Nor did I know what bird spikes were until I googled it. Cannot begin to imagine someone actually using them inside their home, for whatever reason 
Not usual at all to use bird spikes indoors - they are designed to be used outdoors as a deterrent where birds are causing a nuisance . They don’t harm the birds , they prevent them from landing or perching .
If they are being used indoors to prevent a dog from using the sofa it sounds as if the dog is poorly trained . Was this disclosed in the listing ?
@MyrCar have you contacted the owners to ask what their intention was ? What advice have member services given you ?
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If you live in Brighton Sussex or any English seaside town with a large seagull population you’d know a lot about spikes- these are either made of plastic or metal and are fitted to dissuade seagulls from nesting on your roof or balcony. The fledglings wake up at 4am every morning screaming to be fed….
But surely not normal to have them on an armchair inside a house @BonnyinBrighton?! #nowtsoqueerasfolk
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Yes people use the bendy plastic ones to dissuade pets from jumping onto tables/seating at night.
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I’m familiar with bird spikes being used outside on buildings and fences here in Edinburgh. I live near the sea and some people do consider seagulls to be a nuisance. I also saw them used in the same way against pigeons when I lived in Paris but I have never known anyone to use them indoors.
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#everydaysaschoolday 
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Exactly. It’s not very comfortable to live surrounded by post it. We´re responsible adults. Believe it or not, I´ve lived my whole life in houses…
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I didn´t know that word either and had to google it as well. Never saw them inside a house before…
There are actually 2 post its on the armchair. One says don’t remove stuff and the other one don´t sit.
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I´ve never imagined to see something like that…
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Have you tackled any of these issues yet with the HO @MyrCar? 
That’s really awful. I just saw your update. I hope you manage to find another sit asap.
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@MyrCar
1.Take photos of everything
2. Take screenshots of the listing photos and amenities (NOW before the owner alters it )
3.If the home is “unliveable” and/or the amenities are not what was stated in the listing or shown in the photos - contact member services for support. The urgent support line number is on your dashboard.
4 Check what previous sitters said in their reviews- has this happened before ?
4 You may decide to raise a member dispute - if the listing doesn’t match what you have found on arrival ( I assume that the arm chair did not have spikes on it in the listing photos). If you do this THS will investigate. If previous sitters raised similar concerns with THS and the owner hasn’t changed they may get removed from the platform.
Wishing you all the best In getting this resolved.
Please report back to the forum once you have received support from member services to resolve the issue -
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What would be the point? The HO must be aware of what they are doing.
“Creating a hostile environment”, to borrow a phrase.
I noticed that the OP has been edited with an update. I’m just copying it here in case others have missed it.
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Thank you so much for your advice. Very useful!! All done now. We successfully cancelled the sit. We’re still looking for a new one.
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Horrible. Contact THS and try to get it cancelled via them. I’ve had the same issue with a HO who cancelled me but took days to cancel on the THS site so I couldn’t apply for another sit. THS should take this issue more seriously.
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Ugh! That really sucks. I still would at least try to explain why this is intolerable and give them a chance to fix things, if things are in fact fixable. It sounds like they might not be.
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Best wishes on quickly finding another sit, one with hosts who aren’t freak shows. Glad you were able to cancel the sit. Hosts like these don’t deserve sitters and don’t belong on THS, because they have less than zero sense of hospitality or a fair exchange. Life is too short to waste time on such people.
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