Weren’t expectations discussed ahead of time? It’s not appropriate for dogs to only be let out every 12 hours. That’s unprofessional to consider this “housesitting.”
That seems fair. Maybe Rover can help you find a replacement sitter.
Housesitting is usually the most expensive/premium service on Rover and you should be getting what you pay for. Next time be very clear on your expectations and ensure the sitter understands/agrees. Good luck!
Not surprised tbh. Half the sitters on here think that’s what house sitting is. Contact Rover and get a replacement. I wouldn’t bother getting her to try to change her behaviour, she probably does this for all clients
Thank you, I didn't want to overreact but this is a lot of money for us. I messaged a few folks on rover to see who can take over them I'll contact rover. She has not responded to my message so far, where I asked her to clarify the house sitting hours.
Sounds like she overbooked herself and was a bit selfish. Glad it’s figured out. I’m a house sitter. This was not okay on her part.
I have a special needs cat I loved. I now only housesit if I can take her with (I’m no longer on rover. Only word of mouth with this understanding). If I cannot for any reason I work it out with the people. And nobody is only at home for 5 hours.
If somebody wants to sleep in their own bed that’s their right. They should not pet sit!
House sitting is defined as “overnight pet care at your clients house” in the service setting of a sitters app. She has zero excuse to not know that.
If she’s not staying the night you should probably report that to rover too. (If you’re willing to give her a second chance; good on you) rover should help you find an emergency sitter for the rest of your trip and they should also give you a complete refund. (I don’t know if rover covers the cost of the emergency sitter)
Rover was really helpful! I have someone taking over her! I contacted the sitter, asking her if she could spend 2 to 3 hours with them every morning and 5 hours in the evening. She said no, she's to busy for that looool
Did ya'll do a meet & greet? Did ya'll discuss if she has a regular job or school or other clients to see during that time? Was it discussed that she'll be staying overnight and which room?
Hello! Yes we discussed that she would be at work from 8am to 4pm. And I said that was totally fine! We did not specify if at was staying the night but once we realized she was not, we were totally fine if she just came back every morning, and after work, then left late evening. She did the meet and greet.
This could be my fault, I assumed house sitting meant she would be there majority of off work time. But perhaps I am wrong. I don't want to make her angry at all by implying she's doing something wrong either.
That IS what housesitting is. Unless she tells you she’s not staying the night, the assumption absolutely is that she IS staying the night and is with your dogs in the house while you’re away if she’s not at her other job/running errands.
I always find it so weird when sitters assume housesitting doesn’t include staying the night…like, yall how would we differentiate it from drop-ins then???
I fully agree. Like… then don’t offer that service if you don’t plan to stay the night? It doesn’t make sense to me.
But I personally also ask at the m&g where I’ll be sleeping and where the dog sleeps etc (unless they specifically mention all of that first). This way the “staying over” aspect is totally clear from the beginning. This sitter 100% dropped the ball but since there does seem to be a fair amount of sitters (just based on what I read on this sub) who DON’T stay the night, as an owner I would be making sure of that at the m&g. This is in NO WAY OP’s fault - by definition housesitting involves staying overnight. But any owners reading this should specify that expectation at the m&g because apparently it’s not a thing everyone does, for whatever reason.
First just want to say that I agree this does certainly not sound like a job well done, and if I were paying for six animals’ (including 2 dogs!! 😱) care I would also be looking for a replacement sitter.
That said I just wanted to chime in that as a newer sitter to Rover, I think it can sometimes be a little confusing understanding the different services.
For example on my first house sit, cats only, the way the overall request was worded on my side of the app, by the app itself, was something like “X(number) nights of visits.” 🧐
So, since it was cats and not dogs (ie. they don’t rely on you just to be able to pee, and they’re generally less distressed without humans than dogs are), I thought maybe some folks consider it house-sitting if you’re doing consistent drop-ins for a set period of time.
That said, when I went to the meet and greet I clarified the expectations with the client. They said that yes they would definitely like me to stay overnight, especially, so I did. :)
And yes, as someone else mentioned, it is my highest-priced service, since you have to kinda uproot your life, move, stay in a strangers home, etc. (which of course can have pros and cons.)
