mdardenix, I agee people should not discriminate against age. I am an older sitter and I would think from reading previous reviews, owners will realise that I do not have any mobility issues, as many have stated I ahae walked their dogs for many hours and over rough terrain, climbing up mountainous hills etc..Also homes that have had many steps to access their house and then even more steps, as bedroom not on ground floor or first but the second. And retired people do have time to take dogs out on for the day, on long coastal walks, or up over moorland and very high rocky hills etc. But I am a very active person, always, walking swimming outdoors, kayaking etc. etc. Nobody should assume an older sitter will have mobility issues. In fact I frequently see poeple far younger than me, struggling to walk and getting out of breath. etc.
Hi visit, I’m also old and you must admit were definitely in the minority! I have always been involved in competitive sports of all kinds, and have rafted down the Grand Canyon for 18 days, lots of creds to my above average sense of adventure and physicality. Still, I’ve occasionally been dismissed most likely after seeing my age over 65…their loss. But I understand perfectly…I go to the gym a lot and am constantly amazed at how out of shape my compatriots are, even as they’re trying their best and are relatively active….its true that we all slow down and have medical issues after, say 60 ish…well, that being said, I’m ok with it all. I’m just so grateful to be living my best life. No regrets.cant blame the youngins for being wary.
As sitters and HOs, we would not accept a sit or confirm a sitter without a video chat, for many of the same reasons cited by other posters on this thread. Certainly, people can do what they like, but this is our preference.
Over the past 3.5 years, the video chat has proven to be very useful in making our decisions, both go and no-go!
I am a very active person and do long hikes with dogs. But I have started with mobility issues, due to the fact that I push it. I was a runner for 35 years, a jogger for another almost 10 but one knee has very little meniscus left. So I do push myself, but I can see where age does have issues. A new knee should work for me. I still do everything but not as quickly.
As a very (i.e Perfectly normal) 60-plus sitter… Hmmmmm…
No, we don’t all “have medical issues” after the age of 60. Please don’t buy into that societal myth - it does none of us any favours.
Sounds like you’d have no need to lie about your age then.
My POV: If I hosted and someone turned out to be a different age and not be able to walk my dog, I’d cancel the sit then and there. Not only would that be dishonest, I’d wonder what else they lied about.
Ideally, hosts can screen out such folks via video before getting to that point. There’s no certainty of course, because some people are good at scamming, lying, etc. But if I were a host, I’d consider video a necessity, because every bit helps when finding matches.
I have to agree with @Maggie8K. I do video calls because I want to see face to face our sitter. It’s a conversation, not an interview. It’s more personal and get to know the person instead of an email.
Regarding age, I prefer my sitters tell me in their application how active they are. If they don’t, I’ll ask before setting up a video call. Before we did WhatsApp, we did phone calls. I had one sitter show up and she didn’t stand straight and had a hard time walking. I was concerned she wouldn’t be able to walk my active dog. Would have I seen this on a video call, most likely not. That is why I ask the question about activity if they don’t state it in their app.
We are in our mid-60’s and are very active. We hike, ski, mountain bike, tennis, pickleball, etc. Most times my husband does more than one of these activities daily.
