Avoid Dog-Sitter Disaster and Return to a Well-Behaved Dog

00:00

Speaker 1: Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Speaker 1: Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Off Leashing Unfiltered. I am Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training in Biddeford Main. We specialize in eco training for off-leash obedience and behavior modification. So helping people stop all those bad behaviors, annoying, unwanted behaviors, pulling on the leash, jumping, barking, counter surfing, all that stuff. And things like separation anxiety, leash reactivity, resource guarding, any kind of behavioral issue, uh, we can help you to stop that stuff usually cold in its tracks, although there is some chipping away to be done sometimes with state of mind stuff.

Speaker 1: And we love doing that, especially dogs that are anxious, nervous, and fearful. Uh, we also offer puppy training. So that's who we are and what we do. And this podcast is our way of sharing everything we do with you guys. We generally talk about the things we're talking about with our customers day in and day out, and the things we're seeing with the dogs, the things we're doing, the things we're learning.

Speaker 1: And so this is our, uh, platform to share that with everybody because a lot of this stuff, it's just really hard to find. It's hard to find on the internet. There's a lot of garbage out there. There's a lot of lies, there's a lot of ignorance, there's a lot of judgment, there's a lot of baloney. But, um, it's hard to find really good information. So we are very passionate about getting all of this info out there for those that are looking for it. So that's what we're doing here. And today I wanted to talk about a topic that has come up a lot lately because it's summertime in Maine and everybody's going on vacation, going to camp and all that stuff.

02:00 — Summer travel often requires leaving dogs with family members, sitters, or boarding arrangements.

Speaker 1: And naturally the thing that happens is they have to leave their dog with somebody, right? So sometimes we're lucky enough to be able to bring our dogs along, um, but sometimes we're not.

Speaker 1: Whether it's a place that just doesn't allow dogs or maybe it's just not practical to travel with them, or maybe they're too ill behaved. Hopefully that's not the case, <laugh>, especially after you've gone through a program with us. Um, but so people go, geez, what do I do with my dog? Right? And we offer boarding to our clients after they've completed a board and train with us. But sometimes we're full, sometimes we're on vacation. Uh, it's a small operation, so sometimes people still need somewhere else to go. Um, you know, or maybe it's not in the budget to board with us, especially if they have multiple dogs.

Speaker 1: And so sometimes they'll have a family member watch their dog and things of that nature. But anyways, it's a common common theme that we hear a lot, especially this time of year. And some really great questions around this, um, have come up recently.

Speaker 1: So let me just say, first of all, if you have to have someone else watch your dog, that's fine. Like, that's life, right? Like you're gonna go away, you've got a life, you're gonna do things with your family. And sometimes you might not be able to bring your dog with you and someone else is going to have to watch your dog, rather, that means you're boarding them in a boarding facility or someone's coming to your home or they're going to someone else's home. Sometimes that's just gonna be the way it is, and that's okay. You'll get through it.

Speaker 1: <laugh> and your dog will be fine. By the way. He's not gonna think you abandoned him. They don't even have the ability to think that. I promise you, you all, the only thing your dog knows is you're not there, right? So they're not thinking about whether or not you're coming back.

Speaker 1: So don't beat yourself up about that. <laugh> just had to throw, just had to throw that in there. 'cause that's also a really common, uh, question or concern people have. Uh, but here's the thing guys. It's like if you've done some training with your dog, right? Whether it's just training, you've done yourself at home, you've set some standards for your dog and you've made some good progress and you're pretty happy with it. Or whether you've done like a big training program that was in depth and you've really gotten your dog to a good place. And like you have very specific expectations.

Speaker 1: Either way, when you leave your dog in the care of somebody else, they're almost certainly going to regress.

05:00 — Some regression is normal after a different person applies different household rules.

Speaker 1: And that's okay. That's okay. It is not the end of the world. Now, depending on your dog and what their issues are, there might be a bigger concern than it is for some other dogs, right? So if the issues you were having with your dog are that they tend to jump on people or get on the furniture, no big deal, right? If, I mean, if that, if those behaviors come back or some other behaviors come back, it's, we're probably not looking at something that's gonna be like life altering, right? We can just, we can clean that up.

