A friend of my wife and I went on a family vacation and we are dog sitting his english bulldog. Skud is usually laidback and docile but since his family lives half an hour away from our home, we decided to take him into our home for the week. Since his owners left he cannot seem to relax. He is almost constantly pacining and seems to be having trouble sleeping. He isn't misbehaving, he is actually a very well behaved dog considering the sudden change in environment. He hasn't even tried to chase our cats!! He isn't chewing or trying to mark in our home, he just seems to be worked up and we can't seem to calm him. Is there anything we can do to try to get him to wind down and relax a little. We have a few small walks planned for today, but we are going to keep them short as the temperature is expected to be over 100 today. Other than exercise, we cannot think of anything that might make him relax or wear him out a little.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

The walks will definitely help, but since he's out of his element and expecting his owners to show up, he's going to seem nervous and on edge. If you relax around him and just go about your business, he'll relax on his own.

Do you have his favorite toy? Bedding? Anything else he's used to might help.

Poor thing! He's obviously worried about his owners. That's the disadvantage to not speaking fluent english. No matter what you say, he won't understand exactly when (or if) they're coming home. I would have to agree with dabaad. It would help if you had some things that smell of home - laundry, blankets, etc. otherwise, just give him some extra cuddles and attention. He'll survive the week. Is it his first time staying home while his owners are away? Next time it might be a little easier on him. By the way, is his food the same? Or does he have his bed with him? Those should help a bit, too. Good luck! And kudos for being such a caring babysitter.

One more thing - what about taking him for a swim? That would be fun, expel energy, relax him, and take care of the intense heat problem. Here's hoping you've got water nearby!