You just need to set the parameters right up front. Anybody taking the sit needs to know this. It’s entirely possible that non-skiiers will see the sit and simply be attracted to the idea of experiencing some seasonal snow hanging with an undoubtedly cute puppy (aren’t ALL puppies cute!?). Just be honest - no need to be defensive about it - just state the facts. Be clear about the fact that you don’t want the pup left for more than an hour at a time (say, for some grocery shopping).
If it’s difficult to get around in the snow - maybe sweeten the deal be offering to pay for some sitter-chosen groceries to have in stock on day 1.
I don’t know how old your pup is, or if he/she is crate trained / potty trained, etc. - those sorts of things could affect the potential sitters choice to sit for you.
Here’s an idea… If you have the space (like a guest house or room with separate entrance) maybe you could offer to let the sitter stay for an extra week to enjoy skiing if they ARE skiers?? I often invite sitters to stay extra time to enjoy the tourist community I live in.
All that said - perhaps, like others have suggested, perhaps this is better left to a professional/paid sitter with lots of puppy experience, especially if the dog is in a sensitive stage of his/her training. My dog is 8 years old and I don’t like him to be left for more than 4 hours at a time. I have this stated in my profile. Ideally people won’t even apply for your sits if you put this in your profile (and they read it).
Good luck!! (agree that it’s against the philosophy of THS to offer $ to sitters - I don’t think it’s appropriate). You can leave good groceries and some nice wine tho!!
~d
@sdsmith4u this is going to be a really tough sell. Your advert comes across very demanding and you’ve posted it like a job advert. It lacks personality and you seem bossy. THS is an exchange platform based on good will. People are voluntarily giving you their time and care for a nice experience.
You have no reviews, no pictures of your ‘luxury’ home and you want someone to travel at their own expense to you for a week over Christmas to sit in all day and watch your puppy 247. If it’s so imperative your dog has this level of care why are you going off on holiday?
Really though what is in this for the sitter? Your alternative is to put him in kennels then he certainly won’t be getting 247 care and you will pay for that. Staying at your house is a requirement of the task of looking after your pet and home it’s not a payment in the way you seem to think about it. You should really seek to familiarise yourself with how this works and ask yourself if you think it’s an equitable exchange for anyone to want to even begin to help you out.
In actual fact, this listing is one of those that has slipped through the net where there are no internal or external photos @Jenny or @Maeve. I will DM the link to you.
I finally got curious enough to find this listing and check it out myself. SMH.
Did others notice the bit in the opening line about ‘stay in our home or host’?
So they would consider the sitter having the dog at the sitter’s house? So you would be trapped at your own home? Did this owner invest any time in researching THS at all?
I found your listing. I see he can be left for two hours now. You want a couple or family that likes to hike, because the pup requires 3 walks a day. So actually, the sitters aren’t required to be trapped in the house as others have commented. You should specify the profile of the ideal sitter(s) – young, fit and outdoorsy. Or an active family, if you have the room. For the competitive Christmas season you absolutely must include pictures of it, inside and out. Don’t make people take your word for it that your home is luxurious, prove it.
I work remotely full time and look for sits an hour or so from my house to change up my scenery. I have accepted mid-week sits where the HO specified the amount of time that would be acceptable to leave the puppy alone. I would be less inclined to commit to staying on site for most of the day over a weekend or if I was specifically looking for a place I planned to explore. I would add your expectations to your listing and confirm with anyone who applies.
Your actual ad says 2 hours, and that’s completely different to 1 hour like your post said. It’s still trickier, we’ve only sat one dog that could be left up to 2 hours, a couple at 2-3 hours, and a lot at 4hrs.
For us, 2.5hrs is the magic number, it gives us enough time to have a relaxing meal out without clock watching, depending on what’s in your location.
You need to ad photo’s of your home, because for us (like a lot of sitters), we need to feel like we know the owners from their ad, but without images of your home it’s hard to do that.
For us, luxurious isn’t a USP, we’ve stayed in everything from a caravan to huge stunning places with land, lakes, and swimming pools. It’s about the experience for us, so the word luxurious isn’t the selling point you may think it is for a lot of sitters.
If you pick up the data on forum, you will find the location and pic of the pup and can do a house sit search. It is not allowed to share listing links on forum.
I found your listing and see that you have four applicants, so I hope it works out for you.
I see in your listing that you state for responsibilities:
“Responsibilities of pet sitters include - but are not limited to - oversight of ***'s safety, which includes the prevention of non dog-food item ingestion, and prevention of injury from hazardous activities and exposure to potentially harmful situations and objects.
