My roommates agreed to help my puppy when then are home?

[Anonymous]

To start off, I’ve had my puppy for 2 weeks, she is 9 weeks old. My roommates agreed to help with taking her out and the basics when they are home, an in exchange, I offer extra tent. Not a lot, just an extra $100/month. My problem is like today for example: both my roommates (a couple) had off of work today. I knew one was busy for a portion of the day, so I asked the other to try and take the dog out every hour, just until she poops. Im sure he took her out once or twice today, but sure enough, when I got home from an already crappy 13h day, my dog, her brand new toys, her food bowl, and her crate are entirely covered in poop. This happening even 3 times a week wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but it’s every single day. For the health of my puppy, I cannot keep washing her every day, she is a shepherd husky mix. I am extremely frustrated and resorted to yelling at my puppy bc of this. I don’t know how to address this with them. She was crated all day I’m sure while they were home. I am getting a camera to watch her while I’m at work though. How should I confront my roommates?

[Anonymous]

I’d say be straightforward. You can have that conversation without taking anyone’s head off or being confrontational, and just be clear about your intention when you have this talk. Go into it having a clear idea of what you want to say, for example: “I just wanted to take a few minutes to get on the same page about my dog. When I asked you both for help and in exchange I would pay more rent, you both agreed to this. But it’s possible that maybe there was some miscommunication or confusion when it comes to doing your part. This isn’t me trying to point a finger, I’m just considering my dogs health, mentally and physically. So If either of you have changed your minds or it’s more work than expected, I can understand. But please communicate that with me now, so I can arrange some other sort of accommodation for him/her”. Word it how you want, but something like that would be good. I do get your position — when I got my dog he was only a few weeks old and in terrible health. It’s a lot more work than expected, especially while potty training. But he also struggle with some serious stress and abandonment issues, so I spent time learning his triggers. This could be a thing for your husky as well, so them not doing their part, keeping him in the crate, etc, definitely needs to be addressed.