The marketing issues go for both sitters and HOs. The marketing toward HOs focuses on free pet care and many new HOs are just looking for free labor and don’t realize that sitters should also benefit from this exchange. Some new HOs even think the sitters are employees of THS and are paid.
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Bummer of a first experience.
I have to wonder where you are…am guessing in NW NY judging by the Buffalo Bills garb on the dog cut-out. There is a nuclear plant outside Rochester…not sure about Buffalo. But I don’t know anyone who can’t drink the water around Rochester.
So we always check out the address after connecting with a HO (home owner/host) and take a good look at the area via Google maps.
For sure THS is NOT airbnb. Very different concept. You have the be the investigator to know what you are getting yourself into (and they do the same). You and the HO are interviewing EACH OTHER. Nothing can be assumed except for the rules imposed by THS (which you should be very familiar with for your own sake).
Did you do a video chat before accepting the sit? Most of us do.
We once took a sit in Canada with a fire pit (which appealed to me) and the fire pit was FULL of garbage and totally unusable. So yeah, it’s not Airbnb. There will often be things that will surprise you and disappoint you. Par for the course. Despite these experiences, most of us continue on THS bc the good outweighs the bad.
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Hi LittleFinch,
What a nightmare of a sit! It definitely is not the norm from what I’ve experienced and I’ve done quiet a few. Going forward you can be sure to confirm all details during your initial video call to include arrival and departure times. Confirm that in writing on the messaging app with the HO. I would definitely have to provide an honest review, though you’re in a tricky situation as they will also be reviewing you. Every petsit allows you to be aware of what you do and do not prefer and hopefully you will have a much more positive experience in the future!
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This is not unusual at all. There are many places where you are not supposed to drink the tab water, such as southern Spain, Portugal, and of course all of the US where they chloride the water.
I’ve drunk fluoridated water all my life. Tap water in southern Spain and lots of other places too. Still alive to tell the tale 
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That’s news to me in spite of being Spanish and having lived most of my life in different parts of southern Spain.
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That’s interesting. We’ve been housesitting for many years in Andalusia and the Alentejo. The locations were quite remote in cortijos that had their own wells, and we were always told that the water was not potable.
Two years ago in south Jutland we were warned not to drink the tab water because of high nitrate levels.
Eh late to the convo but, home owners shouldn’t be let off the hook for scenarios like what happened to you. Review honestly bc if you do not, they might think you are being needy instead of them lacking consideration, cleanliness, and preparation.
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This sounds a horrid experience for you. My first sit was a shocker, and I got really stressed by a whole host of issues - from dirty house and neurotic 24/7 demanding dog (HOs didn’t say it had never been separated from them, even slept on their bed, eugh), to on-site in-laws in the garden and house most days (for over 3 weeks!) and more too awful to mention but, despite the stresses I didn’t report it to TSH, and instead used it as a brilliant baptism-of-fire lesson. I already took my own bedding but I learned for next sits to ask better questions for accurate information (many great examples for questions on this forum), what to take (rubber gloves, omelette pan, own saucepan and key utensils, radio or laptop for entertainment as can never make the TV work) and, importantly to really understand whether the allegedly trained dogs are in fact trained, and to ask where they sleep. I’m experienced with dogs but still new to sitting and the day I look after dogs that actually walk calmly on the lead (as promised, and don’t yank my arm out of its socket and try to run into the road) will be the day I pop the champagne. I also take my own bottled water but that’s only because I’m used to acid-water, not alkaline. I found loads of great advice on this forum. Trust your gut instincts too. (I had doubts but overrode them). My last sit had the most delightful, considerate HOs ever! Good luck 
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But I’m afraid a few remote cortijos using random wells water don’t represent the whole of southern Spain and Portugal.
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True. My apologies, I did not intend to hurt anybody’s feelings.
Those on-site in-laws breaks the “no third parties” rule of THS, and you could have filed a dispute and left the sit.
Many dog owners allow their dogs to sleep on their bed. This should have been disclosed.
You did well to stay on.
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That is Sasquatch sporting the Bills garb
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I’m curious where you are that does not use chlorine in the tap water
Tap water is safe to drink in most of the U.S.
Tap water (not “tab” water) and well water often are treated with chlorine to kill bacteria. That doesn’t make it unsafe, unless the ratio is off. (Like when you go camping, you can buy tablets to treat water before you drink it or give it to pets.)
There are other ways to treat water for germs, like using sunlight. It’s harder to do consistently for large volumes.
Separately, some U.S. utility systems fluoridate water, which is aimed at protecting teeth. The safety of that is debated. Some utility systems have stopped doing that.
Meanwhile, chloride has nothing to do with water systems:
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@LittleFinch, we agree with pragmatic perspective of @HappyDeb. THS 2024 Impact Report showed 2.2 million nights of petsitting in 2024 - that’s thousands of pets every night.
Many people - PP and HS - come to THS Forum because something went wrong. It is unlikely to be representative.
Some of our housesits have been spectacular. Most have been lovely. Some have included surprises that were learning experiences. We have refined application criteria; reimagined tactics for video due diligence calls; and are much more selective. But it’s also demand-supply - if we’re seeking a listing in a location with many many listings then we can be super selective, but if we seek to a listing in a location with few listings and high popularity then we need be more accommodating of quirks. A different trade.
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Thanks EVERYONE for your input on the situation. I’ve gathered that what I experienced is “possible” through THS, but not necessarily the “typical” sit.
At any rate, the sit ended on Nov 29 - without the external oversight and on MY time. I provided an honest/tempered 3-star review while I received a 4-star review with a few “facts” I could dispute.
At any rate.. as I said, this was my first sit through THS (even though the HO claimed it was my 2nd 
) and I definitely learned a lot.
Thanks for the advice and shared experiences!
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There is no legal obgligation to chlorinate the tap water in Germany, my home country. Depending on their risk analysis, the water utility decides if a chlorination is necessary. However, the critical value is very low. Out of curiosity I looked up the chlorine content in my area, it’s 35 mg per liter while 250 is the legal limit. I’ve never experienced any chlorine smell in any part of Germany (except in public pools).
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No, this doesn’t sound normal at all. You weren’t given what was promised, and the last-minute changes aren’t ok. If you’re due to leave at 9, stick to that.. the owner needs to make proper arrangements.
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Whenever I read horror stories like this, it makes me want to contact the poster directly and invite them to sit for us, because we are not disorganized insane liars, like it seems some people are. Just to show that no, sits shouldn’t be like this.
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