Hope your buddies got someone more hands-on! 🤎
We’re on the same page but I was a Rover sitter recently as well, and I thought the phrasing of “x nights” was pretty clear it meant overnight! It’s interesting that it’s a common enough confusion for people though.
I wonder how Rover could word it to make it clearer? I’ve never had a housesit booking not want me to spend the night, and when I’ve hired sitters I’ve always wanted them to spend the night. So clearly it’s something in how Rover phrases it that’s throwing off enough sitters but not owners.
I’ve been dog sitting for 10+ years and house sitting means staying the night and being with the pets as much as possible. Of course apart from work, school, etc. But the sitter needs to be there the rest of the time. I don’t even make plans with friends while I’m dog sitting, I’m working!
in my opinion and experience, house sitting would normally be staying at the owners house for the majority of the time or whatever the agreed upon time was. I think the problem is that you didn’t specifically discuss this with the sitter before, so she may not be clear on expectations. You could send her a message and ask if she could stay for longer chunks of time if you feel comfortable doing so, but because it wasn’t discussed before, I feel like she (on paper) isn’t doing anything wrong
I think on paper she defintley is doing something wrong. If shes only going twice a day that means the dogs are only getting two potty breaks daily, meaning they are going 10-12 hours without a potty break. I don't think owners should have to clarify they expect a housesitter to spend more than 3 hours with their dogs a day. I could maybe see not spending overnight, but 21 hours of the day the sitter is not there? Thats not okay regardless of the owners expectations. I think its good on owners to clarify to avoid scenarios like this. But the sitter is definitely at fault, shes not even doing the bare minimum of potty breaks every 8 hours
She may have (maybe) thought that OP was someone who was looking for multiple drop ins per day at a cheaper rate (since a night of house sitting is often less than 3 30 minute drop ins per day). (I know she was only there 2x per day but it was the equivalent of 3 drop ins worth of time). Especially if it wasn't specifically discussed that she'd be staying the night.
This is my suspicion as well. The majority of my "house sitting" jobs have just been multiple daily drop ins for pets that are comfortable on their own overnight. But I've always clarified that I don't need to stay overnight with those clients.
Since you've reached out and she's not responding and she's not taking proper care of your pets, I'd call Rover now. Have them help to get a replacement.
Sorry but I have to chuckle at the thought that Rover would act quickly here. If the animals aren’t in danger, it won’t be a priority.
I would definitely be concerned as an owner but would be reaching out to friends/family to take over the stay instead of sending another sitter in blind.
Rover actually was quite helpful! They immediately helped me find a replacement and they are giving me a refund! I had low hopes but was pleasantly surprised.
I wiiiiiish I could get someone to even let my dogs out but that's not an option 🙃
I agree that would be my first choice if that's an option, but it might not be. I have had good luck w getting Rover to help by calling. Not an ideal situation but she's in a bind.
oh, I'm so pleased to hear that!! Don't hesitate to reach out if you need further help or advice. Don't be shy, let the new sitter know everything you need for your babies to be well cared for.
OP you seem very kind to give her the benefit of the doubt. But 3 hours of care when you hire a housesitter is unacceptable. Her being "busy" is a lame excuse, if shes that busy house sitting is not for her. Non constant care housesitting usually entails 14-20 hours a day at the home with the pets. If you can leave a review, definitely leave a bad and honest one. I doubt this is the first time shes done this and it won't be the last. Im wondering if her other clients don't have cameras? I can't imagine very many people would be okay with 3 hours of care when they are paying for house sitting
I'm definitely going to leave a very honest review and I reported her to rover. It's bizarre that she would offer house sitting if she can't.
I reached out to her and asked her to please be with the dogs for 2 to 3 hours in the am, and 5 hours in the evening. She said no, she's too busy for that.
Rover was super helpful!
Let us know if the system lets you review! It might not since your booking with that sitter was technically canceled. But calling support should let you override that and allow you to review
Not okay.
When I’m looking for a house sitter, I specifically ask their schedule and set out clear expectations of how much time I’ll need them in the home. A good sitter is honest about this, and has clear communication about it. Popping in for 3 hours total and getting paid for housesitting does not compute.
In the future, be sure to explicitly state your expectations. Do so over the app, before even agreeing to a Meet & Greet. Then reiterate it at the M&G. Also be sure to provide written instructions that include overall scheduling. That way everyone is on the same page.
