Tips from an experienced petsitter on Petbnb

Getting acquainted with a new babysitting dog in your pack requires calm, overview and clear agreements. Experienced sitter Jolanda (since 2015) shares her tried-and-true approach: from planning the trial walk and reading body language to relaxed leash management and smart use of a training leash/halti.

Successful introduction!

Getting to know your pack: here's how to do it

Want to introduce a new babysitting dog to your pack? Work cautiously and plan deliberately. The steps below will help you avoid tension and establish a fine foundation.

Choose the best time and place

Afternoon = more rest. Schedule the trial walk later in the day, after your pack has already had a morning round and rest. Choose an open area with an overview, preferably where you know most of the dogs in the area and where (if allowed) off-leash walking is possible.

Cozy set

Read body language and mirror behavior

Positive signals: relaxed tails, a brief sniff at the butt, a play bow. This indicates a constructive, social encounter.

Warning signals: neck hairs up, tail tight, nose forward, lip raised. Direct separate, stand in front of your own dog and provide safety.

Let your pack leader take the lead. A stable, reliable dog is allowed off leash (where allowed) for the first introduction while you observe from a distance with the rest on leash. That way you can quickly see how the new dog reacts.

Leashed or off leash?

If the new dog is still loose, ask the owner to lines before meeting your leashed pack. Introduce yourself and the dogs briefly and then go for a walk. Sniffing moments come later, when the tension has subsided and everyone is moving.

Resting moment

Relaxed linework (and why pulling cannot be done)

No trekkers in the pack. A dog that pulls increases the risk of slips or falls-especially with multiple lines. Start with the owner: "Can Bello also walk nicely alongside?" Show how it can be done; your pack sets the example and you guide.

Use a training line/halti. A good leash can be used as a regular leash as well as a halti conversion. That helps with dogs that resist (still), and weighs almost nothing.

This is how you explain it to the owner

First show on your own stable dog (e.g. Rosa the labrador) how the halti sits and works. Then let the owner feel how relaxed the leash becomes. For trial walks, always take a spare training line along-about half of acquaintances need it.

If you often walk larger packs (e.g., seven dogs), then a halti setting will remain your emergency brake in the face of unexpected stimuli (cats, traffic) without losing control or calm.

On the way home

After the walk: evaluate and make arrangements

Immediately discuss how it went, plan a trial day and give homework (short, gentle walks beside the knee, consistently rewarding). Sometimes you take over the leash for a moment at the end of the walk to show how the dog walks along in your rhythm-only if the contact feels good.

Your experiences or questions?

Feel free to share them: every pack and every dog is different, but calmness, timing and clear leading will get you far. - Jolanda Gerbecks, babysitter since 2015

Looking for temporary, one-on-one in-home care for a dog who is sensitive to stimuli or pack tension? Find a reliable pet sitter at home With pack experience via Petbnb.