Is bringing your own pet on a sit allowed?

Loraine, I absolutely agree. I have no one to look after my own dog. I have to ask friends months in advance if they will take him for a weekend or a week if I want to go away. He comes into school every day with me and so I don’t use doggy day care which anyway, is prohibitively expensive. I don’t trust ‘Borrow my Doggy’ sites as I have a show dog and a companion who, if stolen, would crush me. I spend a lot of time composing my sit applications and I acknowledge that the HO might not want my dog in their house. I accept this upfront.
I also wonder if THS keep a ‘tally’ on people and rejected applications? If so, I must be near the top of that list!

1 Like

That definitely needs to be upfront when the person is invited or in the persons profile or introductory email. We were confirming a sitter once and she assumed and was offended when she received our welcome guide regarding the need to Make sure our cats were not traumatized by another animal in the house.

2 Likes

Hi, we always take our Newfoundland with us on our sits. @Provence had already dropped our name. I’ll say getting sits was probably not more complicated for us than for other sitters without pets.
But we have to give some context to our experiences.

  1. We already pointed out in our profile and every application that we expect that the HO also have to welcome our dog. Otherwise, we cannot accept the invitation. It is essential for us that a HO knows what he gets when he invites us.

  2. We only apply for sits where one or more dogs are to be cared for. We would never expect someone without a dog will accept a dog in their home. Dogs lose hair, and in the worst case, they will get dirty paws and wet coats. For us a sign of a fun day, but for others probably just dirt. If the dogs are/were wet and dirty, then they may smell sometimes. If the HO has a dog, he knows this, and he is also more likely to accept a sitter with his own dog. All HOs that invited us saw it as an advantage. Knowing that a dog owner is coming to sit, who bring their own dog with them gave them the feeling of getting a sitter who understood their dog’s needs and that their dog would have fun.

6 Likes

As a HO, personally, I would never allow a sitter’s pets in my home. Our pets are elderly and their schedules and comfort easily thrown off. The cat would probably hide and spray when he realized another animal was in the house. I would also worry that the sitter’s own pet/s would get preferential care. There is added liability should their pet destroy something or worse. I have turned down sitters who mentioned bringing their own animals and am a little surprised it’s even an issue. Yes, TH needs to have a section where sitters can clearly state their own pet/s are accompanying them. Some people are fine with welcoming both people AND animals to their homes and it’s just easier for all of us if we can see upfront who’s bringing their pets.

5 Likes

Hello @Tourmalinequeen welcome to our community forum and thank you for joining in this conversation.

This is topic receives a lot of attention and getting different perspectives from sitters and owners is incredibly helpful. It has been suggested that owners have the option of including: “Pet Friendly” similar to “Family Friendly” in their listings and on sitters profiles : “Travels with own pet”
We do impress on sitters to include all relevant information about their pet in their profile so that owners know up front that they travel as a family.

Welcome again, we look forward to sharing in your TrustedHousesitters journey and enjoy connecting with other community members.

Angela & The Team

I have been reading your comments on house sitters bringing their own dog to a sit.
Firstly, I would never just turn up at a house sit with my dog! I personally would not give more attention to my own dog than the home owner’s dog - the reverse if anything! I certainly would NOT consider taking my dog if there was a cat in the house, even if m dog was used to cats.
I have done house sits before I got my dog so that was straightforward but I just feel that if THS had a tick box for both parties to state how they felt about sitters with dogs it would be good. Some other sites do this. My friend would lok after my dog if I needed her to or I would even board my dog with a home boarder if I was keen to do a particular sit.

6 Likes

I am new to THS but have been on another site for a year now. They recently introduced an option for HO’s to specify on their ad if they either a. welcome sitters pets or b. would maybe consider them. If there is neither comment then it is a clear no.

I have taken our very sociable placid 10 year old bichon/maltese on 3 sits this year and been accepted for 2 next year. We would never take her to a home with cats but then the OH is allergic so that is not an issue anyway.

