Rover dog not adjusting well?
I try to be selective about the dogs that I sit and am very upfront with potential clients about my schedule (I work a full time job and the dogs are alone most of the day, they must get along with my dog and be okay alone).
I had a meet and greet with a potential client, they agreed that their dog would be fine with my lifestyle and our dogs seemed to sniff each other then went off to do their own thing. All seemed to go well so we booked the stay which just started this morning, He is really misbehaving, not at all what I observed at the meet & greet and the opposite of what the owners told me he is like. They told me their dog would be okay alone for most of the day, he never barks, and that he loves other dogs. However, I have been listening to him howl on my doggy camera all day. He lunged right for my dog as soon as the owners left and I had to crate my own dog, which is upsetting her. I now have two howling dogs at home that do not get along while I am stuck at work. Even when I am home, he is aggressive towards her and I have to put myself in the middle to protect her. This stay is two weeks long, and I am desperate for suggestions!! I cannot put my own dog (or myself) through this stress for two weeks and I imagine my neighbors will be complaining about the howling very soon.
The current situation is that my dog is crated in the bedroom with the door closed, and the guest dog has free roam of the living room/kitchen. The owners told me he cannot be crated or else he will howl more and cannot be limited in a crate due to arthritis. My dog is howling because she is upset that she can't see the other dog and he is howling because he is both alone and because hears her howling. I cannot leave them in a room together for fear that the guest dog will attack my dog.
Any suggestions on what to do? How to tell the owners? Any options I have?
Can you confine the dog to the kitchen or another room with a baby gate so that your dog doesn't have to be crated? Using the most exterior room can also help with noise and potential neighbor complaints.