Responsibilities

Tico and Bosco are generally very chill dogs. They love to run around in the yard together and play - and honestly won't probably even ask you to play with them that much because they love playing with each other! However, they love attention (especially Bosco) and prefer not to be left alone for long periods of time. They both know basic obedience skills (sit, down, paw, etc.) and are good on the leash although Tico can pull a little. Tico loves all people including children but is alpha and can be aggressive with dogs that challenge him and we would ask that you not bring any other dogs to our house or introduce him to strange dogs (brief on-leash interactions are fine but please do not bring him to another home with a dog). Bosco is almost the opposite of Tico. He loves most dogs but can be wary of strangers, especially men. Once he gets to know you he will be your best friend, but he will bark and act defensive if someone he doesn't know comes into the house. He is generally fine meeting people when he is on-leash and away from the house but can take a bit to become comfortable with people in his space, especially if they are not comfortable around dogs. Our dogs are not complicated and are easy to take care of, but they would do best with someone who is familiar and comfortable with dogs and who loves being around them! They are both fed twice a day and are let outside to go potty and play a minimum of 3x a day. Walks are optional and should be avoided during peak tick season. We have never found a tick on our dogs from our yard but they can pick up a lot of them from the road or trails when there are a lot of ticks. Typical Daily Routine: -Wake up and feed them (anytime before 10am) -Let them out to go potty after breakfast -They often go right back to bed after breakfast -Let them out midday (12-2pmish). They are pretty good at coming back to the door when they want to come inside. If the weather is nice they may like to lie in the grass or patio and hang out. This is fine as long as you keep an eye on them and don't leave the house with them outside. During the nicer months we will hang out and work outside with them for hours! -Feed dinner around 6pm (5-7 time range is fine) -Let them out to go potty after dinner -Hang out, they will probably sit on the couch with you if you are watching TV or reading in the living room -Let them out before bed -Lock the back door once they come in Notes: -Sleeping Both dogs sleep in our room in their beds, however Bosco LOVES to sleep in bed with you if he is allowed. Sometimes he sneaks into bed with us after we are asleep, so don't be alarmed if this happens. He is good about getting out if you don't want him there, if you tell him to go in his bed and point to it he will go. Tico will mostly stay in his bed and likes a bit more personal space. They are not early birds and will generally let you sleep in, Tico usually gets up first between 8-9am and will lick you to wake you up, but you can "snooze" him and tell him to go back to bed for a bit if you are still sleeping. If Bosco wakes you up its because he needs to go out ASAP! This will only happen rarely or if he didn't go out before bed. -Outside The dogs love the fenced in yard and it makes taking care of them very easy! We only walk them now when we take them out on a hike or a walk on the road, which depends on weather and ticks. If you are here during peak tick season we recommend not walking the dogs and taking any hikes/walks without them. Tico especially is a tick magnet! They are very happy to run around in the huge backyard. They both have good recall and should come when you call them. If they don't make sure that they have not gotten into anything! -House Guests As we mentioned before, Bosco can be defensive around new people or large groups. We would prefer you not have any parties or groups of people come. If you would like to have a guest or two visit the house, make sure that they are comfortable with dogs and we can walk you through how to do an outdoor meet and greet. It is always an option to leave the dogs inside if you are worried about it. Vet -Our vet is about 30 minutes away in Falls Village, CT. We will provide you with their number as well as an emergency contact. We will also leave a car for you if you don't have one in the event you would need to go to the vet. Plants -We have ~10 houseplants that need minimal watering, maybe 1x every two weeks. Other than that there is no real housework that is required. The sitter is welcome to use the hot tub, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, gym, bikes and pretty much all that we have in the house! You are welcome to take any produce from our gardens and pick up our weekly CSA of organic veggies. We will leave detailed instructions of how to use the fireplace, hot tub, grill, etc.