Paw Prints Pet Care

Why It’s Worth Having a Doggy Cam When You Have a Dog Walker.
We adopted our Havanese rescue, Toby, in early August 2014. From the moment he walked into our home, he knew he was safe and home. He is a joy; responsive, cheerful, and enthusiastic to meet friend and stranger, human or dog. He has a large soft crate that is his safe place/​home in the lower level. At night and when we are at work, he hangs out and sleeps there. He has the run of the lower level and is never «locked» in his crate.
Shortly after we got him, we looked for a dog walking company.
We met with the dog walker/​owner, Lindsey and she and I took Toby out for a walk and I arranged for her to come in a couple of times a week to walk him. I made clear that Toby was a rescue and may have some insecurity/​fear issues although we had not seen any evidence of them. She seemed confident it would not be a problem. Over the course of the next week or so, I texted her (her preferred method of communication) to make sure everything had gone well. She assured me it did. The next few months, I didn’t use her regularly because we had a medical situation that meant I only worked part-​time so was around a great deal more than normal. Things settled down in 2015 and I had her come in more regularly. It was then that I realized that Toby’s attitude and behavior was changing. Toby had always greeted us at the garage door excitedly but now was hiding in his crate until he could see it was us. When that happened, I decided to get a camera to see what was happening when the dog walker came in. I witnessed the dog walker tipping him out of his crate. His behavior continued to deteriorate. He was more prone to lunge at dogs and people on his walks. I started interviewing new dog walkers and had one come in. Toby hid in his crate and snarled and growled aggressively at her. When I called Lindsey to ask her what her experience with Toby was, she admitted to tipping him out and «lassoing» him to get him outside. She said once outside he was «fine». She did not use treats or take the time to build up his confidence.
Obviously, she no longer walks Toby a dog behaviorist/​trainer has been coming in at $ 100 per hour for 7+ sessions to walk him and to teach him that he has nothing to fear when someone walks in from the garage. On the behaviorist’s first day, within 15 minutes Toby voluntarily came out of his bed (we have retired the crate because of the negative associations with it and moved the location of the bed) and cautiously nibbled on the trail of treats she had set out. Minutes later she put the leash on him (without lassoing) and took him for a walk. She will come in for the next couple of weeks a couple of times a week to continue to help him overcome his negative association with strangers coming in through the garage door.
I cannot believe Lindsey did not communicate with me to let me know he was scared and nervous. Toby around my husband and me is a happy, enthusiastic and fearless little guy.
I had no reason to believe he might feel threatened or fearful when a stranger walked into his space. I would have assumed a dog walker would use treats and patience to build up his confidence and that walker would communicate with us to let us know of any problems.
As a loving dog owner, I would have paid double or triple to give her the time to establish a relationship with him but she decided to not take the time and has now left me with a dog that cowers and reacts negatively when a stranger walk in.
I will, of course, do whatever is necessary to help Toby get over his fears but ultimately, this experience reinforces for me why it is important to have a dog-​camera. You never can tell what is happening when you are not around.