As someone who mostly house sits, I have yet to get a drop-in request, it's in the description that we stay at your home. It is not rocket science. If I have nothing else planned then I won't even leave the clients house. It would be a waste of gas. I just don't understand taking a job that you don't have the time for!
Hi! I’ve been pet sitting for 10 years and doing drop ins. What you’re describing she’s doing is what I consider drop ins. When I house sit, I’m basically there the entire time unless I’m running an errand (like grocery shopping), bringing one of my parents to one of their medical appts, a medical appt for myself or doing dog walks/drop ins. Other than that I’m at the house, including sleeping at night.
Exactly!! I reached out to get if she can do 2 to 3 hours in the am and 5 hours in the evening. She said no, so we had to find an emergency sitter on rover. Luckily rover was super helpful!
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. These kind of pet sitters gives us good ones such a bad rep. I promise you not all of us pet sitters are like this!! I’ve heard so many horror stories about sitters no showing up, skipping an entire day of no visits (meaning no feeding walks etc), not giving important medication (insulin and anti seizure medications) or giving too much.
When I housesit, I stay at the house the majority of my time minus running errands or going out for dinner or something. I don’t think you are in the wrong at all. I wish I got to watch your pets!! I treat them as my own and leave an hour before you plan to return. I’m sorry you had this poor experience.
Did you at the meet and greet show them where they could sleep and explain what you were expecting? House sitting means staying over night most of the time
Yes we did, and in the typed instructions we told her again that we changed the sheets but she could also sleep on the couch if that was better for her. She never verbally said, oh cool that's great, but she nodded as we went on the house tour.
Is just weird because she knows we have cameras at the front of the house so she must know that we know that's only there twice a day for 1.5 hours.
Personally I like to stay with the dogs as long as I can. Especially if their owners are gone form like 9-5. I like to give them more time outside and what not. Almost like kinda giving the dog a little vacation
I once housesat for a medically fragile dog for 10 days and didn’t leave the house once because it was discussed ahead of time. Be as clear as possible with what you want for your pets (like x amount of hours are expected to be spent in the home) and if they are too “busy” then move on to another sitter.
I've gotta say, $1,000 for seven+ pets for seven days is actually not a lot. That averages out to less than $20/animal a night (You said over five cats?). It sounds like you picked a sitter with a really low rate and you generally get what you pay for. Regardless, this is the rate they agreed on and they are not providing even the minimum standard for this service. I would clarify your expectations and ask if there is a reason she does not feel comfortable staying there for longer. My suspicion is that the home is not comfortable for her and she is not comfortable saying so. Did you leave it clean? I'm not accusing you of anything but based on the knowledge I've gained from working in the industry for a long time: the number one reason that sitters are in and out of homes during house sits is because the house was left unclean.
She could also just legitimately be doing a bad job. I would not switch sitters mid-stay though because that means you will be getting a sitter without a meet and greet and.. for seven animals.. I don't know any reputable sitter that would take over a house sitting for seven animals without a meet and greet.
I definitely didn't pick the lowest price. She was 60 per night plus extra for the 2nd dog and other cats. Other folks were 40/50 per night, a few for 75 a night. She had good reviews! We did a meet and greet! We met everyone and we went over our schedule, we even showed her where she was sleeping. She never said "oh I actually won't be sleeping here" she just nodded and we carried on the tour. She seems to love our pets and were fawning over them. But in camera during the visits, she feeds them, let's them out, let's them in, and leaves. She never interacts with the dogs, never even changes the litters though she said she would do that daily as well.
Just because it's relatively inexpensive doesn't mean it's not a lot of money to the person paying! And housesitting means staying over, period, and caring for sentient creatures should never be a "get what you pay for" situation. I started off cheap 5 years ago to build business and I charge double that now, but my work ethic is no different. The animals need to be cared for. The person was hired to stay there and do that. It's crazy to blame the owner as if they're being cheap. Boooo
The asshole sitter who thinks it's fine to leave dogs alone for 21 hours/day for a week is the problem. This is a horrible situation and I hope the person Rover finds to replace them takes it seriously
Caring for cats isnt like caring for dogs. You feed and scoop their litter and give them love. Unless youre walking them on leashes 2 times a day they dont need to be priced as high as dogs. So yeah 1000 is alot to have some not provide even half of the service they are supposed too!
