Hi All,
I’m wondering how much we should assume sitters know about looking after our pets? For example, things like the fact your dog could die if it ate chocolate or grapes, stuff like that. Or that you have to pick up and bag dog poo (I don’t know if that’s universal or not!).
I wouldn’t want to make it seem like I’m teaching them how to suck eggs! 
Thanks,
Lucy
Interesting question! I was thinking about it yesterday when my son was visiting—we now have a dog but he didn’t grow up with one. And I was thinking exactly about grapes!
It’s a touchy subject. On the one hand you don’t want to tell the sitter something as logical as picking up the poo, but if they come from a culture where it’s not done, they might not know. In Italy, for instance, they expect people to carry a small bottle of water to rinse the dog’s urine from the pavement, but I’ve not seen that here in Canada. On the other hand, them not knowing something health related could be dangerous.
Perhaps it’s something that can be brought up in a conversational way during the video call?
Assume nothing and just be very apologetic if they give you “of course I know that” speech. It’s better to be safe than sorry. This could be a very big problem if sitters are coming to your home from a different country/culture.
Everyone is volunteering and most sitters aren’t professional animal workers. If you want to know, I suggest starting by asking broad, open-ended questions, like: Would you please give me a sense of your experience with (dogs, cats, whatever relevant pet). See how they unfold their experience and ask follow-up questions as you think helpful. Of course, no one on THS is interviewing for a job, so you want to be mindful of that.
People who’ve had their own pets tend to know more, of course. Like we don’t offer our dog anything we’ve not looked up over the years. For instance, he loves watermelon and it’s generally good for dogs, but you don’t want them eating seeds, which can cause digestive distress. So we get seedless varieties and pick out any stray seeds.
Personally, I’d not feed any animal what their humans hadn’t cleared, because each animal is different. Even if certain foods might be fine with dogs in general, some have allergies, digestive issues, etc. As a host, it’s probably better to say for instance if you don’t feed your pet human food, certain products, etc.
As a sitter I’d expect and welcome the HO (during our video interview) to ask questions about my prior dog handling experience. Like about experience giving meds, dealing with med emergencies, dog reactivity, etc.
If you mentioned chocolate or chewing gum being dangerous I’d look at it like you’re an experienced pet owner and wouldn’t be offended.
“To assume is to make an ass out of u and me.”
You’ll have to initially judge their knowledge based on their profile and reviews. After that it’s a call you have with them. Feel free to ask them.
I’m happy to back up the knowledge I claim to have in my profile. They should be too.
Depends on the age or experience of your potential sitter, but I wouldn’t presume. In fact I’m amazed that no-one we have sat for has in their Welcome Pack about choc & grapes.
And no, using poop bags is not universal, not even in the UK. I say that because I can see you’re in Edinburgh, and we’re just from Durham, but we were surprised once we started sitting in the countryside, because we thought picking up poop was a thing everywhere in the UK nowadays, but no its not, because some owners thoughts are that nature naturally takes care of it in the countryside.
That’s a great question. I’d probably have the same concerns. I think the best approach is to go with sitters who have plenty of solid reviews. And, as I always say: communication is key. You can usually get a feel if someone really knows their stuff with dogs. Now, I personally couldn’t tell you every single thing a dog should avoid like the plague. But honestly, that’s not an issue for me, since the dogs we sit aren’t exactly test subjects. And yes, while I might love a chance to sleep in a bit longer (please, don’t throw stones again, I promise I clear this with the owners first!), I absolutely stick to whatever food they get from home. We don’t feed them any people food; people food is people food, and the dogs get theirs. Usually, we do a good job keeping the dogs out of the kitchen while cooking, too, so nothing accidentally falls their way. And if there’s anything you’re worried might get overlooked, just spell it out. Better to say it one time too many than not enough.
I would think experienced dog owners will state that in their profile, but it can of course be mentioned. If one isn’t used to give dogs anything but dog food for instance one hasn’t perhaps had the need to know whether dogs can eat grapes. That being said I never give other peoples pets anything the owner hasn’t authorized and it is perfectly fine to say that my pet is not to be fed anything but :food: and/ or :treat: should you wish to.
Great question ! Yes, there can often be a fine line between proactive and helpful and being too much of a micro-manager/pain in the @$$.
Asking potential sitters to relay details about their experience should give you a head’s up about their general knowledge. Ask also, if they have dealt with any pet emergencies and how they’ve handled such events.
Seeing that you’re in Scotland, a non-resident sitter would surely benefit from your listing/description any legal requirements re: caring for your dog (poo bags, specific requirements for walks - leashes ? any areas off limits ?, etc.).
