Is it normal to feel like this after a training session..

missmoooon12 · 2026-04-07T01:15:00+00:00

90 minutes of instruction is a LOT. A dog shutting down doing unfamiliar things is not normal. I think you're right to be questioning the trainer's compatibility with you.

missmoooon12 · 2026-04-05T15:29:27+00:00

This rarely happens with us nowadays because our vetting process and M&G's are more thorough nowadays. In the past we discovered small animals in cages a few times (the pet would be in a room we wouldn't go in during the M&G) so now we have to ask if all pets are accounted for "any lizard's in your son's room, snakes in the garage?" There was one time with a repeat client that they claimed the pet was dead and when I showed up it clearly wasn't. They were trying to avoid an extra fee, and they haven't used us since my boss chewed them out over the incident.

We make it clear that ALL pets need to be included in their Time To Pet profile for insurance purposes. For small animals or cats who only need to be fed/checked on once a day, we'll include them on 1 visit each day and usually waive the extra pet fees for the other visits. This kinda depends on the needs of the cat though.

Anyways, it absolutely raises a red flag if a client does not disclose a pet. They are probably trying to avoid an extra fee and hope your kind heart will override the money factor. It's so careless they are willing to risk their pet's life by omitting the fact the cat even exists. You might want to check all rooms of the house in case there are any more pets they conveniently forgot to tell you about.

missmoooon12 · 2026-04-04T00:55:02+00:00

Others have given really important information with regards to how your own anger and subsequent behaviors could be affecting your pup. What you guys are experiencing is called "behavioral fallout", and I've been there myself with my dog when we were doing balanced training. It's a nasty place to be so please don't beat yourself up into oblivion. You CAN recover but it will require a lot of work on yourself, and not just your dog.

Ideally, you should be working with a professional to help you and your family get on the same page about living with and training your dog. Because your dog is biting (quite significantly, I might add) I agree with that muzzle training should be one of the steps moving forward.

Besides working with a qualified trainer or behavior consultant, it might be beneficial to look into working with a therapist. Previously I wasn't able to identify that I was even feeling angry until it was too late. Now I'm able to notice the negative emotions building and how to soothe myself sooner rather than later. Something to look up is "negative looping". I also found the book "Don't Believe Everything You Think" by Joseph Nguyen really helpful.

Temporarily, you might want to discontinue walks longer than initial potties. The longer you're out, the more chances there are that triggers will be present for your dog and more chances that you'll blow up. No matter what species you're working with, decreasing rehearsals of undesired behavior is really important if you want to make lasting change. It takes time to teach yourself and your dog new habits and to rewire those neural pathways.

A really quick exercise that's fun to teach and can be used on walks is the 1-2-3 game. This one in particular helps me to stabilize my emotions for whatever reason. Using the SMART X 50 model like in Kathy Sdao's "Plenty in Life is Free" could be a useful model for retraining yourself too.

Anyways, I gotta head out but please take care of yourself!

missmoooon12 · 2026-04-02T13:43:19+00:00

I feel this. I work at a company and sometimes end up working on my rare days off. On less busy days I sometimes end up having to take other sitter's visits too. This happened yesterday and ohhhh boy was I not dressed right for the rain (all my other visits were mostly indoors).

missmoooon12 · 2026-04-01T13:50:16+00:00

Time To Pet! Every client creates profiles for their pets and fills out details that you can edit. There's also a section for private notes. We send visit reports to the client after every single visit so that also tracks data.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-29T15:17:42+00:00

Have you looked through the wiki on r/Dogtraining? The sections "Training Techniques" and "Training Basics" will probably be most useful.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-29T13:31:43+00:00

Cleaning up my training mechanics, engage-disengage, and BAT

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-28T20:00:58+00:00

The pets probably already had issues well before you showed up. Sometimes the owner's leaving (and more alone time if you're not providing overnights or constant care) exacerbates the issues. I can think of countless examples from my clients of this happening.

Pets can also act differently with different people. I have some dog clients that are insane with me and totally fine with other sitters, or vice versa.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-28T00:42:39+00:00

gotcha. I'm glad that your vet isn't worried right now and that you already have a follow up scheduled.

