I was talking from the sitters point of view. HOs think their house is great and it isn’t and not so clean. Despite their efforts to clean, because they generally don’t live in clean and tidy. Their pets I feel for. And, as I have said, it is those HOs who feel the most entitled believing we are free labor for a spring cleaning.
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Hi
Yes there are house sits I’ve completed but would never return because, as you’ve experienced, houses are dirty, untidy or owners treat you as staff, dogs are badly trained, so many negative situations.
But I have also sat for some lovely people, with clean houses, well mannered dogs and kind, generous owners who I definitely return to sit for.
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Out of 26 sits, I’ve had only one that was dirty, and that one taught me to look for specific written references to cleanliness in reviews, because it’s not likely that sitters will write an outright lie.
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I’ve just taken a look at my 1st sit- it had a few issues- since then ALL 5* reviews from sitters. So two possibilities here, either the HO learnt from my public and more detailed private feedback or the sitters that followed have different standards. I think it’s the former as they were new HOs. I did suggest they get rid of their cleaner and create a cleaning checklist…. so perhaps they did!
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Welcome to house-sitting!
We’ve done around 30 sits and i’d say 5 of them are of the some cleanliness standard I keep at home. Just remember other people’s clean might be your dirty!
I guess it depends why you’ve chosen to housesit. But, you might want to lower your expectations. I don’t mean this in a harsh way at all.
I hope you enjoy the sit despite your disappointment.
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I relax well in a dirty housesit.. the only way is up and you know when you do a super clean in your terms it will elicit a glowing report from Home Owners!
A sterile super clean place makes me think.. right, how do I follow this act? Ok I may not get typhoid but…
Of course I look at photos and read reviews and responses very carefully, but hey if it’s a bit below my standard I can survive. I just think right I’m going to be out a lot exercising the dogs and this location is so lovely!
I guess I’m positive thinking and try not to let a negative cloud over an otherwise positive sit.
I remember taking over from a couple of sitters who were clearly disappointed by certain aspects of a sit. We kept in touch on WhatsApp so we had a private conversation without the Home Owner included. I made the new sitters realize the great location outweighed a few issues like organization and cleanliness. They went with a great review, focusing on the positive and got an equally lovely one back.
We all have faults. I’d rather see a dip
In cleanliness than entitled behaviour with the sitter or poor hospitality! Let’s be clear having pets can get a bit messy!
A cleaner came to clean at the handover so the previous sitters were able to relax about doing a massive spring clean..the Home Owners had also organized for the dog to be groomed and washed!
I got on really well with the owners too and got a week extra to enjoy the Holy Week festivities which were a wonderful spectacle. Win win!
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“Smells of dog! “
Thanks, that’s very lovely you’ve noticed! We are very happy together.
It’s nothing to sniff at!
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I have had a a few dogs in my life, and joy, gratitude, and unconditional affection don’t smell, but a dog can. Just like people can if they do not wash often enough.
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Very true. Personal hygiene is important not just for one’s own health and comfort but also for those we meet and interact with. I’m totally with you there. Please don’t think I’m the male version of Alan Bennet’s “The Lady in the Van”.
But I don’t ghost people or dogs that deserve the opportunity of a more recent bath!
I was walking down the street and a complete stranger started to talk to me, he was heading down hill too..” Gosh , you walk fast!”
“ oh really? Well I am a dog walker and I used to have Great Danes, perhaps I never got over it? “
He seemed charming, although as we walked I noticed he stopped to pick up cigarette ends literally, that he encountered. ( I’m not permitted to write F A G ) This confirmed my view that smoking is indeed a filthy habit. I still talked to him though and wished him a Happy Christmas.
Funnily enough, although my Great Danes hated getting wet I used to make them have showers especially on a hot day so they could dry off safely and quickly, even after being rubbed with a big! towel.
Modern civilized Man seems to believe we need to wash super often.. go back in history and bathing was considered risky and not something one contemplated doing too regularly…. I’m not an advocate of going back to the “ good old days” but I do think one can go over the top on hygiene. I can remember once my uncle shrieking at me ,” oh you’ve used the wrong towel, that’s my one!”
Ok, an honest mistake ! He was in the army in North Africa and I thought .. I was clean and drying my clean body.. we are Family! Get over it!
Many dogs I’ve looked after I’ve thought .. when was the last time you had a bath? Especially on summer sits in the heat where you know the dog loves a roll in whatever is pungent.
I wouldn’t ask the Home Owner when they last had a wash, nor would I wash a dog without the explicit consent of the HomeOwner.
Dogs pick me out for the scent I give off when I meet them, whatever scent that is. Old Spice on a good day lol.
I went to a pre visit for a sit in January yesterday. One of the darling dogs is totally blind so no walks but he’s still enjoying life and has an excellent sense of smell probably heightened by not having sense of sight now. He was busy sniffing me and I was delighted by the thorough preliminaries.
When I next come to the house the Home Owner will be in another country I will have to let myself in at the kitchen door and I hope that blind old dog will remember that lovely smelly old man has arrived again to care for him as if he were his own.
What deodorant do you gift a pet sitter?
Eau Sauvage, please! I’m no Brut!
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I have recently given 3 stars for cleanliness for a pet sit where the kitchen was definitely YUK. The first time I gave such a low rating in over 70 sits.
So it’s not common that homes are dirty, but it can happen. I’m not fastidious or a clean freak, but that kitchen did gross me out.
Hope your next pet sit will be in a neat and tidy environment, @mediumbird
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Loads of my sits the Home Owner imagines I will be eating out all the time, well I’m not facing a hotel bill! But I don’t like to eat out on my own and in my eyes at least I’m a budding Jamie Oliver. My wife will rarely share my creations, however. So a clean kitchen is a basic ask and a clean bedroom.
I’m willing to share the furry sofa if that is what the House Rules allow! But I like to choose my bedfellows for myself. Petty, I know!
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Eating out all the time? Definitely not the world I inhabit. I do use the kitchen… why would your wife not be interested in your creations?
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I’m a spice boy and she’s a plain Jane. She’s a Korma and I’m a vindaloo! I eat on the edge she sits on the ledge!
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I’d rather have a big, furry, farting dog in my bed than a filthy kitchen.
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I think we are all with you there!
I beg to differ. I try to avoid both if I can. 
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Sometimes it gets sprung on one! But hey love is love!
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I stayed at a similar house in Pewsey. Very filthy, as filthy as you’ve just described. I’d get out if I were you-I did, after four days into a three week sit. I just couldn’t stand the filth, anymore. Your sanity and safety has to come first. I’d look for another sit, cancel this one, and let THS know about the problems. With the blind reviews, you should be able to say what you really think about the sit, without fearing negative repercussions. Please don’t let this very bad sit put you off. I’ve done moe than 30 sits, and I can honestly say, that that sit, was by far the worst.
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Depends. If the host has multiple 5 star reviews with no mention of any problems in regard to cleanliness, this sitters negative review will stand out. As a host I’d wonder if they’d consider our property to be unacceptable filthy as well and we’d potentially face the same negative review from what appears to be an unreasonably picky sitter and be prone to pick someone else.
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As a host (and sitter) with high standards of cleanliness, this wouldn’t necessarily deter me. I would read the sitter’s reviews of prior sits and also the homeowners’ reviews of that sitter. If the sitter complained about cleanliness in just about every prior sit, then I would be turned off. If they just dropped stars on cleanliness in a couple of sits, I would consider that we had similar standards and be more inclined to consider them.
I was the first sitter to mention lack of cleanliness on one sit in a hugely popular location two years ago. It didn’t stop me getting future sits and subsequent sitters have now made similar comments
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