I am new here, from Paris but live in London since 96 in Stratford, East London.
I am crazy about Greyhounds but cannot have my own pet because I can’t bring pets to work and don’t have my own my place. I would love to spend time with pets as this is something really missing in my life and would be great to combine exploring England / France without paying for a hotel.
We WFH Thursdays & Fridays so hoping to do pet sitting for long weekends ( 4 days )
Only have basic experience with pets so I don’t have many photos of me with pets which seems to be an issue. What do you recommend?
I have also made a note from other posts to help me build my profile ( list below )
new and looking to earn my reputation
apply to low application and locally
do intro like on profile
included some references of people whose pets you’ve looked after
tell I am local and flexible with start and end dates and can visit beforehand.
I would love to explore places away from London / around London combining my love for pets. It’s also a great way to save money on accommodation / help pet owners who go on holiday but can’t take their pet with them.
Thank you
Alex
*Profile link removed from post and added to Forum profile as per posting terms.
Alex
I started out in summer 2019 and it took a bunch of applications but got my first few sits in the US. Then with 2 reviews got offered a pair of back to back sits in the UK for a month. Just keep trying and be open to options. I’ve done about 70 sits now and still get turned down.
Just keep trying. It will happen. Be patient. With the 5 application rule, Owners tend to respond faster than before the 5 app rule. You can take some photos of yourself with dogs you meet while you are walking around your neighborhood!! I think most Owners would allow that!
Hi Alex
I’m based in North West London and started on THS about 18 months ago. It took me 23 applications to get my first sit. Just finished my 20th sit!
The key when starting out is to get some good reviews asap. Best way to do this is to apply for local sits and last minute sits. Avoid the capital and popular holiday destinations until you’ve built up your reviews.
Ha ha - I tried taking photos yesterday with unknow dog yesterday but dog kept moving away - owner said dog was scared - will try again. I am in Worthing this weekend with lots of dog walking along the beach
@Greyhound could you volunteer to work at an animal shelter close to you home for a few hours a week ? Walk an elderly neighbours dog ? https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/ Let friends and workmates know that you are available to house sit and look after their pets when they go on holidays ?
You would get your dog “fix” , some photos and references and you may even pick up some house sitting by word of mouth .
@Greyhound You are in the perfect country to start your housesitting adventures! So many sits everywhere around the UK! We are currently on a ‘housesitting tour’ in UK. We booked a couple of long sits over Dec/Jan but now are booking short sits again- booking as we go. Plenty of long weekends always popping up. Short sits are great fir starters. If you have a car even better- you can choose countryside sits too. Don’t worry about lack of experience- we all had to start somewhere! Just be friendly and open and sell yourself as best you can! Create a winning profile that shows your passion and commitment and love of animals. Get a couple of private references. Much of what you’ve said above could be included. We’ve had several sits with Whippets & Salukis! They are around! As others have suggested you may wish to start local, (where you could possibly do a pre-sit meet & greet) and choose sits showing 0/low applicants. Good luck and have fun!
You might want to get recommendations from the owners of the pets you’ve sat. Since you don’t have your own pets, it would help boost hosts’ confidence if others would speak to how well you’ve done that.
Despite some unfortunate advertising by THS, this isn’t a “job” per your title. It’s a home exchange in return for petsitting – an exchange where both sides want something. Petparents want to know they are leaving their pets (and homes) with someone trustworthy (main thing), responsible, and reliable, so show that in your profile. You have pet skills, you don’t need to describe them as “basic” just look for “sits” where the described responsibilites sound like they are within the skillset you have. Make sure your profile shows some photos of you interacting with pets. Get some references from people you’ve done some housesitting/petcare for – even if they are friends or relatives. If you are open to it, include a link to your linkedin and/or airbnb as these will, especially at first, help petparents see you as more trustworthy.
I will look after my referee’s cat soon so will take selfie as well - sounds like what we write on our CV, to say how well we dealt with situation rather than describing the tasks - thank you for your reply Maggie8K
