I am having problems finding a sitter for my 5 dogs
3 labs
Shih tzu
Chihuahua
As anyone else experience that
I live in the UK
(title updated for clarity by Forum team)
Hello @Janiner and a very warm welcome to the Community Forum. 
I am sorry to hear you are having difficulty in finding a sitter/s for your dogs. If you could link your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile on here by following the attached link, this will then enable others on here to offer you helpful advice and feedback and will also give your listing extra exposure.
If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help. 
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5 dogs are too much for lots of people, considering we do not get paid for this.
Does the sitter have to walk them or is there a fenced in area where they can run?
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Five dogs sounds like a lot of work. To be able to comment constructively, we would have to see your listing. This would give us an idea of the level of work involved and also give us an idea of what the sitter is likely to be getting out of the deal.
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Hi
No they don’t need to walk the dogs. We have a fenced area for them to go out.
We would give then use of the car to take them 1 mile up the road to paw park
hi
I have done that
Added my trustedhousesitters link
Hi @Janiner thank you, this just needs a tweak to be able to work properly as it’s not currently opening with this link so I have tagged @Angela_L to check this for you.
We can ONLY find your house listing with your profile link, or a search by CITY on the THS site.
A search by Country of UK shows a high need for sitters. 3 big labs and 2 small dogs means a LOT of work compared to others. Good luck.
Sorry, but to me, that sounds even worse than walking them. Such a hassle with that car.
And would the sitter just stand there in cold and rain while the dogs were playing? For how long?
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@Janiner welcome to the forum. You will get lots of helpful suggestions on how to make your listing more attractive to sitters . Your listing is your advert which needs to attract sitters attention so that they apply to stay at your home rather than other house sits in the area .
I’ve had a look at your listing and have some suggestions that will make it more attractive to sitters . A sitter would like to see photos of the kitchen , living room , bedroom and workspace.
You have a close up of a bed and a sofa but that does not show what the room looks like.
In the responsibilities section you need to add some more details:
Feeding - what time how often what type of food- do they all get fed together/ separated or in a certain order . How long does this take ?
Exercising - where ? how often ? How long does this take ?
Sleeping arrangements- where do the dogs sleep ? What time do they get up ?
How long can the dogs be left alone for ?
Grooming - how often ? How long does this take ?
Do the dogs have dog flap to access garden or do they have to be let out by sitter ? How often ? Night and day or daytime only ?
Cleaning up poop? How often ? How long does this take ?
Your home
If the sitter needs to work from home - do you have an office / a desk or workspace / what’s the wi-fi speed?
The area - your listing should tell me why a sitter would want to choose to stay in your area - list all the popular things I can see, visit or do in your area . York is a lovely place to visit- a sitter from overseas may not know what there is to see and do in York - you mention the bus to York from the end of the street - how long does it take, how often ? Could visitors use your car to travel around ? Maybe include some photos of your area. That is if the dogs can be left at home long enough for your sitter to travel to York by bus and have time to sightsee?
The car - do all 5 dogs fit in the car to go to the Paw Park ? How often do they go and what time - have you already booked and paid for these slots or will you arrange it around the sitters schedule ? I assume you do not expect the sitter to pay for this (£10 an hour )but that’s not clear in your listing .
Can the sitter also use the car to go and visit places without the dogs ? - will you be paying for the sitter’s car insurance ?
All of this information needs to be added to your listing as most sitters are not on the forum so only see the information on your listing .
You may find it useful to have a look at other house sits in your area and to see what they are “offering “ the sitter compared to your listing.
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HI @Janiner ,
Honestly, yours is an extremely hard sell, Trying to find sitters that are willing to give up their time, for free, to care for five dogs is not going to be easy.
Having said that, nothing is impossible and many times I have seen what I would consider difficult listings, to my surprise, attract applicants.
Having now seen your listing my advice is to start again. Every photo seems irrelevant. No sitter is interested to see a photo of the floor? a bunch of flowers? a radiator? a soap dispenser? A birthday banner? Christmas scenes for a November sit? etc…delete them all.
Now, take some good photos of your home. A sitter will want to know where they will be living. The bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living room all need a good picture to show them off at their best. Make sure it is daytime when you take the pictures and everything is tidy, beds made, and all surroundings decluttered.
Do you have a second bedroom available? Would/could you welcome a family to sit for you, If so, be sure to mention this.
@Silversitters has given you some great advice as to what to include in your write-up
Trustedhousesitters works as a fair exchange service. Unfortunately, yours is one of the few listings where the deal seems to swing heavily in your favour so I think you need to offer some incentives to tempt a sitter. Maybe offer the sitter unlimited use of the car for their own free time, not just to take the dogs out. Offer to collect and drop off your sitters at the train station. Maybe offer to leave a food voucher for the local supermarket or a local restaurant voucher etc.
Finally, sell your location - what is in your locality worth visiting?
Good Luck!
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It’s better than walking them. The dogs and the sitter only have to go out once
No the sitter shouldn’t be just standing there they should be walking and interacting with them if they are dog and animal lovers. The sitter gets a walk and so does the dogs.
It would suit anyone that likes walking.
You can’t walk the dogs all together. They would have to make 3 trips.
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@Janiner The Paw Park sounds like a good idea for 5 dogs . Do you already have a regular daily time slot at the Paw Park that you have already paid for ? ( I looked it up and it’s £10.40 an hour ) - it advised to include this in your listing so the sitter is aware.
The car - do all 5 dogs fit in the car to go to the Paw Park ? Will it be insured for the sitter to use ?
How often do they go and what time - have you already booked and paid for these slots or will you arrange it around the sitters schedule ?
As it may not fit in with the sitters schedule if they are working from home or plan to do some sightseeing during their stay .
I assume that obviously you do not expect the sitter to pay for this (£10.40 an hour )but that’s not clear in your listing .
To make it clear you can say something like The dogs are exercised daily at the local Paw Park - we will pay for a daily hours slot at the Paw Park to exercise the dogs and provide our car for you to take the dogs there ( insured at our expense - so we will need a copy of your driving licence to add you to our insurance ) - we will arrange this at times suitable for your schedule - or if it has to be a specific time put that in the listing under the responsibilities section.
When I was sitting two dogs in Brussels I greatly enjoyed taking them to the area of the park where they could be left off the leash. But then they played with each other and did not need interaction with me.
The area was not fenced in, so I followed them around and I called them back when they went outside that area. And I probably threw a stick a few times. And I was worrying a bit how I would handle it if they did not stay together…
But they were a delight together, and that did not happen.
The dog park is secure with an 6ft fence it is 4 acres and has plenty of exercising to do for them and the sitter. Plenty of places to sit as you walk around. Sticks to throw
Hi Janiner
Am I to understand correctly that the sitter needs to go to the paw park 3 separate times to exercise all 5 dogs once? Is there a reason they don’t go together?
Am I also to understand that the car is only to be used to take the dogs to the paw park?
You live in a lovely area. But this does not seem like a sit for an unpaid sitter.
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If you find someone, great. However, I think someone looking after this many animals should be paid. I looked after 4 dogs once, but they were small and only two needed walks as there was lots or space around the house to exercjse them. Looking after 5 dogs and a cat and taking them to a dog park feels like a full time job.
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No they all go together. That’s the beauty of the paw park. I was saying if they were to walk them they would have to go three separate times
If I could find someone to look after them I would gladly pay them but no one I have contacted wants to look after them paid or unpaid