Have you ever had a dog that wouldn't settle down during a stay and what did you do?
I am currently watching a dog on a trial basis as the owner wants to see how the dog behaves in my care. He arrived yesterday, early afternoon. We did a meet and greet at a local park and he was a very sweet boy. However, I noticed that the owner didn't have much control over him and he wouldn't come when she wanted him to. She mentioned that he might be going deaf, so I dismissed it. She also mentioned that they usually board the dog in a kennel but the kennel was full this time around so they went with Rover. Now that the dog is in my home, he is extremely nervous and has been since she dropped him off yesterday. He constantly paces and whines and will only settle down for about 20 min at a time to rest then he's back at it. We take him outside even more regularly than our own dog because we can't tell if he needs to go outside or not.
The owner stated that he would prefer to sleep on the floor downstairs than to have him in our bedroom. I thought this was odd but followed her wishes. The only problem was, we were up every 2 hours or so because the dog decided it was a good time to bark. He would not stop unless I came down and told him to stop. Then he would pace and whine even more. I finally relented and came down and slept on the couch so he could be near someone and hoped this would make him more comfortable. He stopped the barking but still was up every 30 min pacing and whining. In the morning I let him outside to pee but he has to be kept on a leash. He takes a stance against being guided where he doesn't want to go and pulls the leash really bad so even a quick pee is troublesome.
The owner is wanting to book with me another 2 days next month and I anticipate more bookings as she does not wish him to be in a kennel any longer. I honestly can't imagine how he even made it through a kennel stay. My gut feeling is that the dog is not comfortable in new spaces and we will go through this every time we watch him. It would all be fine except I know the dog is uncomfortable and it's interrupting my family's and neighbors' sleep. I'm not sure that this is a good match for us. Has anyone had experience with this or have any suggestions?
Have they already left a positive review? If so, just be polite and honest--a lot of owners get very defensive if you say one negative thing and will leave a nasty 1 star review, I've seen lots of posts about it. Make sure to explain you just want the best for their dog