How to tell an owner you can't dog sit again for them?
I have been dog sitting now for three years so I've handled many different situations over that time but still not quite sure how to handle this one...
I just ended a dog stay with a new client's dog. I wish I could say everything went well but this dog was a HANDFUL to say the least. It was all things we've come in contact with many times as dog sitters; poor behavior, not listening to any direction and using his powerful body to push through anything and anyone in the way of something he wanted. Despite all of that the only reason I won't be able to keep him again is because when he arrived he smelled so unbelievably strong of cigarettes, as did all of his belongings, that it made our living room and laundry room wreak of smoke for days and days. I'm a very non-confrontational type of person and I don't want to say anything to hurt this owner's feelings or make them feel bad about their habit.
Before you answer please really consider my personality and if you truly take into account handling this in as light a way as possible, how would you relay to the client an appropriate response to them asking for you to board their dog again in the future?