Speaker 1: Not a huge deal. Now, if you have a dog that's way at the other end of the spectrum and you were dealing with much, much more serious stuff, like really severe resource guarding, severe leash reactivity, um, then it might be a bigger deal, right? It might be a little more important.

Speaker 1: There might be other, there might be things you wanna take into consideration before you go away and you just leave your dog with somebody. But at the end of the day, you can probably do it and it's not going to be a big deal, right? And for some people that might not be the case. But I, that's rare, right? I think it's rare that you have the dog that just, they need so much micromanagement and so much control from the handler, um, that you just can't go away for a weekend. Like I think those dogs are definitely out there.

Speaker 1: I had one, they're rare <laugh>. So it's prob that's probably not your case. Um, so let's just talk a little bit about what you do and how do you know what you should do and what should you expect? Like what's normal, right when you get back.

Speaker 1: So first of all, let me just say, if you do have to board your dog with somebody else, ideally we don't wanna board our dogs. And if you listen to me, you already know I'm gonna say this in a place where they're just gonna throw them in with a bunch of random dogs that is the bottom of the barrel. And we, we never recommend anyone do that. Sometimes people are forced into a position where they just have absolutely no choice. And if that's the case, well it is what it is. Um, you have to accept the risk that comes with that and the consequences that could potentially come with that and fine.

Speaker 1: But it's really, really not ideal. Um, there's too much risk and there's too much stimulation and chaos and just it's a mess. And I don't like it. And I wouldn't wanna do it to my dog.

Speaker 1: I wouldn't do it with my dog. I just wouldn't. Um, also because I know my dog in that environment would probably turn into a little prick <laugh>. So, uh, so no. Um, but I think it's important I to have somebody you trust watching your dogs. And let me just say probably nobody out there is going to do with your dogs what you do. And it's not fair to expect them too. They're not dog trainers, right? And they may have never done this type of stuff with their dog before. Especially if you've done like an in-depth training program, an eco program.

08:00 — Most sitters will not replicate a trainer’s complete routine, so expectations must remain realistic.

Speaker 1: Like most people have never done that before. They're not familiar with it. And it is, it's a lot to learn. It's actually, it's a skillset and a process and it takes practice. And it's not fair to think you're just gonna throw this stuff at them and they're just gonna do it all and do it correctly, um, or even be on board with doing it.

Speaker 1: 'cause a lot of people wouldn't be. Um, so just if you have this idea in your head that you're gonna teach someone else all this stuff to do with your dog, probably not. I mean, if, yeah, if you have like a really close friend or family member who really wants to learn this stuff and is willing to like put in the time to like come over occasionally and practice with your dog and see how to do it, then I'm not saying that's a bad thing. That's wonderful. I just think 99% of people don't have that person.

Speaker 1: For most families, that other person that's gonna do that just does not exist. And it isn't fair for us to expect someone to do that.

Speaker 1: Most people are not gonna have the same standards that we have. In fact, a lot of people aren't even going to enforce the standards that you ask them to. So I think it's important to consider, again, how serious of a case is your dog, right? Because if you have a dog with the more serious stuff that we mentioned, um, dangerous behaviors, biting behaviors, any kind of aggression, um, or you know, maybe even if you have like a really nervous, fearful dog, like you don't want them to regress like crazy either. Like if you have a dog with some serious stuff that you, that you take seriously and that you've invested a lot of time and effort in helping them with, then it's going to be more important for you to consider who's watching your dogs, right?

Speaker 1: It's gonna be more important that you can trust this person to do the things that you do ask them to do. And we're not gonna ask them for an unreasonable amount of skill or effort, but we are gonna lay out what the important stuff is. And if they're not able or willing to do that, then they're not the person to watch your dog.

Speaker 1: And again, if little fluffy just jumps on people or barks a little bit or you know, something like that, maybe it's not a big deal, right? But if you have a German Shepherd that attacks people <laugh> or used to attack people, right? Then it's a little more important for you to consider who's watching that dog and are they going to enforce the boundaries that you tell them to enforce, right? So just hiring someone off rover, and I like rover by the way, but just hiring someone off Rover who likes to play with dogs, which is what most dog sitters are, right?

