I’ve seen HO’s request that a sitter spend an unreasonable amount of time with their pets. On the other hand, a sitter could spend the majority of the day exploring and only using the house as a place to sleep. Is there a reasonable expectation of how much time should be spent with your pets? I’ve also noticed sitters that live close by. If you live in boringtown usa, why would the sitter be interested in spending more than the bare minimum time at the pets house? Couldn’t they stay at their own home and just stop by to feed your pets? As a HO, I’d like a sitter to make my pets feel like they haven’t been abandoned. Keeping their food dishes filled is the least of my concerns.
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@CaptainKurt
Part of the reason I sit is to spend time with the pets, although some don’t seem to want to spend time with me (mostly cats).
So for me, I’d want to be able to be away for at least 4 hours at a stretch. And if a listing doesn’t seem to allow that I don’t apply. And I do include that subject in the conversation I have with the pet parent.
As to local sits - I do them to explore other nighborhoods (but I live in pretty big metro areas in the US).
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Say someone had roommates, or wanted a change of scenery, or needed to rest up from their normal nomadic life, or had a home being remodeled, and so on.
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We’re sitters, you are seeing your pet sitter as a total stranger at the moment, so I totally understand your concern, believe me, that will change when you find the perfect sitter for you and your pets.
We sit close to home to visit our family, we also sit overseas to be close to other members of our family, we aren’t your normal tourists, pet sitters come in all shapes and sizes.
Other sitters ‘should’ take notice of how long you have said your pets can be left for, and if you feel your guidelines have been ignored, then you get to review them anyway on pet care, so it’s not in a sitters interest to ignore what you say. You actually get to rate them in 5 different categories! So it’s in their interest to do the right thing by your pets.
Sometimes we sit close to ‘home’. Our own home is now a holiday cottage, because once we realised how amazing pet sitting life is, we barely went home, its so much fun, and for us, pets make up a huge chunk of that fun! So with our place being a holiday let, we sit close to home instead, it’s brilliant, because we get to help someone out with pet care, and they know we love pets, plus they know we may be able to sit for them again in the future, given it’s a location we return to regularly.
Others are different, yes there are plenty who will go to visitor attractions, but it’s typically around the guideline for how long they can leave your pets for.
I’m not sure what pets you have, so… for ourselves…
For dogs - if the owners say their dog loves coffee shops or beer gardens, then the dog comes with us, because we love doing things like that anyway.
If the owners say their dogs like long walks, that’s what we do.
If the owners say their dog is old & just wants to cuddle, then that’s what we do.
Typically the majority of dogs we’ve sat for, have been able to be left for a 4 hours, so that’s plenty of time for us to do our own thing if we choose.
Most dogs love affection, great!
So no matter what your dog is used to doing, it’s all good fun!
For cats - we play it by ear, some are aloof, some a cuddly, some are totally independent, and others love a snuggle on an evening.
We sit full time, so every sit is different, that’s the beauty of pet sitting.
When you are looking at different sitters, it’s not about the number of reviews (and we have 5* glowing reviews). It’s about the connection you ‘feel’ with a sitter. If you have a good gut feeling, and you know-know in your heart that they are the perfect fit for you and your pets, they probably are. Your gut feeling is rarely wrong!
If a sitter wants to visit all of the local attractions, then from what you have said, they don’t sound like they are the right fit for you, but they will fit a different owner. There’s someone for everyone.
Check out Trustpilot for both owners and sitters reviews of THS. The majority of 20000 give it 5*s. You only hear about problems on this forum, which is such a shame, because people only usually post when they have an issue.
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I think communication is key here. I work remotely and although I have a very flexible schedule, I am comfortable not leaving the pet for more than a couple of hours M-F but enjoy more flexibility on the weekends. I look for sits where the HO/pets needs align with my preferences and would expect the pet owner to use the same judgement. As far as doing local sits, I like opportunities to change up my scenery during the week, explore different trails, parks, restaurants, etc. The term “local” is subjective, I don’t want to stay in my neighborhood, but I can travel 30-60 minutes and switch to a location I would normally day-trip, allowing me to change things up from a canyon, to a beach, to a mountain with a different community feel.
