Do you sit as your “vacation”?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Hi, I’m doing my first sit & not having a the best experience.

First of all, I intentionally chose this sit as a vacation- it’s mine & my husbands anniversary but we couldn’t afford the housing plus s transportation etc so we decided to try house sitting.
We intentionally chose a location that’s about a 2 hour drive or less from multiple cities we’d like to visit & explore.
The HO explained that the pets only need to be walked once in the morning (plus fed of course) and once in the evening. We understood this to mean we could do day trips as long as we came back in the evenings and walked the dogs.

When we arrived (having flown internationally for this sit), the HO explained that she never really leaves the pets for more than 3 hours at a time.

Maybe it’s our fault because we haven’t owned or really even cared for dogs for some time & so didn’t think about the fact that regardless they probably shouldn’t be left home for an entire day every day. But I’m just curious…do others on here use this site for vacationing? If so, do you leave pets home alone for day trips? What’s the longest reasonable/acceptable amount of time to leave pets unattended?

I definitely would clarify all of these things next time beforehand, but we’re here now & would just like some advice.

Additionally, we had some other issues come up while here. The most significant being a water issue that led to no hot water for a day or two. Thankfully, it seems to have been resolved. But it made me wonder…is there anything that can be done in a situation where a home is not really livable? I can think of several things that would constitute this…like it being too dusty/moldy causing allergies or no heating in a cold environment or the pet being much more difficult than what was presented/communicated.

In any of these situations, is there anything you can do? Is there anything THS would do to help? Like compensating a hotel somewhere else if the home is not safe/healthy etc?

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Which is perfectly understandable.

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It’s always a good idea to ask home owners how long a dog can be left. Generally 4 hours is enough, and that for me is enough time to do some exploring. I often take dogs with me when exploring new places.

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Hi there
Sorry your first experience isn’t working out that well for you. Like you mentioned, in hindsight you realize you should have asked about how long the pets can be left alone for. This is just a prime example of how when we are starting out, we may not consider certain things, or think to ask certain questions, and experience is a great teacher.

I think many people sit as a means of ‘vacation’ but how people vacation can be really different.

I am a full-time sitter with my husband and we visit plenty of really touristic places. And we enjoy exploring them to a point, but between being kind of homebodies, lazy tourists and typically spending time in an area for a longer period, I don’t really feel the need, or have the desire, to be out and about all day doing stuff.

So being able to be gone for 6,7, 8 hours or more a day really wouldn’t matter to me. Given my preferences and tendencies, I don’t really find the responsibilities of housesitting any sort of hindrance to my travels.

But I like to have the option to be out for at least a few hours so I don’t consider sits where you can’t leave the pets for less than 4 hours at a stretch, even though in many places we often spend a good deal of time at home and rarely leave them alone for that long even when we do go out.

For people like yourself who really want to get out and about all day for at least most days of the trip, they would probably aim for cat sits or dog sits where they can be left alone for longer periods, perhaps have access to the yard and can go out whenever they want to use the bathroom. A sit with no pets would be the most ideal but they are pretty rare.

I have seen on the site that some sitters inquire about the host arranging care for their pets on occasion --daycare, a dog walker,etc…-- so they have the ability to be out longer. I have never asked something like this because like I mentioned before, I really don’t care about being able to do that. But it seems some hosts are amenable to that.

I think most understand that people’s primary motivations are traveling and don’t expect the person to want to stay at their home 24/7. But they are on the lookout to try and discern between people who understand the pet’s care is their first priority, and people who are simply looking for a free place to stay and will not honor their responsibilities.

As far as the home’s conditions not being livable, THS will not offer any compensation. It is not as if us sitters are their employees and they are assigning us to sits, and have some sort of responsibility towards us in that regard.

I know there is a sit cancellation plan that comes with the highest level of membership that will reimburse up to a certain amount of hotel fees for qualifying sits, but I don’t know if that sort of thing would apply to a sit ending early for such reasons.

Essentially they can’t do very much about this sort of stuff–at the core, they are nothing more than an introductory platform between people looking for a service and those willing to offer it-- but by raising your concerns with them, and getting their ‘blessing’ to leave, you don’t risk putting your membership in jeopardy.

And by saying that, I don’t mean you need to get their literal permission to leave…you could ultimately do whatever you want. But if you didn’t keep them in the loop about what was happening, and letting them know about the problems, it could lead to your account being suspended or cancelled if the host raised a complaint about you.

Housesitting is a great way to travel, but the care of the pets and the home are really the first priority, which means in many cases, you may not be able to explore an area in the same exact way you would as a typical tourist.

