So, we have a 7-8 year old rescue Siberian Husky. He is wonderful, just an affectionate, lovable fur-ball. However, kenneling him when we’re away is getting to be difficult–he chews and paws at the fencing and doors of his run as he gets so anxious. He’s not a good daycare dog either–he’s a humper and this creates problems with other dogs leading to scuffles in the play pen. We’ve tried lots of day cares and kennels in our area to no avail.
Thus, we’re looking for someone who can stay with our dog when we’re away, and be in the house/apartment with him most of that time. We crate him occasionally when we go out–3-4 hours max–and we are mostly at home anyway, one of us works from home full-time, the other, goes back and forth to the office.
We know this is asking a lot for a pet sitter but at this point the choice is finding someone who might fit this profile (can be there most of the time, can crate him once a day for a bit, but not for too long) or giving up travel.
Any advice from this group?
Gregg
I’ve seen some sits listed where the homeowner stated that the dog could not be left for any amount of time. That is not a sit I would apply for, but they do receive applicants, so I think you should try. I can only speak for myself, but where you live would be a big factor in whether I would apply. If you lived in an urban, city environment, then 3 or 4 hours would be more than enough for me to take walks, see things, get something to eat, etc. But, if you lived in a more remote area, it might not be enough time to get anywhere. I like to explore areas where I sit, but there may be some sitters who want to stay in and enjoy your home and dog. You might want to state that you prefer a couple so that they could split up and one could stay home and one could go out. If your home is family friendly, you could advertise that. You might also want to state whether your dog can be taken places by your sitters. I’m a homeowner as well as a sitter, and I’ve had sitters take my dog sightseeing with them and spent a lot of time outside with her. She rides really well in a car, but I don’t know how your dog does with car rides. But, I do think that 3-4 hours is a good amount of time that a sitter could still do a few things away from your home. You just need to state in your listing the maximum amount of time your dog can be left alone. I feel that there is a sitter(s) out there for whom your sit would be perfect.
I will be taking care of a dog like that in September and I am looking forward to that: a short walk before breakfast, then reading the newspaper, then taking the dog for a longer walk, eating lunch at a simple local restaurant with the dog under the table, etc. Maybe take him for a ride somewhere. I believe that we will be fine.
As a sitter, I agree entirely with what you say
@sledgejoyce gives good advice and I agree with everything she says. I would apply for your sit as long as your dog didn’t try to hump me!
It would help if you linked your listing to your profile so members could read and offer advice as to how you can improve it if necessary. Here’s how:
Now if you were only in Connecticut USA!
This warms my heart. I live in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, a small city about 70 miles from NYC, and a university town. Our dog loves the car and if we go away locally, he comes with us. These home-stays for sitters would be for when we go out of the country.
I concur with the advice you have already received, and would like to add that leaving your dog crated for three or four hours, which, after all, means he can be left alone for three or four hours, it’s not unheard of in the pet sitting world. That seems to be the average length of time many people prefer to have their pet home alone.
I wouldn’t apply for sit like that, even though I telecommute and spend nearly all my time at homes I sit. Why not: If something happened, like say I suddenly got injured and needed to go to a doctor or such, what would I do with your dog? Maybe other sitters don’t worry about stuff like that, or they don’t sit solo, but I do.
We looked after a “Velcro” dog in Switzerland who couldn’t do more than 30 minutes without human company or he howled the place down. We both work online part time, we walk a lot every day so that helped all of us and he came with us to cafes & on the train (we had the owners car too). 30 minutes was pretty exhausting but we all did two lovely weeks so 3/4 hours sounds totally fine to us! It’s really not uncommon especially after covid and everyone getting pups and then working from home. Am sure you’ll find someone fabulous for your gorgeous husky 
@GreggGonsalves
So, I would leave a list of local friends who could come over in a pinch for any kind of emergency!
@GreggGonsalves I love your listing and I love that you’re honest about Luke’s needs - you sound like great pet parents. I really hope you find a suitable sitter. What you’re asking is not unreasonable, it just needs a good match.
Not all of us sitters are doing this to travel for free while mixing their passion for pets. Some of us are doing it because we love the idea of ‘living like a local’ in different surroundings and get pleasure from spending most of our time with the animals, it gives us a buzzy warm feeling.
We were sitting a Husky last week (who was perfectly behaved), and also away from that we’ve had a couple of sits where the dogs couldn’t be left, one because he was a little afraid of the outside world, and the other because she simply wasn’t used to it. It makes me feel good that I can help reassure dogs that need a little extra help for whatever reason.
Hope that helps
Super-helpful! New Haven is a great small city with lots of things to do and extremely walkable. The New York Times did an article on the city last year: New Haven, Conn.: More Than Just Academics and Mozzarella - The New York Times. And Luke is a great dog!
Exactly, he is a great dog, so just give it a little time. Also, look at the different sitters in your area and reach out directly to ones that you think are more caring where they sit simply because they care. I’d imagine there’s also trainee vets and allsorts on here that are trying to further themselves too and would love to care for Luke. Give it time, you’re bound to find someone.
Hi @HappyDeb - I am confused by a couple of your comments
Isn’t this two different ways to say the same thing?!
Also
What do mean by this? Surely all sitters are sitting because they care? Do you think some care more than others?
I should have explained that better, it was totally off the back of his original post about the sitter ‘giving up travel’ to stay with the dog most of the day, and not leaving him for long durations.
Yes, there’s people who want to be out and about and seeing attractions without the pets, but personally I think there’s a greater amount of people on here that are totally supportive of the care that each individual pet needs.
With my last comment, more than most love, care, and adore animals on this site in particular, but yes my opinion is that some care more than others. I see them on facebook saying they are a member of THS and saying about how they only take dogs where they know they can be left for at least 5hrs at a time… who on earth leaves a dog for 5hrs? You can tell who is happy and content to care for dogs, and who are proper ‘dog lovers’ where there is heart felt butterflies of affection.
You’ve all been very helpful. Luke can be crated for 3-4 hours a day. But our work/home life means that this only happens when we go out to dinner, see friends, or both are out of the house (one of us works from home full-time, the other is at home a lot too). I will explore reaching out to local housesitters on this site and see what they think! Thanks so much.
To answer your question “Who on earth leaves a dog for 5 hours?” Answer -lots of people. There are many pet owners who work outside of the home and have to leave their dogs alone while at work for multiple hours. That does not mean that they don’t care about their animals. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to work from home or could afford doggie daycare or a dog walker, but that is not reality-based. Most people have to earn a living outside of their homes and don’t have a great deal of discretionary funds. The important thing is for them to give the pets love, care and quality time when they are home. I do a lot of volunteer work at shelters and foster shelter dogs when I am not traveling. If we required adopters not to leave their pets alone for more than 5 hours, most pets would never get adopted. It is far better for them to be in homes than to be warehoused in shelters. I also have to disagree with you that sitters who only take sits where they can leave the animals alone for multiple hours “care less” about the animals. These sitters are upfront about their own needs and most are very attentive and engaged with the pets while they are in the home. I don’t find it necessary to pass judgement on others because of this. If leaving the pet alone does not work for the home owner, they will just choose someone else who is a better fit for their needs.
Sorry I was referring to sitters, the paragraph was all about sitters, not owners at all.
I totally understand owners situations vary greatly. I totally appreciate that, and completely agree with what you said.