11:00 — For serious behavior cases, choose someone willing to enforce boundaries rather than relying on…

Speaker 1: If you hire someone you don't really know and they're just a dog sitter, that's a person that just wants to play and snuggle with dogs, that is not a good match for you. It's not a good match for a lot of folks.

Speaker 2: I,

Speaker 1: So something you really need to consider. Now, if you're one of those folks that says, okay, I, I have to consider who's watching my dog. I need to make sure this is somebody who will do the things that we're asking them to do. What does that look like for you? Well, if you're one of our clients, right? Or if you've been through an eco training program, at a minimum, I would say you're gonna want somebody who is willing to go through the routine of charging your eco at night and putting it on the dog in the morning, right?

Speaker 1: And you're gonna have to show them how to turn the equipment on, right? So it has to be someone who is willing to utilize the equipment, even though they're not gonna be super skilled with it and they're not gonna do all the little nuanced stuff that you might do, right? 'cause a lot of our customers are like experts at, at the eco stuff, or clients are great, they really are. Um, and a lot of them, they really know some of the advanced techniques with the eco and they've really worked through a lot of challenging stuff and they know what they're doing, right?

Speaker 1: But your dog sitter isn't going to,

Speaker 1: But if you can find someone who's willing to put the equipment on, right? So we don't at least create the collar smart dog. And we don't, if they're already collar smart, we don't create more issues by opening the door for them to commit all kinds of sins while the collar's off and make it worse, right? So they're willing to put the equipment on, charge it overnight. Um, and then you know, your dog, right? You probably know what, what are the boundaries your dog is going to push? And let me tell you something, the most important thing with most dogs is that they know the person in charge will enforce boundaries.

Speaker 1: So even if they don't know what all of your boundaries are, even if they don't know all of the little behaviors your dog does that they're not supposed to do, if you can list out for them what the most common ones are and you can just teach them to say no and then correct the dog, it might just be something as simple as like running through the front door or barking out the window. If they see this person draw that boundary and enforce it just as meaningfully as you do with those behaviors,

14:00 — Give sitters a short list of common boundary violations and clear instructions for correcting…

Speaker 1: Your dog is way less likely to go off the rails while you're gone, right? So, I mean, I've got a million things I could think of that I want people to do with my dogs while they're watching them, but it's not realistic. It's not, and it's not realistic for me to expect them to know how to do all the obedient stuff with the dogs and know all the different ways to use the eco and pressure on and pressure off and cold to hot and turning the level up. No. Like this person doesn't have 10 hours to go through my eco program, okay?

Speaker 1: So what I would do, let's just say it was actually my dog, is I would say when you go to let him out and you open that front door, he shouldn't even crowd the door. He should just stand there and look at you. If he does anything else, you are to correct him meaningfully. And this is how you do that, right? And I might have a number in my head, depending on my particular dog, right? And I'll tell them, you know, the number's not that important, but it, it has to be, it should be in this ballpark for it to be meaningful to my dog.

Speaker 1: So you are to use this if he's too forward at the door, he shouldn't crowd the door, he shouldn't get near the door. He certainly shouldn't go through the door until you allow him to,

Speaker 1: Until you give him an explicit invite. So that would be my number one thing if somebody was watching my dog, because I know that's something they're gonna do multiple times a day, right? The dog's gonna be going in and out through that door multiple times a day. So that's, that's a good one. And it's even better if you know that's a boundary your dog will push with a stranger, right? 'cause then he'll find out right away, nope, things don't fly with this person. And that just sets the whole tone. 'cause now you have a dog that's not gonna go wild pushing boundaries all day long.

Speaker 2: Because

Speaker 1: Trust me guys, your dog knows when the sheriff's not in town, they know they know. So my dog knows that my mom doesn't enforce the rules. He knows that. And he'll give her shenanigans all day long. He'll steal dish cloths. He'll get into the laundry, he'll get into the trash, he'll eat things he is not supposed to. My dog doesn't do that. He doesn't do that ever, right? But I know if she brought him to the front door and she lit him up for running through that front door, he wouldn't do that other stuff. She can't mow the lawn either because he'll be running around acting like a fool going after the lawnmower.

