Pet behaviour category. đŸ±

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Hi folks. I would love to get the hive minds thoughts on something I’m struggling with.

Is the pet behaviour category reflective on the pet or the pet parent or both? (nurture nature)

I will provide three “hypothetical “ situations.

Situation 1. Lovely cat the (originally a stray) that constantly sprays inside the house.

Situation 2. Lovely dogs that escape the yard because the fence is not fit for purpose.

Situation 3. Lovely dogs that are impossible to walk as they are reactive and pull your arms out of the sockets

In each instance the home owner didn’t disclose this information but I feel this is the owners issue and not pet behaviour, or am I over thinking it?

P.S. in each instance we offer a factual and honest review

2

It’s reflective of the pet. However I never mark them down if it was disclosed and I accepted the behavior.

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3

I’m with @rayray, we wouldn’t mark them down if the details within their profile was accurate. I also wouldn’t rate the pet parents on that front, it would be the pets for us.

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4

Thanks. None were disclosed.

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5

In each instance they were not accurately listed and to be honest it was clearly obfuscation.

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6

One thing to keep in mind is that pets act differently sometimes when the owners are gone, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t know the behavior would happen while they were away. And some behaviors owners just get used to and might not think to mention it.

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7

Our pets can do a lot of things but obfuscation isn’t one of them. That’s on the pet owners.

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8

IMHO, that’s the most important thing in a review.

Categories are not always clear cut. If the behaviour was not disclosed, it would probably fit in “accuracy of listing”. I think if the pets are difficult to handle, “ pet behavior” is meant for that. Even though their behavior is probably the result of their training (or lack of ) and although it could be a sign of stress because their owners have left, information about their behaviour is very useful for other sitters. The rating is not so important for me.

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9

These are the prompts they relate to whether the hosts clearly explained the pet’s behaviour before the sit.

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10

Thank you. I had no idea those prompts actually existed (male domestic blindness :grin:). That clarifies it for me.

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11

I think the category is clear that it’s about pet behavior as described for reviewing purposes. So if they tell you Mr. Pickles sprays inside the house before you are confirmed than that is as described. If Mr Pickles surprises you because they said he was a perfect gentleman who doesn’t spray or go outside the box, then that is NOT as described.

If the dog got out because of hole in the fence, I’d mention the hole in the fence that allowed the dog to get out. The point off would not be for pet behavior but communication – not telling you there was a hole in the fence that the dog could escape from.

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12

I just returned from a sit where the cat’s behaviour was totally the opposite of what the homeowners described. It never came near me except for food and if I approached it at all it “hissed” at me with its fangs out. I was actually afraid of the cat while there on my own. Other sitters described the cat as cuddly and affectionate - that was not my experience at all. I gave a review but didn’t really mention the cat but I didn’t notice this question “was the pet’s behaviour as expected?” when I did the review.

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13

Interesting. Cats can definitely have opinions about a person. It could be because you came in or you luggage came in smelling of another cat. I’ve had cats initially react to that and then warm up to me once they realize I didn’t bring any cats with me.

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14

And surely that’s the point: the pet behaviour is as disclosed in the listing. If not, then deduct stars and mention in your review.

15

Challenging pet behavior, even though disclosed, can be mentioned in review, even if you give 5 stars.

“As we were warned about Duke, he pulled on the lead, which was challenging, especially for my wife.”

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16

Yes, the more specific reviews are about pet behavior, the better. Even if hosts can’t necessarily predict how their pets will behave with strangers, sitters need to know what they’re signing up for. And fellow sitters can be the better gauge of that than hosts.

Various sitters complain about pet behavior, bad hosts, etc., and a good number don’t write honest reviews. They’re essentially enabling bad sits for other sitters, unfortunately.

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