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The RSPCA recommends dogs can be left for 4 hours. I think it unreasonable of owners to expect sitters to spend all day with their pets. As no note will be mentioned, this is an exchange. It’s not a fair exchange for sitters to be stuck in the home all day, although the pets should also be their priority.
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I think that i get a lot of my sits because I really don’t go anywhere. I plan my sits around visiting my daughter in LA or doing medical, dental appointments back in my home area. So I am around. I leave to go to the grocery store. I hang with the pet most of the time. There are sits for everyone. If an HO wants someone around, then they will choose me. If they have cats that can be left for long periods, they can choose someone who wants to site see or go off on adventures. Pick who works for you. What annoys me, is when sitters take a sit where they are asked not to leave a pet for more than 4 hours, then do, because they think it is unreasonable. Don’t take the sit if you don’t want the responsibilities the HOs ask for.
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For most of my sits I’m still working all day at their home (lucky to work remotely), and just wanted a change of scene and some pet time. So I’m there pretty much the whole time.
If I’m planning to be out much I only do cats, and still enjoy plenty of play and cuddle time, if the cat is interested.
I always explain my reason for wanting the sit in my application so the owner gets a good idea of how much time I’d be in or out.
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I completely agree with four hours. Although on my first since I’m taking drawing classes and studying Italian and I’m really not going anywhere so the dog gets me 20 473 days in a row when I go places, it will be to visit my mother or daughter, so it really won’t be anything beyond lunch and or dinner so for me being away four hours would be the most I would need I suppose it depends on the dog and it’s all about communication. I do think some expectations of every two hours are absolutely ridiculous. Just because I could meet those expectations. Doesn’t mean I want to go somewhere that has them. Some dogs are used to their owners being gone eight hours a day and others are used to their owners being home all day. Some dogs have separation anxiety and others don’t. I won’t accept the sit unless it’s a match. I know I’m a newbie, but I’m very experienced in business and It’s all about communication.
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We’re a nomadic family and there are many places we go and outside of school hours, we go on lots of excursions. These times we stay in Airbnbs. But too much running around is tiring too and we like to normalize our life a bit and that’s when we petsit. Hanging out with the animals is our excursion. Of course we do venture out on the weekends and that’s where the 4 hour window becomes handy, but we normally do those on the weekend. By the time school and work is done, we barely have time to eat dinner and wash up for the next day. The animals get spoiled when we watch them because they get extra playtime everyday
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Personally 4 hours for exploring is a minimum, I prefer 6+. I have a dog myself, which is home alone 7-8 hours and is perfectly happy.
Of course housesitting the normal routines of the pet will be followed, but I won’t pay to travel to be stuck in a house and won’t apply for sits with less than 4 hours exploring. The listing should align with the expextations. If the pet can’t be left (much) it isn’t really relevant if there are attractions the sitter will not be able to experience. 
This topic shows that there are sitters for (almost) everyone, so it is more about how many will be interested in the sit.
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This is why it is very important to read the listing from beginning to end to make sure the host’s expectations fit in with the sitters wants and needs.
We sit mostly dogs so I’m using my doggie experience here. A young or very old dog needs more attention than most other dogs. They need let out more. Pups eat more times in a day. Pups chew things, need human interaction as they are just learning about this world and what behaviour is acceptable.
I would expect to spend most of my time with a young dog on a sit. Old dogs are the same but for different reasons.
It may seem bold, but in my opinion if you want to sightsee 10 hours a day, get an Airbnb. These pets need care and attention. Their owners have gone. They may feel abandoned. Their behaviour may deteriorate. Your presence reassures them.
Read the listing carefully and follow the hosts instructions.
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For dogs that can’t be left at home alone , the listing also needs to state if they can be taken places with the sitter ( and a list of local dog friendly places that the dog is used to going to would be helpful too ) .
Some dogs are great companions and will be well behaved and happily go with a sitter to cafes , parks on public transport etc . Meaning that a sitter can still explore the local area and visit attractions with the dog as a companion.
