Since the new ‘features’ have started to trickle in I am seeing a lot of sits where the dogs can only be left for two hours. I scroll straight past these and wonder if many others do too? I will only sit if the pet can be left for a minimum of four hours. I think this is a perfectly acceptable lengt…

“Unrealistic” is…..unrealistic. Whatever pet owners say is best for their pets is best. It is not for any of us sitters to decide what is “unrealistic” for a given sit (even though it may be unrealistic for US). Their animals. Their rules. Whether you believe that sitters are being taken advantag…

Excellent observation ! I just confirmed a sit where the 2h limit for pup was noted on the offering (ok because I’m local). Upon meeting the owner yesterday, she said that 4h was the limit.

@hfg , we’d encourage take the new ‘sit essentials’ with hearty pinch of salt. If great listing then consider submit application with reference to pet duration or ask in any video call. This perspective is based on observation that another ‘sit essential’ topic (dog exercise) in listing is sometimes…

@toreishi , completely agree. Pet Parents can set expectations for pet care, property matters and other THS matters. But if those expectations are unattractive then they will receive limited, if any, housesitter applications. THS requires a fair trade, rather than a purchased service - a fundamental…

If 2 hours is indeed the default, THS have gone and shot themselves in the foot again. Many sitters will not apply to these sits, hosts will struggle to find sitters, be dissatisfied with THS and leave, Or these hosts will have to choose sitters who are poor matches. It would have been so much mor…

I agree @Debbie - we only sit occasionally and are very particular about what we apply for. If the criteria in the listing re time pets can be left, departure and arrival times, amount of exercise required etc. do not align with my preferences I am not going to even start negotiating. I will just …

I agree with you. I scroll past. I’ve seen ones where a cat with a cat flap and access to a garden can’t be left for more than 3 hours, which seems extreme.

I would like to look after your imaginary dog please!

[image] hfg: Well it would be good for HO to become wise to this as it could be putting lots of people off from applying! I think it would be even better if THS changed the default to be unspecified, but make it a required field. If they can’t do the latter, default it to something more reas…

Length of time pets can be left

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat

temba 12 February 2026 09:07 24

I’ve just added an imaginary dog to my owner listing to check out if there is a default time. Answer is No. It just asks to think about the pet who needs company the most if you have more than one.

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Length of time pets can be left

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