In my book, you can never offer too much info. The trick is in the offering : A helpful and appreciative tone comes off way better than a micro-managing one ! And, sometimes and apologetic, “I trust you new sitter and my dog is as important to me as air. I apologise if I’ve given you too much info. I just want to be sure that the two of you have a wonderful time together !”
I hope that you find a great sitter for Mabel.
I would say that experience and references are a good starting point to filter the sitters you might want to talk to. But it is also important to clearly communicate information about the pets’ routine and what you expect the sitters to do (feeding, meds, walks, etc.
For example, regarding the poo bags, nobody has told me I have to use them but most owners tell me where they are, if they don’t, I ask.
Regarding food, most owners specify that pets are only fed their food and that is what I feed them by default.
In my opinion, the more clear the information in the listing, welcome guide and handover process, the better and more adapted care the pets will get. Even if sitters were professional pet cares (which we aren’t) they would not know the specific routine, possible allergies or behaviour issues about a particular pet if this information is not shared.
So it’s better not to make assumptions.
Hi @Loobyloo
There are sitters with years of knowledge of different pets to sitters without any knowledge. Best just confirming best practice with a sitter.
As a sitter, I have not been asked about my knowledge of what foods could be toxic and harmful to dogs. As a former dog owner, I am though aware of many food items such as chocolate, grapes, onions, and avocadoes, that are toxic and harmful if eaten by dogs.
For dogs I have sat that were counter surfers, I ensured that food items would be out of their reach. If your dog is a counter surfer, that would be worth mentioning to future sitters.
Something great to teach dogs is to “leave it” to prevent them from putting something harmful in their mouths. This could be great for when food is dropped on the floor or while out dog walking. I remember a sit when I was out walking the dog and he sniffed out a chicken bone and put it in his mouth. I immediately said, “leave it” and he dropped it.
I, like most sitters, take great pride in the safety / care of dogs and are aware of foods that are harmful / toxic to them.
Dogs do not know what foods are harmful to them. It is up to us humans to protect them.
Something you could say to future sitters: “You may know this and are aware, but please keep these foods (list toxic foods) out of (dog’s name) reach.”
As for picking up dog poop, many places are required to pick up dog poop. However, even when dog poop bags are provided, many people are lazy, inconsiderate, or do not care, and do not pick up their dog(s)’ poop.
If picking up dog poop is required where you live, you can state in your listing that dog poop must be picked up and disposed of. I came across a listing the other day that stated for the dog poop to be flushed down the toilet.
I’d like to know how it should be transported from the garden, through the house, to the toilet (and how big the dog!)!
Ditto. Though I suspect this question relates to foodstuffs which the dog potentially snaffles, not stuff that is purposefully given. The thing is to ensure there’s no access to anything risky.
One of our son’s dogs once stole and ate an entire corncob, resulting in an emerency op which cost a fortune. Sitters have to be vigilent and it’s important to know if dogs have a tendancy to raid bins or steal food.
Yes. With dogs new to me, I ask hosts whether they tend to steal food. Like I did that with my latest sit and my hosts said their dog had once tried to steal a spatchcock chicken they were preparing for dinner and he ended up scaring himself when it fell and made a racket. 
I try to be careful anyway, because you can’t guarantee that a pet will behave a certain way, so better to avoid creating opportunities for them to eat something they shouldn’t.
One pair of previous hosts said their little dog once stole an entire box of chocolates, but fortunately didn’t get sick even after eating them all. That would be horrifying, especially as a sitter.
The main thing I tell people on this platform is to never assume anything
People are from all different walks of life and what is obvious to you isn’t obvious to someone else. Everyone has different experience.
Put it all down in the welcome guide.
I don’t know and I don’t want / need to find out.
I did a sit in the U.K. where I was asked to toss dog crap into a toilet for flushing. One of the loos was right by a small patch of grass in the garden, where the dog did his business. I was told to use toilet paper to grab the poo. It wasn’t any problem, because the dog did small, dry poos that were easy to pick up. Of course, if it had been runny, I would’ve probably just sprayed a garden hose over it, rather than picking it up.
Tangentially, at a sit in the U.S., my hosts lived in a beautiful home by a natural wooded gorge right next to their backyard. Instead of bagging poo, they kept a shovel and I was told to fling poop over the fence, so it rolled into the gorge. They had two dogs with small poops and it was easy. The gorge was deep enough that it worked well — no way you could smell anything and they avoided creating any unnecessary plastic waste from poo bags.
This reminds me of something that happened to a friend. One Sunday lunchtime their cat came in from the garden dragging a large hot roast chicken that obviously had very recently come out of a neighbour’s oven . Since it wasn’t in a state that it could be returned , my friend was too embarrassed to ask their neighbours which of them was missing their Sunday lunch . 