I am a little hesitant to accept another sit after my first experience was less than ideal. Without going into lots of detail, the homeowner was lovely but the house (carpet) smelled of urine where the intact dog marks, we had to walk through urine in the garage and deck to exit the house (urine and feces left there for months) and the dogs left presents in the dining room. Two previous sitters gave the sit all 5 stars with no mention of the problems. I tactfully and factually mentioned the problems. Marked down accordingly, but not nearly as much had it been an Airbnb. I am a former inn manager so have high standards but not unreasonable. Any help from seasoned housesitters would be much appreciated.
You won’t always get the perfect housesit, statistically 2 every 100 might be less than ideal ((going off the 98% 5 start reviews) more physically 1 every 20). Those are great odds when you consider how much value will end up with over 20 sits.
If you end up with more bad ones then it means you need to be more selective with your housesits
It’s hard to be selective when previous reviews do not mention these things. I bet there was no photos of those “presents”.
Often well intending sitters worry about hurting the hosts feelings so they don’t include any negative details. When reading reviews, I look for comments that specifically mention the house being spotlessly clean, comfortable and well prepared, positive pet behavior, clear communication with the host, etc.
Are you looking for local sits? If so, request to an in-person meeting instead of a call/video chat.
If long distance, well, we all take the chance that there may be unpleasant smells in a house. Sometimes pet owners can’t even smell tjeir pet’s urine anymore. My mother’s house smells like a bag of urine soaked litter, but she doesn’t even notice.
For sits with dogs you can ask if they have accidents inside. If the HO says yes, well, you’ve got an idea of the potential smell.
Don’t give up, you’ll have great sits 90%+ of the time.
This is horrible-I hope you reviewed the sit accordingly so that future sitters don’t have to face this situation. I think I’d have given 24 hours notice and left. It’s disgusting.
I hope you’ve learnt something from this: be far more curious about a sit ahead of time, don’t assume, ask questions, read between the lines of THS Reviews…..
I’m sorry your sit was so disappointing. They won’t all be like that so I hope this bad experience has given you some insights for your next sits.
As a sitter, I have made a point to never accept a sit with an intact animal, either dog or cat, male or female, so if the listing doesn’t state it, I will ask.
As a homeowner, I state in my listing that my dog is neutered, microchipped, and on preventative flea and heartworm medication.
@sharpr, we’ve completed 70+ housesits. Majority have been really good. Some were spectacular. A handful had issues. Of the latter group, we reflected and evolved our application criteria, video call questions/approach, and mindset (if concerns, we withdraw).
Suggest reflect on how you could have identified issues on first housesit. What questions could you have asked in video call? In next call, ask them. In next video call, given first experience, consider asking pet parent to walk through property showing you stuff - some may decline, most probably would agree.
Otherwise, suggest not dwell on one bad experience. There’s many many really fabulous listings out there. Just be careful. Ask questions. Before confirm any sit, ensure that any concerns have been addressed. Happy hunting!
Thank you for leaving an honest review. It will help future sitters. Apply to sits that have great reviews. Almost all of ours have been really great but make sure you put on your profile and application that you are looking for clean homes with animals that are housetrained
I didn’t even know what an intact animal was before this sit! I will be sure to ask from now on. It wasn’t stated in the listing of my previous sit.
I am working on a list of questions to ask the HO when inquiring about a sit.
I have sat for hosts that don’t know or care the house is dirty and stinks! They have all good reviews so not fair. But it’s what it is.
Our 2nd sit was awful - absolutely filthy. We were all for giving it up, but as we had other sits for the future booked, we decided to do those and see how we felt afterwards
I am pleased to say we have had no more bad sits and are currently on sit number 112.
I hadn’t thought about stating that my dog is neutered, microchipped and on preventative flea and heartworm meds. Thanks. I’ll add that.
How awful! One of my previous posts expressed my concerns with all the five star reviews for these sits. I received some very interesting feedback. Basically, folks are afraid to be truthful because of the potential consequences. 
We have one experience with filth. It definitely tarnished my zeal to do it again for a while. Everyone’s “clean” standards are different. Frankly, I don’t think there is a perfect formula to sort this type of thing out before agreeing to the sit. I’ve just gotten very scrupulous about looking at photos and asking questions.