g8erjackie
New member
Ok guys, I need an opinion from someone separated from the situation. I'm frustrated, poor Keith is absolutely livid.
So, we have been able to go without a dog walker up until now for a variety of reasons -- Keith works from home a lot, my best friend and her dog used to be our upstairs neighbor, and so forth. Well Keith has to be on site with a client for a few months and it's hard for me to get home everyday for a midday walk, so we decided we needed a weekday dogwalker. I searched and searched on Rover, until I found someone who seemed nice and got good reviews and had a big (big enough, 44 pounds, but taller than a bully) dog herself so it seemed like she'd be able to handle Ruckus and Regina. We had a meet and greet on Sunday, she was nice and the dogs loved her, but hey they love everyone. So I said great, can you start tomorrow? We agree on a pretty reasonable rate for DC, I book it, great, right?
Monday around the time she is supposed to come, I check the security camera. Everything seems ok, she took the dogs for their 30 minute walk. She sent me a picture of them (nice, huh?) and I noticed Ruckus's harness was all jacked up....like it was upside down and I think he could have wiggled out of it if he had pulled hard enough, like it only seemed to be over one leg....anyway, I texted her and sent her a picture of how it should look....which she had to have known she screwed up because Regina has the exact same harness and that one was on correctly. Anyway, she said she's pay better attention the next day and that the dogs were sweet and cute.
Today comes. It's rainy. I left some towels out by the front door for doggy cleanup if needed. I'm watching the camera (I didn't plan to do it every single day, but wanted to make sure things went smoothly the first few times) and when they get back from the walk I see that Ruckus has brought a stick inside. Regina is chasing him, like oooh me too, me too! Fun times. Well the dog walker is following them with a towel and like wiped down the couch, but she just seems to be sort of chasing Ruckus. She called Keith -- his office is closer than mine -- and said that Ruckus wouldn't drop the stick. Keith told her there was some chicken and cheese cubes in the refrigerator and he'll normally trade. Eventually Keith has to come home from work because the dog walker said that Regina kept eating the food she tried to trade Ruckus and she needed to leave. Keith gets home and immediately called me wanting me to fire the dog walker. He said the dogs were still wet from the walk, there were dirty bits of stick all over the house, and muddy boot prints that were clearly the dog walkers. We have brand new light beige carpet......
Keith immediately get the stick from Ruckus and cleans up the best he can while he's getting emails and phone calls from work. He said we'll probably have to steam clean the carpets (luckily we have a spot cleaner!).
So I was kind of like well if Ruckus wants to be stubborn he can, but no one before has ever totally not been able to get the stick away from him. I think Ruckus uses the "I have a stick!" move as a way to test his limits. Keith's 60+ year old mother has taken sticks from Ruckus.
When I was in a meeting the dog walker texted me saying things were going great until Ruckus grabbed a stick and that she was afraid he might bite Regina (and on the phone she implied to Keith that she didn't want to get bit) because Regina was trying to take it and he growled. Well, honestly, I'm 99% positive it was miss thang, Regina, who growled. She play growls any time they play. But I'm worried about having someone care for the dogs who thinks Ruckus might bite. Like can you really adequately watch a dog you're maybe a little afraid of?
Am I overreacting? Should I cut ties and find a new dog walker or let the rest of the week play out? I'm overprotective and poor Keith basically jogged home from work in the rain....in a suit....so we might not be the most unbiased decision makers at the moment.
What would you guys do????
So, we have been able to go without a dog walker up until now for a variety of reasons -- Keith works from home a lot, my best friend and her dog used to be our upstairs neighbor, and so forth. Well Keith has to be on site with a client for a few months and it's hard for me to get home everyday for a midday walk, so we decided we needed a weekday dogwalker. I searched and searched on Rover, until I found someone who seemed nice and got good reviews and had a big (big enough, 44 pounds, but taller than a bully) dog herself so it seemed like she'd be able to handle Ruckus and Regina. We had a meet and greet on Sunday, she was nice and the dogs loved her, but hey they love everyone. So I said great, can you start tomorrow? We agree on a pretty reasonable rate for DC, I book it, great, right?
Monday around the time she is supposed to come, I check the security camera. Everything seems ok, she took the dogs for their 30 minute walk. She sent me a picture of them (nice, huh?) and I noticed Ruckus's harness was all jacked up....like it was upside down and I think he could have wiggled out of it if he had pulled hard enough, like it only seemed to be over one leg....anyway, I texted her and sent her a picture of how it should look....which she had to have known she screwed up because Regina has the exact same harness and that one was on correctly. Anyway, she said she's pay better attention the next day and that the dogs were sweet and cute.
Today comes. It's rainy. I left some towels out by the front door for doggy cleanup if needed. I'm watching the camera (I didn't plan to do it every single day, but wanted to make sure things went smoothly the first few times) and when they get back from the walk I see that Ruckus has brought a stick inside. Regina is chasing him, like oooh me too, me too! Fun times. Well the dog walker is following them with a towel and like wiped down the couch, but she just seems to be sort of chasing Ruckus. She called Keith -- his office is closer than mine -- and said that Ruckus wouldn't drop the stick. Keith told her there was some chicken and cheese cubes in the refrigerator and he'll normally trade. Eventually Keith has to come home from work because the dog walker said that Regina kept eating the food she tried to trade Ruckus and she needed to leave. Keith gets home and immediately called me wanting me to fire the dog walker. He said the dogs were still wet from the walk, there were dirty bits of stick all over the house, and muddy boot prints that were clearly the dog walkers. We have brand new light beige carpet......
Keith immediately get the stick from Ruckus and cleans up the best he can while he's getting emails and phone calls from work. He said we'll probably have to steam clean the carpets (luckily we have a spot cleaner!).
So I was kind of like well if Ruckus wants to be stubborn he can, but no one before has ever totally not been able to get the stick away from him. I think Ruckus uses the "I have a stick!" move as a way to test his limits. Keith's 60+ year old mother has taken sticks from Ruckus.
When I was in a meeting the dog walker texted me saying things were going great until Ruckus grabbed a stick and that she was afraid he might bite Regina (and on the phone she implied to Keith that she didn't want to get bit) because Regina was trying to take it and he growled. Well, honestly, I'm 99% positive it was miss thang, Regina, who growled. She play growls any time they play. But I'm worried about having someone care for the dogs who thinks Ruckus might bite. Like can you really adequately watch a dog you're maybe a little afraid of?
Am I overreacting? Should I cut ties and find a new dog walker or let the rest of the week play out? I'm overprotective and poor Keith basically jogged home from work in the rain....in a suit....so we might not be the most unbiased decision makers at the moment.
What would you guys do????
