Hi, I’m Carol, and Jeremy is my husband who joins me in our house-sits via THS. We have been doing it since 2018 and love it. We get our doggie fix and the adventure of exploring new places. Our profile gives you a run down of where we are at (it can be found in our forum profile).
But, apart from all that, we can only encourage fellow sitters to give it a go. Be flexible and treat your responsibilities as if it was your own precious place. We are mostly based in Sydney, Australia, and we’re about to head north for a few weeks to sit at a place called Lake Macquarie. I’ve heard that the fishing is good there so I am looking forward to it. We are also keen to get to know the dogs - a greyhound and a Groodle. Having fostered two greyhounds over the Covid lockdowns we have become quite fond of the breed.
Welcome to the forum community!! It’s a great place for like-minded pet lovers to exchange information about this amazing lifestyle. We are relatively new, beginning just last October, but have spent the last 5 months as fully retired and traveling/sitting overseas. Plans for 2023 include Australia and New Zealand, and we look forward to our adventures in your neck of the woods!
Hello @jecaseka. Welcome to TrustedHousesitters community forum. I’m glad you found us. I’ve heard great things about greyhounds. I hope to take care of one/some one day soon. They sound like real sweethearts.
Our community members help each other have unique travel experiences while keeping pets happy at home. We’re glad you’re part of the community. BTW how did you find us?
All the best,
Karen E
Thanks, I think I noticed the forum a while ago but just hadn’t had the time to do anything and was a bit flummoxed by the requirement to have a different log in etc. Anyhow, I’ve done it now and will see how it suits me for sharing & caring. Carol
Hey Joanne. Yes, you put your finger on it by saying its a “lifestyle” - it is a completely different way to travel, and the great thing is that it helps you spin things out a bit longer which is great once you’re retired. We’ve been to places that we never would have thought of visiting - off the “usual tourist track” so to speak. One destination where we house-sat, which was in Germany at a place called Bielefeld, was a real hoot - its a town the Germans say “doesn’t exist”…and, after they say that, they then fall about laughing. So it was a bit of an intro to the German sense of humour. Bit weird but entertaining nonetheless. Look it up. Wikipedia explains it. 
Carol
@Hello @jecaseka and as full-timers, long-termers etc. agree with Joanne… it’s a “lifestyle” and the best of lifestyles!! You intrigued me this morning with your mention of Bielefeld, and how fascinating!! After searching online, I won’t spoil it for anyone else but this is one of the things I really enjoy about housesits… you get to stay in places that you might never have visited otherwise, and often with really interesting history !
I have a house sitter question for you about greyhounds. In my mind I often worry that despite being a avid hiker I won’t be fit enough to exercise these agile pups to the level they might require. I think this was bought about by someone I used to know who ran with his 2 on a daily basis.
What is the reality of exercising this breed… how long and how far typically is needed?
Thank you and enjoy the forum!
Thanks Vanessa, re greyhounds, I generally say to people that if they like lots of long vigorous walks then “Don’t get a greyhound!”. Well, that’s based on experience with only two greys…the first one we fostered for 6 weeks only. He is now 9 years old and quite a good walker. But, by and large, they are bred for speed not endurance. The latest one we fostered for 6 months and even though he was only 4 years old he wasn’t nearly as good a walker. We discovered he had legacy injury issues from his racing career and basically he wanted to lie down whenever we got to a nice place/lookout/cafe or whatever. And greys do sleep a lot! So, I am guessing, they do vary quite a bit. They can have socialising issues as well if they have come from a racing career. They haven’t been educated for normal pet life, have no idea about how to react to other breeds ( especially small fluffy ones!,) and you need to be careful about some issues relating to diet and feeding due to their stature. They can suffer from bloating, as with other tall breeds. Mostly they walk well in a lead. They tend not to pull on the lead and walk calmly next to you. But they can be reactive when they come across other breeds or cats. So you need good lead control. But the fostering process is meant to establish them for a normal pet life. Greyhound Rescue here in Australia helps people like us with that training process. Again, we only have the experience with the two dogs so far. It’ll be interesting to see how we go with the Lake Macquarie sit coming up next week which will be with a greyhound and a groodle. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our ‘grey’ fostering experience and have fallen in love with the breed.
Thank you for that Jecaseka - that’s all really good information for me and others considering house sits with Greys. Especially the speed vs endurance insight!
Such a shame about the issues resulting from racing them… but it sounds like people like you are giving them a wonderful life in retirement, and it looks like Greyhound Rescue (popping a link here: https://greyhoundrescue.com.au/) do a fabulous job. You’ve made me feel much more confident about considering these graceful pups, as we see quite a lot come up in sits.
Please come back and share more information about your upcoming sit … and if the owners permit would be lovely to see pics, especially the “Groodle”. Thanks again for sharing and we look forward to following your adventures!
Sure, we’re now one week into the sit, with four weeks to go. All excellent and will furnish some photos soon. Will check with owners about doggie photos.