I can tell you exactly what happens. I was bitten 48 hours ago. The answer is: THS does nothing.
Per THS’s request, immediately after the incident I emailed photos of the bite as well as a copy of the text exchange with the owner. I was assured that THS allows no owners on the site who have a dog with a history of biting. Yet not only is [the pet parent] is still on the site, she has re-listed the request for a pet sitter following my departure Wednesday. THS is knowingly putting another pet sitter at risk. Even if the “Resolutions Team” has not yet had the time to review my case after 44 hours (!!! What is more important than a dog bit incident and the welfare of another pet sitter who may apply for this sit ?!!???), I should think THS would at least temporarily suspend an owner account while the incident is being investigated.
I hear lots of hollow verbiage from THS staff about “we take dog bite incidents very seriously” and “we put a high priority on pet sitter welfare.” In reality, they have been extremely disorganized in handling this case, repeatedly/consistently not following through with promises to call me or email me with updates.
And this is an owner who had already violated THS’s own “Code of Conduct” with her previous sitter: “I will only cancel a sit or return home before the end of a house sit if there are extraordinary circumstances.” She apparently called that sitter to say she and husband were returning 2 days early and is that OK. The poor girl said “yes” obviously in an awkward situation as she had no place else to go. So they all lived under one roof for 2 nights.
THS’s lack of support, intervention and follow-through on a pet sitter dog bite is unconscionable - not just for my sake, but for any of you who innocently apply to pet sit for [this] dog who bit my hand on Wednesday. At my insistence, I was promised by [name removed] last night that one of her colleagues would call today at 11 am Eastern with an update. No one called. So, 22 minutes later, I opened a chat and by the time I got a “live team member” there, [name removed] it was just as my previously scheduled work call was starting at 11:30 a.m. In the chat she agreed to call me back in one hour (at 12:30 p.m. Eastern) once I’d finished my call. It has been 25 minutes now, and still nothing from Trusted Housesitters.
This is unconscionable. I’m shocked at the dismissive, indifferent, utter disregard and lack of follow-through.
Hi Lizindesun, You do have to be really wary as | was not just bitten but actually attacked by a dog on a sit last year. Ended up in the local A+E amd in theatre for an hour the next day to be cleaned and stitched up. Looking after two spaniels, one a red fox one and theo ther a much older one with heart problems. Had walked both early on ad fed them outside at about 8am. I had been there about a week and had thought how ell trained as the younger much faster eater had never gone to take the others food. However on this morning he finnished quickly and stood looking intently at her. |Thought I had beeter watch just in case. The moment she loifted her head for a pause between eating he went to dive in. I immediately said a firm ‘no’ and went to shoo away. The sudden immediate action was for him to turn into an aggresive monster baring teeth and bit straight over my left had and then immediately my right. I remember screaming out you’ve bit me as a natural knee jerk reractipon was to kick away with my right leg, and yes ended up with a huge bite on my leg also. Just about managed to retreat back fhrough kitchen door and escape. Ended up wrapping my hand in a t-towel, the neare4st thing. A neighbout took me to the local A+ E where cleaned up and huge bandages wrapped around hands ad leg. Owners son came, over an hours drive away to collect. And this had been a dog who had snuggled up to me on the sofa every day. He had however been a rescue dog who had been ill treated. There was a note left never to come between him and his food but this was not his food, and on numerous other occasions I have looked after two dogs, where one eats much quicker than the other. Thery have simply given me that if I must look and moved away when prevented from stealing the others food. There was not even a warning growl first but straight into an attack. And it was only when back from A+E and taking my blood splatered socks off that I discovered another bite on my foot. Owners friends took me to another hospital the next day where I needed x-rays on my thumb as the bite was right down to the muscle. Thankfully OK but in Theatre being cleaned and stitch up for an hour. Owners came back early from holiday and stayed with their son whilst sorting out their dog. Apparently acting strange and refusing to walk, which had never happened before. They did have him put down as could not risk him attacking again. IT could have been worse if it had been my face or a child. But the owers were lovely and when they came back we both ended up hugging and in tears, She was really upset that her dog had done this and also at losing him as they had had him for a few years. I also felty guilty at her losing her dog and prior to this outburst had not shown any aggresive signs at all. We had been out all day walking the coast together only a couple of days previous and I had thought him a lovely dog. Hence I was totally unprepared for this sudden very aggresive attack. I didn’t report to THS at the time but another member did for me and they did get in touch. OK now but do have a few scars. IKt dies make you reealise, how you would not stand a chance with a much larger dog though.
