Am just curious - is it common for HO to ask if an applicant has any health issues? Is this asked due to the apparent age of the applicants? If so is this not a form of age discrimination or is it just the HO being cautious? I find it intrusive and something that should be asked during the “questions/getting to know each other” video chat. Do others differ from me in their opinions regarding this?
I’m currently on my 87th sit, am a fit 67 year old and have never been asked about my health. This could be because I mention in my profile how fit and healthy I am.
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It’s possible they had issues before with a sitter who either cancelled due to ill-health or was not able to manage the requirements fo the sit due to health or age. I have seen lots of reports of this happening so I don’t see it as an unreasonabel thing for someone to ask. They’re not a business and this isn’t employment so they’re entitled to ask whatever questions they want and have whatever requirements they want.
Just tell them you’re good and ask them how their health is 
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Long time no talk @Smiley 
First time for us also and we have been sitting since 2018! Hope all is going well for you.
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Hi @Ray2 - Yes those thoughts had also crossed my mind and I have also thought of asking after theirs! Thought I might be ott asking that though! Thanks for your thoughts
The only question I have ever been asked before the video chat has been if I had tickets for a far away country or if I was aware of possible travel arrangements.
I find that question at such an early stage a bit strange unless it was more in the line of being fit enough to deal with an energetic, demanding dog, the home of an immumodepressed person, but those warnings should probably be in the listing.
It could also be a concern regarding health insurance coverage in a country like US. I guess it depends on the context and wording but I agree with you that it
A HO is allowed to discriminate on any grounds that they wish to.
People can have health issues at any age. I would find it a little odd if someone asked about my health. I wouldn’t have applied if I wasn’t capable of doing the sit. Emergency health issues could come up at anytime for anyone (both sitters and hosts). If people are going to start asking about health, then sitters should also be asking hosts since they cancel due to health issues too.
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I think I may know your answer. I’ve just had a glance at your profile, it’s brilliant, but you don’t give an indication of your age at all, and given you are ‘beyond-middle-aged’, you don’t mention your current health and fitness (you mention liking sport, but that could be on TV). So they have to guess by your photos, and that’s hard to do.
Maybe they’ve had an issue in the past. Maybe they want to be sure you can provide their dogs with the exercise they need, or cope with heavy dogs pulling on the leader. But they must have been interested in you to ask in the first place, so that’s brilliant. Also, some owners think their dogs are highly energetic in comparison to other dogs, when in reality, they’re just normal dogs!
We’re in our 50’s and 60’s, we’ve done 30+ sits, and we’ve NEVER been asked about our health other than it coming up as part of a normal conversation with other ‘beyond middle aged’ owners. But we put our age in our profile, to give a well-rounded picture of us. We don’t mention our health or fitness level, because why would we… we’ve got normal health issues that now arise from time to time, so I’m not going into normal aging stuff in our profile. But by giving our ages, it alleviates all of that, and owners will either know we are right for them or not, and they don’t need to ask any questions, and those with huge heavy weight dogs will avoid us.
I’m not suggesting you need to put your age, and I’m not suggesting you need to say you are fit and healthy, I’m just saying I think you’ve maybe left an HO with questions, but they must have thought you were a good fit to ask in the first place.
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All sitters profiles show our ages auto generated by THS based on our ID verification when we signed up .(I don’t happen to like this data being shared publicly but we can’t opt out of it )
For these sitters it says 65+
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HI @KiwiSwede,
I have not had a HO to ask me about any health issues I may have. If a HO did ask me such a question, I would find it insulting and immediately withdraw my application.
Did the HO ask you this question because of your age?
Would a 25-year old be asked the same question?
What type of pet(s) does the HO have?
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One could simply say; « interesting question. Why do you ask?» and take it from there. Maybe is it conpletely legitimate, Maybe will you get info that makes it necessary to withdraw your application. 
