I’ve been reading a lot of news lately. Am I the only one who seems like house and pet owners don’t want to understand what this trade-in business is all about? The fair trade. They expect me to deal with the pet all day, so why is it worth it to me? I get nothing for him and he got a free supervisor. Do I sit at your house all day because I can’t leave the animal alone? I’m going alone. Many people are looking for a sole sitter. But how do they think that I travel to him to help him, for free, but he won’t let me see the city or go on a day trip? I love animals and take care of them. I also take care of the house. But the essence of this business is exchange and that both parties do well. The owners are often overbearing and demanding, as if they were looking for an employee. What are your experiences?
I think it’s a case of looking for a sit that suits you, making sure you have the time to do everything you want to do while giving the animals the attention the host asks you to.
I enjoy walking therefore I’m always in the look out for dogs who need lots of exercise, like car rides and are fantastic off lead. However, in a city where I want to visit historical buildings or stroll round art galleries I always look for cat sits.
There’s something there for everyone.
Well, that’s why it’s essential to only apply for sits that are mutually agreeable. I think too often people are motivated by the location and/or the home than they are by the whole package. If the listing clearly states that the pet can’t be left alone for more than like an hour, then don’t expect to be out and about exploring. Maybe someone else is happy to accept a sit like that. If you’re not, move on – there will be sits that are more flexible. On top of that, if clear expectations by the owner are not outlined in the listing, discuss this with them prior to accepting the sit invitation on a video call.
Thank you, yes, I know how to search for or choose a sitter, but I see that in most advertisements the sitter is expected to sit in the house all day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a city or a country. In the case of a city sitting, for example, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect a sitter to go there just to get free supervision, but the sitter can’t go anywhere for more than an hour. However, many owners expect this. I think 50% of the time should be provided so that the sitter has free time. Is that what the whole exchange system here is based on, or not? Furthermore, during the selection, they treat me as if I were an employee looking for a job and not as an equal partner with whom we help each other fifty-fifty.
It would probably be better to push back on these types of HOs during the video call and be a bit tougher. You have nothing to lose. Explain that it’s a mutual exchange, a balanced relationship & needs to work on appreciation from both sides. If they’re shocked then their loss. As for the being there all the time, for some WFHers and sitters wanting to just take time out then there’s a sit for everyone as @Silversitters & @ElsieDownie mentioned. We’ve only had one sit out of 45+ where the dog couldn’t be left for more than an hour but he would come on trains and to cafes so it was okay (not to be repeated though). Have never had the whole employee issue from any host and we think this works better as there’s no money changing hands. The tone of the listing often helps whittle them out too. #chooseforyou
Why would this be an arbitrary percentage based on your preferences? If a pet(s) need X, then it is what it is.
You’re not required to take any sit that doesn’t suit you. Nor should hosts and their pets randomly depend on your preferences. If they don’t get a sitter to match, then the hosts can make alternative arrangements.
You need to skip this type of HO’s. Having read many posts on this forum, entitled HO’s don’t seem to be the majority. We sitters have to do our research and see what’s suitable for us specifically. That’s it.
This isn’t how it works, as the priority in every sit should be the needs of the pets, whatever they may be – as sitters, we can’t just switch off once we’ve done our allotted hours for the day.
Like @ElsieDownie I love walking, so look specifically for sits with reasonably young dogs, and breeds that I know will enjoy being out and about all day. So the sits that won’t work for you may well work perfectly for me, and vice versa.
If I can’t find what I’m looking for, I book a holiday instead. That gives me the freedom to do what I want to do, without getting grumpy because I’ve signed up for a sit that doesn’t really suit me.
There are so many sits out there I’m sure you’ll be able to find something that works for you. An important part of the process is to make sure you ask relevant questions so that you have a clear understanding of what the pet care will entail, to make sure you know what you’re agreeing to.
It would be good to hear how you get on once you find something suitable.
I wouldn’t take a sit unless I can be out and about 4+ hours a day - preferably 6+ (depending slightly on location of home, for me personally either way enough time to something more than a village with a pub and a supermarket. So if in a city, I would be happy enough to head home for lunch, for instance).
So I don’t apply for those, if disclosed later I would cancel.
