Reeeeally dumb question about human babysitter and dogs

[FastHands]

I'm hiring a babysitter for my small human for the first time everrr (YAAAY). The babysitter is also human, but that's not super relevant. What IS relevant is that I have 2 dogs that are kind of a pain in the ass. It's only 3-4h so she wouldn't need to feed or even let them out. They are usually kenneled when we are gone. Do I kennel them while she's here?? (I feel like this would be weird for the dogs, plus the baby will prrrobably just try to let them out) Do I ask her if she's ok with the dogs, or is that a dick move to ask her to deal with them and the baby?

[isabel]

I would make sure she's ok with dogs before she comes over. It's not at all unusual to be around pets as a babysitter, nor would it be weird to ask her to feed them or something if you needed that. I wouldn't kennel them unless they're weird around her or something. I assume they're friendly?

We're actually meeting someone next week to potentially have her babysit the following week! I'm a little weirded out about it, but we need to find someone so we don't have to ask MIL every time we want to go out.

[meganew]

Back when I was babysitting, families would usually just throw out a "FYI, we have a dog, you ok with that?" And that's pretty much where the conversation ended. I doubt it would be a problem.

[FastHands]

Jan 16, 2016 22:34:34 GMT -5 isabel said:

I would make sure she's ok with dogs before she comes over. It's not at all unusual to be around pets as a babysitter, nor would it be weird to ask her to feed them or something if you needed that. I wouldn't kennel them unless they're weird around her or something. I assume they're friendly?

We're actually meeting someone next week to potentially have her babysit the following week! I'm a little weirded out about it, but we need to find someone so we don't have to ask MIL every time we want to go out.

They're suuuper friendly. That's the (potential) problem. They don't really respect like... personal space. Lol.

We are really lucky -- we're using the woman who was ds's main caregiver in the infant room at daycare. She knows we HAVE dogs for sure (we had pics of them on his board, lol), but idk how she FEELS about dogs.

[rosiebear]

Have fun going out!

[FastHands]

Would it be weird to have her come over 30min before we need to leave (paying her for that time, of course) to let her get settled while we're still around to get the dogs calmer?

[speckledfrog]

I will leave mine out for our sitter who has dogs. For my other sitters I leave him locked up, let them know where he is and that he's a jumper and a licker, and that they can let him out if they'd like but that I'm totally fine if he stays in our room.

[DotAndBuzz]

When we got Ellie, we had our sitter come over early (like, an hour early) to meet her, hang out, and let Ellie get used to her being in the house. The sitter said she was ok with the dog being out, but we just didn't know how it would go, especially since Ellie is so hesitant and nervous around new people. So even after that first time, we put her in her crate in our room when we left, and closed the door. She loves her crate, and according to the sitter (and the girls), didn't make a peep.

Now that she knows the dog, and our dog knows her, we'll let her be out, but it took a while for us to get to that point. Until then, she was crated when we were gone. But we don't ever ask her to do anything for the dog. We make sure she's walked before we leave, and then we walk her again when we get home. We have a number of sitters, and only feel comfortable uncrating her for this particular one, since she's the most frequent, and the most familiar to Ellie.

[thejen626]

Jan 16, 2016 22:41:28 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Would it be weird to have her come over 30min before we need to leave (paying her for that time, of course) to let her get settled while we're still around to get the dogs calmer?

I do this anyway with new sitters, just to show them around the house, talk about dinner routine, etc.

[speckledfrog]

Jan 16, 2016 22:41:28 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Would it be weird to have her come over 30min before we need to leave (paying her for that time, of course) to let her get settled while we're still around to get the dogs calmer?

Not weird at all. I always have new sitters come over early so I can show them around. 30 minutes is actually a long time. 15 should be fine.

[FastHands]

Jan 16, 2016 22:41:26 GMT -5 mp said:

lol - I guess I just don't have enough faith in other humans to understand dog behavior, particularly when it comes to kids.

That's a good point. I was more thinking about HER comfort, but this is definitely a weird age where ds can get rough with them and we have to intercede. She shouldn't have to be responsible for that, and I would also wonder/worry if she would pick up on stress cues.

Anecdote: my parents' golden bared his teeth eeever so slightly when ds tried to kiss his nose, so clearly I shut that shit down. Mom was all "ohhhh he would never bite, it's fine! So cuuuute!" Dude, no! Your dog is not ok with this, and a) he shouldn't have to deal with my tiny terrorist, and b) I don't want my kid to get snapped at or bitten, pleaseandthankyou!

[steph96]

If the dogs get to rowdy, she can always put them in their kennel. That's what we do when we have nieces/nephews over and my dogs start being a pain in the ass.

[starlily]

Jan 16, 2016 22:41:28 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Would it be weird to have her come over 30min before we need to leave (paying her for that time, of course) to let her get settled while we're still around to get the dogs calmer?

I don't think so. We did that the first time we had our sitter over so that she could get familiar with where everything was in the house, as well as getting familiar with the baby and dog.

PS: Enjoy your outing!

[sessy]

I would kennel them for everyones comfort. Dogs and humans alike

[isabel]

Jan 16, 2016 22:41:28 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Would it be weird to have her come over 30min before we need to leave (paying her for that time, of course) to let her get settled while we're still around to get the dogs calmer?

Not weird. We're having this girl come over next week to meet us, dog, and baby. She won't actually babysit until the end of the month. I'll also have her come over a half hour before we actually need her the day of so DS will know she's there before I put him in bed and so H can walk her through some basics (tv, internet password, snacks for her, etc.).

[jenna]

Honestly, since your OP says you have a baby, I would kennel the "pain in the ass" dogs for a first time babysitter.

Or keep the dogs in a separate room, with the door shut. I used to keep my pup gated in the kitchen, when necessary.

[icedtea]

I dealt with various animals while babysitting. I would probably feel bad if they had to be kenneled while I was there. But I'm also used to dogs and can read cues.

I would just ask about her comfort level and experience. If that's all good then it's a great idea to have her come by early.

[lostrn]

I guess it would depend on how your dogs are pains in the ass. Our old dog was a pain in the ass because he was very affectionate and would just be under our feet all the time, howl with happiness, etc. My parents' dog is a pain in the ass because he's getting to be a grumpy old man dog and is losing patience with the grandkids. I would never hesitate to leave my dog and kid alone with someone who liked dogs and was comfortable. My parents' dog I would want a babysitter who was skilled with dogs and very observant. And maybe even then I wouldn't be comfortable and would have him crated while it was just my DS and the babysitter.

[lattelady5]

I'd kennel them but give them an antler chew, pb Kong, bully stick or something to occupy them. Most people don't know what dog body language means and it might be a lot for a first time sitter. If the dogs are normally kenneled it's nbd to them.

[macmars45]

As someone who isn't the most comfortable around dogs (and babysat in middle school & high school), I'd ask your DS's child care provider how she feels about dogs. Then go from there.

[kitty63]

We chose to crate ours, but our kids are 3 and 5. I figured keeping up with the kids was more than enough work!