Hopefully others will have better ideas but my best thought is to spend as much time as possible in the home.

Is it feasible to spend a few nights and make a few trips to the bathroom in the night, whether you need to or not?

Maybe leave a sweater or jacket of yours hanging in a place where the dog will always have your scent.

Y

 

Thank you for your suggestion! I have been spending as much time as I have with him. But the idea to leave a scented item of mine at the house is an excellent idea!

 

I don't think it's fair of the owner to be leaving this dog with you. This dog needs lots of time to gain trust of someone...and that's not going to happen with a walk and a day or two of coming into the house.
I would ask the owner to leave the dog in a room that he is comfortable in...so that you can at least enter the house safely. Once in call out to the dog, so he knows that you are there...then open the door and step aside...so he can go outside without too much fuss. Does he have a fenced in backyard? Are you planning on sleeping over there...or just coming into the house 3-4 times per day to feed and let him out? A month is a long time for a dog to be alone. He is going to get defensive about his home and property, the more time he spends alone. Does the owner have a "plan B"? What if the dog is aggressive with you? Does the owner have family or a friend that can take care of this dog?? Or send to a boarding kennel??

I board dogs for a living, and have owned Rottweilers for over 25 years...but would not dog sit in a situation such as this.

 

Thank you for your post, I do agree that it is not enough time to gain trust. The dog still seems suspicious of me. I would be stsying overnight at the house for the whole month. My main concern aside form generally getting attacked is being able to come into the house again when I do leave for a bit. I think that if I am feeling fear then it is not a good idea as he would sense it and i do not have the experience to tame a dog of this stature and temperment. He has snarled at me a few times and I have never been alone with him completely. Do you think i am being paranoid?

 

No...I don't think you are being paranoid. I think you need to be cautious. This could turn into something ugly quickly! Has the owner ever left the dog before? What happened? Is the dog good with friends when they come over to the house? Is he food motivated? Can you bribe him with tiny chunks of hot dogs, or cooked chicken, or cheese? If he will not even eat that when you put some down...you are going to be in trouble.
If this dog has never been left with a stranger before...it's not going to be easy. This is not a young dog, that you can win over easily.
I know that our Jemma would not let a stranger into our house if no one is there...people she knows ...yes... That means our own family, or a few close friends...that's it. That's why my husband and I take separate vacations...LOL

I think the owner should have a plan "B"...if this dog becomes territorial and you cannot take care of him in his house. He may be better off away from his own home.

 

The dog is good when friends come to the house but only after he has charged them at the front door and been calmed down by his owner! Today I am attempting my first hot dog bribe at the door! But even with the food what if he eats it and lunges again. Oh the fear, I I definately overestimated myself lol. I'll also be working on my zen attitude and avoiding confronting the dog with eye contact. But if the bribery doesnt work then i simply will not be able to housesit if I cannot get in the house! I never fully realized how much patience, responsibility and dedication this breed requires, although I know it is a rewarding endeavor. Hats off to you.
Thanks again for the response. I will let you guys know if I get eaten today!
Happy holidays 🙂

 

No, I don’t think you are being paranoid.

Years ago my BIL spent the morning in our kitchen drinking coffee. DH (his brother), myself, and the Doberman were there the entire time. BIL played with the Doberman.

DH and I had to leave, so BIL left also. However, he forgot the tool he came to borrow in the first place so went back to our house, LoL.

The Doberman wouldn’t let my BIL in the garage for all dog biscuits in the county.

Conversely, many years later, I needed a farm sitter to feed my horses, dogs, and one cat while I flew back home for a few days. By then I had my third Rottweiler, a Lab/Sharpei, a Beagle/mix, one house cat and three horses.

In my corner was the fact the lady had her own horses, big dogs and wore a no fear t-shirt. She came 3x/day to let the dogs out and fed everyone twice daily, plus checked the horses over for possible noteworthy injuries. The dogs loved her because she came with treats, lol

You have a tough assignment and it’s probably too late to back out without leaving the owner in a real crunch. I suspect you are the only person the owner can find that is trustworthy to be a diligent home and critter caregiver.

I already gave you my best help and that isn’t much, which is leave a piece of clothing with your scent on it, at the house.

The only other thought I can think of is that when you do come in the house and the owner is not there, do not make direct eye contact with the Rottweiler. They don’t like that in many cases.

Also, when you come through the door when the owner is not home, holler for the dog in your happiest non-scared voice. Try to maintain a sense of calmness and talk to the dog in a lighthearted voice like you would greet a human.

if the dog comes to greet you or even if it doesn’t, I would not make an effort to reach out to the dog. I would keep talking to the dog and not look in its direction. Just go about the business of hanging up your coat or whatever else you’re going to do, while also keeping an eye sideways as to the whereabouts of the dog so that your back isn’t turned to him. Make sure he is aware that you’re aware he’s there, if that makes any sense to you.

It would be great if this dog has been to obedience school. That way if the dog were to come to you, you could give it the sit command and simply say “sit for a cookie”. You would have to make sure you have treats close by that you could give it some thing. Whether the dog is supposed to have treats or not I would definitely have treats on hand in your in case - this is the time for bribery.

