I have seen several listings that elaborate on the 6 hours thing. They say something like “Fido can hold it 8 hours as needed but this shouldn’t be a regular occurrence”, “I leave Fido to go to work up to 10 hours a day so you can leave him for more than 6 hours here and there”. So if this is important to you, look for those types of details in a listing. My listing says no more than 4 hours, but when I have sitters I tell them (if asked or they show interest in a longer trek) that my dog can be left for up to 6 hours on occasion. But my goal is that my dog stays on her “established routine” and that we are retired people, all of which I state in my listing.
thanks, buttercup. That’s correct.
Oh, just look for a sit with cats. Heck, everyone knows all cats need, ever, is a dish of wet slop shoving down a couple of times a day.. But otherwise, it’s… Yiipppeeee!! Freeee AirBnB!!! !
I also think that’s fine, if the sitter is specifically asking for that extra accomodation.
Because it is getting harder to attract good sitters, for longer sits I sometimes offer it. For example, the last 3.5 week sit I offered a drop in sitter up to 2 times during that sit, at our cost. The sitters took advantage of it one day when they went to a theme park so it worked out for all.
But for a one week sit? If a sitter applied and asked during the video chat and asked - dunno, it would depend on how much we clicked and what other applicants we had. If we had another good applicant who didn’t ask - I would probably pick them for a shorter week-long sit. I would also offer that they could stay an extra day or two on either end to head out for longer sightseeing days, which I think works out better.
So OP, I would suggest in a video chat or your application if you feel more comfortable writing the request - mention there are are one or two attractions you would enjoy visiting. Is it possible to arrive 2 days early to do this? As a HO I would like this as 1) I don’t have to ‘rush’ through cleaning and welcoming the sitters, 2) our pets get used to the sitters being around even if it’s just morning and night those 2 days, and 3) We have a buffer for sitters arrival in case of any travel hiccups. For OP, you guys would get to visit what you wanted before pet sitting duties started. So, I would recommend approaching it that way. It may mean looking for sits where there is an extra guest bedroom to accommodate you in the overlap days.
You are right. I just checked our listing and the option is there. Not only that but I had seen it and changed it. My memory is not what it used to be. 
You think that’s bad? I’ll be reading a forum thread and come across a reply that I really like, I sometimes even find I’m nodding my head in agreement as it really resonates with me and how I tend to view things. Then the lightbulb comes on and I realize I’m reading a post I wrote, sometimes as recently as a few days ago
It’s easier for a couple, as you can take turns… however for a solo sitter pet sitting isn’t a holiday it’s actually quite hard work at times. This is why sitters familiar with a location and less likely to want do touristy things may have an advantage at the application phase of exploring a sit match with a HO. We often emphasise this for the locations where we regularly do sits.
I do think (and it’s been said before many times) that the marketing implies free holiday accommodation for sitters, which in the majority of cases is misleading in terms of expectations.
For example when I’m on holiday I don’t get up at 7am walk for 1 hour and pick up two piles of dog poo…. (Repeated before dinner!)
When applying for sits with 1 or 2 dogs we check with the hosts if the dogs can come out with us and then do “touristy” activities that are dog-friendly.
For us that’s hikes ( with energetic dogs that need lots of exercise) or days out to visit stunning gardens or beaches.
Here are some inspirational posts on this topic
In short THS is a travel experience that fits around the pets needs .
If the HO has a weekly cleaner then they sometimes offer that you can go out while the cleaner is there. So 4 hours before the cleaner arrives, say 2 hours while the cleaner is there, then another 4 hours = 10 hours maximum
Cleaner has to be on board with this
My listing is set to ‘is fine to be left alone for 6+ hours’, but that does not necessarily mean I’d like my cat to be left alone for 10 every hours every single day. It’s more an indication of: sure, go and sightsee, visit nearby towns some days, but I appreciate it there were also some days where you’ d spend a bit more time around the home. But based on recent applications I feel that some sitters are interpreting the 6+ hours a sign they can be out of the house all day every day.
Dog doors can be a great option when there are no nearby safety concerns. Unfortunately, in our area, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes can all get over or through fencing. Hawks and owls also pose a risk to smaller dogs, and the neighbor’s aggressive dog along the fence adds another concern. For those reasons, I no longer allow the dogs outside unsupervised while I’m away.
Exactly this. Even with dog doors etc the point of the sitter being there is so the pets aren’t alone for extended periods.
If pets could be alone for extended periods, we’d do a drop in sitter and not use a THS sitter at all (which is what we often do if we leave the cats home and travel with the dog - and with a drop in paid sitter we can leave cameras on so look in on our cats as we like, without disturbing anyone’s privacy). I do see some HO want a sitter there even with no pets, but that is not us and I don’t think it’s most of the HO on THS either.
Us too, coyotes mountain lions, even a small cadre of black bears. Definitely snakes. We do let our dog out if we are inside in the living room, so we can respond if something happens. But we don’t give her free reign to go in and out if we aren’t home.
Same, we have 3, sometimes 4, ranging in size from 35 to 110 lbs, with the exception of times of high predator activity, we let them wander in and out when someone is home (which is most of the time), but keep them indoors if we are away
I know what you mean by high predator activity. Coyotes are active a couple of times a year, for example. Rattlers at others. So I prefer sitters that follow care instructions carefully, as they don’t have this local knowledge.
I think with dogs – pack animals who love their human pack members – it can be both a toiletting issue and a social need not to be alone. I’ve known many city dogs that could get by fine with 3 well timed walk/pee breaks a day (at least from young adulthood through middle age), but wouldn’t do well left alone for that long, or with someone just stopping by and walking them and leaving. So while cats for instance can do okay with “drop in” visits, dogs really can’t. So there could be situations where the dog can hold it in for up to 8 hours, but might pee in the house out of anxiety after 4, or bark enough to disturb the neighbors, or start chewing up the furniture or otherwise misbehaving.
Even dogs that get used to being alone for long periods in the middle of the day – when a family may be out out working and at school, might not do well if the family left for a vacation and Uncle Joe or a sitter was the only person around and left to go site seeing for 6 hours, came back for a walk and supper and then went out again for another 6 hours!
Thanks for raising this @Newpetlover
If anyone does see an example like this, please do drop me a DM with a link to the listing as it’ll help us to investigate the underlying issue. 