need some Dogsitting Advice...

[freedan]

Hi all.

me and my wife are having some issues with the dogs we're that we're sitting. Our friend had some relationship issues and is living with us now and brought her two dogs with her. She has a minature greyhound and a minature pincher. Me and my wife have a Shiba and a Puggle. All dogs get along for the most part, but her dogs have some behavioral problems I was hoping someone can give me advice about:

1: My puggle doesn't like dogs in his space too much, he tolerates my shiba jsut fine but other dogs tend to make him nervous. He is very lenient and will growl and try and walk away, or just walk away in most cases. However her greyhound, puts his tail and head down and then shadows my dog as he's trying to get away. It's like he's trying his hardest to show his submission to my dog, however even if my puggle is growling crazy and baring teeth, he keeps following him. I usually call the greyhound back, but since they are together alot now, I can't keep an eye on em all the time. What should I do?

2: Her dogs are kept in the cages ALOT, since I am home I try and lock em in the kitchen so they can have a little area to roam and so I can do chores and not worry about them peeing on my carpet. However, whenever I seem to leave the area where they can 'watch' me from the kitchen (I have a gate up) I always come back to a puddle of pee. I can't be sure which dog is doing this, even if I JUST let them out for a potty break, they still pee when I leave. any suggestions for stopping this?

3: When I let her dogs outside, her greyhound does not stop barking. All it does is bark. Since this is the second day, my neighbors havent said anything yet, but I KNOW its coming. I can't keep them outside and I cant leave them in my kitchen and I dont like putting them in their kennel because....

4: They have developed the HORRIBLE habit of peeing in their kennel. Our friend puts a blanket in there so they can lay down, and apparently they pee all over it. When the blankey was removed, thye just peed all over themselves. Since she wasnt able to get home often enough from work to let them out, this has become the norm for them, and I am trying to break them of it but I'm not really sure how.

Although my dogs arent the best dogs in the world (who am I kidding, yes they are :-) ), I am nervous my dogs are gonna start marking over their pee, and take me back to square one with housebreaking. Any help with any of these issues would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you all.

[Giselle]

Have some lenience for her dogs They have essentially been uprooted from all that they've known and are living on foreign territory with an entirely new schedule (if there is one at all!). These little issues are all a very normal for drastic changes in a dog's life.

1. The "miniature" greyhound (I assume you mean either an Italian Greyhound or Whippet?) is not understanding your dog's desire for personal space, so continue what you're doing. When the greyhound gets in your dog's space, just body block him and give him something else to do somewhere else. Or you can recall the greyhound and redirect. Verbal reprimand "AH!" and redirect. Basically, punish and always redirect.
2. Do her dogs have a potty schedule at all? If they do and they ONLY pee when you're not there, then I would suspect that their behaviors are anxiety related. Many dogs develop these problems when they undergo drastic changes in their lives, such as moving to a different home or family. If they don't have a potty schedule, somebody has to teach it to them from scratch again (tough work, but it'll hit the core of her dogs' problems). Also, if her "miniature greyhound" is really an Italian Greyhound, be aware that Iggies are NOTORIOUS for being difficult to housebreak. I don't know what it is! They're just ridiculously hard to housebreak. Most Iggy owners concede by having a litterbox in the house.
3. Does the greyhound get a lot of exercise? If not, his barking can be a product of boredom. But if he does get a lot of exercise and he's still barking, then you need to punish and redirect. Punish the barking by shaking pennies in a can, verbal "NO!!", etc/whatever. Then, redirect by turning his focus back onto you or playing with the other dogs.
4. Like I said, do they even have a potty schedule? It seems to me that there is a major disconnect between you and your friend's training beliefs. The two of you aren't on the same page, and it seems like her dogs are suffering if they have to pee on their bedding. I would advise you to tell her to draw up a potty schedule ASAP. She should try her best to fulfill it. But if there are days that she comes home too late, let her know that you are willing to let the dogs out maybe once or twice a day. Work together, and the pups will benefit

Meanwhile, be calm and keep going about your schedule the way you were before. Your dogs (and your friend's dogs) will greatly appreciate the stability!