Hello everyone!
When you arrive at a new sit, how do you balance getting yourself comfortable with helping the pets feel relaxed too?
We’d love to hear any tips or advice, so please feel free to share them in the replies.
Jenny
Unfortunately the last couple of sits we spent the first night cleaning to get the places in order. This has only happened three times in over thirty sits though. Fingers crossed it won’t happen often.
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We mainly sit for dogs. And we find that once we’ve walked and fed them, then they are comfortable with us. So that’s usually the first thing we do. Next is to pop out to get groceries, sometimes just enough to get us through to the next day before we can do a proper shop. Then we’re settled for the evening with the dog/s.
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Besides leaving the house for food shopping the first day, I spend the rest of the day with the pets. I may do this for two days and venture out sightseeing on day three. I want to get to know the pets and I want them to get to know me. My attention is devoted to them. Lots of play with the dog and cat if the cat is inclined. Pets and cuddles. I don’t want the pets to feel stressed with a new person so spending devoted time with them is the key.
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Yes, that happens and feels really rotten and being taken advantage off even though we consider that we may perceive cleanliness all differently.
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On that first full day we try not to leave the pets. Since we usually travel in our van, we show up with all the groceries we need. On our last sit we were traveling with backpacks in Perú. Our overlap day with the owner was a holiday so no grocery stores were open. We felt really bad having to crate the dogs on that first full day to go shopping. The pets need to feel secure that you arent going to leave them too, that you are there for them.
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Depends on whether we’re overlapping and the hosts are making us dinner or taking me out, or whether I’m on my own. Overlapping hosts also usually show me the drill, where stuff is, etc. Sometimes, they’ll show me a walk they typically take their dog on.
If on my own, I re-review the welcome guide (which I make sure to get and review well ahead of the sit), especially feeding info and where the pet food lives, where medication is, where the fuse box and main shut offs are for gas and water. I check for placemats and coasters, so I can protect the hosts’ furniture. I also unpack my wearable flashlight if I’ll be walking a dog.
On my own, then I might make tea and usually relax with the pets and order groceries and/or dinner delivery. (Because I sit solo and am quiet and calm, it’s easy to let pets acclimate to me. Especially if they’re skittish cats, I make as little noise as possible, including being careful to not let doors slam or dropping my luggage. If they’re hiding, I’ll sit still, read and call their names and speak to them gently every so often, so they get used to my presence and approach me on their own time.)
If I’m sitting cats, one of the first things I do on arrival is stow my baggage and such in a closet or behind a closed door, in case they’re the kinds of cats who act out by peeing or pooping on stuff. Haven’t had that happen yet, but I know from learning long ago about cats that some do. A set of hosts even said one of their cats had damaged other guests’ stuff before and mentioned that they’d reimburse if so. They also asked me to cover the guest bed with a waxed cotton cloth every time I went out, because one of their cats might pee on the bed. They didn’t like the waxed cloth, so they’d stay off the bed.
I usually do only one or two week sits and typically live out of my suitcase, so not much to unpack. And I telecommute from all sits, so I stay home with pets more than most sitters. One of the things I do on the first night is make sure my electronics are charged up for work.
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Our first night’s dinner is nearly always scrambled eggs and toast - until we’ve had a chance to get acquainted with the kitchen 
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One thing that I do is turn on some lights in the house BEFORE it gets dark, especially in the bedroom and bathroom, so that we can find our way around after dark.
Mainly we focus on getting to know the pets and spending time with them, and of course, learning where things are in the kitchen. We figure out how to play some quiet music.
I look in the fridge to see what fresh items we should try to use up (produce, dairy) and then make my shopping list for the next day. We take photos of the inside of the fridge so that we can return the fridge to its original condition.
I re-read the welcome guide and any notes left by the owner. I text the owner with a brief update before retiring for the night.
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On one recent sit, they had lights controlled via an Amazon Echo and there was a pair of lights named Calvin and Hobbes, like in the comic strip. So you’d have to say, “Alexa, turn on Calvin (and Hobbes).”
Many of my hosts have nightlights in the bedroom and/or bathroom, activated by darkness. I’ve previously suggested that to my first THS host, after the first time he hosted. At our home, we have them everywhere.
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I always spend the first day at the house so that the pet(s) get to know me and vice versa. I’ll have food for that day and go to the supermarket the next
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I do exactly the same @Smiley
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We do many local house sits so we usually bring food with us to make easy dinners, especially the first night. Our first priority is the pets feeling comfortable with us so that’s our main focus the first day as well as finding our way around the home and kitchen - knowing where everything is. Once we’ve arrived if the homeowners aren’t there, we contact them with a photo of the pets to assure them we are in their home. We are in touch that evening to say we will be in touch in the morning to let them know how our overnight went. I usually scope out fitness classes in the area prior to arriving at a sit so in combination with walking dog(s), etc. I have activities I look forward to going in the area.
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@Jenny, great question. Many of our Pet Parents ask us to arrive a day before they depart (often on their international flight). In such cases then the first night involves friendly conversation, pet bonding and locale explanation. All very civil.
Otherwhere where dogs are involved then we try to provide ample exercise, follow owner protocols and enforce boundaries as appropriate to build relationship.
Where cats are involved then we patiently wait for them to perhaps engage with us!