That is horrendous. What a horrible experience for you! You could be forgiven if you never went near another dog.
But I’m so sick of reading about people who allow dangerous situations like this to arise getting away with it or not being reported because they were “lovely people”. No truly lovely person puts a sitter in a dangerous position - or knowingly breaks rules like those around cameras or third-party presences. I refuse to believe that dog had never shown any aggressive signs. Lovely is as lovely does.
Dogs can be “reactive”, nervous, greedy, moody, strong-willed… Whatever. But to my mind, under NO circumstances whatsoever should they ever cause physical harm to their carers. If a dog ever bit me, the HO wouldn’t know what had hit them, however “lovely” they might be.
So you were told not to come between the dog and food, but you still did so anyway, and as a result the dog was later put down, the home owners had to end their holiday. The son had to intervene, the surviving dog lost it’s mate. What a disaster for the family.
The problem sounds like a lack of familiarity with dogs who resource guard. When they see food as theirs, it doesn’t matter whose food the human thinks it is. And rescue dogs that have been abused are more easily triggered than most.
This dog probably shouldn’t have been on THS in the first place.
I was not told anything. There was simply a note I read that said do not come between him and his food. This was not his food. The other dog was a slow eater and had not even managed to get through half of hers. It is an automatic response to say no if a dog is about to steal the other dogs food. And for the first six days gthe other dog had not gone anywhere near her food and left her to finish it. They actually thik the dog cpould have had a tumour as mentioned that he didn’t seem to be able to see a ball whe thrown into the sea. He had also sudden;ly started to stop suddenly and not want to walk further. The owners also mentioned that they almost gave the dog back when they first took it in as so damaged but pererverted. There was no way I could have predicted he would have turned into a savage attacking monster. I experienced terrible bites and am l;eft with scars. The owners were a lot more concerned for me than you are and were extremely aploogetic and could not say sorry enough. He clearly weas not right and the ower said he refused to walk when when she arrived back and people were looking at her as if ill treating as stayed rooted to the spot, which had not happened before.
Any dog should not attack in a vicious way just for saying a firm ‘;no’ when going to steal another dogs food. If he had gone for my throat and not just my hands and leg I would likely not be here now. It was an extremely traumatic experience and I certainly suffered sever injuries, with my leg becoming infected and needing an extra course of antibioitics.. .
So true…we adopted a golden from Taiwan who’d been tossed out onto the streets and abused for years ( there are quite a few, apparently, with a rescue organization dedicated to bringing them here). He was with us for three years, we couldn’t figure out how to train him away from his (completely understandable )food aggression. I had nightmares of a child with an ice cream cone being attacked. It was so sad, he was so sweet otherwise. We had trainers and such, but finally he bit us once too often (while mindlessly caressing him watching the Olympics… he must have smelled the dried salmon in my purse across the room); we had to return him. My tendon was surgically repaired, it was truly heartbreaking. For sure we wouldn’t have anyone watch him but ourselves, that was a given.
Exactly. If you have a rescue dog with known behavioural problems, even if they haven’t included aggression, you make absolutely certain that there are no circumstances in which that dog might hurt a sitter, before you slope off with a merry wave (having been “lovely” to your sitter….. Sorry, but that one still grates!) leaving the poor dog with an almost-stranger who doesn’t know them. And if that means you postpone your trip - you postpone your trip.
The whole “You shouldn’t have tried to stop the dog eating the food!” thing is a red herring. A dog which may actually attack someone merely because it has been dissuaded from eating another dog’s food should NOT be part of any sit. I absolutely blame the HO here. She should be thrown off the platform.
