Dogsitter complaining about normal dog behaviour

[Floofydawg]

We've just picked our dog up from a dogsitter we've used in the past. We've always thought she was a bit eccentric but today has left us feeling like the dog was just an inconvenience to her, for a number of reasons.

She's told us on past visits not to bring his bed as he sleeps on her bed with her, something she instigated on a previous stay. She then proceeded to complain about the lack of dog bed both on drop off and pick up (we offered to go back and get it when we dropped off but she said it didn't matter).

He was sick in her bedroom a couple of times which she complained about (he's been on meds for an ear infection which could have been the cause).

She tried to get grass out of his mouth and he snapped at her. She referred to him as being 'like a rottweiler' - he's a poodle cross! And what dog likes having things taken out of his mouth?!

She then went on and on about how she'd never have a poodle cross because they're all mad and she'll stick to pure breeds.

The final straw was her not telling us about a rate increase until we arranged a pick up time.

I've just been left with a bad feeling from someone I've just paid a reasonable amount of money to for a service. We've got a booking with her later in the year and I'm now feeling like I need to make other arrangements. Would it be unreasonable to cancel based on all of the above?

Definitely find another sitter. Be firm that he does prefer to sleep in his bed that's his routine. He was obviously eating grass because he had an upset tummy from his medication poor boy. She sounds like a flake. In reference to the snapping, with what you've said it could be the way she was trying to take the grass from his mouth and was rough.

I had an arsehole dog who did arsehole things. The lady he stayed with could never say enough nice things about him. Even when he'd been a total knobdog she'd tell me and follow it up with all the lovely things about him.

She's nuts but he loved her and that was good enough for me.

Find a new dog sitter. If I could find one who loved mine you can definitely find someone to love your well behaved woofer!

Not the point of the thread, but she's a boarder, not a sitter. Sitters stay in your home with your dog. With a boarder, the dog boards in the person's home.

Boarders do have to be licensed by the local council, and there should be a list of licensed boarders so you could find someone you like better.

Or consider a dog sitter - I do this and honestly it is so much less stressful for the dog to have their routine and normal bed and toys etc. Most sitters are not much more expensive than boarding per night.

Cancel her, she sounds mad. Find someone who will look after your dog as you do.

She sounds like she doesn't understand dog behaviour and only wants the sweet cuddly ones, as opposed to any sickies! I started boarding dogs in school holidays and at weekends through Rover a year ago after my dog died, and have had a lot of different breeds through my doors, and the poo mixes have always been lovely! Sometimes dogs are sick, sometimes they shit on my carpet, it comes with the enjoyment of having dogs. I also let dogs sleep on my bed if owners are happy, a lot of dogs are a bit nervous away from their usual routine of crate in the kitchen/sleeping downstairs, etc, and I'm there to make them happy, so it's not an issue for me.

Rover has a 5 star review system in place, and so you can see the reviews for boarders and take your pick from them.
As an aside, boarders are insured through Rover because we pay them a percentage of our earnings, and you don't need to be licensed through the council if you earn less than £1k a year for boarding.

Hope you find someone who looks after your dog better. If she's not happy with the sick and has been snapped at, chances are she's not been that kind to your dog.

@apostrophewoman please check with your council - many require all boarders to be licensed regardless of earnings.

The Rover “guarantee” is also notoriously awful and often won’t pay out if you’re not following legal requirements.

Honestly, I've checked, and doubly so since someone round my way got the hump about me having extra money and buying nice stuff and reported me to the council!!

@Floofydawg

Theres no need to remove grass if you don't want to, but IMO you should be able to safely remove anything from your dogs mouth without it snapping or biting. However, I wouldn't surprised if a dog I was sitting snapped at me. Theres not the same level of trust, unless you've sat them a lot.

she does sound unbalanced though. I mean telling you not to bother with his bed as he sleeps with her, then complaining you've not taken his bed.

i wouldn't have paid her the extra, I'd have just said 'no you did not, so here's the money (original amount).

There's no way my dog would be going back there. Not a hope I'd trust her.

@Floofydawg

when is it you're next booked in?

what do her T& C say re cancellation??

id consider the overcharge as an amount towards any penalty fee of a cancellation.

play the CF at her own game

Just be careful. Any insurance you have probably won’t pay out if you’re not licensed.

And please make sure everyone who uses you knows that.

Sickness - yes. All sorts of behaviour - absolutely not.

I am a dog boarder (licenced & insured), and I have banned a fair few dogs from coming back, due to appalling behaviour, such as :

Peeing inside
Pooing inside
Snapping at other dogs
Howling at night (for no reason)
Chewing beds up
Biting me
Crying all day long (for no reason)
Pacing all day long

Some dogs are a nightmare. This is why I do a one night trial before they stay for an extended period. There is no reason to tolerate a badly behaved dog, when there are plenty of perfect dogs ready to take their place. As it is, my diary is full all year with fantastic dogs, who never put a foot (paw) wrong.

A dog behaviourist told me recently, that the breed they are having the most problems with is Cockapoo's.

