I’m currently looking after a lovely dog in a big beautiful house in London. Yesterday evening (on day 3 of the sit) the dog was going a bit crazy after eating (as he always does) - jumping on the sofa and humping the cushions, although this is permitted behaviour, I ushered him out to the garden, so that he could run off some excess energy. A couple of minutes later he came back in.
I then received a message from the HO (who is abroad) saying ‘Where is the dog now?’ ‘DO NOT coax the dog outside and shut the door on him. It is not your house, it’s his’. (their capitalisation).
The HO had been observing on the outside cameras.
I immediately sent a snap of the dog snoozing back in the living room, and explained why I’d put him out, and the owner offered a lukewarm apology, with the vague suggestion that I should try to walk him for a couple of hours each day. I have been doing more than that, and said so.
Anyway, the notion of being observed, and the strong accusatory language has got me feeling quite upset and unccomfortable.
I am a great sitter, with over 100 five-star reviews and have been doting on this lovely dog.
I just wanted to share that with you guys, who might understand and show me some sympathy/support!
Eeeeuuuuuwwwww humping pillows acceptable? You’re a better sitter than I am! Gross. But it’s really hard to be monitored and chastised for being the best sitter…questioning your integrity and demeaning you before being aware of the situation. My sympathies, hang in there.
In your review you should mention that the HO is “camera-reactive”. With a big, beautiful home in London the owner won’t have trouble finding sitters but at least those sitters will know what to expect.
We would presume they were not happy with the service we were providing, They would immediately get a strongly worded message giving them 24 hours notice to find alternative sitters before we left.
@Rhe - Were the external cameras disclosed in the listing ?
We have done several sits where there were external cameras ( all disclosed in the listing ) but at no time did we feel that these were being used to monitor us .
We would have felt very uncomfortable if that had been the case .
It makes me angry to read this and I’m sorry that happened to you. I would find it very difficult to continue with a sit where the home owner had reacted like that. Completely unacceptable tone, no matter what the circumstances. Please add this information into your review so that sitters like myself can avoid them.
Can you say just that?
“I am worried you feel your pet is not being cared for. I am walking the dog more than your suggestion and managing him well. He is happy and comfortable. Your home is well cared for. However, it felt like you were monitoring me on the camera. The accusatory language of your message made me feel upset and uncomfortable.”
The Owner’s accusatory tone is completely out of line. In general, people need to ask more questions in a graceful manner!
I imagine that many Owners with outdoor cameras get alerts on their phone whenever there is some movement. While on vacation, they sometimes look at the camera feed immediately, to see what is happening. Drama!
Would love to hear from Owners who have cameras, how they monitor things while they are away from home.
I completely empathise with you and am astonished that the owner is monitoring her outside cameras while supposedly having a holiday. So much for trust! I hate dogs that hump cushions and looked after a puppy once who jumped all over me every time I ate dinner. Not great!
As someone else has suggested, please do leave a review after the sit explaining your experience so that other potential sitters are aware of the monitoring. I hope that you can enjoy the home and dog walks and try to forget the rudeness of the owner, who doesn’t deserve you!
Be proud of the 100 sits and 5 star reviews you have. It sounds like HO might be very picky, and there’s not much you can do about picky ppl. Look at this "as a you can’t win them all " . I know how that feels to be watched like your not trusted. And i think anyone in that situation would have said. "Ok dogs got the zoomies maybe time to go outside for a minute " nothing wrong with that. I would have done the same thing. Obviously by u putting dog outside did some good cause he came in and fell asleep. It’s hard with outdoor cameras. I know if i were on vacation I’d be having fun not watching what my sitter is doing .
Wow! Could that message have been any nastier or less friendly?! She could have made her point about not shutting the dog out (though bloophered if I can see why that’s so problematic for her!) without adding spiteful cracks about it not being your house. Any halfway conscientious sitter is always aware that they’re living in someone else’s home - it’s part of the contract. We don’t need to be reminded, especially in such an unkind and unfriendly way.
Never mind uncomfortable - in your shoes, I’d feel downright hurt! And then angry. I’m sorry you’re dealing with such an arrogant and unpleasant person. And congrats on all your fab reviews! - I bet you’re a great sitter.
If it happens again maybe respond with “as it’s apparently his house not mine, he’ll be fine without me. Am giving you 24 hours notice for to find a new house slave as I’m leaving. THS is a platform based on mutual exchange which you clearly have no concept of. A dog is NEVER in charge of a human!” Perhaps they might take a little reality check. #havesomeofthoseCAPS
Thanks for all the supportive messages and practical advice - I certainly appreciate it. The dog is wonderful, and the house is lovely, so I will stay for the remaining 10 days.
The cameras were disclosed from the start, and I don’t really have a problem with that (they are becoming very common in England), but the monitoring and tone are obviously unacceptable.
I know we should keep reviews factual and unemotional, any tips on how to word this element in the review in order to warn future sitters? (I see someone suggested ‘camera reactive’! Great term!) I was thinking more about the tone used and attitude evidenced.
Start with the outcome you want — to finish the sit or not? If to finish, then push back, maybe with something like: Given that our last exchange was based on an unfriendly note, which struck us as adversarial — unnecessarily and unacceptably so — we’d ideally like to do a reset and switch to a more friendly note.
If not, we get that you might prefer to make alternate arrangements for the care of your dog and home. If so, we can change plans and leave early.
I suggest something along those lines, because the hosts sound like inhospitable savages and you don’t want to let them mistreat you. Even should you prefer to stay, do yourself a favor and don’t let them think you’ll put up with rudeness.
And ultimately, please review them factually. Many sitters would avoid them.
