I have looked after dogs whilst their owners are away on holiday since last year and have had around four up to now. Am on a constant learning curve and have learnt from my own mistakes that the main thing is to avoid anything confrontational and all will be well. Havent had any major problems up till now, or even now, just minor niggles. I have started looking after a lovely girl. She comes in two days a week at the moment. she is a rescue, looks very much like my tt's actually, and is a very gentle friendly girl with no apparent baggage! She is around 15 months old, just the same age as my youngest girl. On the first visit, my youngest, her mum, and the new girl just tore around the garden humping each other for a couple of hours. All three having a go. (I know, yuk, but they seemed to be having fun, no aggression, lots of waggy tails.) When they eventually came in they all settled down for a rest. Still no tension. This week, I have my third girl here (she stays with my daughter part time). She has issues, mainly when out on a lead, with fear aggression, but she greeted the new girl, lots of sniffing and absolutely fine. I had forgotten to lift the food from brekky, but no problem, she had a few mouthfulls and the others didnt mind at all. (none have food aggression) It was when I sat down for lunch.  My three girls got onto the settee, me on my own chair well away. New girl tried to jump on to the settee with them. They all reacted as one, no biting, but they jumped down and surrounded her with growls and threatening stances. I stepped in between and it was over but  the new girl ran out and wouldnt come into the living room and she sat watching the front door, obviously wanting her mum. I have managed to get her back into the room but then she goes back and waits on the threshold. The others are back to being totally relaxed walking past and around her as though nothing has happend. I know it wasnt a serious incident but I dont want her to come to me and be scared of my three. I have given her private reassuring cuddles. Whats the best thing to do. Can I be openly affectionate to her? Would this make the situation worse. Would it be better if I left third girl at my daughter's home. Is three a crowd? (or a pack?) Any help or advice would be gratefully received.

I can't give too much advice but i do have three dogs all of different ages. the oldest is 9yrs and gets on with my 10 month TT really well, the other a 4yr schnauzer is less friendly and only play with the TT on her terms then when she's had enough she gets moody.
I think you should maybe give the new girl time out from the others on a regular basis, which will let her destress alittle and have her own space. avoid situations that can get out of hand,perhaps you could keep them all off the sofa while she's around but i know that may not be easy.
I would think things will settle down once they know each other better.
Don't force anything, if she wants to stay out the room the other dogs are in then let her else you will make her more stressed and don't give her affection when she's frightened or sad as this just makes things worst. best to just leave her alone and she will decide when she's ready to join you.
What about playing a ball game with the other in the house and seeing if she gets tempted to join in.
Could you take her for walks with one of your other dogs so they bound better,not always easy to take three but i take the two that don't get on so well out together and that seems to relax them when at home.
don't give up just take things at a slow pace for now and hopefully she will come out of herself.     

Are you an insured home boarder or just doing this for friends etc?

I ask due to the fact that if anything happens. i.e bitten, starts exhibiting behavioural problems without being insured you could end up in big trouble.

If you are a home boarder then your 'client' the dog needs to take priority of your care and wellbeing emotional and otherwise, if the other 3 dogs are fine when she is with you for the 2 days a week then I would keep the other one away and at your daughters for the couple of days this dog is with you or holidaying for longer.  When you have dogs popping in and out of your home like this it is impossible to have your own dogs given behavioural techniques and props to cope with this as each dog is different and one of yours can react to any of them.

You have to play these things by ear, and I would suggest dog gates to section off parts of your home if not already,so that the boarder can have their own space perhaps with a resident dog they get along with and interchange the dogs around. When someone is entrusting their dog with you you have to make sure it is safe at all times and not ganged up on and made to feel unwelcome all you can do is be constantly vigilant, you can't force your dogs to accept a newcomer they are entitled to also be territorial of their home and their owner.

I would just pop up a dog gates and have supervised and vigilant get togethers and not expect them to always get along.

> Could you take her for walks with one of your other dogs so they bound better,not always easy to take three but i take the two that don't get on so well out together and that seems to relax them when at home

Thanks for your comments Bear, very useful. yes I have taken them out together and do think things will be fine if my no 3 girl stays with my daughter. i will definitely not push new the girl to come in if she wants to stay out but I think with just the other two there, things will be fine.

best of luck, hope she settles in her new routine. 