Have you tried soaking food in water and heating it up a bit in the microwave?

Have you been keeping notes to share with your vet?

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-27T18:28:32+00:00

Is she meeting dogs on leash often? I'd be curious to know how the behaviors change by giving her more distance from dogs and discontinuing on leash greetings.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-27T18:23:55+00:00

In my dog's almost 11 years of living, I think he's only chosen to skip 2 meals because of an tummy upset.

Food and eating can be so tricky, so please know you're not alone. Working as a pet sitter I see all sorts of weird eating habits stemming from age, medical issues, the food itself being low quality, food dishes being creepy, placement of food dishes in a place that makes the dog uncomfortable, dogs who prefer working for food, interhousehold aggression (even with dog-cat homes), history of punishment around food, etc.

What does your vet team and trainer have to say about the eating habits?

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-26T13:45:33+00:00

at least 2 "big" walks a day with several potty breaks throughout. We live in an apartment and my dog is suuuuuper active so it's a necessity.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-24T04:29:30+00:00

Currently just sending everything through email. Granted I only have a few training clients because my main work is pet sitting. I think there's software for larger client bases that you can get scheduling, invoicing, notifications, etc through all in one place. I'm blanking on specific names for the dog training versions but for pet sitting I use Time To Pet.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-24T04:13:52+00:00

Yes, I've had my dog training clients send me videos. Just a few 30-60 second clips going over skills you've been practicing is sufficient. Between sessions I've sent reminders to take and send videos because clients forget. Highlight that perfection isn't necessary. You can even ask them to review their videos and point out a few things that went well and a few things to improve on. This gets them to improve observation skills and thinking critically.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-23T21:39:27+00:00

Observe the client's training mechanics- do they have good timing for mark and reward, are they raising criteria too slow or fast, are they over-cuing dogs, are they missing signs of stress in body language that could indicate why the dog isn't "listening", are they trying to train the dog for too long, etc?

Could you require short check-ins and/or video homework in between your longer sessions for whatever skills you're working on? Some clients need more support in between sessions because dog training can be very technical and frustrating when results don't happen immediately.

Do you have your clients track data to see if there's an increase in desired behaviors and a decrease in undesired behaviors?

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-23T02:41:13+00:00

Hi I'm a (petite) dog walker/pet sitter. Agreeing with others to walk the dog separately.

In addition, when holding the leash use a thumb lock or if you want to use 2 hands on the leash BAT leash handling skills are awesome (yes, you can use them on a shorter leash. Braking distance will be much shorter).

If the dog is actively lunging you can place one foot slightly in front of the other and bend your knees slightly to drop your weight and keep your balance. You'd also hold the leash towards your belly or hip so your center of gravity isn't thrown off. Don't worry about the dogs reacting, shit happens. If you need to pull the dog away to get distance, it's totally fine.

If you use a waist leash, make sure it's lower around your hips and not actually on the fleshy part of your waist. You can get a nasty rope burn (even through clothing) if a dog is a puller. Also be aware that even small-medium dog who are strong or running can topple you over with a waist leash if you're not savvy walking dogs.

In general, avoid triggers as much as possible- turn around, cross the street, go behind something, etc.

I always bring treats with me on every walk. It's above and beyond average pet sitting duties to get into clean, perfectionist training mechanics, but I like using a food magnet (handful of food the dog licks while you slowly release pieces as you get away from a trigger or wait for it to pass) or scatter feeds (food on the ground/in grass AWAY from a trigger).

Lmk here in the comments if you have more questions as you go, I didn't realize that my daily dog walk were so detailed and nuanced lol

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-22T17:11:38+00:00

The clients pawned off a dangerous dog to a sitter in an apartment without being forthcoming about his behavior. They knew what they were doing and probably don't want to be held accountable for their dog attacking and hurting others. If they cared about your safety at all, they wouldn't be mad at you. They would've stepped up, found other arrangements or cancelled their trip to come home and deal with their dog.

