I’m curious whether other sitters who travel with pets have experienced this.
I specifically filter for listings that indicate “sitters can bring pets,” yet several times now I’ve applied for sits only to discover later in the conversation that the homeowner:
- hasn’t really considered whether their pet is okay with dogs,
- isn’t sure how their cat will react,
- has never had a dog in the house before,
- or starts asking questions that suggest they didn’t realize a sitter would actually be bringing a pet.
I’ve also encountered situations where significant details only emerge after applying, such as additional hosting responsibilities, shared living arrangements, etc.
To be clear, I’m not criticizing homeowners for asking questions or being cautious. I’d much rather have an honest conversation than discover problems after arriving.
I’m wondering whether other sitters have noticed a disconnect between a listing being marked “sitters can bring pets” and the homeowner actually being prepared for a sitter to bring a pet.
For homeowners: when you select “sitters can bring pets,” what does that mean to you? Have you had sitters bring pets before, or are you simply open to discussing it on a case-by-case basis?
For sitters: how much weight do you give that filter when deciding whether to apply?
I’d love to hear others’ experiences.
(Post edited by the Forum team to comply with the Community Guidelines).
From a HO perspective I suppose that some owners would accept some pets but not all pets. For example a cat would be ok but not a dog. But I don’t think the listing setting allows that distinction so maybe they check “pets allowed” and plan to discuss it on the video chat? Or some owners are not aware of the setting and it defaults to pet allowed?
Setting up a profile requires a decent measure of work. With the tick boxes, there is a tendency to tick now and consider the ramifications later. Especially as regards the sitters-with-pets choices. It’s friendly to tick yes but I don’t see how certain hosts in their right mind stick with yes after thinking things through. Mixing strange dogs raises a lot of questions that maybe can be mostly resolved before dogs meet. But mixing any combination of sitter’s dogs and/or cats with host cats that don’t know each other is begging for the apocalypse.
So I don’t see at all how ticking yes to a single “sitters can bring pets” box carries any value or useful meaning. A yes should require quite a bit of follow up between sitters and hosts before a yes can be taken seriously. Definitely a case-by-case situation.
I accepted a sit recently and during the pre confirmation chat she said she had received several unsuitable applications. They were from people who wanted to bring children and/or their own pets.
I took a look at her listing after the call and let her know that it indicated she was open to a conversation about visitors, pets and families. She said she had no idea the categories were there.
Perhaps they were added to all listings as a default and they need to be unticked.
Personally I think it should be the other way round, tick if you are open to a discussion. Would save time and disappointment all round.
I’d really like the ‘sitters can’t bring own pets’ option be removed for people listing their houses.
I’ve been on THS for a couple of years and done some wonderful sits with my small friend friendly dog (only sitting with other dogs as he gets on really well with other friendly dogs). Quite often when I’ve applied for a sit and told them about my dog, the house owner reads my reviews, is impressed by my 5 star rating and feels happy that I can bring my dog.
Now house owners are asked in advance about sitters bringing their own pets and do not get to consider the quality of the sitter. They invariably choose ‘Sitter’s can’t bring own pets’ as it seems more palatable .
Recently, I’ve been looking for a sit in the summer for a couple of weeks away. When I filters for the areas and the dates that I’m available for I was get an option of around 400 sits. When I toggled the filter to says ‘sitters can bring own pets’ it reduced that selection to 50.
I’m now limited in the sits I can apply for. I would really like this filter removed as it’s spoiled THS for me. I had 10 great sits with my dog and now complaints.
The filter was requested by sitters who travel with pets as a quick way to identify hosts who are open to having other pets in their home .
50 x listings for your available dates is still a lot to choose from !
If you like the look of other listings ( that state they don’t want sitters to bring their own pets) there’s nothing stopping you from applying. The worst that can happen is that your application is rejected. However, if they don’t receive any other applications, you may be able to persuade them to reconsider their no-pets policy.
The simple answer is to act like the filter isn’t there and not toggle it. Now you have 400 sits you can apply for. All fixed.