’s a challenge to be upfront about it when you’re waiting on a review yourself. If they had asked me for one (after I received mine), I would have left one, but as they didn’t push it, I let it be. I have only twice left no feedback, the other was an untrained dog also.

I don’t know what the correct response is to encourage feedback on less than perfect sits. I run a mile if I see a lot of previous sits without reviews but that doesn’t help if (like with Monty), you’re the first sitter, or second or third even.

1 Like
#4

Why not say the truth : that the dog was young and obviously not educated (yet) ?? I t can help future sitters, the dog of course may improve if his masters do the work correctly, and if you did not like the experience, you would probably never go back to look after him. So why not leave a honest critic ?

#5

I can’t speak for @zoemac but not wanting to leave “constructive” (negative) feedback is a British thing. For anyone who wants a humorous insight into the British psyche, have a look at @soverybritish on FB

3 Likes
#6

Because they were nice people, just naiive.

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#7

I think the crux of the problem here is that there is a massive difference in looking after domestic pets and other live stock.
Not least temperament and associated costs.

1 Like