I joined THS in 2017 which was before I got my dog and I don’t think I was ever refused an application to sit. However in 2020 I got a small non shedding dog and have recently started to apply for sits and explain that I now have a dog. For a couple of months (not applying for loads) I was getting polite refusals which is fair enough. However I wanted a sit for Christmas or New Year. I am a solo sitter (apart from dog if allowed). I made several applications and more than 50% said dog could come. I have confirmed two sits over Dec/Jan with my dog so I am glad I kept applying. Obviously I can see that some house owners would be reluctant to have a strange dog staying in their house but some people are ok with it. Just keep applying.
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I did not realise that people would want to bring their own dog until I had someone apply to do this. I was very surprised at this as we have various animals that are loose and do not like strange dogs. I had to decline. I shall now put this on my listing.
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I think your idea is a good idea. I am not sure how thoroughly sitters always read the information. We have had an application for someone to sit with a dog. We have 3 dogs and a cat and loose hens. For us this could not be an option and I have now put this in my listing. I have also in my listing stated that we are not suitable for small children. I have an application for a sitter with children of 1 and 2. I think what you are suggesting is a good idea if the HO profile and information is read.
Hi there,
My fellow accompanies me almost everywhere and has done many petsits along with me. He’s very good with other good natured dogs, and even cats. I’ve arranged for sitters for him from time to time when I have long distance travel that includes flights or for other reasons but not too often. But I have considered adding the homeowner/sitter membership so that I could have the option of leaving him at home with a THS sitter sometime. Have you thought about that too? Would that be a good option for you to have?
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This is what I’ve recommended for my mom once things normalize a bit more. I think she’d have a difficult time finding sitters in her location given the current supply/demand issues, but eventually I think this will be a great option for her.
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No I would never consider HO membership because im a member of the UK Cavalier Club and I have friends who would look after my own dog. I would only trust people with experience of looking after Cavaliers.
Since my original post about taking own dogs to house sits if allowed, I have now done several. I just consider what the HO is looking for and if I think my dog would fit in and then apply.
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It’s great that you have friends who will gladly care for your dog for you when you travel. It seems you’re all set then, that’s awesome.
Just for curiosity sake, is there something about cavs that mean it’s best they have someone with breed specific experience? There are definitely breeds like that but I’ve not heard it about this breed specifically 
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No, nothing about ‘Cavalier King Charles Spaniels’ specifically . (We don’t call them ‘Cavs’ - they are guinea pigs, I believe?).
But I have a show dog, and Cavaliers are high maintenance. Allowing someone with no experience of the absolute necessity of brushing out the inevitable knots in his coat, which appear daily, to look after him, is asking for trouble. A show judge, and our peers, can see where a knot has been cut out at twenty paces away from the show table on the day.
I also have a bad experience of letting someone look after my dog. Years ago, I was alerted, by neighbours, that the neighbours with whom I had left my Cavalier occasionally, had made it known that they were simply trying to gain my trust so that I would allow them to look after the dog, for longer and longer periods of time. This would allow them to take him to people (who they had lined up) with a *itch on heat, and to allow a mating to take place.
Putting a pedigree dog to stud might bring in thousands of pounds, so I had a lucky escape there.
I would trust only fellow 'show people to look after my own dog.
Given he’s a show dog, that totally makes sense. My friend’s daughter shows dogs and is very picky about who she’ll let take care of them.
As for “cavs” it’s likely an americanism. i’ve definitely never heard it for guinea pigs.
Does anyone ever take their own pets to a sit? Or is that taboo?
We are family sitters, we have kids and our dog and hope to be able to take her with us.
There have been other posts about this. If you search for them, you will get some answers.
You will definitely see sitters here who travel with their animals and manage to book sits so it is possible. There are many pets who easily ‘get along’ with any other animal they encounter and owners who know this probably are fine with it. But there will likely not be as many opportunities available since there are pets where the people know this would not be a good idea or they don’t know how it would turn out and probably aren’t going to take the risk. Traveling with children can present similar limitations but there are people who do this successfully as well. While these two things will limit your opportunities, it doesn’t mean you won’t have any so don’t get too discouraged. I also think if you come across sits where people explicitly say they don’t want other pets or their sits aren’t suitable for families, you don’t apply anyway trying to persuade them with how well behaved your kids are or how great your dog is with other animals,etc… I think there are so many opportunities here and something to suit everyone’s circumstances so just know you’ll get something eventually!
Hi @Ndjakou welcome to our community forum. There are sitters who successfully travel with their own pets as there are owners who will welcome other pets however this will reduce your opportunities as it can be difficult introducing another pet into a pet’s home environment … as @Lassie says there have been other conversations on this subject, you can use the Spy glass to search.
This is the advice we give in our T&C’s but of course it is on an individual basis, every owner is different as is every pet
Can I bring my pet on a sit?
While it’s not common in our community, some members do request to bring their own pet on a sit. And this is fine, as long as the owner and their pets are happy with the arrangement.
“If you would like to bring your pet on a sit, you must express this in your application to the owner. We also recommend applying to local sits, as this would give you the opportunity to introduce the pets to one another ahead of the sit start date”
I’m sure you’ll get some really informative and helpful feedback from other members.
Welcome again.
Angela and the Team
Tried initially, changed what I was searching for and found a good thread- Thanks
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/sitting-with-own-dogs/1495/35
Admin- is anything in progress to move this on. Seems like it would add a lot of value to TH to add one more checkbox filter/profile option
We are a family as well and have been cleared to bring our newly acquired guinea pig along to our next sit, but I made sure to have a backup plan in case it wasn’t ok with the homeowners.
I have seen a few people who successfully travel with their own animals, so I know it’s possible - However, I personally would be too nervous about trying to book sits if I had a dog/cat that would interact with other animals as you just never know how they will get along with other animals and how other animals will interact with them.
We have been housesitting now for a couple of years and now thinking of getting our own small dog. In the UK. How easy is it to find a sit where you can take your own dog on sits.
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Good morning @auntyaud and lovely to see you in the forum again. I’ve moved your question here onto a topic discussing this subject. You’ll find some good advice and maybe get some new feedback too. All the best and please share a picture when you get your new pup!
I’m new to this. Are people ok with me house sitting with my dog? I realize this would be variable, but just wondering if this site will work for me at all? Thanks!