How can I deal with dog sitting?

Sorry, they are probably stressed by being left behind while their pack has gone off. You can try confining them in one room.

Dogs are communal animals. they need company. Things will get worse if you abandon them.

They are confined to one room and they poop there as well. There is a bigger one that breaks down the gate if I leave him in there.

That’s absolutely horrible. I have no advice, I’m just sorry. Ick.

Poor things! Ya know, being locked in a room for 10 hours a day without anyone to let you out to poop or play..well…what did you EXPECT!

What an awful set-up, locking the dogs in a room all day. No wonder they’re crapping all over the place. Read @marinelife‘s post. They miss their pack. Makes me sad for them.

I read this that @Kokoro is taking them out 3 times a day already.

Well sorry I have a job to be at. I should happily have to clean up waste everyday after my 10 hour job. I try to be nice and leave them out but then they urinate and poo in even more areas of the house. I’m asking for ADVICE, not COMMENTS. If you had to deal with this everyday I doubt you’d sound that patient.

I’m sorry about your stressful situation. Is the room that you keep them in a big one? When I know that I won’t be home to let my small dogs out, I keep them in my small bathroom and they don’t let anything out. If I let them stay in the living room, I can expect to find some turds lying around. You can also control how badly they need to go potty by changing their feeding times. If it’s so bad that you’d be willing to put them in a kennel (and could afford it), then you might need to do that. If you tell your friend about the problem, he or she might feel awful about it and be willing to pay you back.

I would put them in one room with a door, and place a tarp on the floor. Just fold up the tarp and rinse it off outside every day.

Here’s what I think, the dogs scheduale is probably screwed up, that causes chaos.

Maybe you are not putting them out at the same times they are used to?

They probably need a walk, and something to do. Do the gates go up when the owners are there? Is either of the owners home all day with these dogs because if so, no wonder they are going crazy.

I don’t think it’s seperation anxiety I think it’s frustration. That’s just my opinion. Either way I’m sorry that you have been left to look after all that.

Dont abandon them or bring them to your place it will only make it worse make sure the owners know it did not go well

Do you leave a radio or the TV on to a talk station when you are gone? If they can hear voices it will probably help calm them down some.

I bet you love this so much that you will do it again next year, right?

Put them in crates.

Yes, if they are crate trained at all, a crate for each of them is a good idea. Otherwise walking them would help relieve their stress. Here’s another idea that’s worth a shot. Remember those baby washes that have lavender oil in them? It’s there to help baby calm down for bed time. Lavendar works as well for dogs and other animals. You need to get pure lavendar oil from a health food store. Put a drop on a cottonball and leave them around the house. Make sure the dogs can’t get to them; you don’t want them to eat one. You just want the smell in the house. It will help to relieve their stress. I’d also make sure the oil did not sit on painted surfaces. It might damage it.

I think I would ask their vet if they could board them and pay the bill. Maybe they could do daycare. That, or take vacation time and spend time with them.

This is exactly why I always tell people the safest best place for your dogs when you are away is a reputable boarding kennel. It is not the same as home but it beats the situation you are describing. If I were you, I would hunt for a good kennel and put the dogs there for the rest of the time. Saves your sanity, the house and the dogs will be happier.

OK, maybe this is too obvious, but do you know for a fact that they never go in the house when the owner is home??... If you’re already letting them out as many times as you can, maybe let them be outside a little longer each time? This situation stinks(figuratively and literally!!)... it sounds like they would be better off being boarded next time.

Exactly when are you feeding them and putting them out?
When they go out they obviously are not going #2.

Normal dogs take a crap about 4–8 hours after they have been fed. If these dogs are pooping all over the house, there is only a few reasons for that…

1) they are confused

2) they are already not ‘potty’ trained (most dogs will not eliminate where they sleep) I kind of doubt this one

3)their schedule is off most likely

4)your not letting them fully relieve themselves—dogs don’t usually poop more than 2 times a day unless you are free feeding them all day.

5)your feeding them speratically(sp?) You should feed them in the morning and @ night, speratic feed times leads to speratic bowel movements

If you follow those things plus take them for a long walk, they should never poop in the house. I follow a strict schedule with my dogs and I can tell you exactly where they will poop and when they will poop and my one dog has never pooped or peed in my house EVER and I have 2 labs.

Sometimes if you don’t understand them you could be mistaking their bathroom break actions for something else. My one dog whines my other dog just stands at the door. My one dog can hold it for a long time my other dog will relieve herself if you take too long to notice.

Think about it, your locked in a house with no bathroom access what would you do?

I’m not sure if any of these apply to you.

Oh boy. I’m about to dog sit over the weekend for two big dogs. I think I’ll be referring to this page! I have a small dog and I have a feeling I’m going to regret it, but my neighbor is job hunting, has run out of money and is very depressed. He was invited to go to Vail, CO with friends and feels the change of scenery will really do him good. I agree. Even though I’m not looking forward to it, I’ll do it so he can have some sanity. Great question. Great answers!