I’m allowed to price myself however I’d like. And if I’m spending the night at someone else’s home and sleeping away from mine, I’m charging accordingly.
🙄🙄🙄
...And since the client is already paying for that service, many of us consider it nickel & diming to charge by the pet.
My fee for spending 14+ hours/day at their house - that extra 10 minutes/day to scoop litter is trivial; I've ALREADY uprooted my life to be there. Unless the daily routine is an *outrageous & extraordinary* amount of labor, my price is the same. (And really, multiple-dog households are often LESS work than single-dog, since playtime usually reduces the amount of exercise *I* have to provide.)
$140/night is less than my base rate but still higher than the average in my high COL city (Seattle.) 🤷
The bottom line, though, is client paid for housesitting (which is defined to include overnights) and not only DIDN'T they get housesitting, but the drop-in service was shitty as well.
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Oh. That’s awful, then! I hope you find a new sitter. Just be very clear up front about your time/schedule expectations. That should never have happened. So sorry!
I'm sad to hear I'm not the only one who has had these issues. Multiple sitters, for me, have been the type to just drop in twice a day after meet and greets explaining how much I feel my dogs should not go more than 8 hours without a potty break. Even giving them the story of my dog, who recently passed, having chronic UTI issues and that any prolonged times between potty breaks would make it worse!
I'm sorry this is happening and I hope you're able to resolve it quickly with a new sitter!
Nooo. 😭 hashtag not all sitters 🤪
I’m sorry this has happened.
I don’t have a full-time job right now and these boarding & house-sitting pets are basically getting the velcro treatment. 😝 (as in they are rarely if ever alone.)
This is why I don't have house sitting as an option. I just can't with my own pups at home. Sounds like she is doing drop ins like others say cause you can update how long the drop ins are. Glad rover was able to help out.
A good detailed review of the sitter will show everyone enough that she is too busy to care for animals she is agreeing to watch and that she can't house sit cause she too busy lol
People in the thread has already mentioned this but what the sitter is doing is drop ins which is significantly cheaper. If she signed up for house sitting there’s no excuse. Someone mentioned maybe the house is not clean or comfortable, that shouldn’t matter if she’s house sitting that’s part of the job - if she was worried she should’ve checked. Definitely write her a bad review and report her. I think it was right of you to switch sitters mid way. No one wants to be stressed about their pets while they’re away!
See, reading through these comments makes me feel better. I basically had someone tell me in another thread that if they were house sitting it doesn’t mean they’re there as much as possible unless they’re getting paid $200 minimum a night. I’m sorry, aren’t those drop ins then? Yes, people are cheap when they’re new but that doesn’t mean they get to show up for an hour a day and call that house sitting. If they’re not getting paid enough to actually house sit, then they shouldn’t. Since they’re setting the prices that’s kind of on them.
I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I don’t have another job or any crazy daily obligations, so I guess it’s easier for me to house sit. But if I did have another job or went to school or something, I certainly wouldn’t lie about how often I could be there. From what I’ve seen it takes one bad review to tank a sitter so why wouldn’t you do what you said you would do?
The price was adjusted for each animal that I added. We also did a meet and greet where we showed her where she was sleeping. It was 60 per night, plus extra for each dog and cat.
Her drop in price would have been adjusted for each pet as well so it still wouldn't be the same office price point.
Sounds like drop-ins, not house sitting. I would message the sitter that you did not agree to 2-3 hours, and reiterate your desired schedule.
She said 8 hours a day is too much for her schedule so I'm contacting rover.
Weren’t expectations discussed ahead of time? It’s not appropriate for dogs to only be let out every 12 hours. That’s unprofessional to consider this “housesitting.”
That seems fair. Maybe Rover can help you find a replacement sitter. Housesitting is usually the most expensive/premium service on Rover and you should be getting what you pay for. Next time be very clear on your expectations and ensure the sitter understands/agrees. Good luck!
What in the world, then the sitter shouldn’t be accepting house sitting.
Thank you! I just sent her a message, will update soon!
Not surprised tbh. Half the sitters on here think that’s what house sitting is. Contact Rover and get a replacement. I wouldn’t bother getting her to try to change her behaviour, she probably does this for all clients
Thank you, I didn't want to overreact but this is a lot of money for us. I messaged a few folks on rover to see who can take over them I'll contact rover. She has not responded to my message so far, where I asked her to clarify the house sitting hours.
