I typically do my sits solo so I’m rarely willing to sit more than a single dog, and wouldn’t feel comfortable at all with more than two if they need to be walked. I just don’t feel experienced enough to walk multiple dogs at once (I nearly got taken out by a lunge + leg-wrapped leashes when a neighbor’s dog surprised us on a blind corner.) I’ve seen hosts suggest walking them separately, but this would take up my entire day & energy while also worrying about the one(s) I’d left behind.
Insofar as cats, my personal limit for indoor kitties is 3. I love them, but there’s only so much of my attention I can give out without someone getting shorted, and only so many catboxes I want to scoop each day (or smell, tbh.)
It would be so very helpful if we had a setting or search criteria for max number of each type of pet.
I realize that’s imperfect, as some may also have a max number of total pets (not sure I’d do 2 dogs + 2 cats + 2 birds, for instance), but it would definitely help me narrow the listings in my search results without getting distracted by the photo & opening the listing before I notice they need care for 3 dogs + 4 cats, etc.
Be happy for other input or non-programmatic suggestions on this (besides “just look at the pet icons before you open the listing.”) My travel is flexible so I often save a search with lots of results for a wide geographical area, & it’s very tedious wading through so many listings that would be a non-starter for me off the bat.
Hi Merrypuppins
I am also a single sitter & I agree completely with you.
I am only interested in pet sitting one dog per household.
It is often the case that when there are two or more dogs they have varying care & walking needs due to their individual ages or breed.
So yes, to have a filter search available on the number of dogs would certainly help me.
Yep I’m on board with this too. 2 dogs would be enough for me. It’s just logistics. Even as a couple we have had times when one of us is ill then one person has to take over all the care and it can be too much. I have seen sits where you don’t know how many animals they have until you read all the detail.
I’m a solo sitter and prefer 1-2 pets, but have sat up to 3 dogs.
For my searches (I have several, in different countries and time periods) it isn’t much of a problem for me. In the locations I’m interested in, hosts rarely have more than the one pet, really?
Maybe your locations are more rural and have more animals per sit?
I’ve also sat chicken, ofc then it could be many animals and hardly any work, while one cat with medication could be really challenging.
It would be interesting to see an average; I expect this is a report that THS might be able to run…avg # of pets per listing, by type of pet — as you note, chickens are a bit different. I see a lot of listings in my searches for 3+ dogs; maybe up to 20/25% depending on the area? Less so in Metro areas but we have a lot of suburbs in the US, so not exactly “rural.”
My theory has been that multi-pet owners find THS a boon, as boarding/sitting costs go through the roof with additional pets, plus it just gets more difficult logistically to board with multiple animals.
I suspect that THS doesn’t want to make it that easy for members to find what they want, because it’s in their interest to force sitters to look through a fair amount of inventory and maybe compromise on some sits. They’re already doing that with the five-applicant approach — making things more challenging, so they spread “good” sits around more.
When users suggest changes, they often are aimed at serving their needs directly. But when companies make decisions, that’s not necessarily their priority. People often think, if it’s good for users, then it’s good for the company. But that’s not necessarily the case. And when a company, like THS, has little to no strong competition, they have greater leeway to provide just an OK service, versus if they had strong competition and would be under greater pressure to strive for better service.
Please let us search on size & number of pets. I would NEVER sit 3 dogs or any big dogs, regardless of the location/house. So you are simply wasting my time by forcing me to search through loads of listings. Often l get bored & don’t end up offering to sit for anyone
