What are your thoughts on being asked to drive hosts pets in your own vehicle? For example, the dogs are used to being driven to an off leash park every day. The first time this happened, I agreed and covered the back seat of my car with a fitted sheet. As the week went on, I thought the host might have offered to compensate me for the gas (7 days of driving her dogs to the park). This host was so thrilled by my service that she recommended me to a friend, who also wanted me to drive her dog to the off leash park every day (there was no mention of compensation for gas). The second potential host had a long bio in which she elaborated on the cleanliness requirements of her home and it occurred to me that she had no consideration for the cleanliness of my vehicle. Since the off leash dog park was not that far away, I asked if I could walk her dog over and suggested we have a FaceTime chat to discuss. I never heard from her again. I think that if hosts want you to drive their pet around, there should be compensation for that or they should offer up a vehicle. I have had a sit where the hosts had a special vehicle for driving their pets to day care. I realize that we get to stay in the hosts home for free in exchange for looking after their pets, but driving pets around in your own vehicle without compensation feels like being taken for granted.
I think if a host requests that you drive their pets around, if youâre willing to do it, you say to them âsure no problem as long as the gas expenses are reimbursedâ.
We provide a car for sitters to get around, and in case of emergency for a trip to the vet with our critters, but donât require they drive the dog anywhere.
Personally I wouldnât want other peopleâs dogs in my car without compensation for gas and a car cleaning afterwards.
No way Jose
The second sit I did, I was expected to drive the dogs to a dog run every day, a couple of times I did it twice a day, over a week long sit. They gave me a cover for the back seat. I didnât know what to do, it was my second sit. No compensation for the gas. I now say, my car is full of stuff. I have a month long sit coming up in Feb and they are offering me a car to take the dogs to a hike place, I will not take dogs in my car. They should offer gas money and what about the hair? Ridiculous.
The hair and dog slobber. The cleaning would bother me more then the gas (assuming the place was close) but yeah owners should cover both gas and car cleaning if they are requiring it.
Though if I were a sitter I still wouldnât do it. Owner should provide a car if the dog needs to be driven to the park everyday.
My girl is kinda lazy and is good with neighborhood leash walks. I list some parks and hikes in my welcome guide if sitters want to get out somewhere different for walks but again I offer a car. I pay for the first tank of gas, after that I assume the sitter will (they are also free to use it for shopping or sightseeing). They have always returned the car with a full tank of gas even though I donât ask them to.
I think itâs very cheeky, however I have done it off my own back. A few have provided a car if Iâm not in my country, but I have never been compensated for the petrol.
The worst scenario of this was in New Zealand, early on in my housesitting âcareerâ. I sat for a family who had 23 alpacas, 2 dogs and several cats. They left me a car to use but I was expected to take the dogs to doggy day care twice a week which was about 10 miles away. They also lived 8 miles off the main road, so I had to drive that and more to go to the supermarket. They never thought of compensating me for the petrol and now, with more experience, I would ask.
Iâve also had my own car covered in dog hair, which can be hard to remove. As most of us know, hire cars wonât generally allow animals in their cars or, if they do, they will slap on a huge cleaning fee.
The gas wouldnât bother me as how far can the dog park be. I really enjoy seeing dogs play with each other at the dog park. I wouldnât have the dog in my car as my car is fairly new and I donât know if their nails might tear out upholstery. They may be muddy and really dirty the car afterwards. If they want me to take the dog to the park they need to provide a car.
I sit mostly in the U.S., where most rental car agencies allow dogs, as long as you return the car clean. I always take my sit dogs on outings, as long as their humans say they enjoy car rides.
No hosts have asked this of me, though. Iâve done it voluntarily, because I choose outings I enjoy. I donât care about the gas.
I did a local dog sit while having my house remodeled and mentioned that I was planning to take the dog to the beach. Even though I had my car, my hosts volunteered theirs, which they had outfitted for their dog, and they gassed it up. They said I shouldnât have to pay to take their dog on outings.