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The HOs should have written it in the listing. But they don’t, because then they don’t get applicants.

I think I would feel free to disregard demands that are sprung upon me on arrival.

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@shortyi3
THS do acknowledge that a sitter is entitled to leave if the conditions are “unliveable “-

THS definition Unliveable “means a pet parents premise that fails to meet the requirements outlined in Our Terms of Service. These requirements include but are not limited to, a clean and hygienic living space, no third parties present, and no dangerous pets.“

A Premium member would be covered by the sit cancellation plan if the sit was unliveable.

A sitter in this situation could contact member services on the 24/7 Urgent Support phone line for advice and to talk through options .

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I use house-sitting as a holiday, but I also appreciate the fact that it’s never going to be a typical ‘holiday’ type of holiday, if that makes sense. The animals always take priority, and I enjoy their company, and for me, getting to know them and spend time with them is all part of the experience. It works for me, because I love walking and heading off into the mountains exploring, and it’s a bonus to have a dog with me. If I want to go out for day trips and do more touristy things without needing to worry about how long I’ve left a dog alone for, I look for budget accommodation rather than using THS. I think THS can work as a holiday, but it does depend on your expectations of what that holiday is going to deliver. I often come back from a house-sit feeling as though I need a holiday!

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Ooof. Sounds like this was a bad fit and that both you and the HO entered with different assumptions. It’s great that you now know what to clarify before confirming a sit, but please also let the HO know. Aside from possibly working with you to make your immediate situation better, they also owe it to their pets to do a better job stating their expectations upfront and vetting sitters.

I’m not a sitter but based on what I’ve seen in forums, and given the rise of remote workers and dogs adopted during the pandemic (ie not used to being alone for very long), I don’t think there would be many dog sits that could fit this criteria. You’re gone for 4 hours on transportation alone, and to make that kind of time worthwhile you’d probably want to spend at least that long at your destination, meaning you’re gone for 8+ hours, every day. Sure, some dog schedules allow for that but dogs are companion animals and part of the reason people want housesitters instead of drop-in sitters is to provide that companionship! Not to mention adequately exercising a dog after 4 hours of driving and 4 hours of sightseeing does not sound very sustainable on a daily basis.

I don’t believe it is right to punish the animal for the owner’s mistakes. It would be better to say no upfront and risk cancellation than to quietly neglect the pet’s needs. In this case it is also an oversight on the sitter side for assuming the dog could be left alone all day every day, which they do own.

Please do try to work with the HO to arrange drop-in visits or walkers to enable your long day trips, and consider that you’ll probably need to take fewer day trips as well. It’s unfortunate that your planned vacation is going differently than you thought, but I think the initial expectation of it being a normal holiday was not quite founded in reality (blame it on the recent advertising). Take it for the learning experience that it is!

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Of course I would tell the owners that such demands came too late.

Doggy would be fine. Doggy does not have a watch.

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Try telling that to dogs on DST :rofl:

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I’m under the impression you are one among the first sitters admitting to have fallen (unbeknownst to you) for the lure of “free vacation!” as THS has been marketing itself over the last year, if not the first one to my knowledge. This marketing strategy has been discussed a few times on the forum, and not in favourable terms.

I’m pretty sure you didn’t sign up for this to take care of a dog the least amount of time possible, and then be as a free as a bird for the rest of the day. However, as @KC1102 mentioned, you probably didn’t do enough homework in the conversation stage of the process.

I feel for you—you have travelled internationally imagining a fun and relatively inexpensive vacation, to then meet the reality of what pet sitting is. If indeed the fact that the dog cannot be left home alone for more than 3 hours was mentioned only when you arrived, it might be worth asking the HO whether they might have a friend or neighbour who can walk or stay with the dog for a few hours one day so that you can stay out a few extra hours. If it’s specified in the listing, though, the HO thinks that you were already aware of it, so it might be more difficult.

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@shortyi3 We have done dog sits as a vacation - in a popular U.K. holiday destination with beautiful sandy beaches . We couldn’t leave the dogs for longer than 3 hours (we knew this before arriving at the sit ) but we could take them with us , which we did every day .

For a city vacation we would look for sits with cats , rabbits or birds that can usually be left for longer than dogs.

We ask owners before confirming the sit how long the pets can be left alone for - that’s our first question in our application if it’s not already stated in the listing .

If the listing was misleading in that it indicated that you would have time to visit certain cities then that is something to discuss with the owners . If however it was your assumption that a dog could be left all day , I think that is quite unusual assumption to make since I have never seen a listings that said that a dog could be left alone for more than 5 hours .

