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What do you do if the dog is easy to deal with ok, but the owner is not?

I was contacted by a guy to throw a ball for his 100 lb German Shepherd dog. I did a meet and greet, and the dog was a sweetheart. Huge, by all means, but wanted nothing but the ball in my hand and a few hip scratches. The owner requested I take him to the park 2x a day down the street. I agreed, but when I showed up to do the work, the owner didn't want to go through rover. He was against the service fees... This should have been my first red flag, but I had already driven over there and needed the money.

Then I found out the dog doesn't have a leash, I was supposed to DRIVE him to the park, and he howls the whole way there. He stopped responding to commands, refused to let me get the ball, and started to run near the lake, and the owner told me "WELL HE'S A DOG WHO CARES IF HE DOESN'T DROP THE BALL" when I expressed concern that I had no control over this unleashed and huge dog that is unfriendly with other pups. This huge pup shedded like he hadn't been brushed in a year, had nails long enough to pierce my car's interior siding and upholstery despite a towel on top.

When I contacted the owner to quit (saying I'd work for two days to give him time to find a new walker), he got verbally combative and decided to give me some very offensive advice as I "go out in the business world." I recognize I should have backed out from the start, but is there a way for us to review Owners and Dogs so this doesn't happen to anyone else? (It sounds like he goes through a lot of sitters, and there's no record if he insists on not using Rover....)

Comments

Thanks for the comments guys. You’re completely right— I made a mistake with the dog. I am used to German shepherds, used to walk Them daily, but never experienced issues like this. He listened on walk 1 but had no hope on the 2nd. My main concern was what to do about the owner. Lessons learned!!

Don't worry about the owner. This is your business, and you decide whether you want to work for him or not. You make the choice, and don't worry he's upset that you are not willing to work for him :)

2 Answers

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Sorry you were put in this situation to begin with but you put yourself in a bad position. You as a sitter should not take clients that refuse to go through Rover. What you should of done was decline the job and notified Rover. Rover would of had a chance to contact the over and see if they could address the issues with the owner. They at that point would decide to continue to let the client use the Rover platform or not depending on the outcome of their conversation.
You should always make sure any stay/drop in, ect you go to have already been booked prior to you showing up.
(If something happens to the pet in your care and it was not booked through rover prior to the incident, Rovers insurance will not cover it. ) (on the positive side, at least he could not leave you a negative review.)

You mentioned, he has not been brushed in over a year. I hate to state the obvious but you did a meet and greet with him prior. You already knew the condition of his hair but yet still agreed to take to job. You can not complain about that after the fact.

As far as your relationship between this client and yourself, At this point being that he chose to scold you, I would not give him the extra few days to find other sitter. (not sure if you were still going to) If you already said you would, I would send him a text letting him know that due to his abusive behavior, you will not be returning. I would not take any phone calls from him and if he texts you back, I would simply ignore them. There is nothing you can do through Rover for this client. Just hope that the next sitter, reports him to Rover. To finally answer you question, no there is not a way to review clients or to write note for other sitters to see. I wish there was and totally see the benefit of this but Rover does not seem to have any interest in adding that feature. Best of Luck!

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I looked up your page and saw that you have extensive experience with German Shepherds, so you shouldn't be surprised that majority of German Shepherds only "listen" to their owner. A real German Shepherd doesn't take orders from a stranger (even though it's possible if they felt the other person is strong and in charge). Accepting a dog that is 100 lbs is a risk. I own a 27 inch tall White Shepherd, so he's taller than a regular German shepherd, so I know how these dogs are. I personally would not accept a 100lbs dog due to safety reasons.

You did a meet and greet. Did you actually took the dog for a walk by yourself to see how he will react to you? I always do this when meeting a large sized dog. They act differently when the owner is around.

And they all shed. Still getting rid of their winter coat :D