ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
hello! I need serious dogsitting advice we're doing much better hooray!
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
I am dogsitting for a coworker, last minute stuff, the dog is sooo spooked by me
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
i am trying to give her soace, make sure she doesnt feel trapped and has exits to get out of my presence
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
Drrrr drrr this plurk was made for me what's she doin?
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
we got her to poop and eat and I am just trying to make light conversation w her and telegraph all my movements and such
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
I am dogsitting for several days to come, any advice
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻 : she is wagging her tail, is very mmm nervous and stressed, will come over to sniff then run off
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
we had a moment where she let me pet her and then I took back my hand and she signaled for more
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
but then she will spook and run off and bark
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
Is she at your place or are you at hers?
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
im at hers
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
what I should have pushed for is coming over to meet the dog in the family’s presence but that ships has sailed
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
soo gotta just make sure she is fed, pooped, and is as stress free as I can make her
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
Yeah that's best but she doesn't sound like a hard one. I'd camp out in comfy but sort of out of the way spots and not look at her, not say her name unless it's meal or potty time, occasionally toss a snack but basically be as boring as humanly possible for doggo. Don't reach out to invite sniffs or pets and don't react to the barks even to soothe her.
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
(Sorry, I actually just arrived to a pet sit and the gremlins were flipping out lol.)
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
You're doing things right but she seems to have a very reactive baseline and you don't want to do anything stimulating that isn't purely positive reinforcement of your presence.
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
E.g. if she seems to want pets hold your hand out and let her pet herself on you
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
If I've got a really scared one I'll not only not engage with them, I'll sit facing away and randomly toss snacks over my shoulder. Pupper will chill, being in her space is actually better unless they're territorial. Which is another kettle of fish.
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
ok cool thank you!
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
for the most part i will be working upstairs where she isnt allowed
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
thank you a lot :-)
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
Im not a very practiced dogsitter so I was pretty bummed by the reaction and it really set a bad start to my day
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
but I feel better
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
You might not see much improvement if you're in different spaces entirely, so it's kind of a toss up what your priority is. If she's still eating and pottying for you and you just wanna get through the sit with minimal stress, that's valid. If you want her to actually warm up during this visit the above steps are the way to go.
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
My priority is always engaging with the animal but that is literally my job and you're just doing a coworker a favor and can always hang out with pupper + her humans at some later point to improve the situation for the future.
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
ok got it!
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
Don't be discouraged, basically, you've got good instincts and pupper will survive. Sometimes it takes awhile!
ѕтσям¢αℓℓєя
oh nooo ;; sorry to hear it's off to a rough start :< you sounds like you're got this handled, tho
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
IVE GOT THIS (yea) thabks everyone
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
got back from an appointment, I came in, she barked a little, I just slowly did my thing and she calmed waaay down and now she is sitting by me looking for pets while I try to work
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
WOO HOO
ȡ𝓲𝘴ą𝘴𝓽є𝓻
GOOD GIRL!! Chilling out already.
𝕤𝕖𝕒 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙
hell yeah looks like you've got the good advice already!
𝕤𝕖𝕒 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙
I would recommend for one of her meals hand feeding her, it's a little gross so ok if you're not comfortable, but it can really help them see u as good person in their life.
ʙᴀɴɢʙᴏᴏ
okee :>
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