To have let friend down last minute with dog sitting

Nope, she’s unreasonable to change the details / expectations.

You can't cure people of autism by wobbling their heads.

😂

@allmymonkeys opening a packet and dropping the contents in a dish

OP said it has to be done fresh. I was imagining this means literally chopping up raw meat somehow?

(vegetarian and not a dog lover so my interpretation may be wildly wrong)

It doesn't matter whether you can see it or not. The OP is categorically stating that she won't be able to cope with it.

Dry dog food usually smells less than fresh meat.

Yanbu, definitely not. Your friend is being very unfair.

I think you're both being unreasonable.

She can rebook the grooming, for heaven's sake, can't she? It's an ask too far to expect you to deal with that.

But I can't see what being vegetarian or autistic has to do with opening a packet and dropping the contents in a dish - you won't have to touch the food. As for the ethical side of it, what did you suppose the dry food is made of? It may be terrible rubbish but it ain't vegetarian.

That said, you're doing her a favour and if she's going to give you a hard time about it backing out is fair enough.

absolutely irrelevant if OP is vegetarian, has sensory issues, whatever.

”Can you pop in and give my dog kibble for a few days?”
”Sure!”
”Sorry, I meant, can you make sure my dog is fed with raw mince, and please mix into this a raw egg, olive oil, and please grate some vegetables and add those…”

surely the only answer is get to fuck?

all the people I have known who have most hated sight of raw meat have been meat eaters. I don’t like it but at least I don’t have to contemplate eating it!

I raw feed my dogs & would not expect a veggie friend to feed them. Anytime I’m away, I prepare each meal in a tub & labelled so it just needs lid off & tipped into a bowl. Any extras are in ready (including meds). Your friend is a CF to just expect you to store & prep raw meat & take to an appointment. I wouldn’t change my dogs food to dry for 4 days, but I wouldn’t assume a friend would do it. Please don’t feel guilty for saying no. They moved the goalposts, not you.

That's what I'd have thought! Hence my question 💁🏻‍♀️

That's not fair. OP is vegetarian and autistic and has sensory issues around food. You can't cure people of autism by wobbling their heads.

The dog's owners should have planned and prepared properly. They should have been 100% clear with OP what they needed. They are taking the piss and OP has every right to say no.

Oh I've never heard that. It sounds like a minimal 'risk'

I've been vegetarian 35 years now, I don't buy it cook meat for others.

(I'm not autistic though). but as long as the meat was cut up, I'd be ok to mix it with Veg/eggs/oil or whatever to feed the dog. One I sit for has dried food with the occasional tin of sardines mixed in & another has frozen cubes of meat/fish mixed in.

Taking the dog to the groomers wouldn't bother me either, but if the attitude was 'expecting' not 'asking' they'd find themselves with me FAR less willing to dog sit!!

I stay at my friends. I find it MUCH easier!

(Definitely not being obtuse! Irrespective of the number of ??? )

It’s not nonsense. She could say no to the dog grooming appointment and not derail the whole arrangement to have the dog. The argument on this raw food is ridiculous. I’ve been raw feeding my dog for 5 years and it’s no big deal and I don’t have a strong stomach for much. Op needs to get a grip and give her head a wobble.

It's no different to handling minced beef or chicken the usual hygiene applies I've been pregnant twice and had toddlers 3 times since I started raw feeding 8 years ago and no ones ever been ill meanwhile there has been multiple recalls of kibble due to salmonella plus the absolutely disgusting mess from the other end rather than the tiny none smelly ones from a raw fed dog

I've raw fed 8 years now and find it super easy but I use completes so I literally defrost and feed maybe throw an egg in occasionally none of what your friend is doing , it took me a while to get the hang of raw feeding expecting you to do it is unreasonable .
A raw diet without the meat isn't a raw diet and would likely make the dog unwell and they'd be starving veg is basically added as a filler it has little nutritional benefit.

Extremely reasonable to say that this was not what you signed up for, and you'll only be opening tins of Chum and facilitating the odd walkie.

Because of handling raw meat - both in the kitchen and because a dog who had germs from raw meat in the mouth/on their snout/coat could go on to spread them round the house and onto OP.

It's a tiny risk, but it's there. Therapy dogs aren't allowed to be fed raw diets due to the slight risk that they'll pass food poisoning on to clinically vulnerable clients, and I believe it's not recommended to have a raw fed dog in the house if you're pregnant or have a young baby, or immune-supressed person, for the same reason.

(I'm sorry for calling you obtuse if your question was genuine - the extra question marks caused me to assume you were spoiling for a fight with the other person!)

That's nonsense. The owners changed the terms of the agreement so the 'yes' is no longer relevant. She agreed to feed the dog dry kibble, now it's a raw food diet. She agreed to have the dog stay at her home, now it's 'take the dog to the groomer'. You can't just change the terms of an agreement whenever you feel like it.

It's the owner's responsibility to ensure that the dog is properly cared for. A responsible owner would pay a professional, or at least ensure that the sitter was comfortable doing the things needed to be done.

I'm not being obtuse, deliberately or otherwise.how can dishing up raw meat to a dog be a risk to the OP?

I think it is actually her responsibility to let her yes mean yes. To follow through on what she agreed to do. She’s clearly looking for an out because looking after the dog no longer suits her. Really awful to leave her friend in that position.

they should know that as a vegetarian, it's going to be really unpleasant for you to have to prepare raw dog food

To be fair, many vegetarians wouldn’t be in the least bit bothered by this. Being vegetarian really doesn’t automatically mean you’re disgusted by anything to do with meat. I know vegetarians who prepare meat for their kids, and my vegetarian sister had no problem preparing raw food for her dogs.

I do think they should have checked with the OP when things changed, because it’s more work and she obviously finds change/unpredictability really hard, but I don’t think they could necessarily be expected to know that she can’t see a packet of mince without heaving, or whatever.

Wrong thread!

Haha, oh yes, definitely have to weed a few very unreasonable people out! It's amazing how quickly you get a sixth sense for who's genuine and who's going to be a CF!

I don’t think you should have agreed to do it in the first place, even when you thought it would just be feeding him dried food. If you can’t cope with unexpected occurrences, unpleasant smells, textures etc you aren’t the right person to look after a dog, as they’re all things that can easily happen without warning with a dog.

Irrespective of the type of dog food and the dog grooming, they shouldn't burden you with the significant responsibility of 4 days of dog care (which is obviously going to be 24/7).

they should know that as a vegetarian, it's going to be really unpleasant for you to have to prepare raw dog food.

CFers. I would definitely back out of the arrangement, you aren't letting them down. I know many people dogsit for people's pets, but they shouldn't have a dog unless they can look after it all through the year without burdening other people with their care arrangements,

I think you're probably being deliberately obtuse, but raw meat carries a greater risk of food poisoning than cooked.