We engaged a sitter for a three month sit later this year and she has just asked us if we know of any part time positions to work a few hours two or three days a week between dog walks. Previous sitters have worked remotely which we were fine with but this request makes us feel uncomfortable. To be fair, we have said we’re fine with her going out for a few hours to explore the area from time to time but this is not what we envisaged. Thoughts please.
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Probably best to explain your thoughts on this now rather than later or it will bug you. How about suggesting she looks for an online job as that would work better with her first commitment to sit for you OR suggest she offer dog walking services to your neighbours as that could be an hour here and there at a time and ties with her skills OR simply tell her you’ve thought about it some more and you’re not sure it works with being a dog sitter first and foremost so if that’s the priority better to cancel now and find another sitter for your pooch. Do whatever you’re comfortable with but be clear & upfront on comms asap as makes for a good sit all round whatever the circumstances. #itsgoodtotalk
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Ultimately you have to do what makes you comfortable–it is your house and your pets and you are free to choose whichever sitters fit best with your requirements and preferences.
If you didn’t envision having a sitter who would be working outside the home for any length of time during their stay and this is not your most ideal scenario, I think you are well within your rights to find another sitter.
Obviously I don’t know this person but you have to consider that even if you expressed your discomfort with them doing this, it is possible they will do it anyway, thinking you won’t know. This is especially true if their financial situation is such that they are really reliant on finding income sources during their sitting periods.
Just like it is reasonable for sitters to cancel a sit if new information comes to light or new responsibilities are added after confirming that would have not made them take the sit in the first place, I think it is reasonable for hosts to cancel a sitter if their circumstances change in such ways that they would not have chosen them had these elements existed when originally applying.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
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I always talk to pet owners about how long they are comfortable with me leaving their dog(s). I appreciate owners who have this information in their welcome guide.
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She might be fishing to see whether you could offer her such work. Whatever the case, if her request makes you uncomfortable, better to discuss and potentially cancel sooner than later.
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What was the agreement in regard to how long the pets can be left? Your post says you are fine with her going out for a few hours from time to time. What does that mean? This is a three month sit and she can’t leave for a few hours 2 or 3 days a week? That seems very restrictive which is why I’m wondering what was actually agreed to. Why would it matter if she is out exploring vs working?
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I would not be comfortable with this. It sounds like she needs a job to pay her expenses, which could be as simple as food and internet. Some young people explore the world as nomads, just getting by. If she doesn’t find one will she leave your area leaving in the middle of the three month sit. Also if she gets one not online the hours may be two days a week for 8 hours a day which is considered a part time job but those days would take her away from the house longer than your agreed upon time away each day.
Also she has to first look for a job. If not online then interviews at times dictated by the employer. Now that she has new friends at work in your area, are they coming over your house for get-togethers and is this OK.
For three months I would find someone financially stable and can adhere to the needs of my pet.
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I’m not sure why people seem to think someone wanting to make a little extra money means they are financially unstable or irresponsible (that they wouldn’t honor the sit agreement). Three months is a long time and the sitter might reasonably think that the sit is not a 24 hour a day commitment and she should have some time each week to do what she wants (as most sitters would expect when agreeing to a sit). What she does with that time should not require HO approval. In many places one could easily find a part-time job that would work around other responsibilities. So, the question is really what was agreed to in terms of how long and how often the pets can be left? As long as a sitter follows what was agreed to, what they do when they are away from the home should be up to them.
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Lot of speculation here. Have a chat with her and clarify the situation.Edit. Sorry I replied to the wrong person.
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@CharlieFarley, i’d agree with @Cuttlefish.
But one aspect here is your level of confidence in securing another housesitter. The level of applicants to listings varies a lot, depending on various attributes of the pets, property, responsibilities, location & otherwise. A subset of housesitters seek multi month housesits - we recently completed a three month housesit in western Canada. But suspect most housesitters could not, or would not, commit to a three month housesit.
A further aspect is terms for longer term housesits. Other related threads have explored this topic. The gist being that housesitters have lives too! For multi-month housesits then some reasonable flexibility can go a long way - say limited guests, periodic neighbour take pet for day, utility costs, …
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We had something similar happen to us. The sitter cancelled the day before the sit saying they finally had a job out out of state and it left us scrambling not only for ourselves but for the home onwer’s who were expecting us. Luckily we had a sitter apply when we reposted but it was literally within 24 hours. Once we accepted the new sitter, the lady who cancelled asked us if she could be accepted to sit again because the job had x’d her a few days later.
If your gut feeling feels funny, follow it. It’s one thing if she’s looking for a job in your area and can do the whole sit but if your belly is saying “hmm… this doesn’t click…” don’t force it, you might be running last minute.
