We have a sit booked and confirmed, for early next year, we went to visit the dog and the homeowner, and everything is good, I had been in touch with the homeowner long beforehand as she was worried about taking her trip because whilst out on a long walk her dog had been frightened by a very loud explosion and had run away from her, and was missing for 24 hours, on the dogs return the dog was very nervous, and she was contacting me to give me updates, and ask advice, which I freely gave her, when we went to visit she told us that the dog now has a tracking device fitted, i didnât realise until today exactly what that meant, she gave us the contact for the tagging device whilst we were there, and today we have had todays and all weeks update, from the PIT Pat life app, how much walking, how much playing, how much sleeping, the totals for the week was 126 mins walking, playing, 19 hours sleeping, we are there 3 weeks, so that to me means that we can be kept a tag on how much we do on a daily basis, IS THIS OK or does it break and THS rules. Please give me your view on this.
It will, I presume, also log Where you go and where you are when you are together with the dog - at least walking the dog. The terms I think is related to indoor cameras? So I wouldnât interpret as «forbidden». On the other hand, if you do not wish to proceed, it could be regarded as something that should have been communicated before a confirmation and for that reason one should be able to withdraw should one wish to.
The rules are âno internal recording or monitoring devices can be enabledâ
Can the tag be removed when inside ?
If you feel uncomfortable discuss with the owner .
I have sat for dogs that have the AirTag on their collars. The homeowners would say they use it because the dogs had a history of escaping or had run off because of a loud noise. I have an iPhone and if the dogs and I were out on a walk, I would get a ping on my phone giving our location. Because of its noise, I asked the homeowners if I could remove the AirTag and they were fine with that.
It seems that the homeowner you will sit for has a different type of tracking device which does more that give a dogâs location. They probably initially bought the app/GPS tracker (app) so that they could locate their dog if the dog ran off again and to give them a peace of mind.
If the HO shared with you the dogâs totals for the week of walking, playing, and sleeping, does the HO want you to continue with that amount of time?
While I understand that the app is a useful way to keep track of the dogâs whereabouts, I would not feel comfortable with an app that keeps track of how much playtime, sleep time, and walking time the dog receives.
If the app is not recording or monitoring, then the app does not break THSâ rules of internal cameras. The HOâs dog had run away because of a loud explosion and was missing for 24 hours. Afterwards the HO purchased an app with the intention of finding her dog should he/she become lost again. In this regard, I cannot fault a HO for trying to locate her dog. The fact that the app also keeps track of other activities for the dog may not be as important to the HO as the dogâs location. That is a conversation you may want to have with the HO.
If you would be uncomfortable with using the app during your sit, could the HO disable the app for the duration of your sit? Maybe that is something you could ask.
I think the tag is a good idea and Iâm sure the owner isnât thinking of logging your walks etc but it will help you should the dog run off again. You only need to have the tag on the dog when youâre taking him/her for walks & Iâm sure youâve already agreed to the amount of walking the owner expects.
We have only done 1 sit with pet tag, and it was brilliant for us, because it was a dog that needed to be walked off the lead, so it was a relief because of the nature of that particular dog breed. We could see where he was on the app with just a 1 minute time delay, because he loved to chase squirrels and he would sense them from a distance so heâd sprint off, but he always came back when we called anyway. It actually made walking him really relaxing, just knowing the tag was there if we needed it. He was a gorgeous dog.
However, the dog tag we had was attached to a collar that was only put on when we all went out for a proper walk, and the tag was then switched on. So it wasnât on when the dog was in their garden or resting etc like yours is.
I think it will depend on the connection you have with the owners. For example if you have an owner whereby the dog MUST be walked at certain times, and for a certain period each and every day, and you feel they may check up on you then that would be horrible.
The owners we had were normal ones that just wanted their pets to be loved. Theyâd had other pet sitters, so they were happy for sitters to use their initiative when it comes to their dogs welfare, they realised that some days there may be shorter walks because of the heat, and somedays there will be longer days when it is cooler and we want to naturally walk further etc. Likewise there was actually 3 dogs on the sit we did, but only the one with a tag, but the other 2 hated the rain, and so walks needed to be adjusted around the rainy days too.
The tag is only there for you to find their dog if the worst case scenario happens. I wouldnât worry too much if they already have good reviews with THS, because theyâll just want to take their holiday while someone loves and adores their pets.
Eek, that would make me uncomfortable. Iâd also want it disclosed before the sit so I could understand itâs purpose.
Since it is monitoring and recording when you are in the house, Iâd say itâs definitely worth asking THS about.
That all said, it would be great for those off-leash sits so you have a peace of mind that you can find the dogs if they wander too far
I donât know technically the âTHS rulesâ for this sort of tagging device. To me, it is a type of monitoring device and should be banned, but I am not sure that THS sees it that way.
We have sat for 2 dogs who wore these devices, and I did not worry too much about what the Owners could see, as we were walking them according to their instructions, but the dogs slept in our bedroom, and the tags would make an annoying noise during the night, which disrupted our sleep and the dogsâ sleep.
If you intend to follow the Ownerâs instructions, I donât think it should be terrible? I understand the Ownerâs need to know where the dog is located. If you need to walk the dog at different times than what the Owner stated, then let them know that âI will walk the dog at approx X time and Y time according to my work scheduleâ or whatever.
