Dog Walker brought another dog(a puppy)on a walk w my reactive dog

[tpop]

@findingmyplace2019 I would fire her, she clearly cannot be trusted to follow your requests and risked not only your dog and the other dogs safety but it could have gone very differently and worsened your dogs reactivity. The interaction with the puppy does sound like a good sign for your dog over all, and if possible it might be worth hiring a trainer to replace the walker who can safely work on the leash reactivity with your blessing while on walks, and it’s okay to be clear with them you do not want them to allow physical contact with other dogs- a good trainer shouldn’t be wanting to start there anyways.

 

[oceanskk]

@findingmyplace2019 So glad nothing happened, but I personally wouldn't feel able to trust that dog walker anymore. I do dog walking, pet sitting, dog training, and I'm 100% transparent with my clients. Every little thing, I tell them. If there's something out of the ordinary that I think I want to introduce, I ask them first. Even if I were walking a dog that was NOT reactive, I wouldn't just bring another dog to the walk. Ever. Ever. Ever.

I wouldn't ghost her. I'd be professional and say, I happened to get off work early and saw you introduce a puppy to my dog, etc., etc. Be honest and upfront, as you would have wanted her to be. And stay firm. Don't let her talk you out of firing her as much as I hate to say it because I feel for others in the business. This will be a lesson for her, hopefully.

 

[whatismypath]

@findingmyplace2019 Fire her enthusiastically and harshly with all information. She lied of omission and put that puppy in danger. She is not qualified.

 

[donica]

@findingmyplace2019 Fire. If they won’t tell me something like that, I wouldn’t trust them to follow instructions or be honest about what they’re doing.

I was on the wag and rover subreddits for a little to scope out who walks the dogs before I got one and had to quit when I heard some of the worst advice about dogs there.

 

[findingmyplace2019]

@donica Yeah I agree. It’s just that she decided for me, without my opinion before. Would’ve loved it if she’d said she was just wanting to socialize a puppy or something. On a distanced walk(w me bc I’m a helicopter I guess lol). Then playtime off leash at some point bc he can do that.

 

[donica]

@findingmyplace2019 Totally agree, it’s about the communication not the actual action. Also, just generally bad form to purposefully make a dog reactive dog uncomfortable by bringing around a puppy.

 

[jrebekah95]

@findingmyplace2019 Past the obvious concerns, I would be worried about the puppy picking up reactive behavior by example if this became a regular occurrence

 

[obadimu]

@findingmyplace2019 You need to say something, probably one stern warning and that you’ll fire her if it happens again. Or fire her if you think she’d go around your back to do it again. If you are right and she knows that you wouldn’t have allowed this, that’s pretty bad and reckless.

 

[dinhthaihoang]

@findingmyplace2019 I would bring it up and talk to her about it but she betrayed your trust and lied multiple times this wasn’t a bad decision this was a deliberate attempt to hide something. There’s also a good chance she’s done this before multiple times.