> Are you an insured home boarder or just doing this for friends etc?
>

I take that on board Carrington. I did ring my dogs' insurance company right at the beginning but they said because it wasnt an actual boarding kennels then they wouldnt cover me as such. they did say that the normal third party cover on my home insurance should cover me. If you know different I would be pleased to hear.
This all started when we got friendly with a puppy and owner at puppy class and I looked after her lad while they were on holiday. It was very enjoyable and they paid me too. I decided to spread my net a little wider and word got around and one doggy led to another. I am very anxious that the visiting dog is totally happy and ask about all likes and dislikes and try to keep the atmosphere as light as possible. My benchmark for a situation being good is for the new dog to be visibly totaly relaxed and my own girls to show the signs of relaxation I recognise like stretching on their sides and wagging tails (well my dogs do this when they are content anyway!!!) That is why I was upset by the unusual ganging up thing. I do have gates and enough rooms so all dogs can have time out. I also have a crate with the gate open so that any of them can pop in if the mood takes them.
I would really like to make a go of this to supplement my pension but if there is any hint of dogs being upset, either visitors or my own then I will have to think of something else. I know two other ladies who do this. They think its a piece of cake. One has 6 dogs of her own, the other 10 and they both take weekly dogs and boarders and are inundated with customers. I just hope I can do as good a job as they do as they get people coming back again and again. Maybe they are a bit tougher than me. I can be a bit of a softie and it probably shows!!
I do appreciate your comments and will take them on board.

Hi Annie, :-)

I've popped this on for you to have a look at re: the insurance, I really would recommend if you are taking in dogs and offering a pet sitting service to have the cover, it doesn't bare thinking about if anything should go wrong from theft to injury, have a look at it and make up your own mind, I can understand if it is just a little to add onto your pension and what a wonderful job and service you are offering to those of us who aren't keen on kennels, but I really would recommend you cover yourself, people can be very nice until something goes wrong.

http://www.petbusinessinsurance.co.uk/pet_boarding_sitting_minding_business_insurance.aspx

http://www.nationalassociationofregistereddogsitters.co.uk/1kit/nards/tabid/4095/Service/dog%20home%20boarding/language/en-GB/Default.aspx

> I really would recommend you cover yourself, people can be very nice until something goes wrong.
>

Thank-you so much Carrington. I agree with your comment (above). I had looked on th tinternet but hadnt found home boarding insurance. Was obviously looking in the wrong place. I will give them a ring tomorrow and have a chat.
The second link was useful too. I had some cards printed and my vet was happy to display them for me and has recommended a few people. funnily enough I had called my little thing  "Home from Home" for dogs. whoops!!! Missed that one on th tinternet too. Will have to rethink that one.
I always ask potential boarders to come up to my home "so that  little ......... can have a look around". Its really my way of checking their vaccination paperwork and that their little one does get along with other dogs, which is one of my priorities, before I agree to have them. I also encourage them to walk the dogs up and down outside my house and I join them for a little walk before they are invited inside the house by my own dogs. This has worked well up to now.
Carrington, I see your name quite often on the forum and would value your opinion and anyone elses who has an opinion on this. Provided that there are no problems between incoming dogs and my own pooches, would you think having dogs in would be in any way detremental to my own. Up to now they have shown no signs of being insecure or having changed in personality etc. To be honest, they seem to be having more fun now!! More friends to tear around the garden with.

Provided that there are no problems between incoming dogs and my own pooches, would you think having dogs in would be in any way detremental to my own.

No, not at all, quite a few home boarders have their own dogs too, it's just a case of making sure you don't have two dominant breeds together that can cause a lot of problems and would make your own dog/s very unhappy, as you don't have one of those breeds it will basically just depend on the odd personality clash. (which obviously can cause problems in which case it is probably best not to have that particular dog again) On the flipside there will be dogs which yours will adore too, but no it does not cause any longterm effects on your own dogs it can be quite a positive and exciting for other dogs to be in the home for a while. :-)

> but no it does not cause any longterm effects on your own dogs it can be quite a positive and exciting for other dogs to be in the home for a while. :-)

That is what I had hoped and what I really wanted to hear. Up to now I have had four different dogs, a couple of them several times and apart from the little episode this week and a few stupid mistakes on my part, it has been really good. Its a way of actually having a taste of different breeds of dogs, without actually owning them. So interesting. I only take small to medium dogs, large dogs would be too much for me to handle. The income helps with those vet bills which is so useful and takes some of the worry away.
Many thanks for your input. Greatly appreciated.