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With the long spring / summer evenings here in the UK, I like to get out for a nice ramble with the dog(s). It’s great to explore the area, and get to know the dog better.
Although, I would say the majority of my sits involve arriving in the evening before the hosts leave the next day, having dinner with them etc, and often a dog walk with the hosts too.
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We do, what we do. There is nothing special. Usually we get our stuff out of the car and then, just live with the dog. We are travelling now for 3 years, so it’s pretty normal for us to arrive at a different place all the time. We travel in a fast pace, so we adapt quickly.
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Thank you to everyone who has shared their routine for settling in on the first night so far! It’s been really interesting to hear everyone’s take on the subject.
I think this info could be really useful for new sitters, to create their own routine, so please keep them coming!
Same as @Fatamorgana - nothing special. I usually arrive the evening before. Meet the home owners, meet the cats, give them some attention. Unpack. Maybe have a joint dinner. Go over the details. Watch how they feed the cats. Have a chat. Maybe go to the supermarket. That’s it.
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I only sit cats, and typically for longer sits. The best way to get a cat to be interested in you is to completely ignore it! So I make no effort on arrival to interact with the cat (though if it approaches me, of course I acknowledge that I am there to serve its every need). This is my general system, and in this order:
First, notify hosts I’ve arrived if we didn’t do an in-person handoff.
I then walk around the house and check all the doors and windows to ensure they both lock (for security) and open (in case there is a fire and I need to get out in a hurry). You would be surprised how often one or the other is not the case, and I need time to make a plan if, for example, there is a door that does not lock.
While I’m at it I actively look for indoor cameras and listening devices, which I disconnect if I find (I assume innocent intent - many homeowners just have these as part of their daily lives and forget that they are there). I note the location of outdoor cameras and how they are pointed; if one is pointed toward the living room or bedroom, I change the direction of the camera so it is only monitoring the outdoor areas.
I also check to make sure there is a working smoke detector and carbon monoxide alarm near my sleeping area - again, you’d be surprised how often this isn’t the case - and I travel with my own that I’ll put in my room if needed. Homeowners who have a working smoke/carbon monoxide detector in every room get bonus points on their reviews; those that do not have a working one get docked for “hospitality”. THS should really have a category to rate SAFETY/SECURITY of a sit but since they don’t I put safety failures under hospitality. (If they don’t send someone right away to remedy a non-locking door or window, another docked star. This hasn’t happened yet, thank goodness - I mean, the nonworking doors have happened but HOs have always had them repaired immediately when I point it out)
Practice my escape route in case of fire. This may sound crazy but I actually had to use this once in a 15-story apartment building in another country; it was terrifying. I stay in so many different places. It is disorienting to wake up in a new place anyway. Combine that with a blaring alarm, smoke, and a foreign language and good luck getting out in the middle of the night. So I just practice the route from my bedroom to the exit and mentally note what I would do if that exit were blocked. Other than that one apartment building experience (kitchen fire on the second floor, it turns out), I’ve never needed this but it helps me sleep better to have a plan.
Take photos of the spaces I am going to use, particularly the kitchen (cabinets, drawers, fridge) and linen/towel closets so that when I depart I can put everything back the way it was. My goal is for the homeowner to come back to precisely the home they left and I can never remember which towel goes on which shelf.
Take a loop around the neighborhood or apartment complex to get a “feel” for things. On a recent sit I found the most amazing walking trail just around the corner that even the homeowners hadn’t known about! And on a different sit it was clear that walking around the neighborhood by myself would be a BAD idea. I like to know these things at the beginning.
About this time, I check in with my trusted contact, a family member who knows I’m doing this sit, to let them know what I’ve discovered. If I feel super safe, that’s good for them to know; if I don’t, they’ll check in on me more often to make sure I’m okay throughout the sit.
Unload my groceries, which I’ve typically picked up on the way, and identify a way to make coffee. On more than one occasion I’ve arrived at a home that has NO way to make coffee. I need to know this BEFORE my first morning there!
Connect to the wifi and ensure the signal is strong enough for me to participate in video calls, etc. If it isn’t (this has never happened, thankfully), that gives me time to find a library or backup plan.
Figure out where to put my toiletries, check to ensure towels and sheets are clean to my standards so if not I have time to launder them before bedtime. 99% of the time everything is fine but sometimes HOs have a guest room used once or twice a year, and the sheets and towels will smell moldy from infrequent use. (HOs, I beg of you to spend a night in your guestroom and see what it is really like)
Grab a bag of cat treats and head to the couch. Figure out how to work the television, log out of the hosts’ accounts and into my own (I love it when hosts use the “Guest Account” option, so this is easy to do. I often buy/rent movies etc and want to be sure I am doing that from my own accounts and not theirs).
Around this time the cat has started to wonder who the heck I am and why I am ignoring them, and they’ll come creeping into the TV room. I toss them a treat. From that point forward it’s usually easy going, cat-wise.
Throughout this time I’m referring to the Welcome Guide, identifying where food/brushes/litter etc. are, and noticing anything unique about the house that I might have to ask the HOs about.
Just before bedtime I hang up my clothes for the next day (assuming the HOs were kind enough to leave me both closet space and empty hangers - please do, HOs!) so they will be less wrinkled the next morning. And that’s about it - I then get ready for a good night’s sleep! I prefer if the cat sleeps with me but if not, I forgive them!
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