That’s definitely something to be discussed up front. Everyone is different.
I’m both a sitter and a homeowner on this site. I love getting a daily photo of my dog when I’m gone—I look forward to it. And as a sitter, I love taking unique photos of the pets and sharing them with the owner. My experience so far (since 2017) is that most people like photos and quick messages about their pets. I would be very concerned if I didn’t hear from a sitter for more than a couple of days.
My last sitters took this special photo of my girl. She’s high energy—needs to learn to slow down, I loved it.
I err on the side of sending too many. They can always delete! I’d be missing my pet if I ever left one, we had family that looked after my own ones when we had them but it must feel strange not being surrounded by one’s pets all of a sudden!
Communication is key like with any other topic while the owners are away.
I hope they will. The message right now is misleading and inconsistent with reminders that seem to be randomly sent to some sitters. Like @alegría, I sometimes get a reminder email from THS on day 3 or 4 of the sit suggesting that I send an update. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of
Which I find really annoying and patronizing. When I get the message, I have already sent quite a few updates. The same goes for the reminder to let HOs know about my expected arrival time.
I saw that listing and passed, not because it would be too much bother for me, probably not at all, but because that’s not the attitude I like and I really don’t think it belongs in Trusted HS. It clearly shows distrust and entitlement. Not the people I want to partner with.
It’s a tricky one. On the one hand, as a sitter I completely understand that HOs would like reassurance. On the other, also as a sitter, it’s sometimes hard to see the line between “They want cute piccies of their beloved pets” and “They want to check up on me”. As so often, it comes down to communication: How the request is framed.
I wanted to kiss the HO who, when I asked if she wanted frequent updates and photos of her pets, said “Nah, no worries. We know what they look like.”
Me to Bjane - I do a quick note and/or photo daily. I think one time I skipped a day. I do try to let them know even if just a small bit. Maybe it’s too much, but for me it’s ok to do a quick something daily.
I loved it.