I think it is important to know what is a good match for you and consider accordingly. If the host doesn’t tick your boxes - don’t take it. Expect to stay home all day? No, thanks. Treating sitter like an employee? Ciao! Demanding? Sorry, no match.
It can be easy to make excuses for host because nice location/ nice pets/ nice home/ other. But if it doesn’t tick the boxes it isn‘t a good match, Next, please! If you are happy and it is a good match for you, then it would also be a good match for the pets and host.
Wait, are you an HO looking for sitters, or are you a sitter?
Either way, this seems like concern trolling about listings that are not right for you. Just ignore, or turn them down if you are getting the wrong vibe in the video call.
I’ve had some local sits where I work from there remotely and don’t really leave the house (other than dog walks). I like a change of 4 walls and some furry company now and then.
Other times, I know I want to go out exploring so choose sits where that is possible (no dogs).
I have no idea which listings you are looking at but I’ve done 12 THS sits, most of them catsits and I’ve never been asked to stay in the house all day. I also choose my sits carefully and would self-select out if I saw a sit that didn’t suit me – even if the location looked great. To me complaining about sits that won’t work for you is like at Airbnb and complaining about listings their that won’t work for you for whatever reason — too small, too expensive, too far from the city. Some of those listings will work for other people. Some won’t work for anyone. All you can do is move on and find the ones that will work for you.
@anitadhun1206, sorry to hear of your frustrations. Suggest that you consider four action steps related to due diligence-
Define ideal/acceptable housesit parameters. Locations, pet types, duration, etc. Create searches - as many as wish - that seek to find housesits per your criteria. These parameters vary materially across the housesitter community - no “right answers” but there are probably right preferences for you.
Read listings carefully. They vary a lot in rigour. Look for specific language that is attractive or unattractive to your preferences.
Ensure have a video call with prospective Pet Parents. Don’t be shy. Ask probing questions relevant to your criteria. Try to complete call with credible answers relevant to topics of concern.
Decline undesirable housesits. If listing, video call or other aspect causes significant concern then decline. Totally ok to say no prior to accepting housesit. There are many opportunities out there, especially as a housesitter accumulates positive reviews. Much better to decline a bad housesit than to accept an undesirable housesit and become (predictably) frustrated.
Hope that your next housesit(s) find a fair trade. Without fairness then the housesit concept doesn’t work.
There’s all types of pet parents, sitters, and expectations on both sides. As a couple, I would not take on pets that need constant attention. But as a family, it’s no problem because my kids give the animals all the attention they need and the family can split up on excursions.
This is not true. There is rarely a listing where the sitter is expected to sit in the house all day & unfortunately it’s rare that you see how long pets can be left so it means asking the owner, which I prefer to do on a video call having applied or after a response from the owner. I would not take on a sit where a pet (usually dog) can’t be left for 4 hours. I feel owners should be paying for sitters if they want them to stay all day, so not use this site
Thanks for the replies everyone, but I think we misunderstood each other a bit.
I didn’t say that I was talking about the European continent. In UK and USA there are always 2-2000 places where you can find sitting. There are only 100 places in Europe. It is more difficult to find a place that is easily accessible by plane and only needs to be supervised 1 to 1 animal, it takes exactly 5 minutes.
Because of this, my situation is not so simple.
But that’s my problem.
I am mainly looking for shorter sittings for city visits. Because my job and my wallet allow it. In return, I am flexible. I look at such news and yes, in them I met people who wrote that you should not leave the cat alone for only 1-2 hours, this was specifically in Venice, Italy.
How can anyone expect me to go to Venice and have the sitter sit in their apartment all day?
Of course, I don’t even apply for such a thing!
But this announcement does not match the basic principles of THS! Specifically, she goes to find a free sitter, but won’t let the sitter see the city.
There may be special cases of course. Let’s help each other.
But I have seen several such announcements in Europe, where they do not even take into account the basic principle of THS, that it is a community based on favors and exchanges.
Thank you very much for your attention, that’s all I wanted to say.
No, that is not true. Or maybe it is true for the listings that you see. That is because listings with such requirements are not popular, they linger on the map for a long time.
In you search, change default from “recommended” to “new”.
If you are happy and it is a good match for you, then it would also be a good match for the pets and host.