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I have been to sits where the stairs were very steep and in one case in a 18th century cottage where you had to come down backwards. It did say in the ad you had to be fit to manage the stairs. I am in the 65+ category and I don’t have any objections to being asked about health. I prefer to know up front if there are difficulties. I have been to a sit where the previous sitter fell down the stairs and broke her leg and another where one triped on outside steps in the garden and broke her arm.
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I’ve started asking about agility since having a sitter with bad knees. We have a lot of random steps and uneven surfaces and it was painful to watch her navigate the walk to the outdoor cat’s enclosure. Our upcoming sitter is in the 65+ category and I was hesitant to ask in case they thought it due to their age, but I tried to be clear that I now ask everyone.
Maybe this HO had a sitter with an undisclosed issue like mold allergy, chronic pain, etc that turned out to be a problem. Most of us only start asking questions after an issue arises (like sitters asking about space in the refrigerator or visitors dropping by) but if it felt off to you then that’s fair too.
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Honestly, reading on the forum about the difficulties that some sitters have on sits due to their health, or some HO’s mentioning that their pet hadn’t been taken care of properly due to the sitters’ health, this should become a legitimate and important question.
Often times we don’t even imagine that the way other people live in their homes might affect our health issues. For instance, I’m thinking about the member with fibromyalgia who cannot stay in a colder environment. Or the person who has such severe allergies that the diffuser sticks choke them.
Assumptions get made, and questions don’t get asked, on either side. Inquiring about the sitter’s health is a way of eliminating potential problems from the get-go. A sitter should be proactive and speak up for themselves to not find themselves in an unpleasant and uncomfortable situation. Hopefully these inquiries can be done in a tactful and sensitive manner.
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Agreed. I think sitters should be upfront and HO’s should feel safe asking questions they deem relevant without anyone getting upset. I mean, we’re strangers, we don’t have all the information.
I once declined a new sitter simply because I confirmed an earlier one. When I went to message her about an upcoming sit I read her first review and learned that she can’t stay in a home with WiFi (brain waves) so she unplugged the HO’s router. We’re rural so that would potentially jack up our solar and other things that communicate via WiFi. But how would I even 'know to ask that question? Open honest communication is the only way.
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Thank you all for your thoughts and opinions, several of which I had thought of, including that where the houseowner could have been burned before. I don’t make a habit of checking out other sitters profiles so had not realised that some also include their ages. The pictures we have up show that we are quite capable of walking dogs/looking after horses/feeding the chickens/cats etc., and we usually walk dogs for a couple of hours at a time unless we have been asked to keep the walks short. I think at the time of a HO receiving applications, surely if a person had health issues, they would not be applying and if they did, especially if it was going to inhibit their ability to care for the pet/s, they would make it abundantly clear to the HO so as not to waste the HO’s time unnecessarily. We are both active and take care of a large property at our summer house as well as our permanent home, in our early 70’s and no current health problems. Incidentally, occurrence of health problems can occur at any time, at any age, not just because one is older. You could simply be run over or catch covid while out shopping! Thanks everyone for your input.
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At my present sit, one of the owners volunteered her own health issues and told me that she could die any day.
So I really hope they will return from their vacation in North-Africa on Saturday. So far, they are well.
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Statements like that may be the reason they are travelling/on holiday.
Our motivation for travelling extensively as we have was a diagnosis of cancer 9 years ago. He was given less that 25% chance of surviving. Once the treatment was finished we realised going back to work was not an option with these statistics so we set off on our travels. He has had the all clear for 4 years now and we still love our lifestyle.
Illness motivates a lot of people to get off their backsides and do instead of talking/dreaming about it.
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Discrimination can be such a touchy subject. Some people see discrimination everywhere, others just treat it as life.
I would welcome a health discussion with prospective hosts. It would highlight any potential problems. We do have in our profile our ages and that we are both fit and healthy - we walk approximately five miles a day. At the moment I’m having an issue with my left shoulder so dogs that pull on a lead cannot be accommodated but I mention this in the applications.
I think asking about health and well being is a legitimate question. Think of all the problems people have highlighted recently that could have been avoided if a that conversation occurred before the sit was confirmed
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