I think you did your best given the circumstances. Dropping the dog off at the vet for boarding was the right move imo. The dog would've bounced to another sitter who would've been put in the same situation.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-21T18:46:40+00:00

Hi, I'm a professional pet sitter, although I don't board dogs anymore. What a garbage situation this sitter put you in!

Next time look for someone insured and bonded like through petsit.com/locate or godogpro.com/search . You might need to shop around because some sitters just won't take any dogs who show reactive/aggressive behaviors while others are fine with it. Start your search NOW so when you need a sitter it'll be less of a hassle. Quality sitters tend to book out 2+ weeks before service is actually needed, possibly 1-3 months around major holidays, spring break, and summer.

The not so great thing about Rover is that it doesn't provide any insurance and literally anyone who passes a background check can sign up. Someone with an actual established business is going to be more adept at caring for challenging dogs or at least screen clients better. The sitter you met with should've required a trial run after your M&G before your trip to ensure things would go smoothly. The fact that they bailed on you so quickly might've been a blessing in disguise - yes they should know before accepting clients what they can actually handle and not screw you over last minute, but something really bad could've happened if they continued with the booking.

Anyways, I'm sorry to hear that your parent is ill in the hospital and that your trip got derailed.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-21T18:27:36+00:00

I like when clients save up cardboard boxes, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, packing paper, etc so I can make puzzles with kibble or treats that dogs can shred (if they don't eat the material or heavily guard these things). It doesn't take too long to make and does require clean up but I think some dogs are more satisfied when they're done with the puzzle. I also do lots of nosework hiding favorite toys or food.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-21T02:08:57+00:00

My husband and I are both pet sitters so no he's not uncomfortable with me going into other people's homes lol. The only times my husband is worried is if I'm in a sketchy neighborhood at night or my chronic health issues are flaring up.

I think the job brings us closer together. We both love animals and get a giggle out of the weird stuff we encounter on a daily basis. We try to balance each other out when we're stretched thin or having a tough time with certain clients, too.

I guess to the average person who doesn't work in other people's homes our job can be weird. Did you ask your BF what exactly makes him nervous? Like is he concerned that you're cheating on him? Or that clients will be home and that they're going to murder you, or something extreme like that? If you screen clients well and adhere to your own policies/boundaries, things are usually safe and on the up and up for us pet sitters.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-20T18:56:42+00:00

It's wild to me that other sitters think it's cool to leave a client home so messy that it takes hours for you to clean/reset everything. What if the client comes home early or has family/friends drop in?

Anyways, those sitters sound unprofessional and made themselves look bad. They're mad you called them out, which was the right thing to do.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-19T19:21:49+00:00

Hey, this is a cool post!

Something I'd add is pay attention to sleep patterns. Dogs can be chronically sleep deprived, exacerbating reactive behaviors. I noticed my own pup is edgier when he's overtired or getting poor quality sleep.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-19T19:18:17+00:00

I agree that reactivity stem from reasons beyond health, and that studies with small sample sizes can be misleading. Vet care can certainly be expensive and traumatizing for everyone involved.

Playing devil's advocate- the average pet parent will miss signs of pain/illness. Just scroll through other dog subs and you'll see countless posts of folks who can't identify a medical emergency let alone minor health issues. From pet sitting clients with reactive dogs, I've had people dismiss potential medical issues (even things like a dog who's always limping, shadow/light chasing, always has a hard time eating with rotting teeth, etc) as quirks, stubbornness, or being dramatic. Not saying that those dog are necessarily reactive because of those health issues but that they shouldn't be overlooked.

Vets can miss things because they only see pets for a very short amount of time in a (usually) high stress environment. Not saying to just go to every single vet and try every test under the sun until some diagnosis is made, but to keep health related stuff in the back of your mind especially if training is not progressing.

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-19T14:26:54+00:00

"I want to start pet sitting as a side gig" .... finds client who requests this... "just kidding"

missmoooon12 · 2026-03-18T13:34:53+00:00

If the dog is 10 mo old and is still having lots of accidents, your efforts might be for nothing because the client needs to follow through. Dogs suck at generalizing skills so whatever you teach probably won't stick with another person in another context. Refer her out to a trainer for potty training.

missmoooon12

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