I am really shocked by this post ! You are upset that the HO cares about their pets !!!
I do not know the exact situation, so maybe I am exaggerating … but making sure that the sitter sees !!! and understands!!! how to handle “MY” pets is absolute essential to me!
The speech “I am that old and have plenty of experience in pet sitting” is just irrelevant for “MY” pets ! If somebody is so narrow-minded, than pass your way !
OK I have rabbits, so it is a bit more than “just” cats or dogs. Indeed, the care list for my cat -and the stray cats I take care of- is much shorter than what needs to be done for my bunnies.
The problem is that a lot of people are just looking for cheap accommodation to enable them to travel around, and the pet sitting aspect is just a side effect …
Even worse, in your post you mentioned that you would have left if you had had this possibility, so what a great sense of responsibility ! If is had suited in you own plans, you would have left the HO and pet in their problem situation ? Great sense of duty !
Sorry for all those that are not like this -thanks God- but I was really upset by this post ! and the number of responses in this direction.
Happy holidays to all
This is exactly the misnomer that causes issues on here. OF COURSE the pet sitting part is a side effect of travel for the majority of members, that’s precisely how THS position themselves. Unless you were a total animal nut there would be no reason to pay to travel to someone else’s house to look after their pets for FREE, you’d simply go and get a paid gig. Arriving a day or two before is up to both the sitter and the HO to negotiate for a happy fit. Some will work, some won’t. Please, please stop making it a problem, it’s a core ethos of why THS was set up. To travel and enjoy pets on your adventures. #goodnessme
Well, the name is “trusted house sitters”, so I may be wrong in thinking that the HS do it out of love for animals … and as a side effect, have cheap accomodation !
All good house sitters love the pets they’re taking care of, otherwise they’re in the wrong place! My point was @Petra that the majority of members don’t do it simply because of the animals, it has to be a win win on both sides. We always arrive the night before a sit (we sit a lot of dogs) but two or three days is too much unless it’s a menagerie or a huge distance away. The OP was being micromanaged and didn’t appreciate it (most grown ups can load a dishwasher on their own) and she pushed back. Find a happy balance & a good fit for your needs but as you’ve seen on here, 24 hours is the general rule for experienced sitters & a happy hand over. #justtoclarify
I would not dare to explain how to fill a dishwasher -even though sometimes it would be useful!- and how to use a vacuum cleaner without breaking the “little teeth” that hold the pipe …This is all irrelevant to me! So, agree, 30 minutes and a good (exhaustive) written instruction will do for the house and other living amenities.
But that is definitely not enough for my pets, especially my “special” pets !
@Petra - Does it ever occur to you that the problem could be that a lot of people are just looking for cheap pet care to enable them to travel around, and the pet care aspect is just a side effect?
@DebraAT, sounds like an educational experience. Guess more than half of Pet Parents on our housesits have requested that we arrive a day early. Common request. Motives seem to vary. Many Pet Parents are just friendly people and enjoy meeting people! Or are so appreciative that they want to express thanks via a nice meal (thank you!). Many of our housesits involve Pet Parents taking international flights (so understandable that they seek comfort that housesitter actually turns up!). Some of our housesits have involved atypical complexities in property and/or pets.
Where possible we enjoy arriving early. But we’ve never been asked to arrive multiple days early, and would struggle to understand rationale. Guess there’s exceptions to rule but would need a compelling reason.
The accommodation is not a side effect, it’s what HOs provide in exchange for the valuable service that sitters provide. THS is not intended to just be free labor for HOs. It’s intended to connect travelers. HOs are looking for pet and home care so that they can travel, and sitters are looking for accommodations for their travels. It’s a fantastic concept that is intended to be a mutually beneficial exchange.
If I just want to spend time with animals, I can easily do that by volunteering somewhere close to home, I don’t need to travel to do that. If I were volunteering it would also be for a non-profit organization (which THS and HOs are not). There is no reason one can’t take excellent care of pets and explore the location. Sitters can love animals and also love traveling. THS provides a platform to combine the two.