I'm not surprised that this boarder increased prices at Christmas. If you are going to do it, the end of the year is the best time. However, she should have sent a message to anyone booked in, to say that with effect from 1/1/24 the new price for boarding will be £x.

I would cancel the dates you have in with her. She doesn't seem to like your dog, and she will probably be pleased you've cancelled. Having said that, you might struggle to find someone else, as places are very, very limited.

You should always check whether someone is licenced and insured. They should have the licence displayed inside their house.

@JugglingJanuary late Sept. T&C's? No I've never seen any. I'm struggling to find anyone else at the minute.

@Blondiebeachbabe he's never done any of the stuff you've listed. Honestly, this is the first incident she's had to tell me about and I do think it's because of his meds.

He's a cavapoo - slightly less mad than cockapoos I think. He's honestly very calm usually.

No T&C's? So presumably no contract? This woman is a walking red flag 🚩

I would never moan about a dog being sick - they can't help it!

What are her new rates?

You might be able to find a new boarder on The Good Dog Guide.

You're buying a service from her, you're don't like what she's offering so stop buying it.

Sounds like the feeling is mutual.

What are her new rates?

£28 per night (was £25)

Why are you assuming the dog has a reliable drop command? If op has never trained that into the dog, how would the person looking after the dog be able to achieve it?

and they often can’t just drop grass because sticks in their mouths.its not a ball that will fall out,

I don’t think this woman sounds great. But can understand why she tried to get the dog not to eat the grass given it was sick.

Text the owner, wait for the owner to reply? By the time the dog has already ate it?

No need to take grass out of a dogs mouth you are right my dog is like a cow sometimes and a dogsitter should know this and not be wrestling with a dog to get it out of its mouth.

Anyway this person sounds unprofessional and not the best person to care for your dog.

£28 is incredibly cheap, you'll find it difficult to find someone who charges less than that. I charge £35 a night directly, and £40 on Rover because of their charges, and that's the same price as putting your dog in kennels.

Why are you assuming the dog has a reliable drop command? If op has never trained that into the dog, how would the person looking after the dog be able to achieve it?

Any responsible professional working with animals should have a contract in place with information about commands and what kind of training the dog does or doesn't have.

and they often can’t just drop grass because sticks in their mouths.its not a ball that will fall out

Which is why the dog needs to wear a muzzle or have a reliable "leave it" command in place if it's not allowed to eat grass and can't have it removed safely.

I don’t think this woman sounds great. But can understand why she tried to get the dog not to eat the grass given it was sick.

What's preferable - a bit of vomit or a dog bite?

Text the owner, wait for the owner to reply? By the time the dog has already ate it?

No, it's something the boarder should know about in advance. Proving (again) that she's completely unprofessional and doesn't have a clue about working with dogs 🙈

Poor doggins. I wouldn’t trust her anymore.

Some dog trainers don’t recommend taking things from a dogs mouth
https://www.busybeedogtraining.co.uk/blog/dont-take-things-out-of-your-dogs-mouth

thoughts on this?

When I did dog training with our dog we were advised as far as possible not to take things from their mouths as it encourages resource guarding.

I have 2 dogs, one of which is a mastiff x greyhound. I can take anything out of either of their mouths without a grumble. Personally I think it’s really important that you can do this for the times they pick up things they shouldn’t have.

And no, I don’t use it physical punishment on my dogs so I haven’t beaten them into submission 🙄. I don’t believe that snapping is a “normal dog behaviour”

But to answer the post. Cancel her, you don’t need to give a reason, find someone more professional, less chaotic who doesn’t allow your dog to sleep on their bed. Im fine with my dogs sleeping on my bed but you do it differently and she should respect that.

Yes, which is why in my original post I comment that she wasn’t appropriate to be looking after the dog.

However, ultimately the dog is ops responsibility. Op seems offended on behalf of her dog. Makes out because it’s a poodle cross it also couldn’t be aggressive and talks about its behaviour being great.Oh except for the snapping. Op is working on it which is great, but it’s not clearly not something the Op is surprised about. The Op knew she never signed T&Cs. Op didn’t want to know the ins and outs of how her dog was going to be cared for or her rights or responsibilities.

Op, overall, seems to not be aware that poodle crossers often display aggressive and negative behaviour.

If the dog needs a muzzle, that’s Ops responsibility. You don’t just slap a muzzle on a dog. Especially if that dog is not yours. Muzzle training needs to be done. It’s not just, oh let’s muzzle the dog and that’s it.

The boarder wasn’t deciding between vomit or a bite, because she wasn’t expecting the dog to snap. That would suggest she didn’t know the dog has a history of snapping.

Op didn’t know her dog was going to start being sick due to medication. So neither did the boarder. Do any boarders have such detailed records such as ‘do you let your dog eat grass?’ The boarder was making a snap decision there and then based on the dog vomitting. It’s not what I would have done but I can understand the thought process.

That’s why I said, this is on both of them. At no point have I said there’s no issue with woman looking after ops dog.