Would you trust a friend to walk your Yorkie?

[alaskayorkie]

We're heading out on a two-week vacation to Hawaii on Friday, and it will be the longest I've ever been away from the boys. I'm panicking. I have a full-time housesitter (mother in law) who the boys love. But she's not real mobile and won't be walking them like I do.

A friend who I trust but doesn't know little dogs has offered to walk them. Should I take him up on it? I'm paranoid that they won't trust him and he won't realize if they are stressed. Or he'll let them off leash and they'll run away. Or he won't know the difference between an aggressive big dog and a playful one at the park. Or he'll let kids pick them up. I'm not sure giving him a list of 50 dos and don'ts would help. The alternative is to settle for them having the backyard to run around in.

So here's a poll. It may take a second to appear.

[Tiger's Mom]

I would (although have never done so) ONLY if that person is experienced through walking his/her own dog . . . and of course he/she has to have small ones too as you cannot compare a person used to handlng big dogs to suddenly think handling smaller dogs is the same thing

[JCarlson2004]

I would definitely NOT allow the friend to walk them. You have a lot of valid concerns and if you're not 100% confident in this person, I'd just say thanks but no thanks. Having the yard to run and play in seems like plenty of space to me.

I lost one of my babies to a car accident; so I'm probably more paranoid than most dogs owners about what can happen while they're outside. But I say it's always better to err on the side of LIFE.

Have a great time in Hawaii! Be sure to take lots of pictures!

[Francis]

i would definitely go through a trial walk.

ps. what is the difference between a playful and aggressive dog? i am newbie dog owner

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

We're heading out on a two-week vacation to Hawaii on Friday, and it will be the longest I've ever been away from the boys. I'm panicking. I have a full-time housesitter (mother in law) who the boys love. But she's not real mobile and won't be walking them like I do.

A friend who I trust but doesn't know little dogs has offered to walk them. Should I take him up on it? I'm paranoid that they won't trust him and he won't realize if they are stressed. Or he'll let them off leash and they'll run away. Or he won't know the difference between an aggressive big dog and a playful one at the park. Or he'll let kids pick them up. I'm not sure giving him a list of 50 dos and don'ts would help. The alternative is to settle for them having the backyard to run around in.

So here's a poll. It may take a second to appear.

I sympathize with your situation. I'd be afraid, too. Very, very afraid!

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by Francis

i would definitely go through a trial walk.

ps. what is the difference between a playful and aggressive dog? i am newbie dog owner

Thanks everybody. You are confirming my trepidation!

Francis, it's not always easy and I get it wrong more than I get it right, but I consider an aggressive dog one who comes up with the hair standing up on his back. Or who comes to us at a particularly high rate of speed.

In those cases, I scoop up my dogs and err on the side of caution.

However, I completely misread the situation yesterday on an unleashed walk at the park and created more problems than I avoided. A yellow lab ran up, and I panicked. I scooped up Eddie and hollered to Jack, but Jack sensed my fear, saw the dog and took off running. The dog chased. Jack ran. I shouted. Everybody was tense. Turns out the dog was nice and just wanted to say hello. I'd have been better served if I didn't panic.

[Gingergirlsmom]

Here is what I would do:

Thank the friend and tell them you'd love to take them up on it, but want to be sure they know what they are getting into. Invite them over for a walk, with you.

Show them how to harness your guys (my mom once called when she was dogsitting, because Ginger's harness kept slipping off her but, lol, I have NO idea how she was putting it on her ), and go for a walk.

This should give you an idea how confident you feel in your friend and give your friend a good idea of what you expect.

Also, go over a few SOLID rules:

no interacting with other dogs (you can do that with them when you are home)
no letting them off lead

Good luck, and stop worrying.

[Sadie's Mom]

Judging by what you said, I probably wouldn't, but then again, I tend to be paranoid when it comes to Sadie. As someone else suggested, invite them to go on a walk with you first, and see how it goes. YOu'd have a better feel for it then.

[LuvMySissy]

I would let another Yorkie owner walk my dogs and I think that is about it. Even if you supervised a walk beforehand and gave explicit instructions, we all know many folks will do what they please regardless!! I can't remember if your yard is fenced or not. Can they get adequate exercise and play time in the yard or in the house? If you feel they can, then I'd nix the walks and just focus on play time. But, if they really need the exercise, I'd stick to a local walk rather than even going to the park. Less chances of something to happen and specific not off the leash EVER!!!!!!

