So I’m in a bit of a tough situation, and just need a bit of encouragement. I’m 1 week into the sit, with few weeks to go. I’m really struggling here mentally and physically. Dogs are really challenging, requiring 2 outings at night, they do all their business on the concrete veranda outside, despite long walks. Place is very rustic, humid inside and in a remote location in gated community with only car access. Oven is basically unusable and kitchen is tiny with no countertop. All is now covered in dog hair despite daily cleaning, as they are scared of grooming.
I know it doesn’t sound that bad, but I’m just having a hard time, how do i keep going??
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oh @Thaly101 sounds tough. Just focus on one day at a time and try to find some light in the gloom. 
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Hi @Thaly101 welcome back! You are right to reach out - there are lots of experienced sitters on here who may give you coping techniques.
Can you leave the dogs safely for a little while and get yourself out of the house for a break?
Have you reached out to the HO to say you are struggling and see if they can organise a walker to give you a short break 3.5 weeks is a long sit without a break.
You say ‘dogs’ how many? Two or more?
Were you aware of the state of the kitchen and oven before the sit?
Your mental health is the most important thing here IMO.
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Yes, I’m able to leave the house for 2-3h at a time, and this helps, but I have at the back of my head that there might be pee on the floor when i come back. I just found some although they were outside most of the morning 
HO is outside of the country and they had even an issue finding someone after me (unexpectedly they needs to be out longer than we agreed). I know it’s nothing they can do, I’m just a bit surprised that challenges were not described more. It’s 2 dogs btw, they are sweet but very engaging.
Kitchen was on the pics, I guess i didn’t realize it would be worse in person. I’m very easily adjustable, I stayed in various ‘bad’ accommodations, but this one is really draining me… The view from the veranda is nice though:)
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perfect ! soak it in.
I hear you regarding not telling the ‘whole truth’ regarding pet behaviours and needs. It’s happened to me before too, just once thankfully. So hopefully this will be a one off for you too.
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Thank you for encouragement. I was quite on the edge this morning, probably also from lack of sleep (I now get anxious waiting for the dogs to want to go out at night). I keep telling myself it’s only temporary and I will go back to my routines soon.
It’s a lesson for me to not disregard my gut feeling, even if the location is desirable…
I have next sit planned already, so hopefully it will erase the bad memories…
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So glad you can hold on to some positives!
Although you have still two weeks, start writing a draft for your review, and keep reviewing it until it’s time to post.
There’s lots of experienced sitters on here who can ‘proof’ it for you so allow some time - be positive about the sweet dogs and the view but also honest about the challenges. It might help that it’s written down.
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That sounds really frustrating. My first petsit involved a puppy that the other two older dogs did not like. Pee poop in the house, trying to make sure the other dogs didn’t get too irritated from the puppy, and to top it off, no fenced back yard and only a front yard with an electric fence. The middle dog ran past the electric fence twice to chase squirrels. I was counting down the days until that sit was over. I learned to ask better questions on future applications and things have been so much smoother. Hang in there. We’re all bound to have an uncomfortable petsit here and there.
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Did you agree to extend your sit? Because if not, a host can’t unilaterally extend one. In such a case, they’d be responsible for finding care for the extended time. You wouldn’t be stuck.
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My second sit had 2 five month puppies in an RV. NO counter space. It wasn’t as long as your sit, only a week, but I had electrical issues. The power went out twice. I don’t have a problem getting up in the middle of the night to let dogs out. Can you contain the dogs in a certain area when you go out? Or will they destroy a door trying to get out. You will get through this.
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This sit sounds awful.
You say it is in a gated community - is there anyone who you can socialise with? Is there a centre where you can see if there are any activities? It would be good if you could have another focus, chat and share.
Good luck
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I’ll hold myself together and survive those next weeks. Il focus on cleaning and my online work. But I’ll definitely mention in my review things that were not disclosed to me before. This sit had previous review which was overenthusiastically positive, this gave me confidence it would be ok (though my gut was 50/50 on this). I feel kind of resentment that previous sitter didn’t bring anything up, we should be fair and not put other sitters in such situations (even if HO is lovely, and it’s hard to say the truth…)
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@Thaly101, sounds challenging. 50/50 seems a very poor decision criteria to accept a housesit. Unless there was a truly compelling aspect of this housesit then why did you accept it? Experienced housesitters gain confidence to say ‘no’ more frequently as poor housesit experiences (and they do exist) are best avoided.
Suggest keep in touch with THS Member Services via support@trustedhousesitters.com. They may be able to offer guidance.
I agree with @Maggie8K - if you did not agree to extend sit then you have no obligation. Especially given presumed lack of interest in returning to this property in the future.
In our experience, as housesitters, some attributes are black-white objective (e.g. which bedroom) and some are shades-grey subjective (e.g. “clean”).
“Where will your pet’s sitter be staying? As part of the special exchange between TrustedHousesitters members and an important part of house sitting etiquette, pet parents must provide their pet sitter with a clean, safe and comfortable place to stay.”
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Thanks, maybe 50/50 is a bit of exaggeration, but I knew from the pics it would be an old home and can be cold etc. Why did I accept? Well, I had my reasons… And points that bother me now were not part of description or didn’t come up while we spoke.
I did not extend the sit. They finally managed to find someone that will stay here after me. It’s true that I only did few sits from THS, so I was also excited to be ‘chosen’ with such limited reviews. I will be more cautious in the future for sure, but I don’t think I deserve criticism in ‘poor decision making’ right now:)
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If you are handing off to another sitter (whether THS or not), please take a ton of photos to document the state in which you left the home.
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Definitely, I already thought about sending a video to HO just before I leave! Il do pictures as well.
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@Thaly101, apologies. It was not my intent to criticize. 50/50 suggested material concerns prior to sit confirmation. Wholly understandable to feel such excitement at being chosen. We have faced some surprises too - guess that’s life - we learn, ask better questions, improve due diligence and are happy to say ‘no’ if red flags appear.
Suggest take breaks from dogs. As @JayCee12 mentioned, perhaps Pet Parent can organize someone to look after dogs for a while. Enjoy veranda. Do activities that bring joy.
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So sorry to hear this, and so sorry you were let down by the previous sitter in their review (or lack thereof).
If it is possible, it can sometimes be of help to limit where the dogs can be - keeping in mind the surfaces in that room, so they can easily be cleaned (bathroom isn’t necessarily ideal if tiled as the grouts will be hard to get clean). Sometimes dogs are less likely to pee in a smaller area, although not always if they lack in training. You probably know that dogs are more likely to need to relieve themselves after sleep, feeding and play and that many needs to have a god walk to get «results», not just popping around the corner. Hope that could be helpful in some way.
Do give yourself some breaks, as it seems you already do.
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Definitely send a video and pictures of inside fridge and a stripped or changed bed etc. Keep these saved until not only your reviews have been submitted but the subsequent sitters have completed their reviews and there’s definitely nothing that can come back and bite you.
You are doing really well and will get there, we’ve been in similar situations with dogs that need let out during the night and it’s horrific.
Continue with some fresh air outings yourself so you can regroup and believe me you’ll get there.
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Had there been previous sitters that had not left a review? (This is only visible in the app.)
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