Speaker 1: My dog doesn't do those things, right? But that's because she just doesn't enforce boundaries. If he could see even once that she enforced a boundary meaningfully, his behavior would change, right? And I'm not saying it's perfect and it would fix everything, but boy does it put the dog in a different mindset when they just know, hey, this person enforces stuff. Totally changes everything. So I would say the most important thing is to pick out what are the top things that I feel like my dog might do,

18:00 — Choose one or two high-priority rules, such as staying off furniture or respecting place.

Speaker 1: Right? Or top things that I know we're gonna be doing a lot of during the day. So they're good opportunities. And I would show that person just how to enforce those couple of boundaries, right? Another good one might be getting up on the couch. If my dog gets on the couch, you are to say, no, you are to correct him. This is how you do it. Right? So these are two very simple things. I want you to enforce those two boundaries. I want you to enforce them very meaningfully and then I know that's gonna keep my dog in check, right?

Speaker 1: But you to think about specifically what's important with your dog in your dog's behavior, right? So if you have a dog that resource guards, maybe manners around food is the most important thing. Maybe it's important when this person goes to feed the dog that they follow a particular protocol and enforce a particular boundary. So you have to think about your dog, but really don't overwhelm your dog sitter. Pick out a couple of important things, right? And the place command is huge. Probably certainly anyone that's gone through our programs is using the place command. Show that to your sitter,

Speaker 1: Right? But you don't need to go down through every single command and what it should look like and how to enforce it, right? But place is a big one. You might want them using that. Um, but whatever it is that you want them doing to show them, right? But you gotta have someone who's willing and able to do it. Um, and again, don't overwhelm them. It's like limit it to the things that are really key. And I mean that's way better than just, you know, turning them loose to somebody and just chaos ensue for a weekend or a week or however long it is.

Speaker 1: And then just coming back and dealing with the aftermath. And sometimes you come back in the aftermath as they bit the sitter, right? So I just had that phone call a few days ago. Um, yeah, I mean, I would say having them enforce anything at all is gonna be hugely, hugely helpful. So don't worry about teaching them every little thing, right? But pick out a few very important things and make sure they're on board with it and they know how to do it.

Speaker 1: Uh, now when you get back, your dog may have have some regression. And you know what? That's okay. So this is a good opportunity for me to remind you, your dog has not forgotten the skills that they had, the new behaviors they learned. They have not forgotten what the rules were, they've just learned new ones and they can just as easily snap right back most of the time, right? So it's up to you. It's not up to the dog to remember. It's up to you to remind them these are the rules. And so we find most people have absolutely no problem slipping right back into, um, how things were and getting their boundaries right back ship shape again.

21:00 — Regression does not mean forgotten training; dogs can return to previous skills when expectations…

Speaker 1: Um, you just need to enforce them. But I think people make the mistake of thinking their dog has forgotten. Their dog needs a refresher. Uh, which by the way, whenever anyone tells me their dog needs a refresher,

Speaker 1: Um, that tells me I need to spend some time with the human because the dog will respond accordingly. If you're doing what you should do, the dog will respond accordingly. Once they've been taught and they have the skills, they don't just forget 'em. It's still in there. They just have to know. That's the expectation. And so usually things are lacking on the human end and it's no different when you come back after vacation. It's not that the dog forgot, right? It's that the sitter wasn't responding appropriately, which of course as we just talked about, isn't really fully their job, right?

Speaker 1: Of course, they're not gonna respond to everything the way that we would want them to. Um, so your job isn't to reteach your dog everything when you come back. It's just to enforce the boundaries again. That's it,

Speaker 1: Right? You just jump right back in the saddle. And I would recommend that you come outta that gate strong when you come home. You do not wanna leave, you know, a day, a couple days to get back into the swing of things. I feel like that's just opening up the door, uh, for wishy washiness. So your dog experienced it with the sitter, right? But you don't want them to then experience it with you too. I feel like that's a doubly bad, right? You wanna at least make it very clear like, yeah, you know, you might have had a little fun while I was away, but I'm back now.