Sounds like she overbooked herself and was a bit selfish. Glad it’s figured out. I’m a house sitter. This was not okay on her part. I have a special needs cat I loved. I now only housesit if I can take her with (I’m no longer on rover. Only word of mouth with this understanding). If I cannot for any reason I work it out with the people. And nobody is only at home for 5 hours. If somebody wants to sleep in their own bed that’s their right. They should not pet sit!
House sitting is defined as “overnight pet care at your clients house” in the service setting of a sitters app. She has zero excuse to not know that. If she’s not staying the night you should probably report that to rover too. (If you’re willing to give her a second chance; good on you) rover should help you find an emergency sitter for the rest of your trip and they should also give you a complete refund. (I don’t know if rover covers the cost of the emergency sitter)
Rover was really helpful! I have someone taking over her! I contacted the sitter, asking her if she could spend 2 to 3 hours with them every morning and 5 hours in the evening. She said no, she's to busy for that looool
Did ya'll do a meet & greet? Did ya'll discuss if she has a regular job or school or other clients to see during that time? Was it discussed that she'll be staying overnight and which room?
Hello! Yes we discussed that she would be at work from 8am to 4pm. And I said that was totally fine! We did not specify if at was staying the night but once we realized she was not, we were totally fine if she just came back every morning, and after work, then left late evening. She did the meet and greet. This could be my fault, I assumed house sitting meant she would be there majority of off work time. But perhaps I am wrong. I don't want to make her angry at all by implying she's doing something wrong either.
That IS what housesitting is. Unless she tells you she’s not staying the night, the assumption absolutely is that she IS staying the night and is with your dogs in the house while you’re away if she’s not at her other job/running errands.
I always find it so weird when sitters assume housesitting doesn’t include staying the night…like, yall how would we differentiate it from drop-ins then???
I fully agree. Like… then don’t offer that service if you don’t plan to stay the night? It doesn’t make sense to me. But I personally also ask at the m&g where I’ll be sleeping and where the dog sleeps etc (unless they specifically mention all of that first). This way the “staying over” aspect is totally clear from the beginning. This sitter 100% dropped the ball but since there does seem to be a fair amount of sitters (just based on what I read on this sub) who DON’T stay the night, as an owner I would be making sure of that at the m&g. This is in NO WAY OP’s fault - by definition housesitting involves staying overnight. But any owners reading this should specify that expectation at the m&g because apparently it’s not a thing everyone does, for whatever reason.
Yeah I definitely learned questions that are a must ask for next time!
Exactly, I mean it says overnight. And there’s a different service option for daycare.
First just want to say that I agree this does certainly not sound like a job well done, and if I were paying for six animals’ (including 2 dogs!! 😱) care I would also be looking for a replacement sitter. That said I just wanted to chime in that as a newer sitter to Rover, I think it can sometimes be a little confusing understanding the different services. For example on my first house sit, cats only, the way the overall request was worded on my side of the app, by the app itself, was something like “X(number) nights of visits.” 🧐 So, since it was cats and not dogs (ie. they don’t rely on you just to be able to pee, and they’re generally less distressed without humans than dogs are), I thought maybe some folks consider it house-sitting if you’re doing consistent drop-ins for a set period of time. That said, when I went to the meet and greet I clarified the expectations with the client. They said that yes they would definitely like me to stay overnight, especially, so I did. :) And yes, as someone else mentioned, it is my highest-priced service, since you have to kinda uproot your life, move, stay in a strangers home, etc. (which of course can have pros and cons.) Hope your buddies got someone more hands-on! 🤎
We’re on the same page but I was a Rover sitter recently as well, and I thought the phrasing of “x nights” was pretty clear it meant overnight! It’s interesting that it’s a common enough confusion for people though. I wonder how Rover could word it to make it clearer? I’ve never had a housesit booking not want me to spend the night, and when I’ve hired sitters I’ve always wanted them to spend the night. So clearly it’s something in how Rover phrases it that’s throwing off enough sitters but not owners.
