I also sit and do compensated local pet care, so I understand where you are coming from. This meandered because you chose to focus on the language choices of the petowners as a clue or “red flag.” So of course people who use that language felt stereotyped and may be offended.
I think the best way to figure out whether or not a sit will have responsibilities beyond what you are willing to do and to do due diligence is to read the profile, and ask the homeowner lots of questions including even before a chat to assess what the responsibilities are, to request the written responsibilities from the guide before confirming is another one. But I have no problem if you choose another way.
There are some things I see in listings for sits and in profiles of sitters that I do consider immediate red flags. I’m talking about stuff homeowners may mention that doesn’t fall into the category of pet responsibilities, but may be obvious from photos or how they describe something in a listing. There are sitters who make certain statements that are immediate ruleouts for me. They don’t make the people bad people, but they are immediate signals to me that we wouldn’t be a good fit. These are personal to me. I wouldn’t create a forum thread about them or even mention them publicly.
As mentioned, at first it was annoying. But I am very glad to have gotten the sit. It is a month long in orange county, where I wanted to spend winter. Lovely home, great outdoor space. So in retrospect, it was worth getting the sit. Hence, my comment about what is worth it for you. This sit was worth it. I am just starting to get long sits, had a 3 week sit, this one a month long. It is nice staying in a place longer. So worth it.
What are red flags for HOs I wonder. I recently did a week long sit. I really didn’t think I did anything special on this sit. Walked the dogs. Cleaned up, communicated. They were raving about me early on the sit and their review of me was like gold star plus. I wonder how bad sitters are on this site. I am on a sit now, lovely home in Las Vegas area. Lovely pool, which is great as it is 110 degrees during the day. You don’t have to walk the dog much since you have to do it early morning and evening, due to heat. Sweet small dog. And I could see a lot of sitters applying since you are near Las Vegas. People who would just leave the dog all day alone. They asked me if I wanted to do a month long sit in Jan, but I am booked with a month long sit in OC. I want to give them red flags suggestions since they are new to THS. They didn’t interview me, just read my reviews before booking me.
Met a host with the most sophisticated little gentleman who do not appreciate baby talk at any point - it’s utterly beneath him, weither in public or private. Clearly, he’s verbally seasoned and far too refined to indulge such silliness. Love it!
@andrealovesanimals I, too, am a gentleman, and in the spirit of discretion and respect for his privacy here, I shall refer to him only as His Grace, the Duke of Montague. (And no, it’s nothing baby-related. )
I don’t mind too much when pets are referred to as “furbabies” etc. in online social settings, but I think that when I’m looking for someone to care for my home and pets I’m hoping for a slightly more professional presentation and find myself assuming that a level of immaturity accompanies the use of such language. :::shrug:::
@DogMomster Agreed.. just a few steps from couples speaking baby talk in public, really Think a balance of humor and warmth beat the usual copy fur cats any day.
Just saw a listing where the magnificent cat was described in the headline as ‘..Rather hungry..’ ,brilliant.!(have no spine when it comes to giving treats ) Surprised there aren’t more like that, headlines with ‘Chunkers,’ ‘Loafs,’ ‘French Potatoes’… now that’s a solid classic
Language is, without doubt, becoming more and more politically correct and so we now hesitate to use the term ‘owner’, despite that pets are legally considered chattels (personal posessions) in UK law.
I have conditioned myself to use the term ‘pet parent’ because, after 49 sits, it’s probably the least potentially offensive. Personally, I dislike the terms ‘furbaby’; ‘doggo’ and ‘pet parents’, but I don’t think non-usage infers a lack of humour or fun and definately doesn’t indicate the depth of one’s affiliation with animals. I suspect that people consider the terms ‘cool’ (which - in my day - used to be known as ‘trendy’!)
)
) Surprised there aren’t more like that, headlines with ‘Chunkers,’ ‘Loafs,’ ‘French Potatoes’… now that’s a solid classic 
