By now I have so much experience with pet sitting different animals in different countries. If only I had all this information when I first started pet sitting.
It would’ve prevented me from walking into a house with a camera in the living room. Sleeping in a bed where the sheets weren’t changed. Caring for a neurotic dog that basically never sleeps.
Although, most of the sits have been great really!
Fellow sitters: what was something you wish you knew when you first started pet sitting? Or which question do you always ask, after having a bad experience?
Maybe there will be (starting) sitters out there that can benefit from others’ experiences.
To look at pictures and do judge them for what is important to you. Being very clean and presenting pictures with thoughtfulness with a guest in mind is important to me. A messy looking bed results in a messy house to me. Kitchen counters so full of stuff that leaves little room to prepare food reads no consideration for the sitter or your guest which we are. I pass on these. A profile which reads all about what they want and written, we expect such and such. I stay away from “we expect”. Sounds like you are hiring help. There are lots of sits in the area I am interested in sitting in so can be choosy. I always like when hosts list interesting things in the area that sitters can do. It shows they are also interested in the sitter enjoying themselves, not all about them. We pay the same membership fee.
Well I spent about 3 mths reading all the threads here and taking notes, asking questions, and learning….however I’d not considered how much a pet can change when a sitter is in place, so these days I always mention about that upfront to give the HO a nudge to disclosing what they’ve learnt their pet can get up to with strangers…. stuff that’s maybe not mentioned in Reviews.
That’s a very smart thing to do. Because sometimes you have an amazing experience but the pet was a bit difficult, but not in a way that you want to leave a bad review. Or from what I hear sometimes, is that people agree on not leaving a review for each other because it was a bad experience for both parties. Tricky!
Absolutely, good point! It’s an exchange. You’re not hiring anyone (not through this platform at least) so wording is quite important. Also, if you’re expecting so much, go ahead and pay a sitter already. My thoughts at least.
Because imagine paying someone to look after your pets or bringing them to a kennel/shelter. That would cost a homeowner much more than just having a sitter in your house in exchange for free accommodation. But that’s a whole other conversation though, haha.
Oh yes. If I’d be a host, I would make sure that the pictures look as good as possible (and obviously meet the same expectations in real life ). Hard to understand when others don’t, right?
There’ll always be another sit — so be choosy & wait for the right (perfect) fit.
When I was newer I suffered from a lot of FOMO, & booked sits as if each one might be my last & only shot in the area I was targeting. I ended up doing probably more sits than I really needed to be doing for a good travel/home balance, & took some sits in popular areas or at holidays that were less ideal than listings that popped up later. I’m more chill about it now, & trust I’ll know the “right one” when I see it. (I also have more trust that I’ll be a realistic contender for the sits that I do especially want.)
The other (& most important) thing I learned is to trust my gut during pre-confirmation calls. If something seems off or we don’t just naturally click, I pass on the sit. The only ‘challenging’ sits I’ve had are the few where I’ve ignored my gut instinct. While they went ok, they were more work to ensure that was the case, & less enjoyable/more stressful. (And I don’t think anyone is doing this to be stressed out.)
The people who followed us a month later, experienced the elderly gun dog duck hunting on the beach…as he’s deaf the sitters couldn’t call him back, it was a very very low tide and he’d gone beyond the rock pools…. far too far to retrieve him. Fortunately he eventually came back. The sitters only walked him on beaches at high tide after that!
Duck beach hunting as a ‘behaviour’ is now included in the WG!
This is ME right now. I am a newbie sitter, only 1 THS sit far (yay 5 ).
I was planning to pickup some short local sits while in the US for 3 months starting July 1 to bolster my # of THS reviews. Turns out I dont need to, to my pleasant surprise we were able to secure our 2nd housesit in another state where we are traveling to with only 1 review. I think it has a lot to do with us being THS homeowners with 7 good reviews from that end.
I will be sure to keep your words in my mind to prevent us from taking on a sit for fear we might not get the one we REALLY want. Live and learn!
After 14+ years of full-time travel and 155+ sits, the biggest thing I wish I’d known at the beginning is that a successful sit is often more about communication than pets.
In the early days, we focused mainly on the animals, the location and the accommodation. These days, most of our pre-sit questions are about expectations.
Things like:
• How long can the pets comfortably be left alone?
• Has anything changed recently with their health or behaviour?
• Are there any cameras, and if so, where?
• Will the guest bed be prepared for our arrival?
• What does a typical day look like for the pets?
We’ve also learned not to assume that a listing tells the whole story. Most hosts are wonderful, but occasionally important details only come out during a video chat, which is one reason we now consider a call essential before confirming.
And no matter how many sits you’ve done, there will always be surprises. We’ve certainly had a few over the years!
For new sitters, my advice would be: ask the questions that feel slightly awkward. They’re usually the ones you’ll wish you’d asked later.
May sound silly but I always look for a T.V. in the homeowner(s) listing photos. When my husband and I first started sitting we went to meet up with local homeowners only to find out they didn’t have a T.V. Not a big deal for me, but a definite deal breaker for my hubby so we politely declined the sit.
Prior to housesitting then we had no idea that a great many pets sleep in the same bed as their pet parents. At no point in the life of our late beloved dog’s life did we consider that he slept in our human bed.
After some initial experiences, we added question to our video call ‘where do pet(s) sleep?’ No judgement intended, it’s their pets. But only a subset of housesitters are probably willing to do likewise. Not for us. Unless there’s truly compelling workaround and commensurate attribute then we withdraw our application.
I always ask where the pets sleep and if this is negotiable (am a super light sleeper so even a heavy breathing pet will prevent me from sleeping).
If it’s cats; I now ask how often do they typically throw up
Photos speak volumes. Please don’t tell HO’s to make the bed and tidy the house before posting their dates. If that is how they live, they need to be upfront about it. Anyone willing to post an unmade bed and cluttered house on a platform simply lives this way (they don’t see it) and you can pretty much bet that is what a sitter is going to walk into. I, for one, do NOT want HO’s posting a mirage. If the house looks messy on THS, then that tells me everything I need to know and am happy for the honesty.
I definitely always do a call as well before committing to the sit. You only get the feeling of someone when talking to them. Or at least I do! And it’s obviously way easier to ask each other some questions over a call instead of texts/emails.
You make a good point about having a pet in the bed though! I’m exactly like you and wake up from everything. Plus, having your bed to yourself and not having to share it with dogs (cats are usually easier) is much more comfortable.
I don’t really mind a messy house either. A full on dirty house is something else though, haha. But quite often I clean the house to my liking after arriving anyway, after the owners have left obviously.
Completely understand your point! Sometimes I think it can be cute and all to have a dog in the bed, but sometimes it’s just gross and hairy and limited space and uncomfortable. At least, I grew up with not having a dog in the bed. Cats on the other hand I’m mostly fine with.
I think it’s a very good idea to ask that upfront!
Everyone has their things! I think it’s good to know what you want and act upon in instead of saying ‘yes’ to a sit for the sake of it and then regretting it, right?
). Hard to understand when others don’t, right?
This is ME right now. I am a newbie sitter, only 1 THS sit far (yay 5 
).
