question for the ethicists

[Annette47]

Yes, of course. It's kind of a no-brainer. BUT... a barking dog is as common as grease in a Waffle House. Dragging the handler around on the end of the leash, ditto. Getting up on furniture, etc. There are all KINDS of normal every day dog behaviors that must be dealt with. Did the owner and sitter not go over how baseline good behavior would be maintained? What else is the sitter doing or not doing?

I'm curious about what the owner would have preferred the sitter to do about the barking if, (let's assume his explanation is right) he could not be with the dog to correct it? Would the owner like the dog to bark ad libitum? (That's not good!) Would the owner like her dog to be stuffed in a crate and locked in a back bedroom? (Also not good.)

IF (big IF) the sitter is telling the truth, maybe he/she made an impromptu decision that was the best he/she could do under the circumstances.

I mostly agree with this, and do think that there is a major communication problem going on. I wouldn’t leave my dog with someone without discussion of their training techniques and whether or not they use something like a bark collar. Either the dog was indeed barking to the point of it being a huge problem, in which case it’s probably not the first time and is something that should have been discussed with the owner OR if as TuMicks says the sitter made an impromptu decision due to an unusual circumstance, I’d wonder about how they manage other undesirable behaviors. A bark collar is not the end of the world (I use the citronella kind with the young dogs on occasion), but it’s also not usually a first-line option so to me, just slapping it on a dog whose never had a problem before would not be expected, and I’d wonder what other “solutions” they employ to common issues, which would make me uncomfortable leaving the dog without a long and frank discussion of their methods.

I feel like both sides are to blame - the sitter for using what can be thought of as a controversial tool without asking first, but also the owner for apparently not having enough discussion of management techniques prior to leaving the dog with someone.

[Bernie]

There's more to this story than I first thought, "dog walker" that's keeps dog at his house all day, been doing it for 18 months (dog is two), heck this guy is raising the dog, maybe he has more of a vested interest in behavior then the owner.
Taking back my criticism.

[Snowshoe]

There's more to this story than I first thought, "dog walker" that's keeps dog at his house all day, been doing it for 18 months (dog is two), heck this guy is raising the dog, maybe he has more of a vested interest in behavior then the owner.
Taking back my criticism.

I read every post the OP made in this thread and I don't see where you get that from? Except that he's been walking the dog for a year and a half I can't find anything about it being all day at his house. Even if it was at his house all day once in a while that is not stated and there is no indication of how many days a week the OP uses his services. Which posts am I missing?

[Bernie]

I read every post the OP made in this thread and I don't see where you get that from? Except that he's been walking the dog for a year and a half I can't find anything about it being all day at his house. Even if it was at his house all day once in a while that is not stated and there is no indication of how many days a week the OP uses his services. Which posts am I missing?

"My long trusted dog walker, who has known Piper she was a wee pup, returned her home after a day of daycare with an e-collar on that he'd forgotten to remove prior to dropping her off at the house. When I saw the collar, I emailed him to let him know that I had the collar and that I was VERY curious as to why he would have it on Piper. He has never discussed using e-collars generally or asked me about using an e-collar on Piper before. His explanation was that he had an inspector at his house that afternoon, and Piper kept barking, so he put the "bark collar" on her. He has been very caring and reliable and generous in his treatment of Piper and with us over the last year and half, and she is 2, so I do not want to jump conclusions. "