Hi I’m a new member in THS. I’m a bit sad and frustrated that I haven’t been able to secure a sit yet and I’m only getting automatic rejections without any feedback.
Yes I’m new, but I’ve taken care of pets the “tradicional” way back home -Argentina and I have my own dog 24/7 on my care.
I don’t really know if that’s a thing but I feel is related with the fact I’m not from the UK. Reading through the forum I see they prioritize locals and couples, so I guess my profile is the least attractive possible.
I’m starting to think this was a very bad idea 
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Given the volume of UK sits, I dont think “they” [home-owners] are a homogeneous bunch with a single hive-mind 
Why dont you add your sitter profile to your forum user name, and we can offer constructive feedback to your profile and hopefully improve your chances.
Instructions here:
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Hi @Macumay , and welcome! I think you can spruce up your profile a bit but as I’m in transit at the moment, I cannot give a lot of feedback. I will say that your pictures are great! Your second reference gave you 4 stars in a couple of categories. You may want to ask them about that as it may be a mistake. It would be much better if they were changed to five stars. You may also want to ask for two more references. I get the feeling you need to tell a little more about yourself and your experience with animals, also your experience caring for homes. I also suggest you take a look at other sitter’s profiles, particularly those with lots of sits.
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Hello
Sorry to hear of the frustration…
As a new sitter and HO myself…with 4 character references, I am pursuing local sits to build my reputation and reviews.
I am on sit right now that is 30 min from my home for 10 days with a pup.
I have another sit in May that is 40 min from my home with 2 kitties and I am looking for others as well.
We want to to travel to Scotland next year and so we are building our reviews in the hopes that HO in another country from us might feel better about accepting us for a sit; even though that may not be a major factor.
What do you think about doing some local sits in your area thru THS to earn some THS reviews?
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Hello there, do not despair, it happens to all of us! It isn’t a Brit-Argentine thing for sure. International sitters are well liked in the UK. You only have 3 external reviews that I can see so yet to be verified by anyone on THS so that’s a bit tricky. I can’t see the reviews with the four stars that someone mentions so a bit confused there…just keep going and you’ll get a yes soon!! 
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I agree with Mars - tell us more! One aspect stood out to me - you’ve ticked to say you have experience with small pets but you dont mention them at all. [I have a vested interest - I’m a home-owner with small pets!] Also one of your referees mentions you had to give medication to her cat - this is something you should bring out as well, as an extra skill/experience.
I’m also curious about your solo trip to Europe. Is this purely holiday? Will you be working (online) at all? Home-owners want to know how much time you’ll have to spend with their pets (particularly dogs). I’m wondering if you’re already in Europe in which case you could change your location to your current country?
Small point - could you crop the first photo so you and the dog fill the frame more? Or possibly swop it for picture of you sitting cross-legged with the same dog.
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Thanks! I’ve already linked my profile, thanks for the tip.
I think the automated rejection without a word was hard on me 
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Hi Macumay, I’m new to this too, but I live in the UK so i thought I’d reply. If you’re still in Argentina now then it’s only natural that any country would consider a “local” first, as that same person could potential help them with pet sitting in the future too, whereas someone from a different country wouldn’t be able to. So maybe try doing some pet sits on your doorstep firstly to get some reviews, and then reach out the UK.
However, if you’re already living in the UK, then there’s likely to be something wrong with whatever your wrote in your profile.
Where are you living?
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That automated rejection does hurt a bit. I’ve done loads of sits and it still stings a little. You are certainly not alone in feeling that way. Too bad many HO fail to send even a short personal message with these.
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I think if you are currently in the UK, I would change your location to whichever city you are currently in. That’s what we did when we were abroad. Once we returned home, we changed it back to our hometown.
Are you on a tourist visa? I would mention that in your description if you are, and how long you’ll be in the UK.
Good luck. I think you have a nice profile and I’m sure you’ll find something.
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@Macumay, automatic rejections are happening more often now that home owners are realizing their pool of sitters is cut off at five. So many are rejecting the first five, to allow another five to apply, and sometimes again, so they have a larger pool from which to interview. This is not a business for home owners, it’s personal, so most will not think of sending a note to tell you why they are doing this.
Best to avoid taking it personally and move on, the sits will come.
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I’m wondering how you’ve come to that conclusion….