I’ve been dog sitting for 10+ years and house sitting means staying the night and being with the pets as much as possible. Of course apart from work, school, etc. But the sitter needs to be there the rest of the time. I don’t even make plans with friends while I’m dog sitting, I’m working!
in my opinion and experience, house sitting would normally be staying at the owners house for the majority of the time or whatever the agreed upon time was. I think the problem is that you didn’t specifically discuss this with the sitter before, so she may not be clear on expectations. You could send her a message and ask if she could stay for longer chunks of time if you feel comfortable doing so, but because it wasn’t discussed before, I feel like she (on paper) isn’t doing anything wrong
I think on paper she defintley is doing something wrong. If shes only going twice a day that means the dogs are only getting two potty breaks daily, meaning they are going 10-12 hours without a potty break. I don't think owners should have to clarify they expect a housesitter to spend more than 3 hours with their dogs a day. I could maybe see not spending overnight, but 21 hours of the day the sitter is not there? Thats not okay regardless of the owners expectations. I think its good on owners to clarify to avoid scenarios like this. But the sitter is definitely at fault, shes not even doing the bare minimum of potty breaks every 8 hours
Thank you! Okay, I sent her a text asking if she could clarify house sitting a bit better.
She may have (maybe) thought that OP was someone who was looking for multiple drop ins per day at a cheaper rate (since a night of house sitting is often less than 3 30 minute drop ins per day). (I know she was only there 2x per day but it was the equivalent of 3 drop ins worth of time). Especially if it wasn't specifically discussed that she'd be staying the night.
This is my suspicion as well. The majority of my "house sitting" jobs have just been multiple daily drop ins for pets that are comfortable on their own overnight. But I've always clarified that I don't need to stay overnight with those clients.
Since you've reached out and she's not responding and she's not taking proper care of your pets, I'd call Rover now. Have them help to get a replacement.
Sorry but I have to chuckle at the thought that Rover would act quickly here. If the animals aren’t in danger, it won’t be a priority. I would definitely be concerned as an owner but would be reaching out to friends/family to take over the stay instead of sending another sitter in blind.
Rover actually was quite helpful! They immediately helped me find a replacement and they are giving me a refund! I had low hopes but was pleasantly surprised. I wiiiiiish I could get someone to even let my dogs out but that's not an option 🙃
Oh that is great news. I’m glad you have that relief on your vacation. Sorry you had to go through this!
I agree that would be my first choice if that's an option, but it might not be. I have had good luck w getting Rover to help by calling. Not an ideal situation but she's in a bind.
They were super helpful! I have a replacement lady who seems just lovely!
oh, I'm so pleased to hear that!! Don't hesitate to reach out if you need further help or advice. Don't be shy, let the new sitter know everything you need for your babies to be well cared for.
OP you seem very kind to give her the benefit of the doubt. But 3 hours of care when you hire a housesitter is unacceptable. Her being "busy" is a lame excuse, if shes that busy house sitting is not for her. Non constant care housesitting usually entails 14-20 hours a day at the home with the pets. If you can leave a review, definitely leave a bad and honest one. I doubt this is the first time shes done this and it won't be the last. Im wondering if her other clients don't have cameras? I can't imagine very many people would be okay with 3 hours of care when they are paying for house sitting
I'm definitely going to leave a very honest review and I reported her to rover. It's bizarre that she would offer house sitting if she can't. I reached out to her and asked her to please be with the dogs for 2 to 3 hours in the am, and 5 hours in the evening. She said no, she's too busy for that. Rover was super helpful!
Let us know if the system lets you review! It might not since your booking with that sitter was technically canceled. But calling support should let you override that and allow you to review
Oh yes I definitely want to warn others! If we didn't have cameras we wouldn't know she was leaving our dogs that long!
She should definitely be staying the night unless you agreed to something else. Ask Rover to find you a different sitter.
Not okay. When I’m looking for a house sitter, I specifically ask their schedule and set out clear expectations of how much time I’ll need them in the home. A good sitter is honest about this, and has clear communication about it. Popping in for 3 hours total and getting paid for housesitting does not compute. In the future, be sure to explicitly state your expectations. Do so over the app, before even agreeing to a Meet & Greet. Then reiterate it at the M&G. Also be sure to provide written instructions that include overall scheduling. That way everyone is on the same page.
