THS has been writing this same thing for over two years:
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This is on my form!
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I’ve had HOs not mention it even though they knew it was a problem.
Once or twice, the cat might be stressed, but then after the cat has barfed the 3rd time, I got worried.
“Oh yeah he does that. We know, the vet says they don’t know why…”
Totally not OK for any pet to puke so often, but also bad form to not share that in advance.
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I disagree, as a pet owner and sitter on THS a job is exactly what it is. Homeowners are looking for someone to do the job of caring for their pets and home and in return you get “paid” by getting a place to stay and pets to be with. That’s not to say that it should be a cold interaction and to me, I want to make sure I/my sitters are suited for the JOB as well as being suited to each other and make sure it will be a win-win for both parties and especially the pets.
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EXCELLENT idea!!! 
If you hired a paid sitter, they’d get the place to stay and the company of pets, and you’d pay them. To me, that’s a job. If you want that, that avenue is always available to you instead.
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I’m confused… maybe you could help me understand. Do you (and other sitters) feel that because it’s not a paid position you don’t have to respect the homeowners wishes and /or not follow rules they might have for their pet or home? Does it make it less serious or less of a responsibility for you?
Personally, in my sitter role, I feel that I owe the homeowner even more dedication and attention because I’m not paid and it’s based on trust. This is why as both a homeowner and sitter I think the interview (or whatever you want to label it) is so important for both sitters and Owners to ensure this sit is a good fit, responsibilities are understood, and questions can be asked and answered by both parties.
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You’ve offered straw men.
It’s a trade, much like you’d do with family or friends, whom you don’t pay, either. That doesn’t mean they’d do whatever they wanted, without regard to your wishes.
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Ummm ok. I guess you think we’re arguing? I’m going to stop responding. Just was trying to understand different perspectives and share different point of view. The way you are referencing my family and friends feels very hostile. .
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We kindly ask that you consider maintaining a respectful tone while sharing your perspective, especially when it differs from that of other members and please avoid using personal references which can offend. Thanks for understanding.
I think the discussion here just reflects personal preferences and is probably influenced by people’s professional backgrounds. I was in the corporate world for decades before retiring, so for me, it’s not offensive for someone to be businesslike and want to “interview” me.
I feel like the homeowners/pet parents take more risk than the sitters. The pet parents are bringing a stranger into their home and entrusting care of both their home and their beloved pets to the sitter. The sitter is risking that the home or the pets will have undisclosed issues that make the sit more difficult than expected. While trust is certainly required from both parties, it seems to me that it’s reasonable for the homeowner to expect an “interview.”
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From what I’ve seen posted, most experienced sitters want to do a mutual “interview.” The key question is the dynamic of such exchanges.
HOs can choose how much to ask and what to request duties wise, of course. But it’s up to each sitter to decide how casual or formal they’ll allow a homeowner to be during interviews or how much info they’re willing to share or what they’re willing to do on a sit. (And for starters, whether they accept the tone and expectations in which listings are written and whether to apply.) Sitters can ask Qs and decide whether the answers are satisfactory as well.
In some cases, homeowners think of sits as jobs and might be better off paying for sitters and/or getting their friends or family to sit.
Why: There’s implicit risk on this platform and the trades made here. Since none of us depends on this for a living, homeowners have limited recourse. Even with paid sitters, things can go awry, of course. That’s reality.
Some HOs are more anxious or demanding than others. It’s no one’s “job” among THS sitters to reassure or help HOs past a certain point, though.
Worth noting: Sitters aren’t candidates for employment, and they’ve already gone through background checks and many have previous sits.
HOs are essentially competing for the best sitters. Why I say that: The supply of sits is greater than the supply of good sitters. That’s also reality.
Professionally, I do a lot of hiring, mostly among seasoned and senior folks. Even when we expect to pay people well, we’re mindful that the best candidates have the most optionality and they don’t need to put up with what they consider unreasonable — whether in tone or expectations — because they can always choose to work elsewhere.
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@Maggie8K Very well said. 
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You are of course welcome to disagree with me. However, I do agree with the point you raised in that it certainly IS work and the responsibilities which come with this role are something I take very seriously. That is an absolute given. However, I still do not consider myself to be an employee in the THS relationship dynamic and that was the key distinction I was making in my original comment.
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I suspect we probably agree completely, fundamentally. Context and word associations are hard to explore and understand in written short form communication sometimes. Also, I’m probably a bit sensitive at the moment as I’ve just had some issues with my sitters- before we even did the video chat (aka interview for both parties) we had put in writing the one thing that was really important to us (no other people brought to our home during the sit- despite that being a term of THS, we wanted to make it very clear that was a condition of accepting the sit), in the video chat we discussed it and made it clear that was important to us, the sitters said that was no problem for them… Then, when the sit is almost upon us they ask if they can bring other people to stay at our home. I’m not sure how I could have made it more clear (?). Anyway, I felt it was very unprofessional of them and a very untrustworthy thing to do. I wish they would have treated it a little more like a professional agreement. Thank you for your kind note.
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That is perfectly understandable to feel that way. I would feel incredibly let down as well in that situation. That was really not acceptable or even remotely professional of them, especially when a) it is a definite breach of THS’ own rules and b) you had also emphasised and explicitly made this clear from the very start.
I truly hope all of your next sitters going forwards will be far more honourable and respectful. I appreciate your reply and I can totally see where you’re coming from here.
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I have had a similar but not quite as bad issue with a puppy. I was able to manage it though.
I suggest you video evidence of your experience to show the owner and THS, as long as it’s not posted public. Just as a point of discussion. Also document the number of hours your have had to spend focused on the dog bc of this problem and include your hourly rate, citing the responsibilities on this sit exceeding the basis of a free and fair exchange bc you are unable to have any time to yourself. If they retaliate with a bad review you can respond with these facts and the due process professional feedback that you provided.
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sounds like real psychological issues! I think that I would have put a diaper on the dog! ugh.
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I’m the original poster. Wanted to update everyone on what we decided to do. Because we are relatively new to THS (this was our 8th sit), we felt it was very important to maintain our five star rating, so we did not review the sit on THS as we were concerned our rating might be changed or negative comments might be made about us in response. We are the fifth sitter these pet parents have had, and four out of five sitters have not reviewed them, so hopefully that will be a red flag to potential sitters.
We did follow up with THS directly after our five star review was posted. We advised them of the details of the situation, and asked them to contact the pet parents and insist that the listing clearly disclose the issues with the dog in question. We emphasized that it is very unfair to sitters not to know this critical information in advance, and clearly if the information were disclosed prominently in the listing, fewer sitters would apply. We received a response saying they would do this. However, I just checked and the listing is still on THS as it was originally with no modifications.
This was definitely a trying sit for us and a learning experience to be even more thorough on our vetting process. I had hoped THS would address this on a timely basis so that others considering this sit in the future would have a more honest portrayal of the work involved.
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@petlover Just curious since you already have your 5 star review, what prevents you from writing some honest feedback?
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