Hello to everyone…new here…i am concered about that…my pets are my kids…just want to make sure they recieve good care
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@finlilly , Welcome to THS and the forum. It’s a big leap planning for and having your first sitter. It makes me think of the few times in my life when I employed a house cleaner. It was nerve wracking, wondering if the person would be trustworthy, doing the pre-cleaning for the cleaner, hoping the cleaner would like working in my home. Finally, after worrying and planning and planning and worrying, the cleaner(s) arrived, they were in and out like the Ajax white knight (does that jog anyone’s memory? hehe) and the whole thing went off splendidly.
If you do your homework – learn how this works, how to prepare your house for a sitter and create an inviting listing, you’ll be ready to post your listing and receive applications. The forum and membership services are here to support you. Feel free to post any question here, but first do a search using the spy glass in the upper right as it may have already been discussed. If you don’t see an answer, go ahead and post your question, and read as much of the forum as you have time for. The more you know the better you’ll feel about moving forward. It’s what I did.
And consider adding your listing to your forum profile by following these instructions: How to Add Your Profile or Listing to Your Forum Profile
Your listing will reach more people that way and you’ll be able to receive feedback from experienced sitters and fellow pet/home owners who can help you fine tune it. You just might find yourself wondering why you didn’t do this sooner.
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Hi Colin,
I totally agree with your putting things in order of 1,2 and 3. For me location and home are definitely 1 and 2 and pets third. I don’t care how cute a pet may be, if you live in a pokey little place in the middle of a big city, miles from coast or lovely countryside then that sit is not for me. I am sitting for free, sometimes for mutiple pets, so want it to be an enjoyable experience. And I usually go above and beyond what is expected. For example if I am told a dog just needs two half hour walks or one hour walk a day for example, I will walk for longer and frequently will take a dog out all day on coastal walks or on moors etc. They can be great company. I then feel it is only fair, if I go out several hours on one day, to explore perhaps a quaint town with small craft shops etc. on my own. On my return I usually then go straight out for a long doggy walk, with a very excited pet. But whatever pet, I am looking after, they do get my full attention. I am always in every evening, with a friendly furry friend or two snuggled up to me. Travelling to many of these sits is not cheap anymore, so I do like to ensure that I am travelling to somewhere nice.
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There are many great sitters that will care for your pets with the same care as you. So while do your due diligence, please don’t think your pets won’t be top priority.
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I think since I started sitting on here 10 months ago my priorities have adjusted. While the pets always come first, location, type of property and what’s nearby also come into my thinking now. I have done remote sits but I enjoy sits better where I can walk or get public transport to things within 30 minutes I’ve found. I don’t drive!
As to exploring the area over pet sitting I had an interesting chat with my last pet owner. She took me out for a day to the beach which was difficult to get to my public transport. It’s a give and take situation I feel on my sits.
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I can’t speak for others but for me house-sitting is about travel with pets as an added extra bonus. If all I was interested in was the animals I icould make a nice income doing paid sitting in my local area.
So looking for a sit I search in the cities and countries I want to be in first. That doesn’t mean your pets don’t get all my attention and care when I am there but if the home isn’t welcoming and the owner isn’t considering the comfort of the sitter then I would never apply.
I work remotely so when I am on a sit I am there all day looking after the pets but I also see requirements posted from owners where they literally expected the sitters to never leave the house except for grocery shopping. It is possible to want both a nice sit in a location of your choice in a nice home that makes space for you and still provide excellent care for pets.
Reading the reviews of potential sitters to see what the owners have said about the care their pets received may help you in making a choice.
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Thank u for all the info…lots to learn and understand …i appreciate the wonderful kind response…my forst trip is to europe…i will be gone a month…wonderi g if thats a problem
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I love this insight thank u…well i live in the mountains of oregon on 80 acres…only 10 mi ites from town and hour and a half from the pacific coast…im praying my house is suitable for people…i pray for safe travels for u…
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Thank u for the reassurance
Many sitters are happy to do month-long sits! I’m on one now.
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(tagging on to @mars’ comment)…in fact, many sitters prefer longer sits. This is especially true of sitters who either work remotely or are retired, as it cuts down the time we spend moving between sits.
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We’re the same @Visit with our priorities; location location location.
We prefer rural / woodland forests/ mountains (the more rural the better!) with direct access to good walking/mountain biking trails. Being in an urban / city centre location isn’t something we enjoy and avoid at all costs, even if the property is amazing and the pet’s adorable.
We love to be able to take any dogs we’re sitting for out with us on hikes for several hours and like you will often take them out longer/further than they would normally be taken (only with owners consent). we also want the flexibility to be able to go exploring on our own but will always be at the house in the evening for plenty of snuggles with the pets.
It’s all about the life ‘work’ balance!
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So true; we try to only do sits which are +2 weeks and with an onward sit in the same area to limit the amount of travelling we do.
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Thank you mars…thats reassures me…
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In my opinion, it depends a lot on what kind of video call I have with a homeowner. Is it just a getting to know and he is interviewing several candidates? Then I might not ask any personal questions about the pet, too. Just about the tasks to get a feeling, if I would be comfortable doing them or not. And of course provided, that there is any information about the character of the pet in the listing. Otherwise I would aks about it, but never seen a listing without it so far.
Because honestly: Why should I ask about his favorite toy and stuff like that, if I don´t do the sit in the end anyway? I think, it would be a waste of time for both parties. 
I would ask these questions during the handover of the flat with the owners. Its easier anyway just to show preferences of toys or anything like that in person than in a video call.
But if the video call is a final call, because there will be no personal meeting, then I would ask of course many questions about the pet.
Regarding to the topic in general, I would agree with some previous posts: I don´t travel a long way, just to sit a pet. But I would also never apply to a listing, where I could not meet the expectations or simply don´t think the pet is cute, either.
In any case: If I have arrived at a home, I will do everything to make the pet comfortable and feel good without his owner. I could not even stand having an upsetted pet around me 
So yeah. Do I choose places, which looks nice and are located in interesting areas? Yes, for sure.
But do I also care with a lot of love for the animals there? Of course! 
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I’ve seen the uptick in promotion for traveling & staying ‘for free’ in exchange for housesitting/petsitting lately too. Was wondering if the influx of new sitters could be why a HO friend whom I got onto this platform has had several bad experiences in a row with sitters who cancelled or wrecked her house. Sitting is not vacation (to me), it’s a job and I take it super seriously, as I know many of you do. It’s disappointing to see it promoted as if it is “free AirBNB.”
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I subscribe to a few travel publications and I see quite a few articles promoting "Travel the world and pay nothing for accommodation!', and an article recently about how renters are using housesitting as a way to work from free accommodation, and save money on rent.
It’s totally the wrong way to look at it, imho. So many homeowners think of their pets as loved members of the family, and this is their primary concern when evaluating sitters, and it does worry me that sitters who are in it for other than this reason could be spoiling it for the rest of us.
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Yes, indeed. I had a house sitter who wanted to do just that. Go from place to place without paying rent. For the most part my sitters have been wonderful, but one can make a big worry.
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I understand where you’re coming from but as a sitter location is very important to me. I love animals as I’m sure anyone could gather from my profile but I also want to be sure I’m staying somewhere I’m going to enjoy. IMO that’s the ‘win-win’ of the whole situation. The lister gains exceptional pet care and the sitter gets to visit somewhere comfortable and nice. I do find it odd that your potential sitter didn’t ask about your pets at all though and would definitely be wary of them as well.
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@Robin_Cabral - isn’t the home host just going from holiday to holiday without paying for pet care?
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