Hi everyone,
My 6 month old lab / shepherd puppy met his new doggy nanny this morning and I am not sure what to make of it and would like your opinion.
I met this woman on the street in my neighborhood during my walk with the puppy and she gave me her business card as she is an independent dog nanny and I mentioned I am looking for someone to walk him during the day. During this sidewalk chat, my puppy was fine with her as he is with everyone. She seems nice and knowledgable and for the same price as a 30-minute dog walk she will pick up my puppy and take him to the dog park for a couple of hours with about 5 other dogs.
I got a list of references from her and called three of them. All were working professionals who had used her for years for park visits and also boarding and had the best things to say about her, so I decided to move to the next step and have her come to the house.
So, now this is the weird thing. When she came over he seemed to not remember her at all, and started barking at her when she was coming up the stairs to our apartment, and continued to do so when she came in. He was growling, barking and very wary of her. She sat on the floor in the living room with him and as we talked and she was giving him his raw hide toy the puppy started to warm up to her and by the end of the hour she was over he seemed fine.
We are starting the day care this week with her and I dont think I have anything to worry about but I know dogs can have a "sixth sense" about someone and that makes me nervous. I hope that she is not going to really act or treat the dogs in a different way when I am not around. My boyfriend says I am overreacting the situation and that the puppy was fine with her after a few minutes and she is a normal person who obviously loves dogs.
My question is why would he bark at her and what does this mean? He never has reacted to any of our friends (even if he has never met them) coming over to the apartment before and this is what has me worried. Our dog is super friendly and slightly submissive with everyone he meets so this reaction was very atypical for him. Am I just overreacting? I would be very happy with any opinion or similar situations from anyone.
Thanks!
My 6 month old lab / shepherd puppy met his new doggy nanny this morning and I am not sure what to make of it and would like your opinion.
I met this woman on the street in my neighborhood during my walk with the puppy and she gave me her business card as she is an independent dog nanny and I mentioned I am looking for someone to walk him during the day. During this sidewalk chat, my puppy was fine with her as he is with everyone. She seems nice and knowledgable and for the same price as a 30-minute dog walk she will pick up my puppy and take him to the dog park for a couple of hours with about 5 other dogs.
I got a list of references from her and called three of them. All were working professionals who had used her for years for park visits and also boarding and had the best things to say about her, so I decided to move to the next step and have her come to the house.
So, now this is the weird thing. When she came over he seemed to not remember her at all, and started barking at her when she was coming up the stairs to our apartment, and continued to do so when she came in. He was growling, barking and very wary of her. She sat on the floor in the living room with him and as we talked and she was giving him his raw hide toy the puppy started to warm up to her and by the end of the hour she was over he seemed fine.
We are starting the day care this week with her and I dont think I have anything to worry about but I know dogs can have a "sixth sense" about someone and that makes me nervous. I hope that she is not going to really act or treat the dogs in a different way when I am not around. My boyfriend says I am overreacting the situation and that the puppy was fine with her after a few minutes and she is a normal person who obviously loves dogs.
My question is why would he bark at her and what does this mean? He never has reacted to any of our friends (even if he has never met them) coming over to the apartment before and this is what has me worried. Our dog is super friendly and slightly submissive with everyone he meets so this reaction was very atypical for him. Am I just overreacting? I would be very happy with any opinion or similar situations from anyone.
Thanks!