Since you are already on the sit - research the local area for places to visit and places where the dog can come along with you . Ask the owner or locals for suggestions. We have visited many lovely National Trust Gardens in U.K. taking along the dogs from our house sits . Whilst it may not be the sit you envisioned it could still be a great vacation.

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I always arrive 3-4 days before my sit start to have some free time to enjoy the country I’m cat sitting in.

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@pietkuip Or, the HO they think they did tell it in the listing, for how long can dogs be left alone.

When writing a listing, this is part of the responsibilities section:

Screenshot_20240724_073055_TrustedHousesitters
Screenshot_20240724_073055_TrustedHousesitters1080×2070 177 KB

Only if you click ‘Read more’, will you find out, that the information does not show on your listing. And even then, there’s no prompt to actually write that info anywhere :grimacing:

So I can totally understand why some HO (especially if they’re new) could really think sitter would have that information from the listing.

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No. I sit in places I would enjoy being in. A home that I would:

  1. Feel comfortable in. It does not have to have any modern, high tech anything and it could be a rustic cabin in a remote location. I only need to have access to basics.
  2. It has to have pets I know I can care for without any feeling of it being a burden. I am always willing to learn if the person feels confident in teaching me, like I did with sheep! Fabulous experience for me.
  3. The people, HO have to come across as fun, happy folks who are enjoying their lives and would seem like great people to meet. Even if I don’t meet them, and it has happened, I have to feel that sitting for them is a good thing to do, for them and for me. I have sat for people who have special needs with pets or personal. I feel good doing for others.

My holidays are in between sits. They can be an actual planned out trip, a few days before or after the sit in the same location as the sit or a gracious invite to spend a few days with the HO because they wish to take me to see or do something I would not have been able to do in my own.
All of the above has been my experience this far as a sitter. There will always be moments, sits that turn out to be a bit more or a bit less.
But that is part of the experience.

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Clarifying how long the dogs can be left is a must. I agree that was something you should have done and the home owner should have also discussed with you. You can’t make assumptions doing this.

People sit for many reasons and there are many nomadic sitters who do this to live in different places and avoid paying rent and other expenses. But a lot of occassional sitters sit to get away and save money on accomodations, so they might be willing to live with some restrictions, but no more than 3 hours is tough, and many sitters might decline a sit with those restrictions.

I’ve done several great “vacation” sits. These were all cat sits and while we didn’t usually wind up leaving the house for more than 6 hours at a time, it wasn’t a problem if we did. Some cats just get fed twice a day. Some cats have automatic feeders. Cats rarely need food or medication more than 3 times a day, and often at least one of those times is flexible. This proved to be a great way to see cities like Portland, San Franscisco, Washington DC, Boston, etc.

Dogs are another matter entirely! I’m going on my first THS dog sit in a couple of months. I know the owners prefer the dog not be left more than 4 hours. This won’t be a challenge due to the fact they live near a beach in a very walkable village in a country where the dog can go on trains and buses to other nearby places, so we’ll be able to enjoy everything with the dog. For us this is a vacation, though not everyone defines vacation the same way.

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@shortyi3

In my opinion, house-sitting isn’t a vacation as there are roles and responsibilities to perform, particularly if there are pets involved.
So that’s a mistake you have made and realised when you arrived.

You did mention you’ve not had interaction with dogs for a while, maybe you’ve forgotten how tying they really can be?

Are you saying that house is unliveable or are you just thinking ahead to avoid further sits you won’t like, it’s not totally clear.

Are the previous reviews good for the home and pet?

Some people may read into this that you simply don’t fancy not being a free agent all day and are looking for excuses to get out, that could be their interpretation.

Give it a bit longer, your dog rustiness may wear off and you should be able to enjoy your (presumably) first sit.

Have fun.

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If I want a very active vacation, with a lot of exploring and freedom, with going away every day, I am not sitting. I would take a hotel or tent.
No responsibilities, no cleaning, just there as a tourist/ guest.

If I just want to be in a different environment, just want to relax and not go out every day, then I will housesit.

For the lack of hot water: Keep in mind that these things also could happen at your own home.
Or even in a hotel.

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We all learn as we go along what works best for each person. When you are fairly new and don’t know an area, it’s quite difficult to judge what is possible. That is why it is much better to start on sits that are quite close to where you live and get used to how it all works with pets and the quirks of other people’s homes. I mostly do cats, I don’t housesit all the time and go places where I want to visit the area or have friends and want to be out without too many time constraints. Dogs do need a lot of time and certainly won’t be able to be left all day wherever you go. It isn’t a holiday but you can have one if you can juggle the responsibility and the pets always do come first

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People have vacations even when there are kids involved :slight_smile: