Personally I think that is very generous.
I usually look for sits where the dog is happy to go out and about with me.
If I wanted to visit somewhere which wasn’t dog friendly I still wouldn’t leave the dog for more than 4 hours.
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@LollyM very generous, would be rarely out this long anyway but great for an occasional long day out.
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I think most sitters looking to keep a dog company would find the 6-7 hours perfectly reasonable. For me and I think most sitters, it’s most important that you specify this in your listing, which you do - saving everyone headaches if it’s only during the video call or, much worse, during the handover as the host is leaving that suddenly a bombshell is dropped of any kind. I also really appreciate hosts like you who offer backup options such as doggy daycare or having a dog walker pop in if the sitter would like a longer chunk of time to sightsee. You sound like a gem of a host!
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That is very good, wherever possible we will take dogs out with us, we use our own car and have a cover to protect the seats, we love to go to beaches and woodlands, lakes etc, and we don’t tend to leave the animals on their own for long, but there are times when we want to go somewhere dogs just aren’t allowed so being able to leave them for around 5 hours or so is ideal. If we are visiting an area where we know we will be out for long periods we just sit for cats.
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Just saw lovely house sit for cats but you can only leave them for a maximum of 2hours.just ridiculous.even getting a supermarket shop would be a problem.
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Today, I saw a sit which had instant appeal, so read the listing thoroughly and discovered the dog (who enjoys long walks) can’t be left alone for more than 2 hours. There is no mention of separation anxiety.
We usually take sit dogs out and about with us (in our own car) but there are occasionally instances where that wouldn’t work, and it’s one thing choosing to do it but quite another to have no choice in the matter.
We didn’t apply for this sit but can see that others already have. Let’s hope they find a good match.
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I really think some HO’s aren’t thinking it through or are just unrealistic. How many of them actually live like that I wonder 
sitters get rated on self sufficiency, but it appears some pets have none.
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(reposted from closed thread)
In search of new sits, I’ve been browsing through dozens of listings over the past couple of days and noticed that there was not one single sit, including cat-only sits, stating that pets can be left alone for longer than six hours.
@Mark_B, aren’t there any options exceeding six hours? A bug? New type of hosts? Something else?
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That’s right. For pets that can be left alone for more than 6 hours, the sitters and owners are guided to discuss this further.
These options are there to offer clarity where possible, but every sit can be a little different and there’s no replacement for a good conversation. 
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I saw a sit advertised where the dog was never to be left alone at any time.
Needless to say l didn’t apply
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Hmm, when a host states in black and white that a cat cannot be left alone for more than six hours, I do not take it as an invitation for further discussion. I take it as a fact, that the cat cannot be left alone for more than six hours, and move on.
Likewise, hosts looking for solo sitters do not invite families for discussions; in fact, they are rather annoyed when families apply regardless and decline them right away.
However, if the THS wants to quide members to discuss things with each other, what is the point with newly implemented arrival and departure times
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Agreed.
When pets can be left alone for more than 6 hours, further discussion is likely required.
If pets can’t be left alone for this long, then it sounds like this isn’t the right sit for you. 
As I say, every sit can be a little different, but out of curiosity, what is the ideal length of time that you’d like to leave a pet unaccompanied?
EDIT: This post has screenshots of all current options that can be selected.
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What @august is saying is correct. If a listing states “can be left for up to 6 hours” that doesn’t invite discussion for further negotiation. THS need another box that says 6 hours+ or/and Hours Alone TBD on the listing. As for lengths of time to be left alone, dogs 5ish hours if you ask a vet (we’ve sat for two that we’re fine for 8+ on their owners say so); cats all day in a lot of instances. The boxes are too limiting. #needsafix
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There is no such thing for me as an ‘ideal length of time.’ It is very rare that I leave cats alone for more than six hours, and never dogs. I simply do not understand the logic behind it all.
On one hand, THS discourages the practical discussions we used to have regarding arrivals and departures. Instead, they now make us specify (often bogus) times in order to ‘Start Every Sit with Clear Expectations.’
On the other hand, the platform seems to guide us back into discussions by enforcing these bogus hours regarding how long pets can be left alone.
It’s confusing. How are members to know what is a flexible topic for discussion and what is a strict requirement?
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I have seen many listings recently where dogs cannot be left alone for 2 hours.
Owners are just taking the opportunity of using this option as I think they can now see this as acceptable.
I arranged a sitting a few months ago before this feature was available and the owner stated in her pet instructions that the dog could be left for 4 hours. When I looked at her listing yesterday on the dashboard she has now used the “up to 2 hours” option.
We are carrying out a repeat sitting in May where she has input the “up to 2 hours” option but in our sitting last year she stated the dog could be left for 3 hours.
We will ignore the dashboard but this is so wrong that owners are taking advantage of this feature
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I really don’t see how publishing wrong information helps clarity.
I know you’re only the messenger but since you’re volunteering explanations, perhaps you could explain what reasoning is behind what, to me, is a ridiculous if not unfair change:
- Owners are not allowed to post that their pets can be let alone for longer that 6 hours, even if it’s just fish or a tortoise.
- Owners are allowed to use any arrival and departure time with half an hour intervals. So they can (and some do) post arrival time 5-5.30 am and departure time 9-10pm.
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Hi @Newpetlover
Check out this post where you’ll see all the options that can be selected when determining how long a pet can be left alone (including “more than 6 hours”)
Thanks,
I have now.
It seems when we wrote our first posts neither of us was aware of this.
Still, this doesn’t explain why the genius who has designed the changes thinks the time a pet can be left alone should be limited to 5 options, one of which is “pets can’t be left alone” while the arrival and departure times offer 48 options.
As @Itchyfeet points out, THS are encouraging HOs now to see
Not leaving the pets alone at all, arriving at 5.am and leaving at 9pm.
OK nobody’s forced to apply to such listings but what is THS role here?
How is this going to help either sitters or HOs?
If improvements are going to follow this path I would ask THS to stop improving things.
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Hello. Just to add my 2 cents, among the many dogs I’ve loved was one with terrible separation anxiety that cost me a fortune in doggy daycare fees. And such anxiety among dogs — and “owners” — has obviously gotten so much worse since Covid and with people working from home.
Am I imagining a time back when parents went to work and the kids went to school, the dog stayed home, and whoever returned first walked it, and all was just fine?
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I remember that time well @RichardNYC and dogs were just fine! Nowadays, I think it’s more the “pet parents” who have separation anxiety!!
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