Additional responsibilities include providing fresh water and feeding *** three times daily, walking with *** on leash at least three times daily, picking up and disposing of dog waste, engaging in playful and instructional training and interaction with *** at various times during each day.”
I have a huge - not challenge, but problem - with the responsibilities not beeing clearly laid out. This could turn out to be a problem for you. According to terms of THS a sitter can deny tasks that are not stated and you also risk that the sitter would withdraw later when the “not included” responsibilities come to surface. You should also be aware that sitters apply for multiple sits at a time - and are encouraged to by THS - so an applicant might also withdraw their application now or later. Before confirmation that could be for any reason. After confirmation of sit that could still be, for reasons of weight, one of them being that things are not disclosed in the listing of your sit. When i now know the age of the pup I’m a little puzzled by why the pet can’t be left for more than 2 hours. Is this how you do it yourselves? Never leave the pet for more? I could leave my pups for way more at a much earlier age? But I realise that some spend all their time with their pet which is of course a personal choice.
Several of the tasks are given. Of course a pet needs food, relieve itself and activity. But if you put up a timeline for the day with all these requirements - even playful and instructional training - that is a full time job. I wonder, based on my long and wide experience with having and breeding dogs, if the family of this pet themselves do instructional training with the pet on a daily basis. My experience is that families with dogs at this age do not do that more or less at all. The people who do that are active in dog sport or otherwise active in the dog society. But for all I know, this pet could be under training for some sort of service. Then I would state that, as some might find it interesting, and then that dog would at this point be at quite a high level of skills which is fun for a dog person. I totally get why one would like to give the pet a little extra during the sit, but sitters regularly tell about dogs that clearly are telling that they are not at all accustomed to the activities the host has asked for. I believe the sit is best if the pet gets a sit experience that reflects a normal day in the household.
Personally this is not an attractive sit and I would never apply for it, so it is great you have four applicants and I hope it works out well for you and the pet. Be nice to your sitter and they might give you a great review and maybe even want to come back… Best of luck.
“ the prevention of non dog-food item ingestion ”
This reads as if it was AI generated .
I have seen many similarly worded responsibilities sections recently .
A human would write something like “xx chews socks / shoes / chargers or anything left out “
I have also seen other listings that say “sitter is responsible for hydration of pets” where a real human would write “please keep water bowl topped up “
I have seen this generic sentence in other listings
More helpful is xx loves you to throw her ball for her to chase , she will spend hours doing this when you get tired put it away in the drawer and she knows the game is finished or xx likes to play tug of war .
To be honest I don’t mind AI-generated text. The longer I am on this platform the more I think AI often does a better job in describing the needs and the conditions of a sit.
This would put me off - it sounds as if I’m signing an official contract and could be sued if found to be in ‘non-compliance’. This is a mutual exchange; not a job. We’re not professionals - we’re volunteers.
I’ve checked out your listing. Teddy is adorable and appeals to us straight away, but the wording of your ad implies an entitled manner and demands rather than expectations, which is a complete turn-off. Please do as others have suggested and acquaint yourself with the ethos of THS: this is platform which facilitates introductions to enable a mutually beneficial experience for both pet parents and sitters.
As sitters, we seek like-minded people to pair with and that means those who mirror our own integrity, generosity and kindness. Unfortunately, I don’t perceive those characteristics in the way you’ve presented yourself in your listing, so maybe have a think about that if you want to ‘entice’ a good sitter.
Regarding your listed responsibilities, we have extensive experience with dogs and with giant breeds, so my advice is to be careful when stipulating a minimum of 3 walks daily of at least 30 minutes duration, since this open-ended stipulation could result in over-exercising a Bernese youngster, which could potentially cause problems. Your requirement for ‘engaging in playful and instructional training and interaction with Teddy at various times during each day’ is too ambiguous; most sitters will realise that pups need a little and often in the way of training - which must be fun and positive - but consistency is important, so why not spell out exactly what that entails right now? And definitely include a list of words he already knows and responds to, in your welcome guide. To coin a phrase: get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet in terms of your pup’s ongoing training, so spell it out.
I’m sure you don’t mean to come across as brusque, but that’s the way it’s currently sounding in both your listing and in this thread. Better to take a step back, consider how you’d speak to friends - because that’s what you can hope for in a good sitter - and maybe start again. This is a Christmas sit, let’s try to find that spirit, hey?
