Please, please could all pet owners of non-neutered dogs disclose it within their post for a Pet sitter. In fact I would like it as part of THS Terms & Conditions that it must be disclosed.
I fully accept that Pet Sitters should ask the question before accepting a pet sit.
But I like to think that it’s a duty of care & the main responsibility is that of the dog owner.
I am interested to learn what others think on this topic.
I agree.
I had a video call with a HO a while ago and it was only then that they revealed that the dog was entire, and that I had to avoid the nearest park as some dogs there were reactive to him.
I’ve cared for non-neutered and non-spayed dogs without any issues, but I’ve seen walkers/sitters on Rover who state in their profile that they will not walk non-altered dogs. Assuming THS will not make any changes around this soon, mentioning it in your profile might help prompt the pet owner
Yes I agree with this sentiment. It’s SO important that this is disclosed and it should be a THS requirement.
I’ve had a couple of un-spayed females come into heat when I’ve been sitting, even though I asked if it was likely (and as it happens every six months I think it is very likely that the owners did know it might happen). It’s not ok both in terms of having to try to keep things in the house blood free and also make sure they didn’t come into contact with male dogs.
Now I won’t sit for un-neuterd animals.
I state this in my sitter’s profile that dogs need to be spayed/neutered but follow it up in the video chat just to make sure owners have read my profile as I was caught out once and do not want a repeat experience.
A couple of years ago, we did a sit with several dogs. One male was not fixed and the one female was in heat. The male dog was very worked up the whole time. I felt badly for him because he was clearly in an agitated state much of the time, and it was a bit stressful.
It was a very large house on a very large property and the dogs did not require walking so we didn’t have to worry about any issues in that regard.
I didn’t bother saying anything to the hosts as I figured there wasn’t any point–it’s not like it was something we would leave over and the sit was about a week, maybe a bit longer. I did mention it in the review though–not in a critical way but just stating the facts. I agree that hosts should disclose that.
In situations like these, there really is no way to discern whether a host purposely withheld information or just didn’t think to mention it. And since I can’t ‘prove’ anything I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt, which is ultimately for my benefit.
In all my years of sitting, this may have been the first time we encountered a dog that has not been fixed. There may have been other times and perhaps I don’t remember because it did not affect the sit experience in any way.
I totally agree! We only looked after one male dog who was not neutered and we knew nothing about this until we arrived at the dog park. It was embarrassing to say the least and we had to avoid the dog park for the remainder of the sit. I didn’t even feel comfortable around the dog ~ never again!
Thanks for the reminder that this is something we must ask dog owners when applying!
Yes I agree too.
It’s important to me so I always ask prior to confirming.
This and so much other information homeowners should be able to provide about their pets via a checklist: spayed/neutered, food /treat/toy aggression (towards humans as well as other pets, leash trained, kennel trained, bed sleeper, allowed on furniture…
I actually made a CV for my dog and it states all of these things 
.
I think something to keep in mind though is that culturally and even legally, things differ globally. In a lot of Europe, desexing is considered a cosmetic change and is only done when deemed necessary. Additionally, crating is illegal in parts of Europe, where a dog may be crate-trained for emergencies or car rides, but they’re not really allowed in homes.
I found the attached example on Etsy, but i used Canva to create mine. Mine also includes any awards/certificates my dog has won because it is a CV after all 
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Ultimately though, I think it’s worth making a list of what one’s deal breakers are and just asking HO’s explicitly if that information is not readily provided.
leash pulling, bed sleeping/furniture, behavioural issues seem to be big ones for a lot of people and as an HS, I have a set a checklist I run through when vetting every sit I consider taking.
Thanks everyone for your feedback.
I agree completely that there are many pet characteristics & important information that could, & should be disclosed. A Home Owner Pet Check List sounds like a simple & effective way of doing so, with the facilityto be able to add further comments.
I have now included in my profile that I have chosen not to accept pet sits where there are pets who have not been neutered/ spayed.
I’m not sure being neutered means that much tbh. I had my dog neutered last year when he was 4(long story) and he is probably more reactive now to other dogs because of the loss of testosterone and confidence than he was pre neutering. I’m honest in my profile about this, but like I said, it’s not always a given that a non neutered dog is more boisterous.
There’s a massive amount of misinformation around the effects of desexing. And many people seem to believe that fixing a dog is a panacea for some behaviour issues….this is definitely not the case, nor is there a strong enough correlation to indicate such.
Many also are not aware that chemical castration is a temporary option if one wants to test/trial out how their dog’s temperament may change after losing the presence of their hormones (though this is pricey to do).
My dog is still in tact and is reactive, but his reactivity isn’t territorial/dominance-driven…it’s fear-based due to a lack of trust in other dogs, and most likely poor genetics (he’s a rescue). If anything, the case I would have for neutering him would be to make him less of a target to other dogs that pick on him because he still has his bits. When I discussed neutering with several vets/vet behaviourists (they actually echoed the exact concern it sounds like you’re now living with)…for a fearful dog, the loss of hormones can actually mean they have reduced confidence to fall back on when they’re feeling fearful/insecure.
Just my opinion but I would look to training, management, and even medication before permanently altering a dog in the hopes of modifying behaviour….desexing would be a last resort given all the former failed and again, it’s a bit of a dice roll.
Re: neutering at 4…nothing wrong with that! And to be honest, I would rather a dog that is desexed long after they’ve had a chance to fully develop than one that was done in the first few months or first year of life before they’ve fully grown physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s important to consider the motivations of “why” you’re being asked to desex and by “whom” because the above is often not the top priority. Sorry to hear it had negative effects for your dog. =’(
Regardless, everyone should of course ultimately do what they feel most comfortable with.
Hi Badinoki
You are so right. I wasnt being critical of the post about dogs not being desired, I just don’t think it makes a difference to the personality. The person (amateur dog walker) who suggested i get him neutered was of the belief that it would calm his boisterous personality with humans. My dog loves humans and will sit and lick your face all day if he can. None of that has changed - its just damaged his behaviour with other dogs. That’s the shame. But I wonder why we HOs aren’t encouraged to say all this in the listing. I would rather be upfront with Sitters so they can make an informed decision. Its not fair leaving that until the welcome guide. And yes, people do have the right to make informed choices
Yea I didn’t take you post as criticism…was just building on the topics you presented 
To be fair though, I don’t think we’re discouraged from sharing, I think most folks just simply don’t think about the level of detail it may make sense to go into to set others or themselves up for success. My approach is to have “no surprises” so I probably over share what to expect but it’s proven to be a good approach as then sitters end up feeling confident and comfortable in terms of what to expect from a sit with our dog.
it also wouldn’t hurt for TH to add explicit fields but in truth, if folks just clearly stated their deal breakers in their profiles and asked questions about the things that mattered to them, that would also clear up a lot of confusion.
most of the issues or problems that occur between HO/HS seem to come from making assumptions about things based on their frame of reference as opposed to being explicit and clarifying.
But to be fair, I don’t think a lot of new folks realise what it makes sense to ask, expect or what types of boundaries they need for make sure they have in place for themselves. At the end of the day; this is just a matching service so the vast majority of due diligence falls to us as HO/HS.
