Hi, I am new to TH and have a couple of house sits for my puppy.
For those of you who are sitters, what makes a sit as lovely as possible please?
Are there are little things I can do to make it feel like you get a lovely mini-break when you stay (albeit with our puppy!)?
Hints and tips all welcome.
I’m so grateful to the sitters, I would like to make it enjoyable for everyone. Thanks
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@Radcl80, welcome to THS and THS Forum. You have a wonderful attitude.
Below is a link to THS Guide for Pet Parents that includes some broad insight that may be helpful.
Not sure of the expected duration of your housesit listings. But from our perspective, 30+ housesits, then here are some ideas.
Prepare an honest and thorough THS profile/listing. Including photos of key rooms
Complete, ideally before listing published, a Welcome Guide in which all sections are completed
Schedule video calls with one or more housesitter applicants
Include extensive information about your puppy. Many housesitters will flatly refuse to look after puppies, as some can be very challenging. Provide information on age; breed; toilet/other training; walking distance/duration/frequency; behaviour towards other animals and humans; sleeping arrangement; any known challenges. More information is better than less. Objective is to provide comfort
Ensure listing/welcome guide includes plenty information about the local area
Avoid bad stuff. So leave house reasonably tidy. Remove any excessive clutter. Comply with THS policies, such as indoor cameras & recording devices. Limit visits by external people during housesit. Ensure plenty supplies (dog food, treats, poop bags, etc)
Little things that we make us smile are gestures of unexpected thoughtfulness. Varies per length of housesit. But perhaps an invitation to join for meal. Or a meal left in fridge. Or a bottle of wine. Or a nice welcoming note. Or use of vehicle. Or mapped routes of popular dog walks. Or details of any recommended local places (cafes, restaurants, walks, shops, etc). Or contact info of neighbour/other person that may look after the puppy for a brief period if the housesitters just need a break from the puppy!
For a puppy, encourage provide plenty of chew or other toys that are age appropriate
Please ensure there is plenty of space for hanging clothes and drawers, also room in the fridge and freezer.
If you search your question you’ll find it’s been asked before
@Radcl80 Thanks so much for asking. Everything noted by others and –
a folding luggage rack (like in a hotel, Amazon sells them) or a low table in the bedroom to open my luggage on. Unless it is a really long sit, I don’t usually unpack, but live out of my luggage.
a nightstand and accessible electric outlet (or extension cord) alongside the head of the bed. If I’m using my phone as an alarm clock, need to charge it in a good place. I’ve found that in older homes, the outlet is often on the wall in the center of the headboard and difficult to get to.
a reading lamp adjacent to the bed. Good for reading before bed but also so that I don’t trip getting to the bed after flipping the switch next to the door. (Unless you have a smart home and I can say Alexa turn off the bedroom light.)
if there are special commands that the pets know, a glossary - I may not remember them all.
and if you have a smart home, then a list of the special commands you may have set up (what lights does Alexa turn on with what commands).
Above and beyond, in case you want to consider these possibilities:
Offer pickup and drop-off at airports or train stations. One set of my repeat hosts also offered to pick me up and drop me off in various other towns when I was doing sightseeing before and after our sits.
Those same hosts (and others) also have offered to let me stay extra days after our sits.
Some hosts have loaned me cars and/or offered bicycles. One pair left me a car, a golf cart and a bicycle.
One of my most recent pair of hosts offered to cover my airfare to get me to repeat sit their skittish cats.
Welcome to THS. I am a HO and sitter. I usually leave a gift card to a local grocer, restaurant, winery, etc as well as fresh flowers on the table and a bottle of wine. I often take sitters out to dinner before the sit and will find out more about their tastes and interests at that time. I give them the names and phone numbers of friendly neighbors, some of whom have invited my sitters over for wine or a BBQ. The house is also very clean and sitters have the choice of any bedroom. When I have been a sitter, I have loved it when a HO leaves a plate of freshly baked cookies or a bottle of wine. When I used a paid sitter, I often paid $2,000 to $3,000 for a several week sit. I feel like leaving gift cards, etc. is appropriately because a sitter is not being paid.
I would love to have a digital alarm clock in the bedroom. We don’t sleep with our phones. We usually bring one with us, but sometimes have a hard time finding somewhere to plug it in where we can see it from the bed.
Thank you so much for starting such a wonderful topic. It’s been amazing to read through everyone’s replies - there’s so much inspiration to work from. It’s great to see you engaging with fellow members and taking on board their advice.
Thank you also to everyone who has popped on so far to give their advice!
I hope you don’t mind but I’ve added a stock image to your post, so that I could add it to our “Featured Topics” area on the Forum home page. I’m hoping this means you’ll get even more replies.