When every my girlfriend comes over and I have to take her home, my 4 year old female whippet/beagle mix poops on the living room floor. Not a whole bunch and always right where you come in the front door, consistently. It's becoming so consistent that I have to either lock her in her crate or bring her with me.

Recently my girlfriend has been spending more time here, so she does it even on short store runs and such. I hate having to put her in the crate for a quick 10 minute run to the store.

So two questions: 1- Why does she do this only when I take my girlfriend somewhere? 2- How do I get her to stop doing it without putting her away in her crate?

I track my expenses for things like carpet cleaner, toys, the crate i just purchased, etc... I don't track my mileage because I rarely have to drive anywhere, but you can track your mileage. For mileage tracking, I would check with the IRS codes, GSA rules, and your state and local laws about that.

I just rescued a dog this past Monday. I know she's a bit jittery from moving and it's going to take some time to get her fully comfortable here. I've been mixing in some salmon in her food, but she is still only eating about 1 cup a day. At the rescue she was eating about 4 cups of food a day (according to the lady fostering her). I don't plan on changing her food until she starts to eat more. I gave her a cut up hot dog with her dinner to see if she would eat it (she doesn't even like treats, which has been true about her before I rescued her). She didn't eat the hot dog, but she seemed to enjoy the mustard that was the hot dog and plate.

It may be a stupid question, but is extended use of yellow mustard ok for dogs? I was planning on putting mustard on her dry food (sounds gross) to hopefully get her to eat more. But don't want to do it for an extended time, if it will be harmful.

Also, besides wet dog food, what else should I try to get her to eat more dry food.

1- I require a meet and greet with all dogs over 25 lbs. Dogs under 25 lbs I do on a case by case basis for M&Gs. I was attacked by one of the dogs I did not do a meet & great with, so after that pretty much everyone has to do a meet and greet. You should probably have everyone in your household meet the dog as well. I had one (rescued) dog who LOVED me, always loved when I walked in the door and loved on me. My business partner came over (he always just walks in) and the dog took him for a home invader and bit him. Not exactly the dogs fault, but just because a dog knows you and likes you doesn't mean they will like everyone who comes over.

2- I require all M&Gs at my house so the dogs can get a feel for my house and yard, the owner knows where my house is and if there is anything that may cause an issue with the dog (stairs are sometimes an issue for some dogs). Usually I have the owners keep the dog on the leash for the first few minutes of a M&G just in case they don't like me (which hasn't happened yet). The first thing I do is sit on the floor with the dog, so we're on the same level. After a few minutes I take the dog off the leash. When some of these dogs are on a leash too long, they like to pee on my carpet...

3- I usually just see what questions the owner has. I sometimes ask if they are ok using the bathroom in my yard or do they always need to be leashed to do their business. I ask how they came across the dog (rescue or adopted as a puppy), the rescue dogs are sometimes a bit quirkier than dogs that were adopted as puppies, so I ask about their quirks. This is always a case-by-case basis on questions I ask. A lot of dog owners and I talk about other things other than the dog.

4- Everything is best over the internet so you can avoid the awkwardness... Just tell them, "He don't thing this is a great fit, sorry." And a lot of the time, if it isn't a good fit, the owner will know too.

That all being said, everything is a case-by-case. Not every dog is the same and not every owner is the same.

I love this business. It gives me some company living alone!

I love my repeat customers, but having new dogs come is my favorite because every dog has its own personality. And it has really helped narrow my search of what kind of dog I want to adopt.

I sat a dog a few weeks back for some people. Really great and nice, nothing wrong with them.

The issue I had was the dog was not "as advertised" and I had a rough time watching. It was rather unruly and played A LOT rougher than I expected it to.

My question is how do I tell these people I don't want to watch their dog again, without coming off like a jerk.