I update typically once a day, or if something special happens, like the cat that they caution will never come out from under the bed takes treats from my hand.
PLEASE INSERT TREATS HERE!
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I had a homeowner ask me to update them once a day, and when I was already on the sit, it changed to 3 times a day. That was more time consuming than I thought it was going to be. It’s important for both parties to consider the true weight of what is being asked.
I also have had homeowners that say “update us whenever”, and I have sent updates every 3 - 7 days, and whenever I have a question or funny experience. This is a much better experience for me.
I’ve only had a handful of people reject non-urgent updates, and they are a dream. These people usually have either had more house sitters than they can count, and are confident with their decision making skills, or were house sitters, and know what a task creating updates can be.
Updates that never bother me, are taking photos of mail and packages, and any odd things that happen during my sit. The worst updates are of animals that mostly live outside, so I have to track them down, or wait around all day/night for them to return so I can photograph them.
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Hi @Itchyfeet,
Thank you for your reply! This seems very sensible. We’re basically already doing what you’re doing, or similar, but it would probably be good to have a plan for updates and start every sit with the same routine. If homeowners keep being happy about our updates, we know we’re doing something right. We’ll copy your routine I think 
@mars That’s smart! To rather ask what’re too many updates for them than how many they want. Then we’d have a better chance of not being annoying and also less risk that the owner says they want fewer updates than they actually want.
And thank you everyone else for your answers. It’s very nice to hear other people’s thoughts on this.
After reading through this whole thread it seems that a few people are sending several updates every day and some think it’s too much. So I guess a sit where the homeowner wants this many updates will suit some sitters and not others. If it’s a long sit we do feel that more than one update a day, every day, is a bit much if there are no special circumstances, and we might try to avoid those. We wouldn’t mind a high frequency of updates so much though if the owner would be nice about it and sort of changed their mind because they feel anxious or really miss their pet. I feel more confident now that we are not completely crazy and way out of line with our updates and mindset about this.
Anyway, thanks again!
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@Mekia02 has requested we remove her post from this thread, which of course we will do. We will also remove member’s direct responses to her comment.
Thank you everyone.
How much communication would you ideally like with the home owners? It seems like this differs from person to person. I usually send them daily photos and little comments and if they seem interested, sometimes more too, like little stories of what the pets and I got up to. Most pet owners are very friendly and responsive, but once or twice it has happened that they didn’t seem interested (short or slow replies). I guess some people want to enjoy their holidays and disconnect. What are other people’s experiences?
I think its always good to ask the owners- in advance- how much contact they would like during the sit.
In our experience- on short sits (a week or less) they usually like daily updates- so we usually send a few pics and a short update daily. Currently we are on a 16 day -4 cats- sit where the owners have said every few days is fine. So we are sending pics/stories only every 2/3 days. If it happens we have not clarified this beforehand then we start with daily updates and adjust according to the HO responses!
Its very individual! We had one host whose dog was operated on 2 days before our arrival. But she did not want any updates (in 2 weeks away) except notification of when the stitches came out & any emergancy!! This is rather unusual but we respected the hosts wishes and sent very few updates and all went very well!
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As a sitter, I always ask before they depart, how often they would like me to be in touch with them as I want them to enjoy their vacation. Personally, I prefer homeowners who don’t feel the need for me to be in touch every day as I want to enjoy my time with the pets as well, without having to be constantly trying to take photos and videos of them.
We usually forget because we are having such a good time. At some point on a walk at day 3 I usually suggest we take a photo and send it. The day after they leave we always send a short update on how the animals are getting on without them and leave it at that.
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This has been discussed on the forum before. You should always ask the owners what they’d like, so all down to the communication.
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Thanks for the replies, good to hear different perspectives. I always ask them what they would prefer, but in one case they said they’d like daily updates but barely responded to what I sent.
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Hi @andrealovesanimals,
As you say it differs completely from HO to HO. Some do want a daily update/pictures while others aren’t bothered. I ask the HO what they’d like.
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I usually say I start with a morning and night photo and if things go well you’ll probably hear from me less and if there are problems youll hear from me more.
Then it will feed off of their responses from my updates. If they don’t really respond usually less instead of more.
If someone complained at the end, instead of the beginning to set clear expectations, I would probably say that is a difficult person to work with instead of on you.
As sitters, we always ask (during the video chat) what kind of updates the HO wants and the frequency.
As HOs, we always cover this with the sitters, also during the video chat.
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@andrealovesanimals I can understand your concern that they are not responding back to your updates, but please keep in mind, maybe they just want to see that their pets are happy and content and as long as they see that, they don’t feel the need to respond. I look at it as a true trust in what you are doing and they are happy with what they see! Just my perspective though!
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@Debbie-L That’s a great way of looking at things! Thanks for this new perspective. I like feeling a bit connected to the owners, not with multiple messages every day but some dialogue, to feel like we’re both loving and caring for this sweet animal 
. But I respect that not everyone takes the same approach. I’m not likely to return to very distant owners, but I can see that others might appreciate the freedom that this brings.
Having said all that, i’d feel very uncomfortable if someone texted me all day asking for constant updates!
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Hello!
So we have our first sitter sitting for us. She does not contact us unless we reach out to her. I know they’re doing their thing but I wish they communicated at least once a day. I don’t want constant updates all the time, just a small check in? “Hey, all is good. The pets are good” type of thing.
What are your communication expectations when you have a house sitter?
We are sitters and we always ask hosts how often they’d like to hear from us. On short sits- up to a week or so -the majority like daily updates. We usually send a few pics & a little written update. On longer sits its usually every couple of days, sometimes less often. Even the rare ones who say ‘only contact us if there are problems!’ also end up enjoying the odd picture & little update! We are very flexible. I’ve heard some sitters are asked to put the pet infront of the phone for video calls with the parents!! That’s going too far imho and so would be a request for twice a day updates.
Just make sure you express our wishes clearly and most responsible sitters will do their best to please!
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We have done 7 sits so far and the homeowners really like daily updates. I do ask in the interview process but even the ones who say every two days end up liking it daily. I send photos videos and written every night
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I think if you would like a specific frequency of updates you should communicate with the sitter to tell them that. People have different expectations so the only way to get what you want is to ask for it.
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As others have already said you need to tell your sitter your wishes . They may assume that you want to be left alone to enjoy your holiday and no news is good news .
We usually discuss this when we have a handover -
Specify what kind of update you’d like ( e.g WhatsApp / photos / text ) and how often and even the time of day if you are on holiday in a different time zone - and an early message will disturb your sleep - we have had HO say feel free to contact us if you have any questions but not before xxo’clock unless it’s an emergency.
That was helpful because then we knew the best time to send a message that would not disturb them .
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