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It is the sitter asking the homeowner about the job that is suspect. A successful homeowner / sitter relationship requires healthy boundaries. Asking the homeowner about the part-time positions is weird. Any reasonable person with internet access can research part-time jobs in “x” area, and negotiate hours with that job to fit in with the dog walking responsibilities. I’d no more involve a homeowner in my employment decisions than I would involve them in giving me advice on a questionable rash. Boundaries, people. Boundaries.
We can speculate all day as to the sitter’s motivation but if I were @CharlieFarley I would cancel immediately and find another sitter, especially given the length of the sit. If the sitter crosses this tiny, tiny boundary now it does not bode well for future interactions.
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Why? I don’t see why that would be suspect. Of course, someone can look for their own jobs. But I don’t see why asking if the HO happens to know of any leads is suspect. This should be a friendly exchange of equals and the sitter will be living there for three months. It’s reasonable that they should be able to do other things outside of the sit.
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Agreed within reason if the sitter is 100% comitted to the sit and holds themselves accountable to treat the sit with the care and respect they signed up under. If that’s not the case it can be a recipe for a fallout.
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The roles are these: Homeowner provides a clean, safe place to stay. Sitter maintains that clean, place safe to stay and keeps the pets healthy and alive.
Period. End of sentence.
This is not a job-hunting site; there are plenty of those. This is not a dating site; there are plenty of those. This is not a medical advice site; there are plenty of those.
When a sitter asks a homeowner for job advice, it crosses a boundary. Asking, “Do you know of any part-time jobs I can do between dog walks?” sends a message, intentionally or not, that the sitter is in search of money. The HO is in a vulnerable position - their beloved pets, and all of their possessions, are under the care of that sitter. As an HO I would immediately assume that the sitter is asking me, in a roundabout way, to pay them. I would also worry that since they’re sending the message that they need money, they might decide to get that money by pawning some of my possessions. Sitters should not seek advice from hosts about things that are not directly related to the sit. Because boundaries.
Of COURSE it is reasonable that the sitter should be able to do other things outside of the sit. I 100% agree that this sitter can do part-time work. But the sitter should find that work with no input whatsoever from the homeowner.
One of the beautiful, beautiful things about THS is that we invite each other into our most personal and vulnerable lives. It is far too easy to misunderstand this and cross boundaries that make people uncomfortable. The sitter used poor judgment in asking the homeowner about this. Could they have asked a neighbor? Sure. Someone they met at the dog park? Absolutely. In the immortal words of our forebears, “Good fences make good neighbors”. And good boundaries make for good homeowner/sitter relationships.
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And homeowners should not place restrictions on what sitter can do with their own time. Because boundaries.
No one here knows anything about this sitter. I think jumping to the conclusion that the sitter is irresponsible is uncalled for. Regardless of whether the sitter asked the HOs for leads on jobs (which most wouldn’t do), the OP indicates they don’t want the sitter getting a job during the sit. That’s the issue I’m looking at here. People can debate whether it’s okay for a sitter to ask if the HO knows of any possible job opportunities (or volunteer opportunities, or anything else about things they may want to to during a long sit). That’s not the issue I’ve commented on here. To me the only issue here is what the sitter and HO agreed to in regard to how long and how often the pets can be left. Wanting to make some extra money during a long sit doesn’t mean the sitter can’t also fulfill the requirements of the sit (unless the sit requirements are extremely restrictive such that the sitter can’t leave for a few hours 2 to 3 days a week).
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Oooof… that was bad. A sitter wouldn’t tarnish their profile by doing that especially if they’re using THS as a living arrangement. If anything, a sitter using THS as a living arrangement would probably do a great job so that they can keep securing sits. Also keep in mind that THS does have sitter’s background checked.
That comment really went below the belt on assumptions…
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I agree with you here. If the sitter’s part-time job still allows them to fulfill the petsitting as agreed, it is none of the HO’s business what they are doing during the hours they are away from the house. But since the sitter did insert their work life into the sit, it is entirely within @CharlieFarley’s purview to say, “Hey, this makes me uncomfortable” and cancel the sit. No homeowner needs to have a sitter that makes them uncomfortable. Perhaps next time the sitter will learn to keep their mouth shut. All the homeowner needs to know is if the pet and home were taken care of as agreed.
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Agreed. And it was intentional. To show the risk of crossing boundaries and the Pandora’s box that it opens, when silence would have been a perfectly reasonable choice on the sitter’s part.
I don’t agree. Ofc it could be to earn money, but for a three month sit it could also be to have a schedule outside the home, something to learn, people to talk to beside a pet or a cashier.
For many, the lack of human interaction could be the downside of longer sits.
It is actually a good idea to find some local tasks to connect like this.
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