Hello, we are new to Dogweb and have very much enjoyed reading all your stories of late! I would like to ask for some advise if i may... We have a an 11-month Doberman bitch called Inca, who we rehomed this year from Rescue Centre. She is absolutely wonderful, but still quite nervy and very 'green' as she had received no formal training before we had her it seems, therefore she can be quite a handful at times to say the least! This is obviously not a problem to us and she is really responding to training, but we recently encountered a problem when we had to go away for a weekend and got a friend (who has always bred and had dogs) to say at our house to look after Inca. She was a little aggressive toward him the first morning (which is very unlike her, as she is one of the most loving dogs i have ever met!) but soon calmed down, although continued to be quite difficult for him throughout the whole weekend. When we returned she seemed quite stressed and wasn't at all herself, it seemed she had someway reverted back to being the unsettled/untrusting Dobbie we first had from rescue...... This is now a huge concern for us as we are actually getting married on July 1st and then go away on honeymoon. We now don't want to ask our friend to look after her again as had been the plan - as it now seems he hasn't got enough knowledge of the breed and their ways or of rescue dogs, and so now desperately need to find the best form of care for Inca when we are away... We don't want to put her into kennels if at all possible, as she seemed to of had quite a bad experience at the Rescue Centre we saved her from, and worry that we would lose her trust completely again if we did. So i contacted the National Association of Registered Petsitters in order to get a list of reputable carers who would have her in their own homes..... But i am finding that most of them don't seem to have experience of rescue dogs or Dobermans, and because of that, i worry that they will struggle with her, as our friend did, and so cause her stress. So, to cut a very long story short, i was truely hoping that some of you guys may be able to offer us advice with reference to similar problems you may of had, or may know of any people or organisations who would be suitable to look after Inca for us or who would we could contact for advice etc??? Thanks very much, look forward to hearing from you soon.......! Lorna and Mat.
Hmm not really sure of any good petsitters in that area. Is it possible to get your friend round with you there and get him to feed Inca dinner for a few days and give her treats so she associates him with a good thing? and understands that he is part of your family and can feel comfortable with him there? Im sure if he has bred dogs and has his own he will understand how difficult it must have been for her to be left alone for the first time. Also due to her age she is at a stage of 'proving her dominance' which means for a while she will probablt continue to not listen and show aggression to prove she is the boss. This is a stage where you need to repremand her and make sure she realises she is not the boss and is put back in her place (at the bottom ;-) ) It is hard but she will push it. They usually get this again at 3 years. Do you think this may be a factor?
Unfortunately this is another thing that can and does happen when choosing a stiing service, similar things can happen in kennels. May I ask which kennels you got her from? PM me if you wish, I am local to you and know most of them and can help you identify a possible dodgy one, whereby a "bad" experience as you call it could be blamed. Dawn.
our vet nurses offer a kenneling service,they take your dog to their house or if the dog is confident at home on her own they will come in 3 times a day to feed and walk them.if you are really struggling to find a good petsitter ask your local vet,they usually have a list of people who are good i hope you find someone who suits your needs and hope you have a lovely honeymoon too
I would agree with Dobiegirl on the dominance thing. We have the sweetest Dobie pup bitch (five months old) who displays what could be perceived as agressive behaviour towards strangers in the house. Standing up and barking in their face - that kind of thing. You've got to be tough with them - best bet would be for your friend to spend as much time as possible with the pup over the next few weeks - walking is quite good and playtime as she'll learn to trust your friend. Try getting her to look after the pup for half an hour and gradually increase it - each time she'll realise that you're coming back again and won't be so nervous. They're quite fickle characters and they do seem to push the boundaries - if your pup hasn't had proper training up until now you really are at square 1. But the endearing feature is that they are loving and very clever so quickly realise what's acceptable behaviour and what's not. Good luck and have a lovely wedding
Sounds breifly from what you have said that she was just frightened of being "abandoned" again. I have a rescue dog who was 10 months when I got him, and every time I left him alone, even for just 10 minutes, he would cry and pine and when I came back he was manic. He's 3 now and he is fine to be left. I didn't go away from home for more than a few hours while he was like that, but I assume that if I had, he would have reacted similar to your Inca. How is she at being left when you go out? I agree with Dobie girl, I think having your friend (or even a petsitter, whoever you decide on really...) to come in and help out with Inca, and interact with her a lot while you are there with her may well help. Good luck
I agree that getting your freind and her acclimatised each day several times a day or as much time as you can both put into it is the best option, she will be on her own territory, I would be carefull with games and your freind, they use them to dominate - I think a petsitter is a very bad idea. Kennels, no.
Thanks for all of that, really helpful.... It's so good to know that Inca's not on her own, the dominance thing you talk about is definately what she is doing, and we are repremanding her but it sure is taking a while getting through to her, like you said!! I worry that our friend isn't really the right person to look after her now, as it seems he did in fact leave her on her own at times over the weekend, which may of made her worse, but i agree it would be good a idea for someone to spend time with us all before we go.... But hopefully we can find someone else soon. Thanks again, Lorna. xx
Hi Dawn, thanks for your message... We got her from Kenilworth Dogs Trust, which seemed good at the time but we have since heard a few bad things about them... They told us that they didn't have a 'history' on her and all they knew is that she cane over from Ireland, but when i mentioned this to her trainer, he said they say that every time and that 'Ireland' is actually a holding-bay for dogs they have difficulty in rehoming... Who knows hey?! Do you know of any good petsitters in our area at all then?? The person who looked after Inca was a friend of ours not a professional sitter, so i hoped a professional would be a better way to go - but would you not agree? Lorna. x
Thanks for that Kelly and also for your good wishes for our honeymoon.... I will give our vets a call tomorrow, thanks for the great idea. Lorna. x
Hi. As i said in my reply to Dobiegirl, it's so good to know we are not alone and that other Dobes seem to be exactly the same too.... Inca is SO loving, it's quite unbelieveable and very clever as you say, so i do hope she will catch on soon! Thank you very much for your wedding wishes, only 3 weeks to go now - starting to get nervous!! Lorna. x
Hi Kel.... I agree about the being 'abandoned' for sure, but the weird thing is that she has been fine when we go out, or we wouldn't of left her that weekend if we thought it would upset her. She was a little nervous the first couple of times we left her, but was soon chilling happily in her bed when we left her... She doesn't bark, not even at night and she didn't even the first night we left her, which amazed us! Lorna. x
Can i please ask why you think petsitters are a bad idea? I agree with the kennels being so.... What would you suggest/what do you do if you ever have to leave your Dobe? Thanks.... Lorna. x
I would never leave a dog with a pet sitter, if your dog reacts like that to a friend, what will she be like with a stranger? I would suggest kennels would be a far safer option, however that is your choice. I board plenty of timid dogs and they cope very well. The dogs trust are a well respected organisation, I didnt realise with the amount of dogs that need homes here, they were importing from Ireland aswell, seems to defeat the object here somewhat. Good luck with Inca, hope you get her sorted out. Dawn. Dawn.
Have to agree with Dawn, due to the issues with your dog unless the sitter is extremely familiar with her and they are at ease together the kennels would be a better option. If you can find a sitter who is willing to be around every day for the next three weeks before you go then go for it. Otherwise put your efforts into finding a really good kennel. They certainly do exist.
Lorna Can i please ask why you think petsitters are a bad idea? Dawn I would never leave a dog with a pet sitter, if your dog reacts like that to a friend, what will she be like with a stranger? I would suggest kennels would be a far safer option, however that is your choice. Trouble21 Have to agree with Dawn, due to the issues with your dog unless the sitter is extremely familiar with her and they are at ease together the kennels would be a better option Clob I agree with both Dawn and Trouble 21 – I think pet sitters are really the worst option with a rescued dog, especially as you will never know the background of this dog.For that matter with my own personal dogs there is no way I would attempt a petsitter - I did say “No” to kennels also but really in terms of your dog being safe –i.e. she cannot run off when out in the penned areas – she is hardened and acclimatised to them but yes rather than a pet sitter they are, for want of a better term, the best of 2 evils. I still think your friend spending time with her in your home this next few weeks is the better option if that’s possible. Out of interest how does she get on with your intended hubby when/if he stays? To add, one of the problems for me is knowing anything about her ancestory, so she could be anything from show dog to pet to a mixture and possibly with small % working genes - its just not known.
would also help to know what a little aggressive means and continued to be difficult means, we are probably all putting a different interpretation on those words. did your friend spell the problem out for you?
OK I'm going to be unpopular here, but is there a chance you can put your honey moon off? I know it sounds silly but (not sure how to put this tactfully) once you have an animal, they come first before you when it comes to looking after their welfare ;-) I expect that sounds harsh and i d0n't mean it to be; it's just that your bitch sounds stressed out and worried, she may well accept the friend however, if you are concerned about him I'd prefer a registered petsitter. Also are you sure he was good to her and not hard on her at all? Sometimes people who are not sure of a dog will be too hard on them or shout purely because they don't know what to do otherwise, not because they are bad people. if you leave her with him, she may now associate this with feeling stressed and just be worse not better. I'd work on her not being stressed, so organise pet sitter you can trust (get them to visit several times beforehand) and don't push your dog, allow her to accept them and drop food etc on the floor so she gets to like them. Some pet sitters will walk dogs for the owner so that may be a good start for a few weeks beforehand. It may take some time though hence my thoughts on your honeymoon ;-) Re the dominance thing, dogs aren't trying to be pack leader, they just want to see how far they can go like teenagers. You've not mentioned her being dominant though, just green and stresssed out. Personally I don't agree with the dominance idea anyway, it is not something accepted so much now. Good luck
