Dog has bitten pet sitter - what to do?

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Hello dog lovers, I would love some advice as I’m clueless about dogs.

My neighbours have gone abroad and left their extremely spoiled corgi with another set of neighbours. Dog is not happy, he’s refusing to walk (very wet here which is not helping) so has pooped in the house. And he’s bitten the husband 3 times- the most recent very hard and has drawn blood and required medical treatment.

They have a primary aged child in the house and dog normally lives with adults. Dog sitter says the dog isn’t showing any aggression towards the child, just the husband. Owners told her he has been ‘patted roughly by men’ and is scared of men but I’ve known this dog since a puppy and I’ve never heard about this before. He’s never been aggressive to my DH or teen DS. He adores the men in his own family.

There is a nice boarding kennel where he has stayed happily before but pet sitter wants to persevere. Owners have been gone 3 days and are away for another 3 weeks. Pet sitter has owned a dog but a very small docile lap dog. This is a youngish (3.5) dog and at the larger end for a corgi.

Pet sitter hasn’t told the owners about the worst bite as doesn’t want to spoil their holiday. Owner is one of my best friends. Is this situation risky or am I overreacting? WWYD?

Can't you look after him until they get back?

Dog Sitter sounds a bit clueless.

I would probably tell the owners.
Best case scenario they get back a dog that is even more of a problem with men.
Their dog is clearly stressed and escalating.
Worst case scenario it ends up biting the child.
It has got to be their decision what to do, not a pet sitter who is struggling to manage the situation.

I can’t as I’m also going away next week. I also have two cats who would not be impressed! And as I say, I’m clueless about dogs. I love this little guy but I think he needs someone who knows what they are doing.

I would intervene for everyone’s sake , put the dog into the local kennels and tell your friends , the pet sitters are not up to the task and it’s only going to get worse the dog is in his own home and these people are invading that space , please intervene and make it safe for everyone for your friends and dogs sake

This is why you should leave your dogs with someone insured and experienced, not some random doing you a favour 🙈

The owners need to arrange for the dog to go into kennels as soon as possible. If he bites their child they could come back to a dead dog.

I'd definitely tell the owners as you are such good friends. You could check first that the kennel has space for the dog so you present her with a solution when you tell her. Dog clearly is unhappy and I would want to know in her shoes.

He’s staying in the pet sitter’s house which is next door to his house which I think is making him more confused and upset.

Tell the owner. Its their decision and they will Reap consequences of a poor one.

The dog is obviously stressed and the sitters sound naive

I don't think that makes any difference at all, it sounds like he's not comfortable with the husband.

Refusing to go for a walk is a big sign the dog doesn't trust the person.

Who leaves their dog for 3 weeks? Just don't fucking buy one, selfish bastards. Yes, I know I've missed the point of the thread btw

Why are people blaming the dog sitters? They sound like they’re doing their best. It’s the owners that are at fault, leaving their dog for a long period of time and not wanting to fork out for proper care. Dog sounds a bit dangerous and untrained to me.

I don’t get why this is your problem? Sitter needs to contact owner.

Corgis can be a bit snappy anyway - and a lot of Corgis are spoilt - I don’t understand why but they are - even the Queens could be bitey especially with unknown adults - it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that this issue has occurred. I don’t think it’ll be a concern for children in the house if they are kept at a reasonable distance as they are not the ‘new dominant’. It’s a shit show if the dog sitters haven’t been well accustomed to the Corgi especially as they live next door but anyone who is used to dogs would have seen this coming and professional kennels/sitters could easily have avoided this.

this isn’t a ‘’male’ issue apart from the fact that the dogs owner isn’t there and the dog is confused and doesn’t understand what is happening - and I don’t blame it tbh.

The alpha guy in the house is probably is bit peeved that the Corgi is crapping in the house and is the one trying to take ‘charge’ which is why the dog is being a bit ‘nibbly’ towards him and him only.

Either the pet-sitters keep calm and allow the ‘spoilt’ dog to carry on the way it wants to - just to keep the piece and stop the biting - or the dog goes to the kennels where it was previously happy. It’s a ridiculous situation for everyone to have put themselves into.

as an aside Corgis were originally bred for collecting/chasing cattle and were known for snapping at the feet of cattle so it should come as no surprise they are occasionally known for showing a tooth or two - but not normally seriously.

Tell the owners immediately , if it’s bitten somebody 3x in 3 days it’s only a matter of time before it does something worse . This could end very poorly for this dog .

Take the dog if you can.

Hard to say exactly what happened without seeing the interactions but I'd be inclined to tell the male pet sitter not to interact with the dog. He might just be being a bit too physical with it and it's clearly not working. If it trusts the female pet sitter, she can just take on the bulk of the care.

If they just indulge it a little, they can get through 3 weeks easily enough. I don't think a corgi is real a danger.

Thanks everyone. Owners have now been informed and I’ve volunteered to transport dog to kennel if that’s what they decide. Now I think it’s up to them to work out next steps with the pet sitter but all relevant information has been shared and my conscience is clear.

It’s possibly just stress? Or maybe the dog should see a vet for a check over.

I’d return the dog to his own house and the female of the family might hopefully walk him and let him out in the garden. Otherwise coordinate kennels.

I was going to suggest this but didn’t know if it was a suitable arrangement for a dog? I think it would be less stressful for him.

You can't leave a dog alone for three weeks with someone coming in occasionally to feed it and walk it. Maybe the wife could move in and house sit, but if not, either the dog goes to kennels, someone comes home from holiday early or they find a friend or family member to take over the care.

I own corgis (mine are not spoilt) they are generally very laid back although they are cardigan corgis not Pembrokes (which the queen owned) they have never ever shown “a tooth or two”. They are bred to herd and nip at the heels of cattle, and mine when very excited e.g when someone comes to the house who they adore like one of my grown up sons have occasionally nipped trouser or snapped at the air but there is absolutely nothing malicious about it and none of mine have snapped at someone and broken skin in fact they usually about a metre away from someone when they snap at the air. It’s pretty obvious that it’s excitement not fear/aggression.
One of mine hates walking in the rain despite having a thick double coat I think they don’t like water getting in their ears, mine tries to hold his head on one side then the other to stop the rain getting in or tries to lay his ears flat which he can’t do did long.
They are a little stubborn very loyal and loving to their family but reserved with strangers/those they don’t know well and can be a bit slow to win round.

Its really very strange of your friend to take the dog to her house, when all she needs to do is pop next door to re-fill food bowls and let the dog out for a bit/take it for a walk. Why the fuck does she need to take it in her home? She sounds very drippy and not too bright, to be honest. I'd understand if your friend lived a long walk or drive away, but its only frigging next door! Bizarre! I'd tell her to take the dog back to its home and just duck next door occasionally through the day.

That's all she had to do!

You cannot leave a dog alone with just people popping in to visit /walk it . That arrangement is really only suitable for cats that go outdoors , even an indoor cat would struggle with it as they , like dogs are used to having people around .

Don't be ridiculous! Of course you can! The neighbour can take the dog for a walk, play with it, etc.

I'd check if kennels have space for dog. Then text to owners and explain dog is unhappy and has bite man more than once and he needed hospital care. Then tell them kennel can take dog. If they agree you could drive dog to kennels.