@Jenny ty for taking the time to read through and listen. Infeel like this is why we need a “report” button. Listings that push pet sitting into work should be able to be flagged for review.
Ty 
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To me, ultimately, a sitter decides what’s reasonable when they screen listings, do a video chat, review the welcome guide, etc. And that’s subjective. Like I will NEVER mow anyone’s lawn, regardless of how nice the sit otherwise. Meanwhile, for some sitters, mowing is perfectly fine or even enjoyable. To me, mowing is unreasonable. Like you wouldn’t ask a paid pet sitter to mow, even if they were staying at a home.
If a host withholds info and then surprises a sitter with something significant (again, this is subjective), then to me, it’s fine to decline. (That’s because they’ve changed the terms of our bartering exchange, which THS sits are essentially.) If they press, then I’d give them the choice of our ending the sit early and they figure out alternative care.
To me, if a sitter accepts any sit without a backup plan and runs into problems because of that lack, that’s a life lesson, because it’s part of self-care and agency to not leave yourself vulnerable to being trapped or stranded by bad hosts or emergencies. (Everyone comes from different backgrounds and experiences, and if it hasn’t occurred to a sitter that sitting involves risks, then they’ve probably been privileged in life generally, where things don’t ever go wrong or rarely do (or someone else usually bails them out), so they’ve not yet learned to anticipate the possibility of problems. If so, even wretched sits on THS are a relatively low-risk way to learn such life lessons, because they’re temporary and THS sits are entirely voluntary. And in some cases, folks haven’t learned to uphold boundaries and stand up for themselves. Again, THS sits are a relatively easy way to learn such life skills, which are valuable well beyond sitting.)
An example of subjectivity and what’s unreasonable: I received a repeat sit request this week and turned it down (even though I’m free on those dates and the sit would otherwise appeal) simply because it was for only four days. To me, it’s not worthwhile or reasonable to drive six or more hours round trip, depending on traffic, to do a four-day sit. And generally, I don’t consider short sits worthwhile, because of the cleaning and linens involved. To me, if a sit is short, I’d be better off not going or just paying for a hotel. And it doesn’t matter to me if other sitters find short sits acceptable — that might work out great for their circumstances and priorities, again subjective.
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Happy to help where I can
A button would be a quick and easy way to make the team aware! I’ve passed over similar feedback before around a button for reporting listings.
For now you’re always welcome to report a listing via Frankie, I know it involves more input, but it’s a good way to let us know. Any help we get from the community around things like this is so appreciated. 
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I completely agree with everything you said, and I respect that you are keeping it real. Because honestly, life isn’t perfect, and sometimes we run into trouble. As sitters we have to learn to set boundaries and push back when things start to feel unreasonable. I’m only human, so at the end of the day I won’t do anything I don’t want to do.
I recently dealt with a HO who expected me to complete extra labor which was sprung onto me unexpectedly upon arrival and wasn’t agreed to in the initial interview 2 months prior. After telling her that I would not be completing those tasks out of respect for my time/energy, she became very hostile toward me. We got THS support involved and eventually decided to cancel me as the sitter so she could find somebody else who would be willing to complete that labor for free. What amazed me most about this entire situation is that the HO admitted to me in a phone call that she doesn’t even complete the tasks which she was asking me to do. She told me that she pays a service to complete these tasks for her a couple times each week because she doesn’t have the time or energy to do it herself everyday. It sounded more like she wanted free labor out of me, but I wasn’t willing to provide that beyond what was agreed.
It’s sad that things became hostile, including the HO sending neighbors into the house while I was away to damage my personal possessions. But I am glad that I stood my ground against someone trying to abuse the exchange and take advantage of my service as a petsitter.
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Glad you stood up for yourself.
All of us encounter problems or bad situations and we deal with them best we can in the moment, because you can anticipate only so much, since there are so many possibilities and variables in life. Given that and inevitable subjectivity, there’s usually not a “perfect” solution or approach.
But the more clear you are about what your boundaries are ahead of time, in your own mind, the better. And it’s especially helpful if you’re the kind of person who can look ahead — like if I do X now (or agree to X now) will I regret it later? Like will it serve me to go along in the moment just because it’s the path of least resistance (or I find it hard to stand up for myself or I need for the host to like me or approve of me more than I value my dignity or self-respect)?
Framing and perspective also matter a lot. Personally, it’s clear to me that THS sitting is meant to be icing in my life. If that’s the case, why would I ever let anyone take advantage of me, abuse me or such? For icing? To me, that’s an easy nope.
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I equally wonder about FIFO listings- where the owner wants sitters for 2 weeks in every 4 on an ongoing long term basis. I’m not sure what you make of these (mostly I see these in mining areas like Perth Australia) and also wonder how the dog feels about it too….
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This is unbelievable.
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Surely “ranch duties” constitutes asking sitters to work @Jenny? Don’t you think MS should investigate this house sit? #seemsalotofworktome
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I agree, a ride on lawn mower would not be something I would have any knowledge of and apart from possibly injuring myself I would be very wary of damaging the lawnmower.
I have cut plenty of lawns in my time as a house-sitter but only smallish ones.
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But those paragraphs don’t cover the area in which animal care crosses the line between looking after pets… And being, essentially, an unpaid farm-hand.
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Hi @Cuttlefish
I’m sure MS would be happy to take a look at the sit if @Ckone2541 reports it via Frankie. Looking at previous replies, it looks like it wasn’t reported at the time.
If you do report it @Ckone2541 let me know and I can keep an eye on the ticket and make sure it gets looked at ASAP.
@DieFledermaus I’d be happy to pass that feedback over if the listing is reported.
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What is THS take on lawn mowers that need to be ridden? Obviously people use these because they have bigger lawns… which I think then veers into groundskeeper territory.
I saw a sit the other day I was really interested in, until I saw in the pet care section they wanted you to mow the lawn once a week with one of these, and I thought I’ll water plants, but I’m not a gardener and I’m not comfortable operating one of those or riding it around for however long it’ll take.
Are there any guidelines for HO on how much the expect sitters to do outside of pet care?
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Can Ths admins message me I found that sit and while looking for that one I also found a sit that doesn’t let sitters stay in the home during the sit!
Two gems in one search!!! (sarcasm)
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@Ckone2541
If you want to report them youcan forward the listing to
Support @trustedhousesitters.com
Or
Forward them to @Jenny ( Community Manager ) who would forward them to member services .
Easier to send them directly yourself .
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Yes, I sent a message through here to @Jenny so that she could see and flag both sits.
ty
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@boyrrito, curious question.
With fifty housesits now completed, we simply do not apply to listings that we deem seek unreasonable unpaid work. It has to be a fair trade.
That said, what responsibilities are ‘unfair’ in a housesit “trade”? Definitions get hazy pretty darn quickly.
From learning experiences, we increasingly decline listings that involve pet(s) sleeping in human bed or pet(s) that cannot be reasonably left alone for at least four hours. No thank you to velcro pets. Some housesitters may relish such responsibilities. We do not.
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