Other dogs are completely reactive and therefore can’t go out of the home except for their daily exercise , meaning that the sitter needs to stay in the home for the majority of the sit .
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I feel one should spend time with pets! A dog for instance would need walks with the pet sitter and ‘boringtown’ is not just a town it is in the rest of the area! Plus, pets need a routine similar to the one they are used to. Four hours is a reasonable time to skip away though surely!
I just wanted to say that I this is a really valuable discussion, and I hope you don’t mind me throwing in an opinion too. 
We don’t always see things from the other persons perspectives, which is why communication between HO’s and sitters is so important (before, during and sometimes after a sit). Both sides will have expectations and those need to match.
So I’d echo what @HappyDeb and others have already said, sits should be mutually beneficial and it isn’t just about finding a sitter, it’s about finding the right sitter for you/your pets.
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We are local-ish nomads and yes boring introvert people who love being at home with cats and maybe going for a hike or a walk. We love all the hosts we’ve met doing this and their cats - many repeat sits! Hosts love us because we are somewhat local, already familiar and we can arrive easily to their place.
We stopped sitting dogs years ago for many reasons, one of which was the time limits. Even though I work from home and tend to be in the home most of the time, I did not like the time limit with dogs when owners said we couldn’t be away more than 4 hours. Sometimes we find a hike that’s 30-40 minutes away and want the spaciousness to take our time, eat a bite, then drive home without anxiety about letting a dog out in 4 hours. So we only do cats now. And while we rarely leave for a full day - we know if we want to, we typically can. Holidays are another example - we hit 2 family functions in 1 day while sitting cats and it’s great.
All of that to say - I think the best sitters are ones who truly enjoy the pets and love spending time with them. I love having the company of cats in the house all day when I work and I enjoy playing with them and keeping them company. To me, housesitting means more than 2 meals a day plus water and a little box clean. A drop in sitter can do that!
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Agree with you. It is not about being out all day every day, but to have the opportunity for longer outings.
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How much time a pet can be left alone should be stated in the listing. This is going to vary a lot. I’ve seen sitters discussing listings like mine where cats need to be fed 3 times a day. I’ve also done a lot of 3 x a day cat sits. It’s not a big deal. Most cat owners are flexible about whent the 3 times are so that sitters are about to explore, but some people feel that is unreasonable. Some dog are anxious and require constant attention. Others can be left for 6 hours or so and be fine. Manypeople especially families where there is almost always someone home or retired people spend a lot of time with their pets and this is what the pets are used to so there are many sits that might not be reasonable matches for most sitters. If the homeowners “compromise” it might not work out so well for anyone as the pet might not compromise. Sitters have to ask questions and screen carefully to make sure a sit is right for them. Too many sitters view this as unfair hosts. Frankly, I view it as a marketplace. I don’t apply for sits that don’t suit me. I understand this is frustrating for people who do this full time, but if THS had some rule about “reasonableness” they wouldn’t be able to offer many sits.
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This is such a important question. We have a sit comming up that states the dogs are comfortable home all day as the HO works, just a walk morning and night. Perfect for exploring. We are looking at another sit that we wrote in our application that 4 days a week we will want to be gone for up to 6 hours exploring the area. That one may not happen and I understand if this makes a HO nervous. For us, we like caring for pets but we are also driving long distances to see new places so we want a compromise between the two things. What happened to the days families were gone to work and school all day and the dogs were fine at home??
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I don’t think there should be a standardized expectation here. To make an extreme example, I think it’s completely acceptable for an owner to ask that sitters don’t leave the pet for more than 45 minutes per day. Those owners just shouldn’t expect to receive very many applications.
When I see a listing with expectations that I’m not willing to commit to, I don’t get my panties in a wad over it; I just move on. I know that not every sit is going to be a right fit for me, but it might be a right fit for someone else.
The owner can ask for whatever they want (within basic standards set by THS), and if no one’s interested in taking them up on it, then that’s for the owner to deal with.
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