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Hi, I’m new to this and have a sitter coming to watch my senior dog next week. I was hesitant to chose someone from far away because I want someone with my dog most of the time. A tourist might want to travel around the area too much. So for this first time, I did chose someone that works from home and isn’t a tourist to my area.
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You bring up a good point.
And one that I am learning real time as a sitter.
This lovely sit I am on and pup has turned out to be very needy.
I am currently house bound for the pup’s sake and I am GLAD to be. It’s the correct thing to do.
This is a local sit and I did have to modify my plans to accommodate.
Again, I wanted to respond in kind to this lovely pup and family.
But, as an eye opener…my wife and I have been chatting about what if we were on vaca and had plans…paid for venue tix and such.
Cancelling plans and a financial loss and vaca interruption makes us realize that we need to know what is also good for our intentions if we are going to utilize THS when traveling (yes I am sure this is rare but should it happen on a vaca…the impact is real)
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Hi @Sweet-Mother-Of-Pearl I just wanted to say that even sitters from further afield will respect what has been agreed prior to the sit, with regards to the care of your dog. During any video or telephone call pre sit this should all be discussed, and the needs of your dog discussed, including whether your dog can be left at all or not or for how long.
My hubby and I have completed international sits, and the care of the dog/s and/or other animals will always come first. We do our tourist sightseeing both before and after the sit and during the sit we have spent all of our time with the dog/s, taking them out and about everywhere with us, they have their own little holiday in effect with us doing lovely things until their owners return. If we were to care for a senior dog who couldn’t get out and about as much then we would respect and adhere to this and spend time with the dog/s at home and take them out for the limited time as already discussed with the homeowner/s.
We are both retired and thoroughly enjoy spending our time with the animals that we are caring for. We have plenty of time as I mentioned before, to do our sightseeing and tourist things both before and after the sit but your pet/s will always be our number one priority.
Of course, there will always be sitter/s locally to you who would prefer to do your sit, they may be just starting out and building their reviews or they may simply just prefer sits more local to home for various reasons.
Please don’t be hesitant to choose someone from further away, as long as everything has been discussed beforehand with what your requirements are then you should not have a problem no matter how far away they are to you.
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Hey Deb,
Thanks for the tips! I’m still in Argentina, and It totally makes sense that people want local first, I’ve love to do here that but unfortunately THS is not that well known locally, so it’s a bit tricky. Any way I’ll be arriving London the 22nd so I’ll adjust my location when I get there. 
Hi everyone,
Thanks for putting time and thought in this thread I feel the exchange is great to understand different views.
I get the concerns related to this but as @Samox24 kindly explains while doing sits the wellbeing of the pet will always come first, I guess that all or at least most of the people in this community are pet lovers I understand the responsibility behind taking care a living being.
Again thanks, this inspired me to add more information to my profile to highlight the fact that at least my trip is a slow-self paced adventure and I have plenty of time to do sightseeing in between sits.
Sounds like you’re feeling less frustrated now and more motivated.
Just a tip, but in your initial application try to show you know about the specific area of the UK you are hoping to get a sit in each time, to make yourself stand out more, and proves you’ve done a little research.
For example if you are sticking to London, it’s a big place and each area is totally different, so find out what is within a few miles of the specific area each time, and mention it.
Likewise if a sit is in the middle of nowhere, make sure you point out that you are aware of that in a good way, such as how you love the peace and quiet of the countryside. But don’t fib, there’s no need, you’ll be applying for locations that appeal to you most, so just get across why their place gets you excited or inspired.
Anything you can say in your first contact puts you 1 step ahead of someone else that didn’t bother saying anything relevant (just like applying for a job). If you can say 2 things to stand out, you have double the double the chance.
Also, when you get to the UK, consider doing a higher number of smaller sits to get a higher quantity of UK reviews, rather than 1 longer one. As numbers may count in your case.
Alsooooo, make sure you get your passion for dogs etc across in every point of contact. So that they really feel like they know you and they have a well-rounded image of your character, before they have even spoken to you.
You need to keep us updated with how you get on. 
Good luck
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I can see it working for certain areas and limited number of days, for instance in Tuscany I would enjoy pet sitting and just enjoying walks and relaxing with beautiful Tuscan views.
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Thank you! I wish I had known about THS when my dog was younger, now she is nearly 15 and I feel better if someone is with her most of the time. She mostly sleeps and is pretty easy to care for so I will consider your suggestions.
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