I’m currently researching a specific breed of dog that I will be sitting and don’t have a lot of experience of- it’s a Dachshund. I’ve met the dog and it’s young 18mths. I’m currently watching a lot of YouTube videos about the breed, and yesterday joined a local dog walker I know together with her rescue Daxxie to learn from her advice. I’d not realised the breed’s particular vulnerabilities around its spine, and that it had to be lifted a certain way and carried up/down stairs plus on/off furniture and the stairgate kept closed just in case it fell. So now I’ve got all my breed notes…. I’m keeping a file on each breed I’m sitting. I’m pretty experienced with big dogs Border collies/labs/retrievers/springers etc but always good to keep up to date with recent research and best practice alongside the Welcome Guide Instructions of course.
Do you research particular breeds before a sit?
Yes i research. Just cautiously.
I love your profile by the way- brilliant! 
I had a sit with a dachshund. He was not that delicate and vulnarable.
I’ve not sat any special breeds, but the first thing I’d do is learn about the dog from their regular humans. That’s because dogs are individuals more so than just their breeds. So even if I did homework on the breed, I’d check whether X applies to the specific pet.
In various cases, I’ve sat elderly dogs that had had spinal problems and/or surgery previously and needed to be lifted on and off couches and up and down stairs.
Personally, I generally avoid dogs I couldn’t lift, because if there were an emergency or such, I’d want to be able to do that. And I would want to be able to control them say if they got into a scrap with another dog.
We had similar requirements with two elderly Swiss pugs that lived up two flights of stairs (& loved their food 
) One had no spinal function and wore diapers so lots of instructions. She was one of the sweetest charges (& best snorers ever) #princessisabellaofzug 
They have little legs & their bodies are close to the ground. You have to be careful they don’t jump down from high furniture as they could damage their back
No, we just do not sit for certain breeds of dog basically
Yes absolutely listen to the HO’s instructions and that’s true of horse breeds too- but certain breeds do have specific underlying vulnerabilities it’s well worth knowing about I believe. Like being able to spot the onset of laminitis in small ponies who are much more prone to it or eye problems in Appaloosa horses….
I’m tending to not offer to sit for flat faced brachycephalic breeds or dogs with a lot of slobber like St Bernards.
I’d start with what the hosts say, because they’d presumably know about their dog breed’s underlying commonalities, including back concerns, breathing issues, etc.
We’ve done 2 sits so far with Dachs (3 dogs in total). Sometimes you need to lift them up and down off the couch/stairs, and always support their bum properly when lifting them. All 3 of them were lovely dogs, and we were given guidelines from the owners of how it affected the individual dogs themselves.
But we’ve also had a husky-cross that we researched beforehand, but it turned out to be nothing at all like we had researched, so adorably lazy beyond belief. 
LOL. Pets can definitely be atypical of their breeds, because living creatures have individual personalities. Plus, many of them aren’t purebreds.
I do sometimes do a bit of research if we are looking to sit for a breed we don’t have experience with. Often to get an understanding of typical character and behaviour.
We have cared for a dachshund and were already aware that their long backs can be vulnerable. He was young and in the habit of climbing on and off sofas independently, so we took our lead from the owners there. His favourite place to be was on the back of the sofa to look out of the window.
We also researched french bulldogs and bulldogs when we xared for them, to underdtand their breathong issues and were careful to walk them early in the morning when it was cooler.
It’s not just dogs, we really enjoyed learning more about siberian csts, including that they often don’t cause allergies, despite all that fluff! Siberians usually don’t have the enzyme in their saliva that commonly causes allergies.
My friends owns 3. The older dogs have experienced the types of spinal conditions described. I think it’s a good idea to so some breed specific research. We’ve focused primarily on sits where we know the breed type or have cats - only because we’ve got limited time for sits so have focused on pets and areas we most want to sit for/ in.
what a great idea to keep a file on each breed, I do tend to go with what the pet owner says, but sometimes in a rush to leave they don’t always remember to tell you everything, I’m currently sitting 4 of them (2 the owners 2 her brothers) they are each different personalities, I have never had to put nappies on dogs but one of these you do! , before you open the door otherwise they get excited and wee, or if you leave the house during the day , their walks are little and often, they don’t like walking in the rain, they can chew, so are in a special area at night, or if I leave the house. They all have freshly cooked food of chicken, rice and veg. They are cute and the females like cuddling on your lap, if one barks they all do.
Gosh yes the HOs said about avoiding walking they’re Daxxie in the rain! When I walk a Border Collie he can’t wait to get out in the biggest storm and then find the biggest deepest puddle and stand in the middle of it.
My current sit dog, a border terrier, and my own rescue mutt (a Norfolk terrier mixed with some kind of midsize dog) also hate going out in the rain. Seems like such work dogs should be hardier.
Random cuteness: My sit dog and I’ve kept running into a neighbor with a itty-bitty dachshund. Today, for instance:
So wee and cute! He’s three months old.
What is a bum?
Buttocks or backside
Are not stairs much more dangerous for humans than for dogs?
And then the extra risk on staircases that one is not used to.
The extra risk of carrying something. (A colleague of mine, decades ago, broke his neck and died when carrying a box of recycling paper down the stairs. He was 35 or so.)
The extra risk of carrying a live animal that is not used to a new human.