For an upcoming sit a few months away, I was supposed to look after 2 dogs and 2 cats. Then suddenly the dogs were going to stay with a friend.
I’ve told them I no longer wanted to do the sit and thankfully, they quickly unconfirmed me.
But honestly, it’s irritating and I’m curious to know if this has happened to others and how you reacted.
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My hosts in Bologna decided to take the dogs along on their trip to the mountains. The reason was that one of the dogs had been prescribed injections.
Perfectly fine with me. It allowed me to go on day trips to Ravenna etc.
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As a sitter, I wouldn’t be bothered at all. Maybe they thought looking after 2 dogs and 2 cats was too much and were thinking of your best interests by leaving the dogs with a friend.
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@Globetrotter
They actually said that they were thinking of making it easier for me. However, the dogs were a major reason why I applied, as I adore that breed, and the owners knew it.
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We’ve just had a sit where it was supposed to be three dogs & one cat for three weeks. One sadly had to be put to sleep the week before the sit from old age, the second was taken to a local kennels as she’s so nervous of men & then we had just one pooch and one cat and it was ridiculously easy & a lovely sit. Better that way than unexpected extra animals being dropped onto you would be our take @andrealovesanimals #thesethingshappen
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Yes, having extra animals with no warning is worse. I’ve had that too in the past.
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That’s too bad then.
We’ve had the situation where a host contacted us to let us know that the sit for 1 dog and 2 cats would now be only for the cats ( as the dog had died suddenly) . They gave us the choice to continue with the sit or not . We decided to go ahead and enjoyed a sit with less responsibilities. That suited us .
However, I can understand that if a solo sitter based their decision to accept a sit around the dog walks and hikes that they wanted to do with the dogs , then it does substantially change the sit for them . You could thank the owners for the update and discuss what you had planned ( dog walks / hikes ? ) and ask them if they would be willing to reconsider and leave the dogs with you . They may be thinking that they are doing you a favour when in fact it changes the reason that you chose the sit .
All the best @andrealovesanimals .
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We had a sit once with a dog and a cat. A few weeks after confirming the hosts said their friends had asked to have the dog as their child loved it so there would only be the cat. This was fine for us as the sit was in a region we had friends and family & things to do so we’d be more free to spend time with them all. Then a few days before the sit they said the family couldn’t take the dog after all!! Grrrr! So it was back to the dog & cat together.
However in the end it all worked perfectly as the dog was a complete delight! We really loved her. In contrast with the cat who was extremely unfriendly, grumpy & aggressive. As well as being 3 legged and massively overweight (bless him) We would not have enjoyed the sit with just the cat- in fact he is the only cat we’ve ever met that we really disliked! 
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I just finished a sit that was to be 3 dogs, 2 cats, a parrot and a macaw. Then the HOs let me know presit that they would take the youngest dog with them as he was still bothering the cats. When the sit started they took all 3 dogs. Didn’t bother me. When the dogs were around the cats would stay in the attic bedroom and only come out for meals. Now the cats had run of the house which they seemed to enjoy - one of them took to sleeping in the youngest dog’s crate.
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@Silversitters
That’s a good suggestion.
In my case, the sit has already been cancelled, but definitely a positive way of handling similar scenarios in future.
I did remind the owners that the dogs were a main reason why I wanted the sit, and then they suddenly said that the dogs could not be left alone (which had not been mentioned before).
I think they were having second thoughts because I would have done the sit on my own and they didn’t trust me enough to handle all animals. In which case I’d rather not do the sit, although I’m sure I could have handled the animals. But if there isn’t full trust on both sides, it’s better not to go ahead.
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We had another experience where we applied for a sit with three cats. We were looking forward to it after a series of mainly dog sits. The owners told us they also had 2 dogs which they planned to send to a ‘boutique dog hotel’ where they always had fun. But…if we wanted to have the dogs around too they’d be happy to leave them. (But he warned us “the dogs & cats don’t get along so you’d have to keep them apart”!)
We said no thanks we’ll just sit the cats as planned!- especially as this was August in Madrid with 40°!
A few days later they discovered their dog hotel was full so they ended up having to get Rover people to take the dogs in. We were very relieved they did not put us on the spot by asking us to change our minds! Phew!
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Sorry to hear that plans have changed. It’s always frustrating. Not sure where you’re based, but in the UK there’s a website called ‘Borrow My Doggy’. If the rest of the sit sounds like a good one, you could always see whether anyone local to it might like a bit of help with dog-walking.
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@Becca
I’m in Ireland and we have Borrow My Doggy too. I’m actually a member 
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@toml
What a lovely story and photo 
We had a sit confirmed for 2 dogs, some chickens and fish. One of the dogs had a aggravated an old injury in the weeks leading up to the sit. The house was on multiple levels with no way of confining the dogs to one level, so the hosts decided to send both dogs to stay with friends who lived in bungalow for the duration of the sit. They asked if we still wanted to do the sit and we said yes. We enjoyed having a bit more freedom only having chickens and fish to care for, but it felt strange to have lower maintenance pets!
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So as an owner - I have 2 cats and a dog (and some fish). I initially have posted a profile with all pets with a caveat that the dog may stay elsewhere.
The reason is our dog is connected to her littermate brother and his human family living 30 minutes away from us. When we travel, sometimes we host the dog siblings as they love love love that.
So maybe the host has a dog friends family that the dog can stay with? If so they should be upfront about it even if it’s just a possibility. Honestly some sitters like less work (our 2 cats are stupid easy to care for) but some really want to be around lots of critters, especially dogs.
All is fine, just all sides need to be transparent and clear.
For example, for a future sit that was 3 weeks I found a wonderful sitter who loves loves loves dogs. In no way would I change that, even if her brothers family were home and offered - because this sitter wants to play with my dog! Totally fine with me!
But I’ve had other sitter apply saying they would prefer only the cats.
Everyone’s different but clear communication is so important!
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@Felinelover
Exactly. Communication is needed! The owners in my case knew that I really wanted to be with the dogs. Then they talked to their friend about taking the dogs and presented that to me as new information, when I asked them about something else. They never asked what I thought. So this attitude is the main reason why I don’t want to sit for them. If they had communicated more openly and respectfully, I might have gone ahead with the cat sit, because I do love cats too.
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Yes I understand why you don’t want to sit for them. It was a bait and switch, definitely.
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I agree. it would not bother me if suddenly less pets to look after. I have applied for sits with dogs and cats, where owners have said they werer undecided whether to take dogs or not. And then dogs have been taken and I have only had the cats to look after. No problem. But I have often sat for just one cat anyway.
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