I don’t know how to tell you to have more confidence and to lose the sense of fear that you might have with this dog. That is something that is born in all of us to some degree or another.

A third thought is that it might also help if you could spend a few nights at the home while the owner is still there. This is serious business — 8tsnot like you’re watching over two Chihuahuas and a Shitzu.

Also leave night lights on, near the bathroom and in the kitchen. To this day I leave the stove light on low so everyone can see each other.

I still, always let the dogs know if “I’m coming thru”, if they happen to be laying in my path to the bathroom or somewhere else in the night.

We have a lot of shadow in the laundry area, coming in from the garage, so I also leave that light on so the dogs can see it really is DH coming through the door, when he gets home from work. Shadowy figures are made for attacking when you’re a big black guard dog — or a red Catahoula/Pit Bull

It tKes an extreme amount of common sense and forethought to co-exist with guard type dogs. I wish you the very best, since this really isn’t what signed on for

 

No, I don’t think you are being paranoid.

Years ago my BIL spent the morning in our kitchen drinking coffee. DH (his brother), myself, and the Doberman were there the entire time. BIL played with the Doberman.

DH and I had to leave, so BIL left also. However, he forgot the tool he came to borrow in the first place so went back to our house, LoL.

The Doberman wouldn’t let my BIL in the garage for all dog biscuits in the county.

Conversely, many years later, I needed a farm sitter to feed my horses, dogs, and one cat while I flew back home for a few days. By then I had my third Rottweiler, a Lab/Sharpei, a Beagle/mix, one house cat and three horses.

In my corner was the fact the lady had her own horses, big dogs and wore a no fear t-shirt. She came 3x/day to let the dogs out and fed everyone twice daily, plus checked the horses over for possible noteworthy injuries. The dogs loved her because she came with treats, lol

You have a tough assignment and it’s probably too late to back out without leaving the owner in a real crunch. I suspect you are the only person the owner can find that is trustworthy to be a diligent home and critter caregiver.

I already gave you my best help and that isn’t much, which is leave a piece of clothing with your scent on it, at the house.

The only other thought I can think of is that when you do come in the house and the owner is not there, do not make direct eye contact with the Rottweiler. They don’t like that in many cases.

Also, when you come through the door when the owner is not home, holler for the dog in your happiest non-scared voice. Try to maintain a sense of calmness and talk to the dog in a lighthearted voice like you would greet a human.

if the dog comes to greet you or even if it doesn’t, I would not make an effort to reach out to the dog. I would keep talking to the dog and not look in its direction. Just go about the business of hanging up your coat or whatever else you’re going to do, while also keeping an eye sideways as to the whereabouts of the dog so that your back isn’t turned to him. Make sure he is aware that you’re aware he’s there, if that makes any sense to you.

It would be great if this dog has been to obedience school. That way if the dog were to come to you, you could give it the sit command and simply say “sit for a cookie”. You would have to make sure you have treats close by that you could give it some thing. Whether the dog is supposed to have treats or not I would definitely have treats on hand in your in case - this is the time for bribery.

I don’t know how to tell you to have more confidence and to lose the sense of fear that you might have with this dog. That is something that is born in all of us to some degree or another.

A third thought is that it might also help if you could spend a few nights at the home while the owner is still there. This is serious business — 8tsnot like you’re watching over two Chihuahuas and a Shitzu.

Also leave night lights on, near the bathroom and in the kitchen. To this day I leave the stove light on low so everyone can see each other.

I still, always let the dogs know if “I’m coming thru”, if they happen to be laying in my path to the bathroom or somewhere else in the night.

We have a lot of shadow in the laundry area, coming in from the garage, so I also leave that light on so the dogs can see it really is DH coming through the door, when he gets home from work. Shadowy figures are made for attacking when you’re a big black guard dog — or a red Catahoula/Pit Bull

It tKes an extreme amount of common sense and forethought to co-exist with guard type dogs. I wish you the very best, since this really isn’t what signed on for

Thank you for taking the time to leave me so many tips and such a thorough response. I will be visiting the dog once again today and I will practice all of those techniques!
I have let the owner know about my hesitation so we are working out a backup plan. I I definately bit off more than I can chew!! But it is a big eye opener for the things I will need to learn and get used to if I want to be in the business. Especially the self control!
Thanks again, happy holidays!

 

Just wondered how your dog sitting is going? Did the dog settle in now? Hope that things are working out??

 

To a certain extent dogs understand they have been left and another person comes in to feed them and eventually welcome the company, even if it isn't "their family." (They get lonely when alone.) You need to be as fearless as possible as well as being careful. I think the first couple of days will be tough, but it will be downhill after that.

We have had employees come to our house to feed our dogs and they know them from being at the office with us. Still, we have one Rottie girl who thinks it's a lot of fun to herd everyone out the door when they leave, so pet sitting employees have to understand and expect this occasionally. When we have adopted dogs who haven't know us or the petsitter employee very well, bribes help, dog biscuits kept by the door are helpful.