Speaker 1: So the rules, the rules are back in effect like right from moment number one, right? And this isn't about being a hard ass or being militant, it's just about, first of all, giving the dog clarity, right? Because if you do anything less than this, you're confusing your dog. Like that's not kind, right? It is kind to keep the boundaries and the expectations clear. It reduces anxiety to keep the boundaries and the expectations clear, right? It's what's best for your relationship to keep everything clear. It's when things get wishy-washy that dogs get frantic, they get anxious, they get pushy, they get nervous, whatever it is.

24:00 — Reinstate household standards immediately after returning because inconsistent rules can increase anxiety and pushiness.

Speaker 1: And it is, DeLeT has a demetrious effect on their behavior and your relationship and everything.

Speaker 1: So you wanna, you wanna return and you wanna implement right away reinstate what life is supposed to look like, right? So your dog's world is stable with you.

Speaker 1: It doesn't alternate, it doesn't go back and forth or up and down. It's pretty stable, right? And they always know what to expect from you. That's the best case scenario. And that's not to say anyone's gonna be perfect or a robot or never make any mistakes, but you don't wanna come back and go, oh, well I guess my dog's just off the rails now. We'll have to work on it at some point. No, right back into it guys. Like just back to life. Don't overcomplicate it. Don't overthink it. You just go back to enforcing things again.

Speaker 1: Your dog doesn't forget.

Speaker 1: If they did, they'll remember really fast. I promise you. Uh, most dogs do. Most dogs do, but the regression's not the end of the world for that reason, right? It's like, no, your dog can jump right back into it when you get back, right? They might push some boundaries, they might try some stuff 'cause maybe stuff they've been getting away with during the week, but you just tell 'em, no, no, no, no, no, no. Remember same old <laugh>, same rules, nothing's changed <laugh>. But make sure you're very clear with your sinners about um, what are the important things to address and how to address them.

Speaker 1: And is it okay to give your dog treats? Is it okay to pet and snuggle with your dog? And how much be specific? And these are questions a lot of people won't ask because they're not thinking about it. And a lot of people that say they're good with dogs, really, that just means that they like to play with dogs and snuggle with dogs. And that can actually be a recipe for disaster if you don't have a dog that takes well to that, right? If you have a dog that gets really nervous, or if you have a dog that gets really pushy, right?

Speaker 1: That can be a really bad combination.

Speaker 1: So if your dog does have any kind of behaviors, like you wanna be really clear with the person about what they can and can't do and how much they should and shouldn't do,

Speaker 1: Um, and just be honest, right? Because if that scares them away or they're not comfortable with it or they just don't wanna do it, then better to find out before than to let something bad happen. So I really think the communication is super, super important. Hopefully you have all that ironed out a long time before you have to leave your dog in their care, you know? But in the instance that this is a last minute thing, I think you have to be extra careful, um, not to gloss over things that matter, at least if you have a dog with any serious behavioral stuff, you know?

27:00 — Ask a trusted neighbor to verify food, potty, and overall care when using a…

Speaker 1: And if you don't, then maybe it's not that important, right? As long as you trust the person to actually take care of your dog. Uh, also I would recommend if you are hiring stranger, even if it's from a reputable place like Rover, like if you have a neighbor or a friend who can just kind of come by and kind of peek in and make sure like things look normal, like they can tell the dogs are being fed, that they're being let out, that they're not soiling all over the place.

Speaker 1: You know, things like that. I've just heard some horror stories, right? And that's not real common, but it does happen. So, you know, it doesn't hurt to just have someone like pop in, take a peek, make sure things seem normal, um, so that you know, no disasters or are happening. I have heard some real horror stories. Maybe we'll talk about those in another episode. That might be fun, <laugh>. But that's it for today, guys. Thank you for joining me. Please, please, please send your questions or suggestions to Kati at Diamond Canine dot com. That's Kati, Kati at diamond, C-A-N-I-N e.com.

Speaker 1: Would love to hear from you. Always looking for new stuff to talk about. Thanks again for joining me, and I look forward to next time.