@SitterStar, really sorry to hear of bad situation.
I’m not sure what support you expect from THS - suggest that you proactively determine what action steps work for you. You’re in control. Then inform host and THS. This is clear-cut breach of THS terms of service. If you’re concerned for your personal safety then get the heck out. Life’s too short.
We’ve experienced one THS housesit dog that bit us. Without going into gnarly unpleasant specifics, we decided on two-step plan-
Near-term. We took photos, advised HO and THS. We determined and communicated our desired outcome - immediate physical separation of dog unless being walked; notice & coordinated early departure from housesit.
7-14 days. We did not start thinking about review until one week had passed. We carefully drafted and edited a review that disclosed dog biting. Review was brief, factual and evidenced. HO was unhappy with review but we were ok with that as our intent was to protect future housesitters.
Subsequent. We opened THS Member Dispute, provided all requested information. THS reviewed information from both parties - seemed a thorough, structured process - and ultimately determined to permanently bar HO from platform.
I am shocked that a pet sitter would not understand that this means do not come between this dog and ALL food.
OTOH, it sounds like this poor dog was an explosion waiting to happen. I’m sorry for you going through this, for the owners losing their pet, and for the dog.
belluca,
I am equally shocked that you would think between his food would mean any food. By your logic and reasoning that would imply that it would be acceptable for him to steal anybosies picnic or BBQ with no intevention? I am afrid the pinicers would not have had the memo ad would obviously go between him ad their food with dire consequences. And imagine if a child walkig past with a pasty or ice cream etc.> No,he had been ttraied not to go after any food that was ot his. The owner had trained him well and he had never once goe for the other dogs food in the week I nwas there prior to the attack. He would always eat his food in a matter of secods but the ever went anywhere ear her and just left her to eat hers very slowwly. Alwasy a couple of mpouthfuls ad then a pause before continuing. He had shown no signs of aggression towards me whatsoever, not even a growl, so I could in no way have predicted what occurred. This was the very first time I had seen him watching her itently. She had barely eaten half. I had no rreans of knowing that he would suddenly turn into an aggressive snarling monster. It was just like the flick of a switch the moment I said no. I had never been so scared as it wasn’t just the bites but also baring his teeth in an extremely savage way. Looked like one of these rabies posters. As he had been snuggled up o the sofa with me every evening in an affectinate way I had no reason to beleive I would encounter this nasdty, violent reraction. I did later hear that he was almost put down when he came to the rescue centre, as so badly damaged but as only a year old they were reluctant to do so. And the present owner did almost hand him back. But obviously if I had known I was likely to be attacked I would in no way have intervened. He would then have believed he could always steal any food he wanted, which could have led to more traqgic consequences if with an unsuspecting member of the public.
And I believe the older dog must have felt intimidated by him as she seemed to keep her distance. When he snuggled up with me in the evenings she had stayed in her favourite armchair in aother room. She never came where we were. The moment he was off the scene she came in where I was sat on the sofa, clambered up beside me and looked at me with doleful eyes, as if to say she understood and then rested her head on my lap, as if to comfort me, and she did that every evening afterwards and did not go back to her favourite armchair.
I got attacked by a 90lb Doberman on a sit. It was terrifying. The homeowners are still on Trusted Housesitters
I’d spent 4 days with the owners before the sit, and we went over EVERYTHING in great detail, except they forgot to mention the dog had bitten the owner ON THE FACE two months prior.
The dog had also attacked another sitter, so I was the third known attack. He got me on the arm a few times, until I was able to get him outside. I was ok, but left the sit early to get medical attention/tetanus shot. I was also not willing to risk my life for a housesit.
The shock of it is what stays with me, because it was Day 2 and we’d been hanging out together all day. He’d been fed and cared for, and had spent the evening at my feet. The attack felt like it came out of nowhere.
Unfortunately, the owners are still on the platform, at TH’s discretion, since the dog has since been put down and they have other pets. It’s disappointing, I appealed to them twice, but ultimately, it’s not my decision.
It’s been over a year and I’m able to have some perspective .
My takeaways are:
I always ask the owners DIRECTLY in the interview if the dog has ever bitten another dog or human (technically, they shouldn’t be on TH, as it’s a violation of TH’s policies, but some owners are not truthful). Watch and listen carefully for how they answer the question
no aggressive breeds. (sadly, bc I love pitties. But I can’t take that chance again)
if the worst happens and the owners knowingly withhold a crucial piece of safety information, as in my case, you don’t have to finish the sit. Your safety is the most important thing and you don’t owe them anything.
after an attack, you may feel fearful of any dog. I’d already committed to my next sit, and was actually a little wary/frightened of a sweet, tiny spaniel, but over the 3-week sit, she helped rehab me back into loving and trusting dogs again.
I was angry at the homeowners for awhile, but then realized I needed to move on and just trust that karma will do its thing.
Crikey, what a dreadful experience. It’s beyond ridiculous why an owner would list a sit with a dog known to be a biter. I’m not at all surprised with the response from THS, the over riding imperative is profit and little else seems to matter.
WOW! That is horrible! I can’t believe THS allowed them to stay on the platform, regardless of putting the dog down. You don’t disclose a potential danger - you’re out!
How can anyone trust a HO after there being two such events? Why didn’t the previous sitter mention getting bit? I wonder if they just didn’t leave a review. A potential danger to all sitters when honest reviews aren’t provided.
Glad to hear your next dog sit was good therapy. At least with cats, you always expect a nip or swat. It’s what all cat lovers expect from them.
Curious, has the experience changed your sit selection?
To aid housesitter community, we encourage that you raise a THS Member Dispute (clear protocol per weblink below). Provide information and THS team formally review situation/evidence, from both parties, and make determination. THS Terms and Conditions expressly prohibit any pets that have caused a person or animal any physical harm. Seems clearcut situation. But, to our knowledge, requires formal Member Dispute.
While subjective personal preference, we avoid listings with breeds that we deem to be potentially aggressive. Not foolproof but lowers risk.
Take care of yourself.
THS Terms & Conditions
"5.2.4. ensure that no pets to be left under the care of a Sitter have ever caused a person or animal any physical harm (no matter how minor the injury);
No it’s not an automatic response to intervene between the dogs in that case.
I am sorry you were bitten, but reading those instructions from the HO I would have fed those dogs in separate rooms. Or at least one at a time, with the other out in the garden.
Again, I am sorry you were bitten, but also sorry for the dog and the family. Really never disturb dogs while they are eating if you’re a sitter. If it were me, Is always feed multi-dog households separately out of precaution.
As a side note, we do watch a friend’s dog sometimes. He is a littermate to my girl so they are very comfy with each other. But he is grazer and mine scarfs her food down, then likes to go visit his bowl. We let them eat together but I immediately leash my girl to give him time to eat in peace.
Prevention is 99 percent of success in multi-dog households.
The other sitter who got bit was either local or on a different platform. They didn’t have any reviews, which should’ve been my first red flag.
The experience definitely changed my sit selection. My rules are:
Must have at least 2 reviews. I’ve had two bad experiences (out of the dozens of wonderful ones!) and they were both new to TH, with zero reviews. No more, I don’t care how fabulous the sit looks, I won’t apply unless they already have reviews.
No big, aggressive breeds - dobies, rotties, or pittys. I fostered a doberman and love my brother’s pitbull, but I can’t trust a stranger’s dog any more. I even second guess sitting for huskys. I enjoy big dogs, so it’s a bummer, but I’m not willing to risk it.
I ask every homeowner in the interview directly - “has your dog ever bit another dog or a human?” and then I watch their answer carefully. Yes, they’re not allowed on the platform if there’s a history of biting, but these folks are still on here.
Yes, I appealed to Trusted Housesitters. Twice. They stayed firm in their decision because the owners got rid of the doberman. TH said they’re keeping a close eye on them tho…
I fostered a doberman and love my brother’s pitbull, but I can’t trust a stranger’s dog any more. I even second guess sitting for huskys. I enjoy big dogs, so it’s a bummer, but I’m not willing to risk it.