I am thinking I made a bad decision

C&K*s Mommie wrote: A friend needed a dog sitter for her dog. I asked Chris about it- he said sure. Well unbeknowst to me, she has a 78lb white German Shep. Once I found this out (2 days ago- a day after I agreed to watching her dog) I told Chris, who in turn backed out and did not want to take in the dog after all. I just did not tell my friend this. Now we have the dog in our care, she is a great dog very obedient and loving- but we have to keep our dog at a distance. For two reasons, 1) male and female... bom chicka bom bom and 2) she (the German Shepard) is not used to another dog constantly sniffing her like Kaipo (our dog) wants to, among other things. So she snaps at Kaipo. Now the dog realizes that Chris does not want her here, she is leary and growls at him. We had a long discussion over this, and I am regretting that I agreed to watch this HUGE dog now. She started barking when I tried to put her outside for the night, and did not enter into the kitchen when Chris was in here. Even now she will not come into the kitchen where he was. The dog owners will be back on Mon or Tues but this will make for a long weekend if she will not go anywhere near Chris, and we have to keep the two dogs at a distance. Chris insists on keeping her outside since she is a large dog, but I cannot do that to her even if she were our own dog I could not do that.

**pulling my hair out** I should have backed at of this when I had a chance.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Sorry, Nic. No fun. I hope things calm down somewhat. And I can't even imagine what kind of puppies a white german shepard would have with Kaipo.

redchief replied: Oooohh... A sticky one. Whether Chris welcomed the dog or not shouldn't mean they can't bury the hatchet and get along for the weekend. Does the dog like walks? Ball playing? I'm thinking a little bit of "get to know each other" time would mostly solve the distrust issue. Dogs are pretty forgiving that way.

A&A'smommy replied: yikes that sucks!!!

cameragirl21 replied: i LOVE german shepherds! and the white ones are absolutely gorgeous!
ok, here's the thing, Nic--if that dog is not in heat then there is nothing that can happen between her and yours. and if she were in heat her owner would NEVER let you keep her without taking the proper precautions so don't worry about putting the two dogs together, only dogs in heat mate.
also, like Ed said, maybe have Chris take the dog out and throw balls for her or something, dogs actually warm up to people fast as compared to other animals like cats for instance. and as for the two dogs, they'll come to get along too, it just takes time. dogs are territorial and your dog is probably not used to a larger and thereby dominant dog being in his home, don't worry, you're unlikely to have any serious dog fights if you haven't seen some major aggression yet.
hope the time breezes by for you.

luvmykids replied: I can't make a dog stay outside either I hope everyone gets along through the weekend, I'm sure the other owner really appreciates knowing the dog is in such good care

My3LilMonkeys replied: Like others mentioned, try and get Chris to spend some time with the dog. Dogs can usually sense when people don't like them/are afraid of them. My SIL has a large golden retreiver that my other SIL is afraid of. Every time other SIL goes to her house, the dog bites her. When I go, he sits nicely and lets me pet him - because he knows I'm not afraid.

Good luck and remember - It's only for a few more days.

gr33n3y3z replied: It sounds like Chris is on the crap list with the dog already thats not good
I would have chris walk the dog like Ed said and play ball or something
I would take the dog off your hands in min. if I were closer to you.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Thanks you guys for the input, and encouragement! Chris and I had another discussion after I put the dog up for the night. I asked him to find it in him to get along with her- just for a few days, as Ed suggested above. His definition of "getting along?" is for her to keep her distance and he will keep his. No play time, no walks, nothing. They both will have to go their seperate ways while he is home. He is not interested whatsoever. His concern is that she is a LARGE dog, and he has small children to care for. He does not want her in the house- period. The girl I am watching Porscha for has the same age children as we do- a 4 and 2 yr old. So she is used to small children being around.

Jennfer, that is also good to know about dogs cannot reproduce unless they are in heat. The owner specifically requested that I keep any action from happening between the two of them.

A big thanks to each of you for the encouragement.

ETA: She was growling and barking at me from her kennel this morning, but was okay with the kids when they came around. I offered food and hot dogs so she is happy with me again.

grapfruit replied: You just need to do the Dog Whisperer thing : )

Like everyone else said, walks are the magic cure and you have to use "calm assertive energy".

It sounds corny but it really makes a difference. Tim's parents have an Orang Airedale (i.e furry 90lb dog) that is a big teddy bear but doesn't listen to many people. Like you're sitting on the couch eatind and he'll take food right out of your hand if you're not paying attention. Let me mention he doesn't even look at me if I have food. I won't let him w/in 5 feet of me while eating. It's all energy projection!

mckayleesmom replied: Hey girly....let me know and I will come and take her on my walks with me....I usually go at night.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Thanks Casey for the information! I have an unnatural fear of big dogs, but I can be assertive when it calls for it in most situations. She relaxed with me once I let her out of her kennel, and she knew I was friendly-- proobably because of the hot dog in my hand. She is definately a sweetie of a dog.

Brianne~ thanks! I had a question for you about that.

MoonMama replied: Oh goodness Nicole, bless your heart. Best of luck this weekend hang in there.