@dogangel , you started a very interesting, lively topic. Keep contributing your thoughts! 
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Please donāt. Discussions like this open up minds to different ways of looking at things. I am truly interested in how other people approach this lifestyle and since I have been on this forum have learnt alternative ways of doing things and approaching problems that have cropped up.
Elsie
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Hi @dogangel the vote is unanimous keep contributing to the discussion and as others have said, thank you for opening up the debate. Often new conversations are subjects that have crossed many minds but have just never been opened.
As long as all discussions are kept on topic, respectful and considerate of others then we will all benefit, potentially learn something new and who knows may even have a change of mind, or heart.
Thanks everyone.
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Can I ask why you are a member if you find it to be a moral quandary? You have signed up, paid, and entered all your profile info, so just curious as to why now, you would state this on the forum.
As usual, @Colin, you explain things so well. Hereās a post I read today where the text supports all youāve said in the forum in the way of mutual benefits for THS pet owners and THS sitters. But of course, a picture is also always worth a 1000 words. Thank you, @CandAsitters.
Thank you @Snowbird
In the non-English speaking world pet sitting at the ownerās home is a niche phenomenon, but the people who chose this service seem to be the most concerned and considerate of their animalsā needs. We agree that thereās hardly anything better for an animal than to have somebody stay over and follow the ownerās routine. We mostly do pet sitting professionally now, but still fill small gaps with āfreeā sits. At the beginning we had little experience and no relevant references, so the dozens of sits that we did for free made us become who weāre today (and apparently worth some extra pocket money). PS: It also depends a lot on the culture, e.g. in Switzerland doing anything for free is rather unusual and people would be rather suspicious of such an offer (except for expats). And of course we also do some more challenging sits. Now weāre sitting a German Shepherd with anxiety, strong reactivity, leash pulling etc. It would probably not be fair to let someone do this job for free. We also train him, give him more exercise and longer walks than the owners.
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I use both, generally paid sitters for short absences and house sitters for longer ones. As Colin says I pay the house sitter with full accomodation, and often a car - an equivalent of hundreds of dollars.
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I agree with Timmy. Looking after pets for money is not widely available outside the English-speaking world (although Germany is doing pretty good, too). I am a German living with two pet rabbits in Latvia (and I have lived in other countries before that). I found a very sweet professional local pet sitter with reasonable prices, but her experience is cats and dogs, and she doesnāt do overnights. I still book her for short periods of time where I think feeding the pets twice a day will be sufficient. But I will always prefer an in-house sitter who ideally knows about rabbits, gives them their daily routine, buys them fresh greens, monitors them carefully and takes action when needed. No professional sitter could provide all that.
As a sitter, I am a āprofessional.ā I do some paid sits, and some sits through THS.
Either way, the homeowner gets the same level of conscientiousness, care and professionalism from me.
There are a lot of sitters here on THS with much more experience than the average paid sitter.
Homeowners who pay for sitters thinking that payment attracts better or more professional sitters are often mistaken in that belief.
I understand that line of thinking, but you only need to read a few forum posts and a few sitter profiles here to see the high level of care and professionalism that most THS sitters offer.
In many ways, Iāve found that I prefer to barter my services through THS over getting paid cash to sit.
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Very true. We also donāt distinguish between paid and unpaid sits, everyone get the best of what we can provide. The only difference is: hosts who pay us to stay usually require an in-person interview before the sit (which is very rare on THS and frankly not really necessary).
I feel that I should mention that the concept of trust-based housesitting is not an original concept with THS. There were (and are) several housesitting platforms that existed well before THS
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If you look at the profiles of the sitters, you will see some who are vets or are qualified in animal healthcare. Others are professionals in other fields but it does not mean that they have not educated themselves about how to take care of animals. Just because some has a training say, as in animal health does not always mean they can put into practice what they learn in school. Of course, how they conduct themselves with the owner and sitters tells you a lot about how āprofessionalā they really are.
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I do this professionally as well as on THS. Itās very expensive to have a pet & home caretaker so it isnāt really affected by THS. Itās usually multi million dollar homes I get paid to care for. Show dogs. Rare birds etc. the way to make it work is to know your value on THS & not accept filthy dumps, rude HOās, dodgy situations. Hold a standard of value, seek pet sits that way. For me, developing relationships with HOās on THS is the best part! Going back to see loved fluffies is a joy. Making new friends!
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Well said Freya. It really is about knowing you value and bringing your good skills to a good home where you are respected and gave the care every pet deserves
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Is it not better to ask the question and look a fool for five minutes than not ask the question and be a fool for life?
I think it is important to define āprofessionalā. Does that mean a training course, vet tech? Or does it just mean they are bonded and insured? Charging to sit doesnāt make them better or more qualified. I have had many āprofessionalā paid pet sitters and some bad things have happened. One throw a party at my home, and I came back to beer cans in my yard and my fridge full of drinks they forgot to clear out. Another left my parrots cage open, he was later found dead. She called my on my wedding day to tell me this. Most of the pet sitters also worked full time and were gone all day. The Pro pet sitters I know of now spend very little time at the home and basically just feed and water the pets and often do not spend the night, pick up the mail or water the plants.
I have since stopped using paid pet sitters and instead have a family member care for my pets when I travel, though I would be open to using THS in future. From what I have learned during my time being on THS there are many super caring sitters on this site, I include myself in that list. I have no other agenda than to care for your pets and visit the area you live in. I am not financially motivated and would never take a pet sit that was beyond my abilities. We THS have lots of experienced often as home owners and frequently we have pets of our own. I personally would rather have a THS in my home over many of the previous paid dubiously professional ones I have hired in the past.
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Yes, there are definitely sits that demand a paid sitter, IMO.
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I think the key here is that itās a mutual exchange. Iāve seen homeowners go on rants about sitters who ask too many questions about their house and location and seem like they ājust want a vacationā. Wellā¦ why else would I be using this site? (Iām sure people have many reasons, but I must assume the main reason people house/pet sit for free is to travel or live cheaply).
Pets are always cared for well, but the HOs who require round the clock or complicated care for their pets or donāt like the idea of someone sitting ājust for a vacationā, they should pay a professional.
For that reason, I still think of what weāre doing versus professional house/pet sitters as two different services. But itās obvious not everyone thinks that way.
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Well said. It sometimes seems like HOās expect people to just care for their animals for free while offering very little in return. I donāt get it. But I just pass on those posts. Although I will say after being a member for going on six years they are becoming the majority of HOās needing sits. I used to find so many great people & thatās becoming harder. I wonder what is encouraging that kind of attitude? I donāt know but itās weird.
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