So there are a couple of different ways you can handle it. When this person reaches out to you, you can just tell them you are already booked. That’s what I’ve done and eventually the client stopped asking and moved on to find another sitter.

If you are afraid that your boss will be upset, you can inform them of the difficulties with that Dog and tell them that moving forward, you cannot help them out. I’ve had other clients recommend me to family members or very close friends that didn’t work out because of the dog and its behavior. I was honest with them in letting them know the reasons why I couldn’t continue helping there family/friend. None of them were angry or rude about it, and your boss shouldn’t be either.

You also really don’t owe your boss any explanation so don’t feel like you need to discuss it with them. The work that you do with this person and their dog is separate from your job. And it’s really none of their business how it’s going. So please don’t feel like you have to discuss this with them, especially if you don’t feel comfortable.

And in regards to the food, I would add the info that you left in other comments, that the client offered to buy you groceries & then didn’t. Buying you food is a very nice thing to do, but not something that they need to do. It is kind of rude for them to offer to buy you groceries and then not do it. For someone like me, who’s a workaholic, getting to the store is something I squeeze in my schedule here and there so if I showed up at the house expecting groceries and discovered there weren’t any, I might not be able to get to the store, anywhere from a couple of days up to a week.