If someone looks after your dog for free is it reasonable to complain about something?

[AnotherDoggy1]

Looked after ex husband's dog for two weeks (also DD's dad) whilst he was away on holiday with DD and his wife and their kids. For free obviously, just asked for his food and bed.

Anyway he's pissed because I've not walked him much.

I had every intention of doing so but he is TERRIBLE on the lead. Yanking and pulling the whole time and frankly I just grew tired of trying so he's only been on a walk a few times whilst here. He's had the run of my large garden the rest of the time. He's seemed happy enough. I WFH so never really been on his own.

I know it's not ideal but it hasn't done him any harm and it was a favour. I just feel like saying train your flipping dog if you want other people to walk them!

[differentstrokes1]

You offered to have someone else's dog for free in your home and walked the dog some of the time and kept the dog company, how lucky is that dog and the owner? the dog is not yours, you are not used to its ways, and u were honest, u need a clap on the back

[IncompleteSenten]

I've never had a dog but I assume walks are for exercise.
If the dog is getting daily exercise running around a big garden, why do they need to be walked?

[Butterflymosaic]

I hope he enjoys supporting a local business and finding the cash to pay for kennels next time then. (Where they don’t always get walked.)

[scotscorner]

I agree with most PP - I mean, obviously the dog should have appropriate exercise but clearly the dog wasn’t unhappy or you’d have been made aware (barking, whining, destruction in the house). As long as my dog was happy and safe that’s all I’d worry about as an owner. (Speaking as someone who has a really bonkers dog and can’t leave him with anyone sadly!)

[Stompythedinosaur]

Actually I think you are being unreasonable. Taking a dog for a walk is part of meeting its basic needs. If you weren't willing to meet the dog's basic needs you shouldn't have agreed to have it, or you should have been clear you wouldn't be doing this beforehand.

I had a family member do something similar - mil had agreed to have our dog while I was in hospital giving birth, and she text after about 12 hours into a difficult labour to say she had decided she didn't feel up to walking her. I was pissed off as I would have found a different dog-sitter before if I had known in advance.

[Twiglets1]

It’s mean of you not to walk the dog at least once every day. Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear but you did ask. It’s not the dogs fault he wasn’t properly trained.

[FruitPastilleNut]

Actually I think you are being unreasonable. Taking a dog for a walk is part of meeting its basic needs. If you weren't willing to meet the dog's basic needs you shouldn't have agreed to have it, or you should have been clear you wouldn't be doing this beforehand

Agree with this.

There is nothing worse than someone who offers a favour - then does a poor job of it/something which would have meant you'd have declined their offer had you known - but then they still want you to be grateful to them.

My mum used to do it to me all the time.

Mum: 'Oh leave dc with me on Wednesday, don't pay for the childminder!'
Me: 'Oh thank you but it's fine, Dc1 has swimming at 12 and the cm said she'll take him'
Mum: 'Well I'll take him, it's no problem!'
Me: 'Well as long as you're sure? Great thank you!'

Result: Dc misses his swimming because she didn't feel like going. I'm annoyed and tell her so. I'm told I'm ungrateful and should just be thankful she saved me £x in cm fees. After all, she did me a favour.

No. I'm not crawling on my knees with thanks for you doing a favour bloody badly because if you'd told me you had no intention of doing what you'd offered, I'd have been happy to pay the CM!

If you offer someone a favour, do it well. If you're not going to do it well, don't offer.

[Soubriquet]

No I wouldn’t complain about this.

Now if someone fed my dog chocolate because “he really likes it”, then I would complain, free or not.

But not walking as much? No

[Sunnyqueen]

Yanbu, sounds like the dog had a fine time with you.

[FruitPastilleNut]

As PP says, at a boarding kennels the dog wouldn’t be walked either

You really need to pay for better kennels. Every one I've ever used or those my sister has has always offered 2 x daily walks, length pre agreed dependent on the dog.

I'd never leave my dog stuck in a kennel with no walks, why would you?

[Allinadayswork80]

I’m an owner of a large dog who can sometimes pull - I wouldn’t expect someone who is kind enough to look after her for free to walk her if they weren’t comfortable doing so. I’d be happy with some daily exercise in a large garden and her to be kept company most of the day, she’d be very happy with that! Has your ex seen how much it is to board a dog these days?!! At least she was in a loving home with company all day and night! He ought to be bloody grateful!

[ultraviolet4753]

I would much rather he be in a house environment and in someone's company all day, allowed to go on the bed or sofa and access to the garden, rather than a kennels.