As for personal cars, my husbandâs and my cars are outfitted for dogs.
@villagegal, very fair question.
In regards your situation, this seems resolvable by better due diligence at video call stage. Use of personal car and related expenses could have been discussed in video call - so that both parties have a clear understanding before confirming the sit. Perhaps thatâs a takeaway learning (we have steady stream of such learnings as we face oddities!)
For us, this expectation at video call stage would probably cause us to withdraw application. Irrespective of specifics then it signals information about the pet parent.
Put another way, we perceive housesitting as a trade - so if weâre going to consider such an âaskâ then there would need to be a commensurate âgiveâ (fabulous property, lovely pets, etc) to rebalance trade to be fair.
I ask at the initial video meeting if the dogs travel well in a car. My car is old, an estate and specifically bought with grandchildren and dogs in mind. I can safely say the grandchildren make more mess than the dogs.
When I visit a place I want to explore and the dogs come with me. I would never ask for a contribution for diesel. That would be as bad as being asked to pay the home owners gas or electric bill.
We donât accept sits where the listing stated that the daily dog walking has to take place at a doggy park or another location which first requires transportation away from the home .
A doggy park ties you down to a specific location and time each day and we are more spontaneous than that !
We have enjoyed many trips with dogs which weâve taken in our car but these have been places that we wanted to visit and on the days / times that we wanted to go . Hosts have recommended beaches , forests, gardens/ castles and places that we might not have discovered otherwise . These trips have been the highlight and most enjoyable part of our sits and at our own expense since they are places that we wanted to go . Weâve also taken a dog with us on a train trip .
We discuss taking dogs with us on trips in the car at the video call stage ( before confirming a sit ) and check that the hosts are ok with that and that the dogs are comfortable travelling and enjoy being in a new environment. We will ask to use their seat covers if we take the dogs in our car (Most times these have often been offered without us having to ask ) .
We ensure that there are walks from the door. Although we make it clear that we donât put dogs in our car, we do add that, in an emergency, we would drive them to the vets. I agree with others; if they want you to drive the dogs for walks then they should provide a vehicle. We have been provided one on many occasions and each time we sit abroad.
We love taking dogs on public transport
We donât do dogs anymore but when we did , we just took them everywhere we went. Even shopping (one of us would stay outside with them or go for a walk) never thought of being compensated for fuel in the same way as we didnât compensate the HO for untilities. In terms of keeping the car clean, blankets and towels. Ideally a dog harness or a boot that can accommodate dogs. Whatever your opinion be proactive and have the conversation ahead of the sit. Itâs all about communication and not getting cross because you didnât ask the right questions.
For those outside the UK, you are required to have your dogs suitably restrained in a car in the UK and they can enforce high fines if you donât.
Yes, and hardly anyone does
I use a seatbelt restraint for dogs in cars â it plugs into a car seatbelt and links to a dogâs harness.
Itâs not required in the U.S., but many people use them. Theyâre easily and cheaply available on Amazon or other sites, or at many pet stores.
We keep them in every vehicle we have and I keep one for travel.
In case it would encourage others to buy them, this is what I mentioned. I got other brands years ago, but this one is illustrated on Amazon. There are countless brands and models.
These help in case of car crashes or help keep dogs from leaping out of cars and potentially getting hurt in traffic, etc.
Unrestrained dogs can go flying in a car crash and sometimes they run away, because theyâre frightened on impact and their humans might be hurt and canât keep them safe.
You want models that attach to harnesses, not to collars, because obviously you donât want your dog strangled in a crash.
In Australia, each state or territory has its own laws in relation to dogs in cars so itâs best to check the appropriate state if you are sitting here. Fines can be very hefty too!
I used to oblige when home owners asked me to take the dogs to the woods or beach in the car. But my car got destroyed. I was never offered fuel money or car cleaning. Now I have a new car I wonât do it again.