As this thread is quite long now, I can’t be certain that you’re addressing my original post, much less putting words in my mouth so to speak. I never said I was upset that the HO cared about their pets. Why on earth would I be? I was not troubled that she asked me to come early, either, although more than 1 day early is excessive, I feel, and probably indicates that pet and house sitting duties are so extensive as to warrant HIRING someone to undertake them. And that isn’t the culture of THS. It is intended to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for homeowners, sitters, and the animals involved. I absolutely prioritize the care of the living being entrusted to me but I also do not take unpaid sits if they are too demanding. Why would I spend the money to travel somewhere only to be largely homebound?
My original complaint had more to do with the HO monopolizing my times and micromanaging everything, from walking the animals and cleaning up after them, to household tasks that I am more than capable of performing at this point in my life. Indeed, I AM old enough to know how to load a dishwasher, so if you’re mocking me, you’re out of line.
If you find the THS system potentially exploitative, then by all means figure something else out. However, they have put many mechanisms in place to screen potential sitters so you’d know if someone was “just looking for cheap accommodations.” I mean, as others have pointed out, THS presents this system as an alternative to paying for accommodations when traveling and most of us are ethical and sensible enough to understand that it is a mutual exchange.
It seems like you recognized something of yourself in my post, so maybe do a little soul searching rather than making assumptions about me. I have had NOTHING but excellent reviews for the 25 years in which I’ve been house and pet sitting. Making unwarranted insinuations about my sense of duty is so out of line. Get a grip, pal.
I’m interested to know on what you’re basing this statement @Petra, and if you realise just how offensive it is to many of us sitters?
Now on our 43rd sit, we’ve never encountered a pet parent who has not appreciated the reciprocal benefit of the sitting arrangement, and if we ever do, it will indeed be a hard ‘pass’ from us.
We are always happy to arrive a day before the host’s departure, but do not feel 2 days is necessary. Indeed, it would be viewed as an exceptional request which might suggest additional tasks or an anxious or overbearing pet parent who does not trust in our abilities (as verified in our consistent 5 star reviews). Experienced sitters simply do not need 2 days of one-to-one tuition in caring for cats and bunnies, you should list your expectations in your listing, discuss during the video chat and confirm in your Welcome Guide.
You do realise that it’s you as the HO who should either go and stay in the hotel OR offer to pay for the sitters room for the night. The sitter shouldn’t be paying for accommodation simply down to your early departure, it’s for the HO to arrange as you’ve requested them to be with you before you leave. (Doubly so if you’ve set the start date as the day before you fly). Have never come across such an outrageous ask in 45+ sits and 3 years full-time. #hardpass
Totally your call and of course up to you. Honestly, we have had exactly this scenario in Switzerland, Turkey & Morocco to date…we did an afternoon handover, the HO had dinner with us and then left for a hotel. The one other was Montenegro where the HO paid for the hotel as she wanted to stay at home, it was a small apartment and she was leaving for an 8am flight. Less disruption for the pets in the morning and they could all start their holidays early. #takesallsorts
It probably depends on what needs to be explained. Like I said, for my cats it would be done in 15 minutes, also because almost everyone has possibly experience in cat-sitting.
Nevertheless for my bunnies, I would need to explain the routine and show at least 2 meals (that would mean a full day, 24 hours, and depending on the arrival time, it could be stretched over 2 days …)
And of course, this is absolutely detailed in my welcome guide.
I am really sorry as I did not intend to be offensive to all sitters !!! It is just that I was really shocked that the HO was so bashed for being cautious and anxious.
I had probably a wrong understanding about THS as I said . For me the main point was about pet sitting and not house sitting. If I did want my home to be occupied, I would put it on Airbnb ! Question was really about educating the HS to provide “the valuable service” and taking the needed time to listen to the HO
