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What should I do when dog wont stop barking at me on my first night sitting?

This is my first night sitting for new clients. I had a meet and greet and dog initially barked at me at the door and seemed stand offish after entering house. When I came to pick up key yesterday he did the same thing but warmed up to me after a bit and was even licking my face. Today when I came into house he barked at me as before and I had treats with me as before and did not look directly at him, crouched down to his level, turned my head away, Had treat in outstretched hand which he took and he ran away to bedroom. When I prepared his food he came to me, sniffed me while being very much on guard, skittish. He ate his food but continued to bark and growl at me as he ran back to bedroom. Previously only family has watched him. They recently moved here. The owner knows of his behavior and I tried all of her suggestions. Hes a lab and is obsessed with his ball which I did throw for him during the meet and greet but he was not at all interested in anything. The owner said it was ok for me to not spend the night, this was before this problem. Obviously I wont be able to spend the night since he is using the bedroom as his safe spot. Thats not a problem but how do I get him to go outside to eliminate tonight before I leave? He will not come when I call even when I say all his happy words like walk and ball. Any suggestions? How long is he going to act this way? I once had a dog bark at me for an hour straight but this is ridiculous. I know not to go towards him, I need to let him come to me. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

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First of all, be cautious about the advice you get...from the owners or otherwise. Dogs are unpredictable because they can’t use words to tell us how they feel or what they need. And they don’t actually know what we are saying (most commands are mastered by the dog after consistent

discipline/encouragement from a trusted, familiar voice). And then that same person just left them with a stranger. They don’t understand, regardless of what mom and dad whisper or cry to them as they are leaving, that they will be back. That it’s all temporary. The dog views you as an intruder and

nobody trusts an intruder! Just remember, you came in to his home, so he feels obligated to protect what is his, even if it’s not actually in danger. I bet he would not act that way if they boarded him outside of the home...

Gayla, it is easier to use the "Add Answer" than the "Comment" capability. You can write as much as you want with Answer, as opposed to the limited number of characters allowed in Comment.

Oh my goodness, I am so glad you pointed that out!! I wondered why I would always see others who were able to post long responses and I couldn't....Thank you so much!

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By now you have already dealt with this situation as the posting is days old, however I thought I'd share a similar experience I had today where I had to take a dog for a walk, and he was not a happy camper. In my case since this was a Rover Now walk, I had never met this dog or his owners before. He was not at all happy about having me, a complete stranger, in his house.

He was barking non-stop from the time I entered the house. He was in a crate in the kitchen so I made sure the kitchen door was closed prior to letting him out of his crate. I tried bribing him with treats, but despite eating the treats he was still barking and showing defensive aggression. He would eat the treats out of my hand before retreating and continuing to bark. I noticed that the owners had left a nylon muzzle on the kitchen counter and I successfully put the muzzle on the pooch before finally leashing him. From then on the fear turned into excitement about going for a walk and I removed the muzzle without issue. This dog never barked at me again for the duration of the hour-long walk, nor when we returned to his home.

My primary advice is always to avoid using force, but rather make a dog feel like everything is happening on their own accord. By using the treats and the muzzle I managed to safely leash the dog in question and complete the walk successfully. In this case I suspect the dog was not foreign to wearing a muzzle, however I am now considering purchasing an adjustable muzzle or two in case I encounter a similar situation again.