We recently had the pleasure of hosting a lovely four-year old Pomeranian for a few days while his owners were out of town. Because he is a sweet, housetrained dog who loves children and is not prone to destructive chewing or stealing food, it was pretty easy on us to have him around. In addition, we did all that we could to make his transition to our home as easy as possible to keep him from being stressed.
The best advice for anybody hosting a dog is to get him outside in the yard and on a walk as soon as possible. If they immediately get a chance to be out running, sniffing, and playing, most dogs adjust right away to the idea of being in a new place. After all, the new place has access to amusement parks! Additionally, this lets them know straightaway where the bathroom is. My usual strategy is to let them be in the backyard as soon as the owners drop the dog off, and then go on a walk the moment the owners are out of sight. That way, most dogs focus on the fun of the walk, rather than on the absence of the owners.
It’s even better if the dog can come over to visit at least once before the dog is actually left in your care. If the dog gets the opportunity to come over and play without the owners leaving, your home will be familiar to the dog. If a dog has been someplace before and had a positive experience in that location, the likelihood that the dog will adjust well to being there when the owners depart goes up dramatically.
Many dogs are really uncomfortable with anything unfamiliar, so being left at an unfamiliar house can be traumatic. If the house is no longer unfamiliar because the dog has visited and had fun there before, then many potential problems can be avoided.
Besides making sure the dog has a positive experience right away, give him good times during the whole visit. Depending on the dog, that may mean lots of petting and grooming, new toys or things to chew on, playing games such as fetch or tug, or even working by training the dog to do a new trick. Boredom is the enemy of the well-behaved, happy dog, so making sure the dog has lots of activities, play time, and loving will help keep your visiting dog satisfied and well-mannered.
To make sure that every one our visiting dog met was considered a friend, we had everyone who he met give him a little treat. This also prevented him from barking at all our human visitors, as he tends to do. (He doesn’t have a serious issue. He’s just barks at anybody coming or going unless he’s otherwise occupied with treats or toys. Many Pomeranians bark, and it’s only a problem if anyone in the household considers it one.) Besides keeping the barking to a bare minimum, this helped our guest learn that our house is a great place where great things happen, which may have been part of the reason he seemed to enjoy being at our house as much as we enjoyed having him.
--Karen B. London
hosting a dog...i'd like to add some details that might help the process...
overall, I would stress to let the dog meet/greet the hosts on the dog's terms; usually it's the other way around :-)
- for example, when the owner brings the dog over, have everyone in the family calmly take a seat and -wait- let the dog approach first rather than have the guests surround the dog...keeping stationary allows the dog to make the first moves and relaxes the dog quicker...let the dog decide what/who/where they would like to look and sniff in the new environment
- this could apply to the treating suggestion....pass out the treats, let the dog approach guests and then reward the approach with an immediate treat rather than just walk up to the dog and hand it over. almost all dogs will catch on to this quickly and they will be surprised how quickly the dog will greet everybody and make friends once they learn there's a treat involved
- if it's a small dog, remind all hosts to crouch rather than stand over the dog, and if it's a small dog be SURE they know how to properly pick up a small dog. many don't (even small dog owners). and of course, clarify with the owner if it's ok to pick it up in the first place ! unfortunately, many people (even owners) pick up small dogs by their front legs
- avoid eye to eye stares. it's common for people to stare at a new dog, especially if it's cute :-)
-ask the owner if the visitors can give commands to the dog, and if it's ok, find out the exact same commands and hand gestures the owner uses, and copy them exactly
- if the owner prefers that you don't command the dog, ensure that preference is respected. some don't. I for example do not like other people to ask my dog for high fives, shakes and other common commands, nor would I want them to "teach" my dog new tricks in my absence. I gladly tell them how to play with my dog, and how not to play with my dog. it's easy for a dog to pick up bad habits like jumping up and mouthing :-) case in point : I once had a dog who stayed with friends for a week, but unfortunately it took more than a few weeks to break him of his (new) habits of chasing young children and barking for treats :-((
- along the same line, I prefer people ask me first if they can pet my dog, and then I tell them how I prefer that is done....which means do NOT thrust their fist in his face so he can supposedly "sniff" them first, and do NOT pat my dog on the top of the head (patting is often more of a "thumping"), which I consider inappropriate handling.
- I would also add that even though an owner will probably tell the host family details about their dog, it never hurts to ask more questions before the owner leaves. it may help prevent a later comment like, "oh, i'm so sorry I forgot to tell you he just hates people who walk with a cane" :-(
Posted by: Rick Smith | January 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM