Agreed to sit an „easy dog“. He’s not easy. What’s the best solution?

[mommy2adoll]

(English is not my native language. Also sorry for the length of the text, I’m a little emotional right now.)

Last week a colleague (G) messaged me out of the blue asking me if I could sit his dog for three weeks. I was surprised but because I’m working from home this month I said I‘m open to get to know the dog and have a few walks with him, and decide then. Also asked questions about the dog (routine, issues, is he friendly around dogs/ people on bikes whatever), G assured me it’s an easygoing dog, no issues, he’s not super into other dogs but it’s also not a big deal.

Came and met the dog. He was bigger and stronger than I expected (around 40kg.)
We had a walk together, leash was given to me. G was a little unclear in his communication (was looking for other dogs all the time, went very nervous, when he saw one around, took the leash from me whenever we came as close as 300 meters to other dogs).
Dog was VERY obedient when it comes to commands (sit, down) but very nervous when there was a change of situation (G giving him different treats, changing directions).

I walked the dog twice by myself so far and every walk was different and difficult. He didn’t bite, but he gets aggressive when he sees other dogs, nervous when he sees people on bikes, and is looking back for the first 15 minutes of the walk all the time.
He walks on the leash good enough, but tries to get faster for the first 15 minutes. My reaction to this is to stop (he stops when I stop) whenever he tries to lead, wait a few minutes and to continue when he is looking at me, obviously waiting to give him the sign that he can go on. He just adapts my tempo then.

I can see that this dog is not super into me (he was licking Gs hands at the walk all the time, when I was walking with him he just did what I said but wasn’t affectionate) but I think we would come along good enough.

The issue is that G is living in a more country like surrounding, I live more urban. After these walks I made the decision to tell G that I would love to walk the dog but can’t take him in for three weeks. G told me he will try to find a different solution.

Whatever, today I found Gs keys in my letterbox and a note, asking me to feed and walk the dog twice a day. If not the neighbors will just let him in the yard (and feed him), yard is extremely small, while dog is big (catahoula bulldog plus something else).
Long story short: G is out of the country. I’m beyond angry but also feel sorry for the dog.

Can you please give me some advice on what to do on difficult situations? Should I give treats to the dog to distract him? Just try to keep on walking in a calm way?
I admit I’m a little stricter than G is with dogs, so I’m afraid that the dog will not like me if I will tell him what to do all the time without giving him enough treats. But I’m also unsure if I should just throw chicken breast in his mouth whenever we see other dogs, rabbits, people on bikes etc and hope for the best.

 

[kickthichphattiren689]

@mommy2adoll I'm not a dog trainer, so take this all with that in mind.

I think the dog's lack of affection towards you is that it just doesn't know you yet and is unsure of you. So give it time. As it gets to know you, he'll get more confident that you know what you're doing, and not be so uncertain. If you want to speed up this process, assuming the dog is motivated by food, some high value treats my definitely help you in general, and the dog with walks. I would do some stuff at home (not on the walks) just some simple tasks that the dog could earn a treat for from you. Like sitting, coming when called, or just a good game of a hide and seek (treats for finding you). When the dog does something good, that you like, shovel treats in his mouth. He'll associate these good moments, and you, with reward. You can bring that same idea out on walks. If you see another dog coming your way, ask the dog to sit and pay attention to you, eyes on you, and shovel treats in his mouth as the other dog passes, so long as the dog remains calm. He'll see walks as 'fun and full of treats,' that you are a lot of fun and 'full of treats,' and that maybe other dogs are 'rewards' and not something to be feared.

 

[mommy2adoll]

@kickthichphattiren689 Thank you for your advice, which I took to heart!
I have a kind of update:

I‘m still a dogsitter to this beautiful chubby creature (Mayo) , and normally go there three/ four times a day.
Dog became moe attached to me and my partner, when we get there he is showing his belly and let us rub it. He seems to enjoy this!

Sad thing is that he clearly doesn’t like to be alone and is wheeling and yelping a lot. It’s hard for me to see him like this.

G wrote me an email, stating that he will be back at 27th and he hopes Mayo is doing well.

Walks continue to be difficult, though Mayo now walks with me in my tempo and I can see that he really likes to walk with my partner (who, ironically, is more stricter than I am), it’s almost like he enjoys having a human with him making decisions like which direction to take (G told me Mayo will show me which route he likes best).

But whenever he sees other dogs he reacts very aggressive. I made the somehow difficult (and probably overstepping) decision to buy a real muzzle (the one with the cage), because I experienced that he really tries to bite other dogs and he’s really strong, I don’t want to risk it. Good thing is he has no issues wearing the muzzle, the moment we take the leash he shows his snout and is almost eager to let me put the muzzle on.

Of course we tried to take him home, but he panicked and growled a lot when we tried this, also there are a lot of dogs living in my area and I didn’t want to stress him out (and I have to admit it, I just don’t feel strong enough to held him back).

Because he clearly hates being alone that much I talked to the neighbors and asked them if they would be willing to cuddle or just sit with him for one hour a day.
(I saw him interacting with them and it was clear they liked him a lot, but they also told me that they don’t think they can handle walking him.)
They agreed but told me to please make it clear to G that he is beyond irresponsible.
But I’m glad they’d agreed on this because they also have a dog and had to take him to the vet twice because Mayo bit him.

All in all I know that neither me as a dogsitter nor the situation is ideal and I feel bad for Mayo. But I can see that he likes me more everyday, what makes it easier for me to get there often (it’s a 30 minutes drive by bike to Gs house every time.)

Again, thanks for the advice! You were right, he really feels better and more attached to me every day. But I still feel sad when I have to leave. And I hate to say it but I’m also angry at G and will probably tell him when he’s coming back. That means it’s very likely that I will never see this chubby seal again.