Thanks, Deb. Yes, I'm really grateful he was so understanding. It was his first time doing doggy daycare in someone else's home, too - his wife is usually at home during the week with their pup, but had to travel yesterday. So, a lesson for both of us. We're still a bit new at providing daycare too!

Here’s an update. I was forthcoming and let the owner know what happened. He felt really terrible, even mentioning he should have told me their pup has displayed separation anxiety. He shared that once he and his girl friend were standing outside their home in the yard and their puppy was so desperate and panicked that he jumped onto a shelving unit under their window and knocked all their potted plants to the ground.

He told me this when he was standing in my living room looking at the blinds and apologized profusely for not telling me of his pup’s separation anxiety and also said we were his first “daycare.” He certainly did not make any remarks about me being careless and has offered to cover the cost of the replacement blinds.

Karen, I was outside for all of five minutes - if that. The owner also didn’t request that I crate his dog if I stood out my home for five minutes let alone at all. I’ve had other owners drop off crates for their dogs. And nothing was mentioned about crating or separation anxiety or anything.

Hello, here is some context. We are dog-sitting two dogs. One is a repeat "customer" and has been with us for overnights for the last few nights; he is a 4-year old mini Australian Shepard. Then, today, an 8-month-old Wheaten Terrier booked for day care. Both owners were made aware of the overlap and both were completely fine with the "play date."

We were told by the owner of the Wheaten, at drop-off this morning, that he barks at cars and people passing by. The Aus. Shepard does the same. So, we didn't think anything of it. All has been going very well up until just now. He has spent most of his time outside playing in our backyard, digging in the dirt, playing ball, just running around like a crazy puppy to exhaustion. We all came in to chill out. They were both so well behaved together and the Wheaten just in general.

Shortly after getting back inside my friend came by to pick something up. She had her toddler in the car with her so rather than having her unbuckle him, I met them outside at their car which was parked right outside my house. I brought the Australian Shepard with me so my friend's toddler could be entertained by him for the few minutes we talked before they left, and left the Wheaten resting on our sofa. I wasn't outside for more than five minutes. During this time, I could hear the Wheaten inside the living room barking but, already knowing he barked at cars and people passing by, I didn't think anything of it. I figured he could just see us through the window.

The type of windows we have are kind of one-way, so, you can see perfectly fine looking outside, but people outside would see more of their reflection than they can see inside.

In the, literally, minutes I was out front my house, he destroyed the lower six slats of our wooden blinds. They're severed in half, full of bite marks, and some of the cabling is frayed. Nothing else was touched - he didn't destroy any furniture, make a mess, try to eat my toddler's toys, nothing. He must have just not appreciated me being outside where he could see me and the other dog.

I know there is no protection for sitters with regard to damage done by dogs in their care and I realize that this is the cost of "doing business" sometimes. I more just want to know the personal experiences of other sitters in situation - did you tell the owner? If not, why? How did the owner respond for the most part?

Are the background checks requested after the profile has been approved? I'm on the step where it says my background check is outstanding and to check my email but it's not in my Inbox or my Junk and I can't see an option to resend the background check. I'm also in Canada, if that makes a difference.

Thank you!