Have a great time in Hawaii!!!!!! Enjoy everything about it!! I highly recommend the Old Lahaina Luau while on Maui - it is really the most authentic, good food and great dancers. But, call now for reservations!! Maui also offers a zipline tour through the rainforest side of the volcano. But I know they also book months in advance (but it sounds really cool). The sunrise bikeride down the volcano is only for the brave. You don't need to be fit as you don't pedal, just brake hard, steer well and PRAY!!!

[sexiixtc]

it really depends on what friend/who was walking my baby.. I'd say probably yes.. again, depending

[Patti]

I would say no. I would rather my babies have a bit of restricted exercise for 2 weeks then worry the whole time I was gone. I would make sure the yard is secured and let him/her play with them in the yard, I just think even the most careful people may not realize how fast these guys can get loose.JMO

[bren]

I would say no. ANYTHING can happen--perhaps I'm just paranoid but I won't take chances. Only my parents are allowed to watch Max and Abbie when I'm unavailable and they live 5-6 hours away from me! I'll either drive Max and Abbie to them or they'll meet me in the middle of PA (they are in northeastern PA and I'm in southwestern PA). I trust my parents completely and they follow my complete instructions but even then, things can happen that aren't planned. My dad took Max out on his leash and Max started jumping and barking when he saw a rabbit (my parents live in a wooded area). Anyway, the leash unhooked and Max took off running. Fortunately, he ran to the neighbor's garage where the neighbor's dogs were but if he ran into the woods, I don't know if my dad would have been able to catch him. Plus, it's more difficult when you are walking 2 vs. 1. I'm sure that they are used to their walks but I would let them play in the backyard rather than allowing someone to take them for walks. JMO.

[nvnvgirl]

NO WAY! I know you've probably got your answer already, but i figured I'd chime in too. My Max is my first ever dog and I had large exotic parrots for YEARS. It's almost impossible to find anyone decent to care for them when I wanted to go anywhere, but thank goodness they didn't HAVE to be out of their cages or go for walks. I've had Max for 2 yrs now, and I've been amazed at some things that can happen that you just would never even imagine being a problem, and especially if you're not familiar with having small dogs. Having birds is pretty demanding knowing what to look for if something's wrong or what kind of predicaments they could get into, and having a small dog I am finding is really almost as demanding (not in a BAD way, but in a "you've got to be aware of this" kind of way). If it was just for a day or so, it's different, but I would never let anyone walk Max unless maybe if it was someone who also had Yorkies, but even then, my most cherished parrot was critically injured by someone who has hundreds of parrots and even larger ones, so my advice is to let nobody do anything other than being at home with them. And making sure that they realize how fast these little guys can be and to be continuously cognizant of WHERE they are at all times.....especially if they were to get out accidentally, and then having strangers (meaning not YOU) trying to catch them??? I just remember once when I hadnt' had Max for too long, he got out of the gate when I was taking the garbage cans out to the curb and he took OFF.....I went running after him but he was SO FAST! Luckily, my neighbor's assistant was out there at the time and he got him, but oh gosh, what a scary thing....it was garbage day so all the big garbage trucks were out on the streets and here this little tiny BLACK dog is racing on BLACK pavement! I say, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Needless to say, we don't leave Max with ANYBODY, and I know that there have to be times that you have no choice, but I spent 10 years without going anywhere out of town without my birds b/c I had nobody that could take care of them even in the house . If only I'd kept to that program

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to freak you out, or be a downer, but I just don't want anyone to have to go thru what I've gone thru for the last year.

[BLowry]

I am a nervous wreck when I have to leave the girls for more than an over night...and they are with my parents!! The ONLY ones that I would trust walking my girls would be my parents...They love my little girls (almost) as much as I do...well, after all....they are their grandpuppies!
Couldn't your house sitter just let them out in the back yard to let them release their energy?

[paulapoo]

I don't trust anyone. Otis is a runner and people just don't pay enough attention. I even have a fenced in yard and I can't trust anyone. I know I'm a crazy dog mom, and this has definately inhibited my social life, but if something happened to Otis because someone wasn't paying enough attention, I would never forgive myself. He's not as important to anyone else, and I think they think I'm exaggerating about how is nature is to run and hunt. I choose not to. I had a roomate for awhile that I trusted but she got transferred so I'm searching for a new dog sitter that I trust. Maybe my mom, but I don't know.