Monday, September 19, 2011

Dog Sitting--Simba & Mattie

I was recently privileged to help out a few friends by dog sitting.  It just so happened that they needed a sitter at the same time.  So for about 3 weeks, we had 6 dogs in our house.  My fiancé and I have two, our roommate has 2 dogs, and there were 2 dogs staying with us.  It was a fine time to be surrounded by so many loving creatures at the same time.

Simba is a 4-year-old, un-fixed, Golden Retriever.  He has the beautiful red-colored coat that many people seek.  I was amazed at how anxious this dog was.  Simba was the most anxious dog I have met in my life so far.  I am very happy to say that within three days we had him calmed down, on a regular exercise schedule, and seeming much more relaxed and happy over-all.  In the future I would like to get into a sort of "doggy bootcamp" program at my training facility.  ALL dogs who stay at my house, whether its just for a night or several days to weeks, must follow the same rules.  When Simba's dad returned to get him, he actually said to me, "he's like a different dog."  He was very impressed by his progress.  I informed the owner that Simba's not being neutered plays a large part in his anxiety.  I am VERY happy to say that he has since gotten him fixed!

Simba finally relaxing with Nekita.

Simba assimilating to proper feeding time.

Simba with Mattie (our other guest dog).

Mattie is an elderly golden retriever.  She was a very easy dog to care for.  Because she is older, she is very low energy and currently only needs the exercise of walking up and down the steps to use the bathroom.  We actually even had to carry her down the steps a few times.  Even though she was a little heavy at times, she was a real treat to have.  Mattie is a very sweet girl!


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