I have a dog myself. And I want to take him where ever I go for house sitting. Is it possible? Or I need to talk with the house owner before?
I asked it because I want to join TrustedHousesitters. I want to be sure that I can take my own dog before paying.
Does anyone have a similar experience?
There are some housesitters who do this and it works well but you most definitely need to discuss with owners in the first instance, and not a few days before the sit, you need to lead with that because it won’t be an option for many sits. Also, be realistic based on your dog, will they get along well with other animals, are they okay in new environments, prone to damage or dig things. And manage your expectations, new joiners can find it hard to land those first few sits and bringing your own pet likely will make it (a lot) harder. Might be worth establishing yourself first as a sitter without dog and when you have some excellent reviews introduce the dog into your profile and applications. That would also give you a chance to see how demanding sits can be and whether that, in addition to caring for your own dog who may need different care to the pets you’ll be looking after, will work for you.
I have a dog that I take to some sits.
I clearly request to bring the dog when applying but only after reading the profile to check their dog’s behaviour and also whether prior sitters have taken their dogs.
My dog is well behaved and loves other dogs, very submissive. You would have to be very confident about your dog’s behavior.
I think as its quite hard to get the first sit try some local sits without the dog and see how it goes. A lot of owners would say no to another pet in the house as it may unsettled their own pets routine
All the above respondents have offered good advice. I will add my own point of view.
I used to sit more than I do now, as I got a dog on retirement, However as she is very well-behaved and submissive and loves all other dogs I have started taking her on sits. I always start my applications by clearly stating that I would like to bring the dog but also say that I understand if this is a deal breaker. I then describe the dog before I describe myself!
I also mostly look to sit the same or a similar breed (Labrador). So far I have had three wonderful sits and my dog made some great new doggy friends !!
Like others have said, it is certainly possible to do this. But between there being no filter to mark a sit ‘pet-friendly’ and most listings not directly addressing whether it would be okay or not ( I imagine it would not even occur to most HOs that some people may ask this) you really have no way of knowing how they feel about it until you apply. So this means being okay with the possibility of needing to apply to lots of sits and high rates of rejection.