Dear Crabby, I need a dog-sitter, HELP!

Dear Crabby,

My kids talked me into getting them a dog for Christmas. Now we have this thing and it is with us for good. We cannot go on vacations unless we get a dog-sitter and we can’t be away from home too long because we need to make sure we get back in time to let it out. What can I do?

Sincerely, Clueless Lou

Dear Clueless Lou,

Well, my easy answer is that you can just get rid of the dog! But, being a father myself, I know that would be difficult on your kids. I did run into this issue on several occasions myself. We have a dog and needed a sitter a few times. We had heard the stories about putting your dog up at a kennel only to come home and find out your dog licked up a virus or something. The best one was when a friend of mine came home and found out a month or so later that his little poodle was now pregnant! Luckily, we had a friend that loved dogs and we would pay her about $10 or $20 per day to watch him. It worked out well because the dog loved her and she loved the dog. I have heard some stories though that are quite interesting. DearCrabbyOne of my friends has two little yappy dogs. His wife wants only the best for them, so they could only stay at Five-Star kennels. I think they were charging him close to $50 per day for the dynamic duo! My son was telling me that a friend of his decided to beat this system and looked online for a cheaper alternative. After my son had told his friend he would no longer watch the dog for him, this kid hired some teenager to come over to his house and let the dog out while he was gone. The first day the owners were away my son received a phone call from the new dog-sitter. He was afraid of the dog and wanted my son to run over there and get involved. That was a first for me. Who would take a job as a dog-sitter and actually be afraid of dogs? I mean, I actually liked my dog and I wanted a nice environment for him while I was away. I am not hearing that same sentiment in your question above. My advice to you would be to have your children own up to their responsibilities and figure out amongst themselves who will pay for or line-up a sitter. Mrs. Crabby and I made it very clear to our little ones that they needed to have responsibilities figured out and we had consequences ready for lack thereof. This way we were not left holding the bag, literally, when it came to cleaning up after the little four-legged wonder! I can remember rainy days where my daughter would complain about having to take the dog out. There were messes waiting on the kitchen floor sometimes when we were gone all day that my son just loved scooping up. And of course, everyone’s favorite bath time routines that became a source of entertainment for Mrs. Crabby and myself when the tow of them were chasing and tackling and completely soaked themselves while trying to complete the task. So make those kids commit and go for it! Good luck.

Sincerely, Dear Crabby

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About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

Comments

  1. Dear Crabby, we have a 1 1/2 year old jack Russell / Chauia , I’m sure you’ve witnessed one of these adorable dogs walk past someone and before you know it there trying to bite your leg off, well that’s my Sahara. She’s so possessive of me and I’m to blame. Instead of treating her like a dog she’s been treated like a real baby. She runs our home and us. Anyways I love her she’s our family so getting rid of her is outta the question. My problem is when we want to go to Disney for 2 nights we both feel so guilty leaving her, she’s only had to stay home by herself overnight a few times, but she doesn’t like anybody coming to our home. I can’t stick her in a kennel at some doggy care place, I don’t think it’s right to put her in jail so we can vacation and have fun, So my questions are: How can I find someone with patience to sit at my home and let my dog bark for a hour at them (btw she’s scary when she does this, but never bitten anybody) until she gets used to them, which may take a few introductions??? Also we can’t have company at our house without her acting like she’s on steroids,it’s annoying and people don’t like it. Thanks for listening and sorry it was so long.

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