I’m new to this forum and am struggling to find someone for short terms sits (2 nights).
I have a senior dog who can’t go to regular daycare like my younger dog. She’s not a lot of upkeep at all. She’s so easy, but I need someone to be here with her and I don’t have friends that live in the area to help.
Curious if anyone else has trouble with short term needs and has suggestions.
Thank you!
Hi @Sidaleee Welcome to our community forum, I have added your listing link to your forum profile so that members can meet you and your two adorable family members, Little Lady & TJ … I’m sure you will get some great help, feedback and advice from our supportive members. Please feel free to ask any questions and you will find some great articles on the website Blog Blog - Page 1 | TrustedHousesitters.com
We really enjoy two and three days it’s when we are on a road trip or trying to get from one side of a country to the other. They are perfect for breaking up the monotony. Cuddles and walks are always welcome.
We haven’t applied for any really short sits because we always allocate a day for cleaning, washing bedding etc so it seems just too short a time. It may be helpful to state your expectations around these tasks for potential applicants.
We have done a few weekend sits or mid week gap fillers when we’re back to back sitting like we’ve been all this summer. In almost 5 months we’ve had not one single gap as we always managed to find the odd short sit. The shortest we did was a two day 1 night sit last week for a host working two days away. She invited us to stay the second night too as she was arriving back in the evening. In the end our following host also invited us to arrive that night which we preferred so we left in the afternoon a few hours before her return. There will always be sitters looking out for a short sit. Also perhaps sitters local to you would be worth approaching.
Good luck!
I’ve done multiple short-term sits, when I just wanted to visit a place for a few days. If you are having problems finding a sitter, maybe specify in the listing that the sitter will not be expected to clean deeply or change sheets for such a short stay.
Good point. I tend not to go for shorter sits myself anymore as it barely gives me any time to get myself settled in. If I do manage to get myself settled, it’s usually then time to pack up and get going plus see to the bed linen etc. This reminds me, I once traveled to an overnight last minute sit where the owner was getting pretty desperate and luckily, I was available to help. I was only there with the pets for around 20 hours total. I made sure I’d cleaned everywhere thoroughly before I left but I made the mistake of not washing the bed linen. The owner marked me down on cleanliness in my review for this, when almost all my reviews have rated me 5 in this category. Even though I very enjoyed the animals and the area, it felt a lot for such a short time. I tend to only go for sit lengths of 5 days at a minimum now otherwise it just feels like a bit of a whirlwind!
For two nights I would honestly just book an Airbnb (no application needed, no cleaning, no washing the sheets and most importantly: exactly the dates and location that we need). We also always allocate an entire day to cleaning and getting the house ready. It might help to connect a bit with your neighborhood, there might be platforms or Facebook groups for people/dog owners in the area that would be interested in a reciprocal arrangement or even dog sharing. We know a lady that uses THS regularly for short sits, but she always has her paid sitters as a backup (her success rate with THS is also low even though the area is nice and she needs someone for around 4 days).
@Timmy a great reason for squeezing in a short sit (rather than an airbnb) is the 5* review!! We have seriously boosted our profile strength this summer with lots of shorter sits inbetween the longer ones & had no overnights to pay anywhere.
I am lucky enough to be travelling by car so there is room to take bedding and towels. On very short sits I carefully take off the bedding and replace it with my own then at the end put the original bedding back on. Then when we get to a longer sit I wash everything.
It saves the problem of laundering.
@Chatsetchiens that was a bit mean of that host to mark you down on cleaning just because you didn’t wash the bedding! Such a short sit and you saved her trip! Some hosts have unrealistic or unfair expectations.
We always try to wash the bedding, however long or short the Sit, unless the hosts specifically say not to. Sometimes we have to leave early, and there is no time to wash & dry, or we don’t want to dominate the washer & drying areas when the returning hosts need it. In these cases we always strip the bed and fold everything tidily and inform the host that our usual policy is to wash/dry everything… and give the reasons above.
I get exactly what you’re saying. The majority are very grateful but I was quite miffed to have been marked down on this when I hadn’t even been there 24 hours and it was very last minute. Had the person not been so unreasonable, I would’ve gone back for future sits but trust and goodwill was lost after that so never again. I’m constantly learning more and more about human as well as animal behaviour on this wonderful journey of pet sitting! 
@Chatsetchiens Yes Its a learning curve all right!! We have made lots of adaptions in our sitter journey and ask more questions these days to try to avoid surprises! But we still sometimes get caught out! 
