srdogtrainer
Experienced Member
I am pet sitting this weekend for the first time with the dog staying at my house. I have been helping his family train him. He is a really wonderful golden retriever, but had never learned how to relax. So I would go over and work on down stays, on your side, massage and relaxation. He is doing amazing for me at his own house, but is having a a difficult time adjusting to the new environment. He is not very food motivated and had been taking some treats from me at his own house, but not taking many at all here. He also is very rarely on a leash, if ever and is used to being let outside on an electric collar. He was worried about the boundaries in my back yard and planting when he thought maybe he would get a shock if he went between two trees. He freaks out on walks when he see's little yellow flags or...
He also acts like he has never seen cars before and stops and stares at people. I am trying to get him to walk nicely on a leash because I don't have a fenced in yard. He is getting better, but I only have him for three days, so it might take him the whole time to adjust and we might not get too much training done. We had a rough night last night. I think it is a combination of the new environment and the fact that he doesn't get to sleep with his people unless they think he is really tired and won't bother them. He whined and panted heavily. The other problem I am having is that he doesn't know how to go to the bathroom on a leash. As funny as that sounds it seems to be a common occurrence for dogs and they need to learn how to go to the bathroom on and off leash. I think the fact that his people are just about never home ( this is my third time pet sitting for them this month and I am sometimes the only one that interacts with him at all during the day) adds to his overall stress level.
This dog has an amazing personality at his house, but his owners just don't understand how wonderful he is and I know he will never reach his potential!
He also acts like he has never seen cars before and stops and stares at people. I am trying to get him to walk nicely on a leash because I don't have a fenced in yard. He is getting better, but I only have him for three days, so it might take him the whole time to adjust and we might not get too much training done. We had a rough night last night. I think it is a combination of the new environment and the fact that he doesn't get to sleep with his people unless they think he is really tired and won't bother them. He whined and panted heavily. The other problem I am having is that he doesn't know how to go to the bathroom on a leash. As funny as that sounds it seems to be a common occurrence for dogs and they need to learn how to go to the bathroom on and off leash. I think the fact that his people are just about never home ( this is my third time pet sitting for them this month and I am sometimes the only one that interacts with him at all during the day) adds to his overall stress level.
This dog has an amazing personality at his house, but his owners just don't understand how wonderful he is and I know he will never reach his potential!
