We did a bunch of sits pre Covid and are just now getting back on board. The postings I am reading seem much more demanding of the sitter. Maybe this is just me. My thoughts are that people were home so much during Covid that they expect this from a unpaid sitter…I am totally happy with a pre breakfast walk and a longer post breakfast walk but then I really dont want to have to back until 4 or 5pm. Then am happy for a post dinner walk. I stop reading if I have to be home at noon or the dog cant be left alone for more than 4 hours. Honestly i love dogs and am happy to sit but I also am using this as a way to sightsee and explore. I hope as I keep looking some sits come up that allow me some free time during the day! Has anyone else found this to be the case?
A fair number of people began working remotely during that time, and pets were raised with a full-time buddy. It’s not much of an issue for those who work remotely while sitting. It may depend on where you are looking but I see plenty of posts for pups not requiring mid-day care
That’s probably true in some cases. But I’ve been sitting for only two years and haven’t found it hard to get reasonable sits. I’ve done 20+ while sitting part time, dogs and cats.
I just skip listings if they seem unreasonable, because if I take a sit, I follow whatever the hosts say is their pets’ routine — food, walks, play, brushing, etc. Even as a full-time telecommuter, I don’t want sits where I’m expected to stay home all the time. And I don’t want to sit for hosts who don’t grasp the exchange.
The funny thing is, I stay home A LOT simply because I enjoy it, even when not telecommuting. But if I were forced to stay — instead of it being a choice — that would make me unhappy.
I find that my hosts often say they want me to enjoy my sit. Whether explicitly or not, they expect me to sightsee. Like many offer a bunch of suggestions about things to see, do or eat. Some loan me their cars, unasked.
Hahahaha I totally get this! 
Yep, same with us. We usually really need to force ourselves to leave the house without the dog, but we wouldn’t take on a sit where we are required to stay with the dog all day long. I want to have the opportunity to go.
I believe some sitters - particularly newbies - can be too eager to get sits and not pay particular attention to find the sits not to apply for, or how important it can be to withdraw when you get information that wasn’t disclosed before (or it takes time before you understand what it really means).
When there are too many - and not only the odd host - that don’t grasp the idea of a mutual exchange, and that the host also has some kind of responsibility to make their sit a mutual exchange. I think many sitters go too far in order to be positive and taking on stuff that is laid upon them. Many would perhaps believe that they have to, that it is somehow required to be a THS-sitter to put up with everything.
While in fact one would do the community - and the hospitable hosts! - a big favor to be a little more picky. That way the nice people among hosts and sitters get the good matches they deserve.
Exactly this! I don’t go out a lot, but the reason I work virtually and can set my own schedule is because I value that flexibility with my time. Even if it’s a sit that I plan to be mostly staying in, I would not take a sit that required me to be home all the time. That tells me we are not a match in terms of how we view this exchange. I don’t consider the expectation that sitters not be able to go anywhere to be a fair exchange.
I have learned (the hard way) that if the sit says to walk the dog morning, late afternoon and evening, to ask what late afternoon means to them. To some this means 2 in the afternoon. To me it means around 4 pm. Big difference if you are out and about. Also I have experience homeowners with their “special manual” they share with you once you arrive that may have an extra walk time in it or length of time and or added things to do as far as grooming the pet not discussed before. If that happens it is your choice to agree or to state this was not in your profile, welcome manual or our phone conversation. That happened once to me and the homeowner said, well that is optional.
I personally never sightsee more than 4 or 5 hours a day and sometimes I just stay at home and enjoy the pets and read. I am older and alternate between being very active one day and enjoying just reading a book at home and loving playing with the pets to get my “pet fix” so my lifestyle doesn’t change on a sit other then now having cute pets to play with. if a sit is longer than 4 days where I will have time to sightsee everything I want to within the sit days. I also love playing with the pets. If I didn’t like to travel so much I would just be at home volunteering in a rescue facility.
I agree that if the pet parents work at home and or retired and spends a lot of time with the pets at home they are seeking a sitter to do the same so the pet keeps the same routine. There are enough sits on here to just move on to the one that fits your lifestyle or needs when traveling even if the other one was in the “ perfect location.” I have not applied to a location and home amenities I enjoy which is a pool because of too many pets to care for as a single person traveling alone.