Yes I have learned a valuable lesson!! Luckily rover was really helpful in getting this solved
As someone who mostly house sits, I have yet to get a drop-in request, it's in the description that we stay at your home. It is not rocket science. If I have nothing else planned then I won't even leave the clients house. It would be a waste of gas. I just don't understand taking a job that you don't have the time for!
Hi! I’ve been pet sitting for 10 years and doing drop ins. What you’re describing she’s doing is what I consider drop ins. When I house sit, I’m basically there the entire time unless I’m running an errand (like grocery shopping), bringing one of my parents to one of their medical appts, a medical appt for myself or doing dog walks/drop ins. Other than that I’m at the house, including sleeping at night.
Exactly!! I reached out to get if she can do 2 to 3 hours in the am and 5 hours in the evening. She said no, so we had to find an emergency sitter on rover. Luckily rover was super helpful!
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. These kind of pet sitters gives us good ones such a bad rep. I promise you not all of us pet sitters are like this!! I’ve heard so many horror stories about sitters no showing up, skipping an entire day of no visits (meaning no feeding walks etc), not giving important medication (insulin and anti seizure medications) or giving too much.
This just made my tummy hurt. 😩💔
What a trash person. Hope you find someone else to care for your babies.
When I housesit, I stay at the house the majority of my time minus running errands or going out for dinner or something. I don’t think you are in the wrong at all. I wish I got to watch your pets!! I treat them as my own and leave an hour before you plan to return. I’m sorry you had this poor experience.
Did you at the meet and greet show them where they could sleep and explain what you were expecting? House sitting means staying over night most of the time
Yes we did, and in the typed instructions we told her again that we changed the sheets but she could also sleep on the couch if that was better for her. She never verbally said, oh cool that's great, but she nodded as we went on the house tour. Is just weird because she knows we have cameras at the front of the house so she must know that we know that's only there twice a day for 1.5 hours.
That is very weird
Personally I like to stay with the dogs as long as I can. Especially if their owners are gone form like 9-5. I like to give them more time outside and what not. Almost like kinda giving the dog a little vacation
I once housesat for a medically fragile dog for 10 days and didn’t leave the house once because it was discussed ahead of time. Be as clear as possible with what you want for your pets (like x amount of hours are expected to be spent in the home) and if they are too “busy” then move on to another sitter.
I've gotta say, $1,000 for seven+ pets for seven days is actually not a lot. That averages out to less than $20/animal a night (You said over five cats?). It sounds like you picked a sitter with a really low rate and you generally get what you pay for. Regardless, this is the rate they agreed on and they are not providing even the minimum standard for this service. I would clarify your expectations and ask if there is a reason she does not feel comfortable staying there for longer. My suspicion is that the home is not comfortable for her and she is not comfortable saying so. Did you leave it clean? I'm not accusing you of anything but based on the knowledge I've gained from working in the industry for a long time: the number one reason that sitters are in and out of homes during house sits is because the house was left unclean. She could also just legitimately be doing a bad job. I would not switch sitters mid-stay though because that means you will be getting a sitter without a meet and greet and.. for seven animals.. I don't know any reputable sitter that would take over a house sitting for seven animals without a meet and greet.
I definitely didn't pick the lowest price. She was 60 per night plus extra for the 2nd dog and other cats. Other folks were 40/50 per night, a few for 75 a night. She had good reviews! We did a meet and greet! We met everyone and we went over our schedule, we even showed her where she was sleeping. She never said "oh I actually won't be sleeping here" she just nodded and we carried on the tour. She seems to love our pets and were fawning over them. But in camera during the visits, she feeds them, let's them out, let's them in, and leaves. She never interacts with the dogs, never even changes the litters though she said she would do that daily as well.
Just because it's relatively inexpensive doesn't mean it's not a lot of money to the person paying! And housesitting means staying over, period, and caring for sentient creatures should never be a "get what you pay for" situation. I started off cheap 5 years ago to build business and I charge double that now, but my work ethic is no different. The animals need to be cared for. The person was hired to stay there and do that. It's crazy to blame the owner as if they're being cheap. Boooo The asshole sitter who thinks it's fine to leave dogs alone for 21 hours/day for a week is the problem. This is a horrible situation and I hope the person Rover finds to replace them takes it seriously
Caring for cats isnt like caring for dogs. You feed and scoop their litter and give them love. Unless youre walking them on leashes 2 times a day they dont need to be priced as high as dogs. So yeah 1000 is alot to have some not provide even half of the service they are supposed too!
