I am looking for some quick advice. I recently booked a 5 week stay coming up in 34 days.
The owner called me tonight and asked if I would also take on her son’s dog that would be visiting from out of town.
As I had agreed on a 1 dog sit, I am feeling a bit duped. My main concern is that the second dog wouldn’t be on his home turf, and that the two dogs aren’t “siblings”…not sure I’m comfortable with this new arrangement?
I’m feeling very put on the spot and told the HO I would give them an answer by tomorrow.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Can you ask for more info about whether theyve done this before, whether the dogs get along etc? If they can be walked together?
Is it in a super attractive location? If not (and even if it is) remember that they need you as much as you need them so don’t be afraid to potentially say no and ask them to work something else out for the other dog.
We did a sit recently where a single person couldn’t walk to two dogs alone and it was a real pain!
You would be within your rights to back out if you wanted because they are changing the terms. I, like you, would be concerned because they are not from the same home. My max is 2 dogs and that is only if they are both small. 1 if it is a larger dog.
Hi @justbobbi, the owner wants to change what you have both agreed to at time of confirmation. You therefore are not obliged to continue with the sit where you accepted because it was for only one dog. You should not feel obliged as your enjoyment of the sit is important. With 34 days before the sit, the owner has time to re-advertise their listing which needs to include the son’s dog. Be strong and don’t feel pressured!
This happened to us recently and we said we’d rather not but did agree to having both dogs for a few days until another of their friends could take him.
In the end we regretted saying no as the second dog was so adorable , we were really sad when he went!
I would say no, and think the owner is taking liberties tbh. Although I’ve had several sits with 2 dogs I’ve often had to take them for walks separately.
As others have said, if the owner disagrees and pushes you to look after her son’s dog then you are within your rights to back out of the sit and look for another one. Both you and the home owner have time to find another sit/sitter.
This is making you feel uncomfortable, it is not what you applied for.
We have been asked on 2 occasions if we would look after a new puppy as well as what we agreed upon. We said no to both requests. Both HOs had the puppy go back to the breeder during the duration of the sitting.
It did not cause any issues with the HOs as they knew that they were changing the original agreement.
They may just be sounding you out and may not be surprised if you say No. They will probably seek out an alternative arrangement for the other dog.
The homeowners are trying to change the agreement. You are within your rights to say no, the 2nd dog has to be put elsewhere. If you think they’ll penalize you for sticking to the agreement, you’re within your rights to cancel now.
It’s a difficult situation to be in, for sure.
We are HOs and sitters. As HOs, we would never do that to a confirmed sitter (add another animal after confirming).
I’d say sorry but no. Lots of stuff around liability, vet cover blah blah……
Perhaps the son could join THS and get his own sitter at his own home? You could suggest they use the referral route and gain extra free months and their son would get 25% off his fee.
I have never cancelled a sit . However there was one confirmed sit where they later advised me that they now had an additional dog so I asked the homeowner to unconfirm me .
I totally understood why the homeowner bought the second dog into their home ( rescue dog ) but I it didn’t suit me at the time to take on twice as much responsibility as when the sit had been listed and agreed. The additional dog doubled the responsibilities that had been agreed and it was no longer a mutual exchange for me.
I was happy to look for another sit and the homeowner was happy to look for another sitter.
You’re feeling a bit duped because that is exactly what the owner and her son are trying to do. They’re taking advantage of you to get additional free pet care for her son. Nobody’s dog “visits from out of town” for 5 weeks.
You are entitled to tell them no. The Terms prohibit them having this dog there:
5.2.12. not have any pets which aren’t explicitly listed in the details of the Home Listing ;
Obviously you risk them cancelling the sit and just relisting with this dog added with little risk to themselves and you are out whatever travel costs you have incurred and a lost trip. These thinsg always impact the sitter more than the owner.
So you have 2 options which is to agree or to say no as politely as you can and point to the restrictions of THS terms if you need to or just that this is more than you are comfortable dealing with.
If they cancel I would raise a dispute with THS as the son being too cheap to pay for his own petcare is not an extraordinary circumstance.
In general I would never sit for multiple animals from different households, even if not added after the fact. There is no reason to expect them to get along and every incentive for the owners to not be honest about whether they do.
You are being put on the spot. Don’t agree to something you aren’t comfortable with. I wouldn’t rule it out but you need a lot more information like whether or not you can keep both dogs on the same routine, if they know each other from previous visits and get along etc. It’s also a whole other thing about that dog’s behaviors. And technically, I believe it is against the terms for petowners to have other people’s pets at the sit.
You aren’t “letting the homeowner down” by saying no. If they cancel the sit and place it on the site with both dogs, good luck to them.
Wow! This forum is great! Thanks for all the quick advice.
A bit more background on the situation. The dogs are both large golden retrievers. The son lives 10 hours away and would be dropping the dog off a few weeks beforehand to acclimatize.
The location is quite remote and surrounded by forest. When the homeowner called me last night there was talk of putting in an electric fence in light of the new addition…it just doesn’t make me feel very comfortable?
I had asked if any couples had applied for the sit initially and that maybe they might want to repost and get a couple now that there will be a “new” dog.
So the son is potentially going to drive 20 hours (round trip) to have his dog at his mother’s home? It would seem cheaper to take out his own membership