I would class this a no more than careful and responsible dog owners.
They simply love their pet and dont want to lose it.
If its taken off whilst indoors, there is a chance the dog could get spooked again and bolt, without his tracker.
Enjoy the sit, its not you that is being tracked.
These trackers will be apparent more and more often
I wouldnât mind as I can understand the intention of the HOs. They shared the information coming from the tracking device, so I do not think there is anything to worry about. And to be honest: They walk that dog just 126 min a week? I do that on one day. So I guess itâs not meant as a minimum rule?
Hadnât clocked that bit @Fatamorgana - 2 hours in a whole week is nothing! #15minsaday 
It would be OK for me, I wouldnât mind at all, but the important thing is
How do you feel about it ?
I take you feel uneasy or you wouldnât have asked the question so I think you have to be honest with yourself as to what you donât like about it. Whats really bothering you about a dog having a tag that will ultimately help you if itâs lost.
For instance is it that you occasionally might not walk the dog because youâre not well or the weather is bad and you think the HO will be checking up and find out ? Or is it the general feeling of someone tracking where you are ?
Whatever it is I think you need to be honest with the HO if it is still bothering you after youâve read other peoples views and work towards what will suit you both.
Hope it works out for you.
18 minutes a day walking will be easy to do and shows the home hosts expectations are not too high. It would not worry me being tagged if the bar was set at that level!
Given the history of bolting that this dog has, Iâd be more than happy for the tag to be used. I donât see what the fuss is about it being on indoors (Iâd see it as extra security in case the dog bolted from there) but each to their own - if it makes you uncomfortable then either cancel the sit or discuss options with the HO.
âŠactually, I would be telling the home hosts to return it and get their money back. 18 minutes a day walking and less than 3 hours a day sleeping ?
I think it needs winding up!
I donât think the devise works properly or the dog doesnât wear it regularly. The amount of sleep time is also ridiculous. 19 hours is less than 3 hours a day!
@Dreamypetcare, definitely talk to the owners, you seem to have already built a relationship and I think you can clarify any concerns you may have.
I donât know what kind of device it is, there are many different types. It sounds similar to the one that one of the dogs I looked after had. I wasnât concerned because it only registered the dogâs activity and I was following the usual routine. It didnât register where the dog was. I wouldnât have minded that either. I wouldnât accept a device that has some kind of image or sound recording and that would be against THS T&Cs.
We have a tracker which sounds similar to the one you describe. The only reason we have it is that our dog goes out to âdo his own thingâ for an hour or two in the morning and that is his exercise for the day. (He has had a lot of surgery due to genetic weaknesses and has arthritis, and the surgeonâs advice is that since we are lucky enough to live on a large safe area of farmland and he is not a wanderer, sniffing in ditches at his own pace plus the occasional swim is the best possible regime he could have.) We rarely even look at the tracker any more as he has his little routine which he sticks to and always comes back by himself at the expected time. We have never used the additional exercise-monitoring features at all. We take the tracker off once he is in for the day. Part of the reason for having it is to put sittersâ minds at rest! It can be scary for a sitter to let a dog out on its own when they are not familiar with its routine. Our sitters this year found it reassuring to know exactly where he was and were soon confident that he would just sniff around the fields near the house and then come back. If they were taking him on a walk, I would leave it entirely up to them whether they were more comfortable with it on or off. When heâs in the house, I specifically want it off as heâs prone to a rash on his neck. I do disclose it in advance as part of explaining his self-exercising routine.
I didnât look at it even once on holidays this year- I was getting perfectly adequate updates from the sitters and I certainly didnât need to know which ditch he explored, how much he slept or how many steps he did!
Worth a chat with the HOs in order to understand exactly how they envisage you using it.
We have trackers on our cats as we lost one for a few days once and so now they arenât allowed out without their trackers. When they are in the house for the day/night we take them off as, for us, their job is to track when they are out.
That being said the tracker site does send us stuff like how long they have been active etc but we ignore it as having the trackers is all about being able to track if lost not how they are doing in some league table in comparison to another cat somewhere else and yes there is that information!
Iâd say that very probably the owners are like us and ignore most of the facilities of the tracker app and just want to know that if their pet is out and gets lost they can find it again.
The trackers arenât about testing or tracking the sitters and they arenât cameras, they are GPS location finders, help keep the animals safe and the owners more relaxed about their pets being out.
Thank you ladies and gents for all you comments and advice, I made a mistake those figures were for the one day not the weekđ I do feel more comfortable now you have given your thought on the matter, and yes I am still going ahead with the sit, and we have good communication between the HO, and ouselves, it must have been horrifying for her to have her beautiful bot run off, and be missing for that amount of time and I am aware that pet parent are willing to do anything to keep their pets safe and this is a good idea , I just was t sur if it broke the rules, thank all of you for giving me tour time
This would be creepy to me. And fall. under âmonitoringâ within the TOS no-noâs, though they are ambiguous, imo.
Have it on the dog when going out, absolutely!
But inside tracking sleep and play isnât for the pet safety against spooking and needing tracked by some terrible event.
Itâs not as invasive as an indoor camera or recording device, obviously, but still above and not applicable to the concern it was said to be for.