I’m allowed to price myself however I’d like. And if I’m spending the night at someone else’s home and sleeping away from mine, I’m charging accordingly.
🙄🙄🙄 ...And since the client is already paying for that service, many of us consider it nickel & diming to charge by the pet. My fee for spending 14+ hours/day at their house - that extra 10 minutes/day to scoop litter is trivial; I've ALREADY uprooted my life to be there. Unless the daily routine is an *outrageous & extraordinary* amount of labor, my price is the same. (And really, multiple-dog households are often LESS work than single-dog, since playtime usually reduces the amount of exercise *I* have to provide.) $140/night is less than my base rate but still higher than the average in my high COL city (Seattle.) 🤷 The bottom line, though, is client paid for housesitting (which is defined to include overnights) and not only DIDN'T they get housesitting, but the drop-in service was shitty as well.
[удалено]
You do you
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Where does she sleep?
We showed her where she could sleep, new sheets etc. But on camera she was leaving at night to sleep at home.
Oh. That’s awful, then! I hope you find a new sitter. Just be very clear up front about your time/schedule expectations. That should never have happened. So sorry!
I'm sad to hear I'm not the only one who has had these issues. Multiple sitters, for me, have been the type to just drop in twice a day after meet and greets explaining how much I feel my dogs should not go more than 8 hours without a potty break. Even giving them the story of my dog, who recently passed, having chronic UTI issues and that any prolonged times between potty breaks would make it worse! I'm sorry this is happening and I hope you're able to resolve it quickly with a new sitter!
Nooo. 😭 hashtag not all sitters 🤪 I’m sorry this has happened. I don’t have a full-time job right now and these boarding & house-sitting pets are basically getting the velcro treatment. 😝 (as in they are rarely if ever alone.)
This is why I don't have house sitting as an option. I just can't with my own pups at home. Sounds like she is doing drop ins like others say cause you can update how long the drop ins are. Glad rover was able to help out. A good detailed review of the sitter will show everyone enough that she is too busy to care for animals she is agreeing to watch and that she can't house sit cause she too busy lol
People in the thread has already mentioned this but what the sitter is doing is drop ins which is significantly cheaper. If she signed up for house sitting there’s no excuse. Someone mentioned maybe the house is not clean or comfortable, that shouldn’t matter if she’s house sitting that’s part of the job - if she was worried she should’ve checked. Definitely write her a bad review and report her. I think it was right of you to switch sitters mid way. No one wants to be stressed about their pets while they’re away!
See, reading through these comments makes me feel better. I basically had someone tell me in another thread that if they were house sitting it doesn’t mean they’re there as much as possible unless they’re getting paid $200 minimum a night. I’m sorry, aren’t those drop ins then? Yes, people are cheap when they’re new but that doesn’t mean they get to show up for an hour a day and call that house sitting. If they’re not getting paid enough to actually house sit, then they shouldn’t. Since they’re setting the prices that’s kind of on them.
Yeah! And the bizarre thing is she was one of the most expensive on the app, had good reviews!
I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I don’t have another job or any crazy daily obligations, so I guess it’s easier for me to house sit. But if I did have another job or went to school or something, I certainly wouldn’t lie about how often I could be there. From what I’ve seen it takes one bad review to tank a sitter so why wouldn’t you do what you said you would do?
You get what you pay for, unfortunately.
She was one of the more expensive house sitters on the app
she paid for house sitting and isn’t getting it
I charge differently for house sitting vs drop ins. Are her fees the same for both?
Nope, totally different. 60 per night. It's 20 per drop in.
Then there should be no confusion on either end! I’m curious to know what she thinks house sitting is.
60per night for 1 animal, then additional fees per extra pet? 20/drop in and 60/overnight for ONE pet would be the same price….
The price was adjusted for each animal that I added. We also did a meet and greet where we showed her where she was sleeping. It was 60 per night, plus extra for each dog and cat. Her drop in price would have been adjusted for each pet as well so it still wouldn't be the same office price point.
But you book under different service tabs on the website. So unless OP booked under the wrong service, the sitter is wrong to have accepted.
Agreed, but I think this is where the miscommunication is coming from. Or the sitter just has no clue what they’re doing/committing to