We got marked down on cleaning a few weeks back on a weekend sit- the first time in over 50 sits! We were pretty annoyed as we’d left the house pristine, as always! and even cleaned the oven before we could use it, and washed all the bedding etc! The only reason we could think of was a personal issue. The host had texted us immediately he got back ‘demanding’ to know what we’d done with a piece of cutlery he’d left on the rack which he could not find anywhere! It obviously had sentimental value & he was panicking. We reassured him immediately that it must be there in the cutlery drawer and we ofcourse had not taken it! Eventually he did find it- ‘buried under some paperwork’ in the drawer- as if we’d hidden it! No apology. And a delay in the review. We read his previous sitters spectacular review- which we should have had too- imho!! But ours was wishy washy and 1 star down on the cleaning- it felt like he had some grudge against us & this was a little punishment! You just can’t please all folks!
That’s a wise move to ask more questions but it really is disheartening when people don’t acknowledge the effort you’ve put in to getting everything so clean and tidy as you did. That person you describe sounds quite unreasonable and a real stickler. Their loss though as I’m sure you won’t be going back!
What you said about asking more directed questions at video call stage is crucial and I’ve certainly learned that the hard way. One of my key questions is always to ask if any third parties will be coming into the property while they’re away? I’ve encountered all manner of situations from not being told about cleaners coming and then suddenly entering a room and finding a complete stranger in there. I once had a window cleaner turn up whilst I was in the shower. Poor man was as horrified as I was!
I also once had someone send their teenage son back to the property for me to look after as well as their cat!!! 
This was on an overseas sit and put me in a very difficult awkward position. Thankfully, the great experiences significantly outweigh the ones I’ve just described but all the same, I now tend to be very thorough with my questions now prior to confirming so I avoid finding myself in situations like this. My gut instincts are getting more fine tuned as time goes in, that’s for sure but like you said, it’s certainly a learning curve!!!
@Chatsetchiens I love your story about the window cleaner!
But seriously- we’ve had that too- unexpected visitors- always a bit unsettling.
E.g on a recent 2 day sit we were told the cleaners would come the second afternoon so when a woman walked in through the back door and got stuff out of the utility room we assumed she was the cleaner- although she was several hours earlier than expected. She did not speak any English so at first we just left her to it. She then proceeded to start a washload and put something in the oven to cook but was not cleaning anything! We tried using Google translate to communicate and eventually discovered she was a Ukranian refugee that the host was sheltering in her garden house!! She was coming & going all morning & her friend too. Then a couple of hours later 2 more women turned up who were the actual cleaners- 2 hours early! So at one point we had all 4 strangers in the house with us so we decided to take the dogs out and let them all get on with it! As a result of their thoroughness our vegetable steamer and my laptop cable got cleared away into the hosts stuff and we only realised it the day after arrival at the next sit an hour away! So we had to drive back the next day to get it!
I also dislike when the hosts return earlier than expected, usually unnanounced, when we are still cleaning. We prefer to make a quiet exit before they return. Its stressful for us when this happens and I think its disrespectful of them. One couple returned home with the mother in law in tow and they just marched in- 3 hours earlier than expected- no apology- and made themselves a coffee without offering us one! We’d planned to finish the cleaning and have a quick snack before leaving but we felt uncomfortable and left as soon as we were ready. They were actually very friendly people with a gorgeous home- they gave us a great review and want us to return…but I really prefer more of a feeling of equality- not boss & staff.
So many stories…every time I go on this app someones comment triggers another bunch of memories!
We would do a short sit like this, because sometimes they fit perfectly in between longer gigs.
Oh wow. Talk about having a lot of unexpected house guests all of a sudden. I think I’d have been pretty overwhelmed by that situation you described and not best pleased either. I really do have an issue with people not being upfront about other people coming into the home from the off as that’s really off putting for most of us. It shows a real lack of regard in my opinion.
I’m so with you on people just turning up earlier than the agreed time. I have a regular who has a tendency to do this a lot and I’m no longer quite so keen to re-book. I have brought it up with them but it seems to fall on deaf ears as they feel entitled to turn up when they want with no prior warning. Their pet is so adorable and I love him probably a bit too much but there comes a point where the disrespect from an owner or should I say pet parent now, just really crosses a boundary repeatedly. Like you say, it’s a mutual exchange and it’s not on to be treated like this. That dynamic of employer to employee just doesn’t work for me either. I do have several thankfully that I’ve looked after their pets for many years and they wouldn’t dream of ever doing that.
It’s really good to swap anecdotes and know you’re not the only one who has these things happen to them. I literally don’t know anyone else who does pet sitting so this forum is brilliant for sharing experiences like this!
This is helpful. Since I’m new, I didn’t know this add that in. I was planning to tell them once we started a conversation! But I would never expect that from them from such a short time at my house. Thank you!