i’m presently doing a sit. i arrived here monday and HO were still here and i took the two dogs out on the afternoon.
the next day i walked the dogs and expected to do a second walk but i had a specialist apt in the city. he was running 40 minutes late to give you an idea of my day, then he sent me for tests here there and everywhere with me getting home late afternoon after being home in between tests. i’m 70 and quite frankly was exhausted from the unexpected day. i’m not ill, just had a small op on my knee.
anyway next morning, the HO rang saying they’d checked the cameras and wanted to know why i hadn’t walked the dogs in the evening!
this is my first encounter like this but i’ve noticed just about everywhere i go has outside cameras and i do feel like i’m being watched. thoughts anyone?
@bubble Without knowing the expectations the HO set within the listing, that does still sound a bit overbearing to me. I would suggest communicating politely about your appointment and how it impacted half of the day.
As for cameras, the THS policy is here.. All cameras should be disclosed on a listing and internal cameras should be disabled.
Technically external cameras are allowed, but I hate them, even when I have no reason to believe the HOs are keeping an eye on me. My last sit HO did explicitly call out in the welcome guide that she kept it on for security but disabled notifications, which was definitely appreciated. There’s also so many other digital ways your activity can be tracked by an overbearing HO (tv usage, pet trackers, internet usage etc.) but the vast majority of people wouldn’t care or bother to look at this data.
I’d be factual and apologetic (but not overly so); assure her of your commitment to dog care moving forward, and keep it in mind when discussing prospective future sits.
well that’s interesting. i’ve never seen cameras disclosed in an advertised sit!
yes when i was rung asking why i hadn’t taken them for a walk i explained my day had gone upside down unexpectedly but nonetheless, its suddenly made me aware - who are these outside cameras, especially in the back garden area, monitoring.
it’s left a bad taste in my mouth. i’ve noticed on occasion outside cameras out the back are pointed towards the house.
seriously these ppl contacted me and i’m getting ready to go interstate to melbourne sydney for sits and i fitted them in, to help out. it’s making me feel uneasy for the rest of the sit.
Yes, it is now more the norm than not to have external cameras and to feel like we are being supervised from afar. Not relaxing to be sure. We also had the HO text us saying “did you know the garage door was open?” - we did know and we were home and it was daylight. We also know our voices are being recorded - anything we say outside. We do have access to the cameras (via an app we downloaded) ourselves so we can see - and hear - everything they can see and hear. It is an upscale neighborhood and they did have an invader show up in their yard at night last year - so I get it, but it’s still very uncomfortable to feel your every move is watched. Not a fan but I think it’s the new normal.
Hi @bubble
I can understand how upset you are and I would be too. I haven’t had this experience although was at a sit in New Zealand when the dog got out of the ‘secure’ yard when a storm blew the, supposedly secure, gate open. I went out looking for the dog and instantly got a call from the owner who was alerted every time the front door was opened. Fortunately the dog had gone up the road into another garden and was brought back. There were no issues about my not taking the dog for a walk.
Also many people now have Ringo door bells here in the UK.
Your question has been discussed on the forum before but from the point of view of an owner so you may be interested in this thread:
I would have told the owners if I had an appointment, however you weren’t to know how long it was all going to take. I’m sure once you’ve explained to them they will be fine but, yes, pretty overbearing especially at the start of your sit.
I understand your concern @bubble as it does make us feel uncomfortable knowing we are/could be being monitored. You have given the owners the reason for your absence and I’m sure they can now see you following the dog’s normal walking routine.
Did you look at the Amenities filters in their listing as that shows any security cameras or burglar alarms - providing the owners are upfront about them?
Hopefully you haven’t too much longer on the sit. Do give a factual, non-emotional review if they had not listed the cameras.
While I know what you mean about being watched, external cameras are allowed. But the cameras may notify the owners when they are triggered and they probably thought it was odd that they hadn’t been triggered, and that’s probably why they felt the need to check, especially with you being slightly older (we’re in our 50’s & 60’s).
I am presuming their instructions were to walk the dogs twice per day, so I would say it is only natural that given they realised they hadn’t been out that they check to see if everything is okay… especially with you being 70, perhaps you had already mentioned your knee op to them.
I’m not sure how they worded their message, but maybe if you read it again, you may read it differently with a fresh set of eyes, because they may have just been checking that you are okay.
But the fact is, they asked for their dogs to be walked just twice per day, it’s not much to ask. So there’s no wrongs nor rights. I know it now makes you feel uncomfortable, but maybe read their message again, because maybe the thought of being watched is making you read it in a bad way, rather than in a ‘concerned for your health’ way.
But if it isn’t written like that, then I really feel for you.
I just saw a listing where a recent sitter gave it 4 stars due to lack of transparency regarding the use of indoor cameras. In her response she states that she negotiates the use of the camera with sitters. It’s a small, one room flat and she has a camera recording video and live streaming the room 24/7. Clearly against T&Cs and not mentioned in the listing at all. I just can’t imagine how anyone would think that’s appropriate and not a major invasion of privacy.
no they rang me and told me the husband had looked through the cameras, and they wanted to know why i hadn’t walked them in the evening.
i’m a very fit 70 year old, normally at the gym 5 days a week, so not an elderly 70.
however for me i just wonder why it is when we are offering a good and free service someone feels the need to watch and check up on me. i find it completely unethical and no different to a camera inside. the cameras at most places are not just at the front of the house but also in the back garden and down the sides. you’re always under some kind of surveillance.
i always walk my dogs twice a day but i have one day where i got ran around unexpectedly after having a small knee op, and someone’s ringing me and i’ve only been there two days. sorry, having a whinge. i think i’m done for the rest of the year now.
Unfortunately cameras are becoming more common and outside ones are permitted by THS so over-bearing and untrusting home-owners get to spy on your every external move. There’s a lot of justificatons provided for this behaviour but the short of it is that these people will continue to watch every move you make outside the house. Feel free to leave a note in the review that they have cameras (especially if not disclosed int the listing) and that they definitely monitored your movements on them.
On the plus side you have probably given the husband the opportunity to justify his large expenditure on his external camera setup. May even have saved his marriage
Perhaps I’m the odd one out here, but I think I’d feel somewhat grateful to the HO for checking in on me especially as it was only Day 2……I feel the external cameras add a level of safety and security for me too and that if for whatever reason I failed to appear for a regular entry/exit that somebody would care enough to check or show concern. Also I adhere to the notion of ‘bad news early’ so if I was unfortunately unable to do a dog walk for whatever reason I might’ve messaged the HOs to let them know the situation…they might have a neighbour who could step in to help that one time maybe?
It is a strange feeling if you’re not used to it of being watched/monitored, but can you flip it around to being cared for/checked in a loving way?
