Great points!
As long as the owner is actually planning to travel “close to” the dates they post, the owner can be clear in their listing that the “dates are flexible,” and so sitters know when they apply.
Owners should indicate “dates are flexible” whenever they are flexible, so that sitters are informed.
That is a great idea to follow up and offer to meet in person! Who knows? You are right—myriad possibilities; maybe you are perfect for them, too!
It is annoying when owners do not respond to applications within a few days.
Hosts do have a check box for this - so when they check it they do think that they have provided the information to sitters . They don’t realise that sitters can’t see this information and it’s just there for THS to use for data collection !!
Wished I could find some of these I am still looking for December sit in Spain or possibly France.
The dummy sit date is an strategy that I devised. I post a real sit for, say, 3 weeks and a dummy sit for, say, Christmas Day. I can be flexible on start and end dates of the real sit because I have an easy cat who can be left alone for a day. However, sitters who have an overlap at the start or end of my real sit cannot apply. They can apply for the dummy date and explain when they are available for the real sit.
Yes same here although I’ve only done UK sits. I can work from home but to be honest, I’d rather not risk taking my employer’s laptop and something happen. I personally like to see sits a couple of months ahead. I feel a year is too
Long, anything can happen in between.
I plan my vacations far in advance, especially cruises and holidays. As soon as I have my tickets and schedule, I post the sit to give me enough time to choose the right person. The sitters seemed to appreciate the early notice so they have time to plan also.
My perspective as a HO who has used sitters for the last 15 years, invariably for trips of 6-8 weeks. Our current trip is 11 weeks.
It is simply not possible to get sitters for such lengthy trips unless you list them months in advance. Our sitters are almost invariably digital nomads who want somewhere where they can work from home and enjoy a peaceful location within an hour of many local attractions. Our current sitter is an exception as she had to leave her home whilst a major issue was resolved.
We have been fortunate to make contact with people who have not sat for us yet but indicated availability for future sits.
I understandwhat you are saying, but You can always pass on those sits, right.
Exactly! I do the same so I do not believe a sit request months in advance is unreasonable.
Throwing my tuppence in.
IMO, there isn’t a set way to do it. What’s right for me, may not be right for the next person.
A full time sitter may prefer to plan over the next few months, whilst others may prefer to have things in place much further in advance.
Or in other words, what @DieFledermaus said. 
Hi Wendy, I’m a newbie and looking to become a full-time sitter so I welcome the early sit notifications as it allows me to plan long term. I agree though the length of time some owners take to respond is frustrating as I have to to pull out of some as I couldn’t continue to wait as I needed to cement long-term plans. As a newbie bowing to your experience is the issue that they could easily cancel the sit at a later point meaning I could miss out on more secure sits posted later in time and nearer to the sit? Interested in what you have discovered.
Dave
We are retired and can do sits up to 90 days in Europe but we turn into pumpkins if we stay longer than 90 days….. (Post edited by the Forum team to comply with the Community Rules).