u/HollyTheDovahkiin

Hello!

I have a regular client who has four amazing rescues. I go once a year for a big two week stay, and they pay incredibly well. It's basically a holiday because the house is amazing, the dogs are amazing. There's also a spider infestation but that's besides the point. She is a wonderful woman with a lovely family. She also asks me to come and watch the dogs here and there as well.

She asks if I'm free for next week. I say absolutely. She tells me it's her mother's funeral. I know her mother has been sick for a while with dementia and she's gone through hell trying to care for her. One of the dogs sadly passed away recently too. It was her mum's dog. He was a big sweetheart. Anyway I tell her I want to help. It's only like three hours. I tell her I don't want her to pay and I'll be paid in golden retriever kisses. She is adamant about paying. I feel terrible because I really do want to help! And I don't really need the money that badly, and it's just a few hours. On arguably one of the worst days of her life. When my father passed away she kindly sent me flowers and a card. She's wonderful. I don't want to accept payment but she's saying she won't have it. I told her if she's adamant fine, I'll accept something stupid like £10.

What would you do in this situation? I feel awful for her and the family. And she has easily paid me over 5k total since I began sitting for her. I just wanna help! Is it wrong to not accept her offer of paying full? I know people say you're running a business not a charity. But I feel this is quite an exceptional case. Considering how kind she's been to me to entrust me with her house and the dogs. They have an outdoor bar full of alcohol and told me to take anything I wanted. I obviously didn't, but the offer was so sweet. Would you accept a full payment for this?

So this morning I had a meet and greet. One dog was a Brittany spaniel/poodle mix and the other was a cockapoo. The owners had described them as “a little chaotic,” so I was mildly prepared. Flashbacks of doodle criticism from this sub began to surface, admittedly.

Upon entering, the Brittanypoo immediately razed his way into my hallway, and very graciously took a massive piss on my mat and my shoes. The owners were naturally mortified. I said it's fine, it happens. I threw it in the wash, binned the shoes cause they're not expensive. Whatever.

So then, the dogs are both leashed on a retractable lead so they had the freedom to roam around. I try to calm them with treats, which the owners provided. As I present the treat to the cockapoo, the other dog rips it out of my hand, almost taking my fingers with it. I look at the owners who are once again mortified. They told me he is greedy and has no manners. (despite the fact they haven't even tried to train him). Excellent. Duly noted

The next thing, the Brittany is suddenly kitchen surfing my counter, trying to gain access to anything he can. Absolutely not. I correct the behaviour. They told me he does this a lot, and that I must keep all food from the counters. Fair enough. They told me he goes to daycare every single day, but it isn't enough to tire him out. That they work from home and he's a nightmare. That they can't walk them enough due to health issues. I just feel sorry for the dogs because it's clear they are quite understimulated and have zero boundaries.

So I tried to guide them out the kitchen, but the dogs then decided to start fighting with eachother, with the finesse of a bulldozer. Owners freaked out and almost choked the dogs trying to yank on the leash. LI mentally resigned from the situation there and then and had made up my mind. Apparently "they do this all the time" was the only line of defence their owners had to use.

So then, if all this wasn't enough, the cockapoo steals one of my slippers I had in the corner of the living room. The owner warns me not to take it off him, because he is a resource guarder. He tentatively tries to put his hand near the slipper, and the dog shows his teeth and assumes a protective stance, and he yanks his hand back. He does this a few times, and his wife pleads with him to be careful. I just give them a look of exasperation. Instead, I present a treat and the dog drops the slipper for said treat. I tell them that he's clearly food motivated and that's a good thing, because they can use treats the next time this happens.

The owner then leans in to pat the dog to give him praise, and the dog immediately snaps at his hand. He yells at the dog and shoves him with his foot, to which I tell him not to, because at this point I'm getting pissed off.

Meanwhile, the Brittany performs an encore and does another piss all over my couch whilst we are all distracted with the other dog. My soul leaves my body a second. The owners scold him. The look he gave admittedly made me laugh, because he gave zero fucks. Luckily my couch isn't fabric. I was a little in awe of how much piss this dog could produce.

The owners apologised again and said they know the dogs can be a handful, that often they feel our of their depth. Then asked if I was still willing to take them. For three weeks of boarding.

Absolutely fucking not. I say I'm sorry but I just can't be responsible for this level of chaos. I recommend they perhaps search for dog behaviourists who also offer boarding or house sitting services. Or kennels who can walk the dogs for long periods and give them a more secure space to roam. I tell them they need to start mentally and physically stimulating their dogs, that they needed enrichment badly. That negative reinforcement wasn't working and perhaps was exacerbating their behaviour. They seemed quite taken aback, which was the most absurd part.

I’ve seen a lot of people here warn against doodles, and I never fully understood why until now. Is this really common? To be fair, I don’t think the issue is just “doodles bad.” These dogs seemed understimulated, undertrained, anxious due to the negative reinforcement and way beyond what their owners could realistically manage. I genuinely felt bad for them.

But expecting someone to board them for three weeks after they’d turned the meet and greet into a live-action insurance claim was absolutely wild. I have had my share of difficult animals, but I just don't think I'd be willing to put up with this kind of thing anymore. Would you have taken this boarding? Am I wrong to assume it would be insanity to accept this?