We had a meet with potential house sitters yesterday at our home as they were staying nearby.
They have done numerous sits and have 5 and 4 star reviews. They did seem to have a rather uninterested and apathetic attitude when they were here and declined a further meeting nearer the time so that I could show them around in more detail as they said they were “old hands at this”. The dogs gave them a lovely welcome and cuddles as they usually do to anyone who visits. The lady went to the bathroom and I mentioned to her partner that I would not like the dogs to be left more than 4 hours on their own. I gave them a key when they left. Later that day I received a message from the lady to say that she had spoken to her partner who had told her about the 4 hour limit and because of that they no longer wanted to sit.
So, in the meantime, they have our key. Why couldn’t he have said that to us when I mentioned it?
I don’t understand - surely the whole point of housesitting is that the dogs shouldn’t be left too long? I hope they didn’t do that at their other sits. He said he played in a band so perhaps they do gigs where they are away for more than 4 hours.
She said she would post the key back to us.
Am I being unreasonable? I did wonder if it was our home and I showed them round, and they seemed to like it, and this was an excuse but why take the key?
No, you weren’t being unreasonable. You could have avoided this situation by stipulating in your listing that your dog shouldn’t be left for more than 4 hours, then only sitters who were happy to comply with that arrangement would have applied (hopefully!).
You really shouldn’t have given these sitters your key before commencement of the sit. When is the start date? If you aren’t able to do an in-person handover, it’s much better - and safer - to leave your keys in a key safe / safe place or with a friend or neighbour. I hope you can retrieve it quickly and that you find nice sitters very soon.
No, that’s not the ‘whole point’ of house sitting. The point is to find a good match, so that sitters and HOs are on the same page, as everyone has different perspectives of what a good sit means to them.
We very rarely leave the dogs in our care, preferring to take them out with us wherever possible, but when we do leave them we ensure they’re walked, fed and settled first. To be honest, we’ve never had a HO specify a time they can (or can’t) be left, but we do ask questions relating to their personalities and levels of neediness, so we always have a good idea of what’s required (and, if any pets have specific needs or particular routines, this should be included in the listing and also spelled out in the Welcome Guide).
Another thought: You refer to them as ‘potential house sitters’, had they actually confirmed the sit, so that it registered in your THS dashboard? If not, they hadn’t actually commited to the sit and definitely should not have accepted the key to your property (though they were still absolutely entitled to decline the sit offer).
@Happypets has hit the nail on the head, it’s all about a match for both sides not set times. Yes sitters love animals or they’d just travel but they also may want to sightsee or work or visit family whilst at your location. However that works. You definitely need to put the 4 hour restriction in your listing, it’s not unusual for dog sits but sometimes 6/7 hours can work for HOs & the pooches to be left and they may have been used to that. All about asking more questions, finding a fit & good comms. Asking for two home visits out of their time for an unpaid sit is too much, better to do the handover as one as there’s costs to this for the sitter too. #findanewmatch
Welcome to the forum @marsbar. I’m not sure why you gave them a key where you state they were potential sitters. This implies there had been no confirmation by either party to the sit through the THS website so giving them a key was a risk. They are, though, returning it, hopefully by registered mail.
Four hours is generally what THS expects dogs can be left alone for. Many sitters are combining their love of pets with their love of travel so expect to have some free time to enjoy the location they are sitting in. This doesn’t mean they are out and about all day, every day. Many of us are happy to spend days at home with pets or take dogs with us if that is an option and a car is available. Keep in mind sitters are providing a free service to you and your pets in exchange for free accommodation.
It’s reasonable to ask that your pets not be left for more than four hours. It’s also reasonable for a sitter to find 4 hours too restrictive. Everyone on THS has paid a membership fee and has their own requirements for what they want to get out of this exchange - it’s all about finding the right fit. It’s really important to make sure you list the time the pet can be left in the listing so that people who aren’t ok with it don’t apply. For many 4 hours is fine, particularly for dogs that can go places with the sitter. If a sitter is not ok with 4 hours that doesn’t mean they don’t care about the pets or want to be gone all day everyday. Personally, I work remotely, which means that most days I don’t leave the house at all. I work, often with a cat curled up in my lap happily purring, and am with the pets 24 hours a day. In exchange, I think it’s reasonable to have 1 or 2 days a week that I can go out and explore the area. So, I wouldn’t take a sit with a 4 hour restriction.
In-person meetings are pretty unusual, asking for a second in-person meeting is a lot to ask for an unpaid sit. Sitters have lives, jobs, and our time is valuable.
I wouldn’t give the sitter a key until the sit. If there won’t be an in-person handover, get a lockbox, hide the key outside somewhere, or leave it with a friend.
I hope you find a great sitter, just be clear on your requirements and do video calls. You want to find the right sitter for you and your pets.
It’s fine to request that your dogs aren’t left alone for more than 4 hours . It’s also fine for a sitter to want more flexibility than that . If you add this to your listing you are more likely to find a sitter who views this as a good match for them . Also if the dogs would be ok going out on adventures with the sitter add this to your listing.
I’m not saying that this is the situation in your case but sometimes sitters will decline the invitation to sit if they feel that the home isn’t clean , is too cluttered or won’t be comfortably prepared for their stay .
I have withdrawn my application for sits after a pre visit ( both for paid sit on another platform and a new host on THS ) as the home was not to my standards of cleanliness and I wouldn’t have felt comfortable staying there . I informed the host shortly after the visit ( even though I already knew when I was at the home that it wasn’t a good match for me ) . I would not have taken a key before the sit was confirmed.
We did a super clean of the house before they arrived even though the sit isn’t for a couple of months. I can assure commenters the house was immaculate.
They are staying 5 miles away from our home so I don’t think it was a big deal them coming to visit. They had their own car.
The reason why I suggested a second visit was to show them everything in more detail.
They indicated through conversation they would be happy to do the sit. Otherwise why would we have given them the key?
“How much time can the sitter leave the pets alone for, during the day?” This is on our profile and I have clearly stated 4 hours!
@marsbar I just looked at your listing and I see that in the introduction you do say 3-4 hours max for the dog to be left. Maybe they didn’t read it carefully. I would recommend moving that to the responsibilities section rather than the intro since that’s where most potential sitters would look for that info.
Whatever the reason they don’t want to do the sit, they don’t want to, so I suggest moving on.
Agreed that they shouldn’t have taken the key, but maybe they felt on the spot and took it despite hesitation and didn’t have the guts to tell you. That was weak, but sometimes people are.
You have a detailed listing @marsbar and a good review that mentions you provide a thorough Welcome Guide - all positive attributes.
You also have 2 applicants so I’m assuming by that, there was no confirmation with this couple of the sit by you both. Are either of your applicants suitable to offer a video chat to as possible sitters for you? If not, decline with a thank you.
If you remove your dates briefly then re-list them, your listing will become New again, bringing it to sitters’ attention.
@marsbar, you’ve already received some great replies. @Happypets direct comments are spot on. Seems listing is complete.
Another perspective is that you’ve dodged a bullet. The housesitter applicants were not confirmed for the sit. They evidently did not read your listing very carefully. They appears to have visited you and property without having prepared dealbreaker questions to ask.
Sometimes, for both pet parents and housesitters, the best outcome is to take a deep breath and move forwards. There’s plenty of great housesitters out there. Good luck.
Why would you give a sitter a key if the sit is not till two months away? It doesn’t even sound like they confirmed the sit on THS. Even if they did a key in my opinion should only be given on the day they arrive to take over. They could cancel the sit at any time if they confirmed it or not. This is a stranger to you and now they have access to your home. 5 miles away and mailing the key. If I were you I would go get your key.
Whatever the actual reason of them declining the sit, I believe that it’s rather telling that you have already picked up they didn’t seem particularly interested. Would you really be happy welcoming people you seem mismatched with to take care of your prized possessions? I wouldn’t.
Also, they are 5 miles away, why don’t they just drive back and drop off the key?
I understand that you had also already put a lot of effort to make your house look welcoming, you wrote a good profile, the dogs seemed happy to meet them, and you probably gave them the key to facilitate things in the future. They didn’t seem to click with you or the place—move on, you’ll find better.
I can’t wrap my head around this either. Other replies questioned why give the key and the Op replied that they agreed to do the sit… which was months away.. so the Op clearly sees nothing wrong with their spare key floating around for months in the hands of what is nothing more than perfect strangers.
Going forward, install a combination key lockbox or just find a safe place to put it where you can instruct the sitter to find it, if you don’t see them during the handoff prior to the sit (which is always a good idea whenever possible).
We’ll take this as a lesson learned (or maybe more than one lesson):
To effectively and safely use this service it is best to find a way for the sitter to gain entry without a physical handoff of a key months in advance. I use a coded entry that I provide one week prior to the start of the sit. Others use a lockbox that they place they key in, like realtors would use. Others leave they key with a neighbor or under a mat. But handing over a key 2 months prior is a terrible practice.
Have a video call in place of the initial meeting, even if they are close. Make sure they are clear on how long the dog can be left. Walk them around with your phone or laptop so they can see the house. Even if they are are close by, I would not want them at my home until I first spoke to them on a call.
During the initial video call confirm they are good with your 4 hour limit and any other key items - are they bringing a car, etc.
If you want to give details, have them show up a few hours or a day prior to your departure. There should be no need for multiple in person visits. Also even if you show them, sitters are human and can forget what you show them so take the time to develop a comprehensive welcome guide.
We all learn as we go, so just take a different approach next time.
As @Happypets says, you should have stipulated the 4 hours in your listing. You probably think you had as you will have ticked a box about the length of time your dogs could be left but sitters cannot see this. It’s always a nuisance having to ask owners how long their dogs can be left. The sitters should have asked you before they accepted the sit, then this wouldn’t have happened.
The whole point of housesitting has nothing to do with dogs not being left too long. Sitters will generally do as the owners do, although I have had (mainly in NZ and Aus) owners who told me they left their dogs all day, which I don’t agree with. So, how long do you leave the dogs?
For me (and the RSPCA) 4 hours is plenty of time for me to go out and explore/go shopping etc. Generally I like to take my canine charges out with me exploring as much as possible, but that depends on the dogs and owners’ wishes.
Oops, have since seen that you did mention how long the dogs could be left.