That’s a good idea. I also only consider a maximum of two dogs and mention that in my profile. Decide what you are comfortable with and go with your gut and you won’t go far wrong 
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Hi, I’m a HO and our cockapoo sleeps on the bed - but that is in the listing, I would never dream of expecting someone to stay and not tell them, not fair on either the sitter or the dog!
But we do have a super king so that helps. And yes we know NOW we made a rod for our own backs 
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This is really funny as I can share my own personal experiences. My husband NEVER allowed our dogs to sleep with us…that is until we rescued our first little scared, damaged pup. He said she wasn’t going to sleep with us, but the first night she was crying on her pet bed at the foot of the bed. He looked at me and said “OK, she can tonight since this is a new home and she needs reassurance”. Well…11 1/2 years later she was still sleeping with us (usually betweeen us on her own pillow) until her last day on this Earth. She stole my husband’s heart and after that, as we have now become sitters for THS, he thinks nothing of any of the pets sleeping with us. I think it gives him that sense of security and memories that we won’t ever let go of.
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@IHeartAnimals my boys are the same! The older one in particular always wants to sleep with the pets so I don’t have to! We’ve only had 2 out of 13 sits with dogs where dogs slept on the bed. One of those said we could just move the steps the dogs used to access the bed. Older son moved them (and the dogs) to his room!
The other was a rescue dog who had been with the family for less than a year, first as a foster, then adopted when his elderly owner died. He’d spent most of his life shut in a caravan. This was the first time his new owners had gone away. Given the huge upheaval he had gone through, I didn’t have the heart to change his sleeping arrangements. He was very unsettled the first night as that was when it sunk in that his new owners were missing, and he needed reassurance and a hand resting on him. He was much more settled for the rest of the nights.
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I always ask where the pets sleep, but I am OK sharing a bed with them. In the beginning I didn’t want to do that, but I’ve shared the bed with dogs and cats now and it has always been lovely. If the pet moved around a lot and made noise, that would be a problem for me, but none of the pets have done that 
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I am the mover and noise maker! I’m a terribly restless sleeper and hate the feeling that I’m bothering someone (pet or person), so I sleep alone…for everyone’s wellbeing.
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I’m fine with small pets on the bed.
What I’m NOT fine with is after I’m back home, and the next 2 mornings I wake up and I feel around for the dog 
I mean, look at this cutie!
In my experience, big dogs tend to snuggle too close, or they take up too much space unless it’s a King size bed.
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Yes it’s really a bonus that kids love sleeping with the animals. Last week, we sat 2 large dogs and they slept in the master bedroom with my kids. My husband and I slept in the guest bedroom.
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@IHeartAnimals We’ve definitely done that! One sit the kids got the master bedroom with 2 cats and my husband and I had bunk beds! I tend to pay a little more attention to the additional bedrooms now!
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If sleeping with the dog is going to make you uncomfortable and disturb your sleep tell them. It’s not worth the worry and it would be better to be completely honest at this stage so if it is a real problem for the dog they can find someone else. They should have mentioned this on their listing.
My bed is sacred and do not sleep with any animals. I don’t mind them sleeping on the floor by the bed. I have had to pass on some fantastic sits because of this quirk.
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Same. I’m constantly moving and flopping around.
I don’t mind if pets sleep with me but I have found that I’m such a restless sleeper. That they give up in disgust and sleep on the floor or under my bed.
Oh dear. So I messaged the HO two days ago and I have not heard back. I need to ticket my travel but am hesitant to do so before I hear back from them in case this is a deal breaker.
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I’m not sure if most people let cats sleep in bed? Or even on bed? Of all the cats we’ve sat (over 20) none have been bed-sleepers. One (on a repeat sit) would quite like to, but the hosts suggest we keep the window closed if we’d rather she didn’t!
In my listing I state very clearly my dog (a pug with all that entails with snorting and snorting) must sleep with the sitter in the guest bedroom. ts always also discussed on the phone call/video chat before the sit is confirmed.
Yet… I’ve had a sitter show up at the start of the sit and ask if maybe the dog coud sleep on its own in the master bedroom as “it might be more comfortable there”
Not the most comfortable position to be in as we are leaving. Luckily it worked out as the sitter was with a compainon (agreed to prior and in the 2nd guest bedroom) and they agreed to have the dog sleep with them.
Sleeping (or not) with the pets is such a critical part of the sit, and be a dealbreaker to both sitter and homeowner.
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It was not mentioned in the listing. It was mentioned after it was confirmed. I need to ticket travel but I’m waiting to hear back from the HO as to whether or not it’s a deal breaker.
My family is on our second cat sit right now and both cats like to sleep on the bed anywhere amongst the three bedrooms. The night before I didn’t get very good sleep but last night was pretty good. I’ve only raised dogs so I wasn’t sure about cats sleeping habits but I guess they have their own preferences too. We watched our first cat last week and that one liked to sleep on the floor.
The HO is explaining that if you do not want to sleep with the dog, then perhaps the sit will not the one for you.
Either cancel, don’t plan to sleep much
The listing did not mention sleeping with the dog. It was not mentioned when she chose me and when I confirmed. She also didn’t mention it until we were nearly through discussing the dogs needs. It was casually mentioned in her last message to me here. It never occurred to me that anyone would expect me to sleep with their dog. So I’ll clarify how important it is before I book my travel.
Why don’t you give her a quick call to talk it over?- if she’s not responding and you need to book your travels? Presumably you have already exchanged numbers for updates during the sit.
Its important you find out asap if its a deal breaker and don’t feel pressured zo go against your own wishes! We too never want to have pets sleep with us though we’re fine with a furry visitor on the bed whilst we have our morning coffee!
The host might be flexible. We had a host whose dog slept under the covers with her! She only mentioned it when we arrived but immediately reassured us she did not expect us to do the same! We kept our door closed and the dog very quickly adapted and slept on the owners bed. We would not have accepted the sit if it had been a requirement.
We’ve also had owners who say- well the cats usually end sleeping with us but if you don’t want that just close the door on them & they’ll be fine!
I’m always relieved to read things like ‘the dog sleeps in his own bed in the utility room’ etc and we simply don’t apply for sits that require us to sleep with the pets. I think its important to be honest so everybody gets their needs met.
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