What to do with a nightmare dog you are sitting?

Hi Sarah,

I know I am responding to your question late, but I had a similar experience over the holidays and wanted to share for the future.

I was boarding a dog that I knew fairly well. I have a dog as well and this dog would become overly aggressive with my dog and bit me quite badly when I tried to break up a dog fight. She was fine 90% of the time but I was not ok with the risk to my dog and to me.

I called Rover to ask if they could find another sitter. Because it was the holidays, they were unable to find anyone else but did reach out to me daily to check in and offered support and reimbursement of certain costs that I may have incurred (i.e. if I wanted to buy some extra treats or toys to try and calm the dog down). I am not confirming Rover's reimbursement policy here - I think this was just a nice offer because they could not find a replacement sitter. The team was great, even though they couldn't find anyone.

The owner in my situation was the same - she offered no solutions at first and was resistant to even working with Rover to find another sitter. After agreeing to keep the dog, she attacked my dog again and my dog had scratches and was bleeding. I contacted the owner back and said she had to figure out something. She quickly found a friend who took the dog.

Rover's team was with me throughout the whole process and followed up even after the dog was relocated.

I think it is important to always chat with Rover's team in these cases. Even if the dog ends up staying, it is important to have a history of the dog and owner's behaviour on record for future incidents. In some cases, Rover may decide that an owner and their pup are not a good fit for the platform.

I hope that you didn't have too much further trouble and your holidays weren't too stressful!

The first 24 to 48 hours can be difficult for some dogs as they transition to your home; many feel abandoned by their owners and dumped in a strange place. I would suggest you contact Rover support to see if they can find another sitter to take the dog, but the chances are slim being Christmas and many are already booked. Your profile shows you own a dog and will take up to 2 dogs, hopefully, you don't have a second border?

If you can I would try to sequester the problem dog in an area of your home where it can be left alone without doing any damage.

I would highly recommend diffusing Lavender oils, also before you go further, request all previous sitter notes from Rover and see if this behavior is normal. I do this with a couple of dogs. I have had to place dogs in my back yard before because they were putting my family at risk. Providing physical and mental stimulation is highly important as well. Hopefully this has helped you out!

I accepted a female lab who was supposedly spayed but was not and went into heat during the stay. She was also aggressive towards another dog I was sitting. Fortunately I had requested a back up number to call in an emergency because she was on a cruise. I called Rover and explain the situation and told them I was Calling the back up number and having the dog picked up. One, the owner lied. Two it’s my obligation to care for all the dogs I have.

Bad dog behavior commonly arises due to miscommunication and misunderstanding between human and dog. Destructive or aggressive behaviors towards other animals or people in dogs usually stem from some trigger. Destructive behaviors in dogs occur when there is a missing link somewhere. Something is wrong in the dog's mind that is causing the behavior to happen. Crating can be stressful because the dog loses his ability to escape if a threat should arise. Also, if he is still an intact male can cause these problems to arise. Non compliant, pushy and bossy attitude towards caretakers and strangers, lack of cooperation, periodic binges of household destruction, indoor restlessness/irritability, resistant an unwillingness to obey commands can all be attributed to him being an unneutered male. If you haven't yet developed a routine, start now. A tired dog is a happy dog. Provide the dog with exercise and enrichment. He will be more likely to rest up once he’s expended his energy. Providing lots of physical and mental stimulation is a vital part of treating many behavior problems. The more consistent you are, the sooner he will learn the better behaviors you're trying to teach. Best of luck ;-)