No question. It's free? Book me in!

[Summerfun54321]

How has someone got to adult age and not learnt that complaining when someone does you a favour is incredibly rude.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

It sounds as if you did a fine job under the circumstances. A GS is very strong. If the dog was bored or needed more exercise, you’d have soon known about it.

[Tulipomania]

Sounds like a large dog, and the run of a large garden isn't enough exercise for a dog of that age and size. If you couldn't meet it's needs, you should not have offered to look after it.

[TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination]

I can't think why he's an Ex?!?!

I dog sit for my friend a lot! She has THE most gorgeous Chocolate Lab. I've looked after him since she first got him a year ago.

they have a decent size garden & I play ball & tug with him a LOT. I always used to walk him, but he's a year old now, very heavy & strong and he's a GIT on the lead! So sometimes I walk him & sometimes I don't.

my friend would get told if she 'complained'. I have told her I'd walk him more if he was taught to walk nicely on the lead!!

they haven't bothered much as they take him to the Woods/parks & let him off, but I'm not prepared to do that. He's not obedient enough!!

[TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination]

@Tulipomania

Sounds like a large dog, and the run of a large garden isn't enough exercise for a dog of that age and size. If you couldn't meet it's needs, you should not have offered to look after it.

If the dog was hapoy, sleeping, not misbehaving or mothering then for a couple of weeks it was enough exercise. His needs WERE met

[AnotherDoggy1]

I was more than happy to meet his needs until I realised what a frigging nightmare he is on the lead. In my opinion if you're going to be expecting walks from whomever is looking after your dog then you should disclose beforehand that they have a problem on lead, then that person can say whether or not they can commit to that.

So in the PPs example of the grandparent not taking the DD swimming (I mean it's hardly the same anyway because HE ASKED me, I didn't offer like PPs mother did but anyway)... If you failed to disclose beforehand that your daughter kicks and screams and hates going swimming then she'd probably have been within her rights to not bother taking her!

[EmeraldShamrock1]

No good deed goes unpunished.

At least you won't have to mind their dog again.

My niece looked after our dog, we paid a dog walker to come for an hour everyday too.

Let him sod off.

[TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination]

Stupid damn phone! Mithering not mothering!!

[differentstrokes1]

@AnotherDoggy1

I was more than happy to meet his needs until I realised what a frigging nightmare he is on the lead. In my opinion if you're going to be expecting walks from whomever is looking after your dog then you should disclose beforehand that they have a problem on lead, then that person can say whether or not they can commit to that.

So in the PPs example of the grandparent not taking the DD swimming (I mean it's hardly the same anyway because HE ASKED me, I didn't offer like PPs mother did but anyway)... If you failed to disclose beforehand that your daughter kicks and screams and hates going swimming then she'd probably have been within her rights to not bother taking her!

I wouldn't worry, you offered to look after someone else's dog when u are not a dog owner. My dog is easy peasy, you are a saint for looking after a big dog that you are not used to. Im sure if you adopted the dog you would become accustomed to the dog and vice versa and meet all of the dogs needs, but you were doing a favour.

[Scianel]

It's complete nonsense that a dog is not having it's basic needs met by not being walked frequently for a temporary time period.

In many countries dogs live on the street, or chained up outside. It's absolute nonsense claiming that this dog's basic needs were neglected by comparison. Has it come to any harm? No.

[10speckledfrogs]

OP I own two big dogs (a German shepherd boy and a big cross that looks like a newfie but isnt)

If my dogs were a pain on the lead and I had asked you to look after them I wouldn't go off on you for realising that they are too strong for you to walk safely

Make no mistakes, unlike with a smaller dog, a 65kg plus strong dog that pulls is dangerous. I don't know why he deals with it. Training a dog to walk to heel is simple and necessary when it's a dog that can dislocated a shoulder or pull you into traffic

He had the garden, he was hardly deprived as a one off. As long as he was played with his needs were met. He was on a different environment with different smells and sounds, presumably games and toys and running, he was fine.

[SisterAgatha]

Ok then so if we are going down the route of neglect - the owner neglected the dog by leaving it with a friend for free. He neglected the dog by not paying for adequate care for his dog.

However you look at this, the guy is wrong.

[giveovernate]

@Scianel

It's complete nonsense that a dog is not having it's basic needs met by not being walked frequently for a temporary time period.

In many countries dogs live on the street, or chained up outside. It's absolute nonsense claiming that this dog's basic needs were neglected by comparison. Has it come to any harm? No.

Exactly this!


Indian street dogs as an example.