It was such a helpful addition to the website as it means that I know which sits to ignore, which to review and decide if I think the dogs will be a good fit and which to apply for with confidence that we will be considered.

2 Likes

Just been reading your post about house sitters and their dogs being allowed (or not) to sit.
I got your post in my email - not sure how it got there but possibly because a couple of months ago I did post a suggestion to THS that they should have a box that house owners could tick saying they would/would not accept sitters with dogs.
That’s great that you have been able to take your dog on three sits and accepted for another two.
Hopefully THS will add the ‘dogs accepted’ tick box one of these days.

Loraine

1 Like

I agree. I wish so much that THS would add this as a tick box. I get a lot of rejections only because I ask if my dog can come with me. The HOs are always v v polite and give an explanation, and I certainly don’t take it personally, but I wish it was clear which house sits WOULD accept the sitter’s dog.

1 Like

We’d like to start housesitting in the US & Europe.
Is it unusual to ask if we can bring our dog?
Do people say dogs welcome in the summary?
How do you determine if the dogs may get along?
Is Europe more lenient than the US?
What’s your experience?
A Californian asking.
Thanks for your insight.

Penni - Don’t know how many member sitters ask if they can take their dog but I have applied for quite a lot since getting my dog (small, friendly with dogs, non shedding) and only one person has she would accept me. Before I got my dog I always got any sit applied for. Would be helpful if THS had a tick box for sitters dog accepted Yes/No/Would consider. I have never seen an advert where house owners say it would be ok to bring a dog but obviously I don’t read every advert! Hope you enjoy house sitting. I do.

1 Like

Hi all, I’m new to the site. Just got a quick question re:sitting at a home. I have 2 Chi-chi’s and wondering if you are allowed to take your own pets with you when sitting in homes. Thank you

1 Like

Short answer - sometimes other pets are allowed. There have been other posts on this recently. You can find them, and the replies, if you search the forum.

2 Likes

Thank you, I will do at some point

1 Like

Hi @Beau2460 welcome to our community forum and as @Lassie says this topic has been discussed use the spyglass to find the conversations.

There are sitters who successfully travel with a pet, I don’t know that we have any with two, but it will reduce your opportunities to sit as it can be very difficult to introduce another animals into a pet’s own territory and environment … but do look up the conversations.

Enjoy connecting with our members of the community.

Angel and the Team

Hi
My husband and I successfully looked after four houses with pets before lockdown. We would love to start again but now have a beautiful 14 month old Sproodle called Jake. He is the friendliest dog you could ever meet. We would like to renew our membership and look for suitable sits but until we know there are sits out there that will accept sitters own pets, are loathed to do so. A bit chicken and egg situation. Has anyone got any comments on this dilemma?
Regards

I’ve been reading all the posts on this subject of whether HO’s will accept well behaved/maybe non shedding, friendly dogs to a cat free sit and still I haven’t got the confidence to re-apply for membership because it might be a complete waste of money. I now own a loveable well behaved Sproodle. I think THS should one, spend some time doing a survey to HO’s on the subject and secondly putting this filter on the application form for sitters. Perhaps then I might consider rejoining as it was a wonderful experience for myself and husband with great feedbacks.

1 Like

Pet nanny i have suggested THS put a tick box where house owners could mark YES NO to possibility of sitters bringing their own dog. I was a member before I got my non shedding bichon x shi tzu but since getting him in 2020 hadn’t had anyone saying he could come UNTIL now! I applied for various sits and had a few positive replies and am confirmed for sit with dog in January so far. So it is possible although not as many sits available.

I am new to TH and am wondering if any of you take your own dog on sits with you? How do you approach this in your application and how often are the home owners open to you also bringing your dog along on a sit?

Hi @adventuresinlexington … As @Mars mentions, this is an ongoing topic around house sitting with your own dogs… I’m moving your question here so you can connect with other members who house sit with pets and read some useful feedback :slight_smile:

1 Like