Cooper was turned down by a dogsitter! :(

[Jenny and Cooper]

We just got back home from a dogsitter I found on dogvacay.com.  It was a nice family, but unfortunately it didn't work out.  They had two dogs, a senior Chihuahua and another small dog they were sitting for.  Cooper wanted to play with the two dogs and kept barking and barking at them to play.  We stayed there quite a long time and about half hour in, Cooper was just not taking no for an answer.  When they told us that they were going to be sitting for two other dogs the days we want to drop Cooper off and those three dogs were going to be tiny (5 lb and 8 lbs), I sort of felt uneasy about it.  I just knew Cooper would want to play and I would hate for him to keep barking at those tiny dogs.  So at the end of our meeting, they told us Cooper wouldn't be a good fit for them those days.  We completely understand and felt the same way too.

Now we are back to square one finding a dogsitter and we already have our hotels booked.  Hopefully one of my nephews can sleep over our house and dogsit Cooper for us!  He is trying to work out his schedule at the time.

Question:  When will Cooper stop his annoying behavior when someone doesn't want to play with him?  How can we stop him?  As soon as they took the dog inside the house, Cooper was quiet again.  Is there a away to stop him without removing the other dog?

Thanks! 

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

I am so happy that it worked out for you! Sounds like he may have learned a little something there? It is so nice to have peace of mind when you can't be with your baby!

[Jen]

Brutus rarely barks and is usually such an angel, but we started taking him to puppy training classes and he's like a completely different dog there. All he wants to do is play, and he'll bark his head off for what feels like an eternity because the other dogs are sitting quietly with their owners, not playing with him. Our trainer told us to just ignore him, and he does finally quiet down but it takes 30 minutes! It has helped to distract him with treats and commands, but it feels like we're starting back at square 1 every Monday we get to the class. Fortunately we haven't been kicked out :)

I second the Rover recommendations; we've used it a couple of times and have had great experiences. Care.com is similar and also has dogsitters.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Hi Jen! I KNOW I replied to your post but I just noticed it's not here! I remember the barking for 30 mins part. Lol How is Brutus coming along at the training class? Is he barking less?

Cooper is coming along. We are taking him there less, twice a week at most. We're also able to distract him a bit better. Still need a lot of work on though. At least he didn't embarrass us the last two or three times we went since I posted. Lol never knew about care.com. Will check it out but we'll probably keep the same sitter for next time.

[Jill Curcelli]

Just wondering if you found any successful ways to quiet the barking. My 1-year-old does the same thing. When we go to training classes, he barks and whines for a good 30 minutes because he wants to play with the other dogs and probably because he's just so excited. Also, when he goes twice a week to play with his friend (another playful doodle with equal energy), he often barks while they are playing. Again, I think it's because he's just so excited, but the barking does get annoying - especially to the neighbors, I imagine. I should add that he's rather quiet at home. He looks out the front window, but he only barks when somebody approaches the house.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Hi Jill, Cooper has gotten better. He still has the tendency to bark at the smaller dogs who comes into the big dog area. I think he really likes to play with them and trying to get their attention. I learned that if I just leave him be then eventually he will stop after a few minutes. He gets upset when we try to stop him because he thinks we're going to take him home. The other owner usually doesn't like it and I can't blame them because his barking is loud. However, I feel like they shouldn't be in the big dog area in the first place. Sometimes we'll distract him with a treat or offer him water. Lol

I'm not sure if I did anything different. I think he matured and has gotten better. When small dogs come in, I usually try to leave. Good luck! Maybe Jen might be able to help you more with this question since her dog also barked for 30 mins in class.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

That's so interesting that you mention that about the little dogs! Moose is nearing the end of his Saturday puppy playtimes but they have a big dog group and a little dog group. Usually there are a few dogs that should be in the little dog group but because they beat up on the little ones, they put them with the big dogs. Obviously I think this is a poor way to handle it but oh well I guess. Anyways, the little dogs with come in with the big dogs are usually bark and seem to want to "size up" the situation and Moose will go crazy! He will go from quietly playing with his "friends" to barking over and over at the small dog until they back off a little bit. I have seen other big dogs do this too. I'm not sure if this might be that some how the little dogs are messing with the pack mentality/ social function that the   big dogs had established or if the little dog is attempting to boss people around but I just got back home, one of the trainers also offered up the suggestion that some of the bigger dogs have never interacted with such a small dog before and aren't sure how to "play" with a dog the size of their paw so they might just bark to try and engage the small dog on the small dogs terms. Two different theories I guess.