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What do I do if I don’t like a dog during a stay?

During the meet and greet, everything was fine and the dog was sweet and well behaved. I’m two days into a five day “stay” (it’s just 2 daily walks) and I’m really starting to dislike the dog. I feel awful for saying it, but she’s frustrating, overbearing and completely untrained. The biggest problem I have is with jumping. I don’t mind jumping when I first get in or when they’re excited, but this dog actually doesn’t stop. If you aren’t constantly touching her, she’s jumping on you. She’s been leaving red marks on my arms and legs from it and overall it’s so irritating. I’ve tried verbally correcting her, turning away and ignoring her and using my knee to block her. Nothing works. So I mentioned it to her owner when I completed the last walk. He said that he actually doesn’t mind the jumping because she’s good about everything else. Which is true. If she didn’t jump on me every three seconds, I would be fine. There are other things but they’re more doable. The jumping has actually made me dislike her. The owner loves me and says that he wants to book me again in the near future. Honestly, I dread every time I have to go walk that dog.

Should I keep trying to get her to stop jumping and just suck it up? Or do you think it’s reasonable for me to decline any further walks/stays?

3 Answers

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I would finish out this stay and then tell the owner about the jumping. I would also say that because of that, and the fact that it's leaving marks on you, you will not be able to walk/sit the dog again.

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Try the penny can technique. If that doesn't work and you don't want to have to deal with the dog, then tell the client that you can no longer accept their pup.

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If you already agree and they paid for the rest of the visits, then definitely I would continue to do those. But absolutely for the next time, if there is one, let the owner know you may not be able to help since you're uncomfortable with the jumping. Also, when Rover shows you completed the stay, you can make a note in there about the dog's behavior. Don't worry, the owner DOES NOT see this! lol! But it's helped me before and I'm like "ohhhh yea that dog hmmmm" =P