Our current sitters haven’t taken our active 9 month old puppy for a single walk. After 3 days of no walks (we have a door camera that notifies me of any motion) I’ve arranged for my friend to come get him for a few hours every morning.
I haven’t brought it up with them…the expectation to do daily walks was very clear and they enthusiastically agreed. At this point it’s just awkward! I’m very non confrontational, and having a hard time wrapping my head around whether or not I’ll leave them a review.
I’m not sure what I hope to gain out of posting here, but any comments are welcome!
@crunner i know it’s awkward but the key to everything here is communication.
You need to just drop them a message and ask what’s going on. There could be a reason why they haven’t taken your pup out - you won’t know until you ask and in the meantime you’re assuming the worst and getting angry over it.
What if they use a different door to exit from, what if they have violent food poisoning? Are you monitoring every single movement on the camera at all times?
Your friend turning up randomly without advance notice would be breaking the third party policy.
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This is an interesting problem. As a sitter I can say I value open communication with pet owners above anything. I think it is best to just ask about the walks. Many sitters are unhappy about cameras but we have resigned ourselves to the fact that our lives and activities are on camera 24/7 while we sit. There are rules about cameras, but in our experience they are not always followed. Also, even some thermostats have microphones now! My question is, are you getting daily photos and updates from the sitters? We have found it is the best way to keep communication open and pet parents at ease about what is going on. In the future request that, but for now, just ask about the walks, because there may be a good explanation to why you are not seeing it happen. If there is not, feel free to request /remind about walks again and leave an honest review if the situation is not solved.
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Talk to them is the very obvious answer. Not involving neighbours or making assumptions based on part information. Both are a disaster waiting to happen and even if you’re non confrontational, if you want to have sitters to take care of your pup then you need to find a way to talk to them honestly and clearly @crunner. #clearcommsiseverything
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Also: sending neighbors IS confrontational.
Agree with everyone else - talk to your sitters.
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My last sitter had a habit of going out of the back door rather than the front where the doorbell camera was. It didn’t matter to me because they sent photos from out on their walks so I knew walks were occurring. Perhaps that’s the case.
I agree with straight communication. It’s easy for the mind to go in a lot of directions when the facts are unknown. You can also ask for photos from their walks.
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If you’ve advised your Sitter the neighbour will be coming to walk your puppy, did you not explain why?
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Is there cameras on each outside door?
They could be using the back door to enter and leave and you just don’t see them. Please, talk to them, not in a confrontational way but in a conversation. “Oh did puppy meet his friend on this mornings walk?” That sentence would open up a whole conversation about the pup and walks to any dog lover.
Give them the benefit of your doubt.
Then when you do find they aren’t walking the dog …… go ballistic.
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@crunner are these your first sitters? Did you ask them to send you pictures from walks? And updates in general? That is the norm. Do you have a back door they could be exiting from? Why have you just not asked them directly about the walks if you are concerned? It does not feel nice to me, as a sitter, that you are monitoring their activity via a camera and not speaking with them directly! If your sitters were sending daily updates (as most hosts request) you would not be needing to be monitoring them at all. Sitters have the right to privacy. Sounds like a serious lack of communication between you all.
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If I were the sitter I’d be taken aback of finding a stranger at the door claiming the dog. My first thought would be: why didn’t the HO talk to me about this?
If your welcome guide mentions the camera, they’ll know that their movements are visible to you, so it won’t be a surprise that you know they haven’t used THAT door.
Come on, give them a chance to explain themselves. 
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I think I’d be very concerned about everyone’s well being the sitters plus your puppy. Not seeing any comings/goings for 3 days would be extremely concerning. I’d ask for a video chat urgently and not just messages.
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Why does talking to your sitters have to be confrontational? I ask, because you mentioned being nonconfrontational. Sending someone to the home without first talking to your sitter can easily be seen as passive aggressive, which hosts should avoid. The sitters remain in your home, with your pet, after all. That could bite you.
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Your friend is going to show up to take the dog out without you notifying the sitters? No way would I hand that dog over to a stranger if I was the sitter. You need to discuss with them regardless
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Contact them and let them know your concerns, that’s awful, but there may be a reason. Maybe your pup is pooping and weeing in your home or garden, and they are simply naive and don’t realise that walking isn’t just about just pooping and weeing.
But definitely leave them a truthful review, it’s horrible. But contact them first to ensure all is well.
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Thanks for the replies and advice to communicate. So obvious 
and I did just that. Turns out our puppy runs from them when they try to put on his harness and their dog and he have been playing a bunch so they have just been following his lead.
I think in the future, now that I know he may run from a housesitter with a harness I’ll give strategies for how to get it on him (he would do this same thing when he was very small but grew out of it as we gained his trust).
Anyway, thanks again to everyone who suggested just talking to them about my concern, they really are 5⭐️ sitters!
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There has not been a complete lack of communication- I obviously let them know (and requested permission from them!) that my friend would be taking our pup on an adventure.
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I feel like a 5 star sitter would have let you know that they had issues with the harness.
This situation still feels very odd.
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Turns out our puppy runs from them when they try to put on his harness and their dog and he have been playing a bunch so they have just been following his lead.
This is good petcare. The puppy is running away when you try and put the harness on. He is getting plenty of exercise and interaction since they have their own dog there. They are likely giving the puppy time to acclimate to them and not causing a problem by trying to force the puppy into the harness. It’s only been a couple of days. Any distress is from an owner obsessing over doorbell camera footage (or rather lack of doorbell camera footage) which now thankfully seems to be alleviated.
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It might be good pet care but it’s not good pet sitting. The matter at question is not if/how the HO found out, it’s whether or not it should have been communicated in the first place.
This is a piece of information SO BASIC about the sit that to me it’s a serious red flag.
The fact that you’re rubbed the wrong way by the door camera doesn’t alleviate a sitter from such a basic responsibility
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A lot of dogs run when the harness comes out, it’s simply a fun game for most of them. Holding a treat where they slot in their head seems to work really well, there’s nothing like a little bribery to help things.
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