Post-break up last year, I had a lot more time to invest in myself, and one of the things I wanted to try out was dog sitting. I love dogs and since I was living alone at the time, I thought it would provide the perfect distraction, as well as be a great opportunity to learn how to look after a dog, as I would love one in the future.
A colleague of mine was regularly dog sitting via Borrow My Doggy and although I had to pay for premium in order to communicate with owners, I decided to also give it a go. I found a cocker spaniel puppy called Leo who lived within 2 miles from me. He was only 7 months old at the time, and I met the owner and Leo for an introductory walk in Kennington Park to find out everything I needed to know and to vet (!) each other out before proceeding. It was an ideal arrangement as I was living in a house with a garden, within minutes of both a park and Leo's house, and worked from home several times a week. The owners were a couple searching for someone to dog sit Leo once a week when they both had to be in the office, and I wanted the experience of looking after a dog, so it was a match made in heaven.
I only ended up looking after Leo weekly for about two months, from March until May, whereafter I bought my house and thus moved from Kennington, however he grew so much within that time and even after I moved, I still saw him once or twice as some friends had wanted to meet him. That said, I loved Leo and he definitely taught me a lot and provided many memories within those few months.
Leo was very friendly, gorgeous, and not scared of anything, and especially loved other dog owners, making him very popular in the park. All of my friends wanted to meet him and he was very well potty trained (which was a huge thing for me). One of the cutest things he'd do was that when he was scared or tired, he'd settle down by my feet under the desk, for comfort.
That said, it's safe to say, Leo was a handful. He was only a puppy so would chew anything and everything and whenever I was dog sitting, I'd have to move everything breakable from the living room to the bedroom (which I would close so he couldn't access), and cover the velvet sofa with a blanket, which he would inevitably move and dig at. He would jump into the flowerbeds in the garden, leg it through any door I opened (which was a big issue when I'd open the outside door to visitors), he'd chew and lift the carpet on the stairs, and would bark if I paid him no attention during a work call. On walks, he'd pull on the lead (sometimes to the point of throwing up), eat everything he could get his paws on (including stones), and would regularly jump on other dog owners.
I had initially underestimated how much attention he'd require and there were days where I'd count down the hours as I wouldn't be able to make food, go to the loo, or get any work done without Leo barking or demanding a lot of attention. I was thrown in the deep end and a walk was often the only way to get his energy out and calm him down. Looking after Leo was great as it forced me to get fresh air and exercise several times a day, however it also meant I couldn't leave the house as he'd leg it any time I opened a door and it was draining. I thought all dogs were like this (all-consuming), however as more and more friends met him, those who had dogs made it clear that he was simply not trained yet. To quote a close friend of mine: "this dog has never seen a day's training in his life". (I'm told, he has since gotten a trainer).
Once, I went to the park and Leo was running on the green (albeit on the lead). A nearby dog owner started looking about and asking her dog 'where's your ball gone?' repeatedly. Something immediately told me that I knew where the ball was, and when I looked over, lo and behold, Leo had a bright prink ball in his mouth. I let the lady know that he hadn't been trained to 'drop' yet, and she was very lovely and taught me a trick to make him drop anything in his mouth by offering a treat high up instead. Another time, Leo ran straight up to the owner of a retriever and jumped on him. When I apologised to him, he replied: "it's okay - you know what they say: retrievers are born half trained and spaniels die half trained!".
Another time, I left Leo in the garden whilst I ran upstairs to use the bathroom. The bathroom had a window looking out onto the garden and it was eerily quiet. Suddenly the doorbell went, and I assumed my brother had come round as he lived next door at the time, however it was actually an old couple who asked 'is that your dog?'. I told them he'd been in the garden just seconds before and it transpired that he'd escaped through a small gap by the shed through to my brother's front yard, then had come round to my front door, where he was sitting when he was spotted, but ran away when the couple approached. After a few seconds of calling for him, he came in and I thanked the couple profusely but was shaken up and didn't allow him back in the garden until the shed was moved over. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least.
Looking after Leo was a great experience for me and taught me a lot, including making me realise that I'm not yet ready for a dog, much less a spaniel. I love Leo and look back on the whole experience very fondly, especially as he was so cute and friendly. He was a puppy so just wanted to play all the time and he grew a lot within the time I knew him. Leo's owners were also absolutely lovely, and before I moved they got me a thank you card and a bar of sea salt and caramel Tony's Chocolonely, which has ended up becoming one of my favourite chocolate bars and I always associate it with them now. Since then, they have also moved house and I hope to see him again in the not too distant future.
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