What’s your top tip for new house sitters?

That’s pretty apalling, I agree. But, speaking as a ‘new’ home owner, some of us are sensible and thoughtful! Ive done a lot of research on here over the past week finding out what sitters want/dont want, but even if I hadnt, I would say “Im new to this. What works best for you?”

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Hi @Willexcell the unequivocal advice is not to confirm any sit arrangement unless everyone involved is 100% comfortable and in agreement as to the needs and expectations of owners, sitters and pets.

On the few occasions when sits are not successful it usually transpires that communication between members was not clear, misunderstood or simply not done at all coupled with the fact of being the wrong sit choice, at the time, for all involved.

For new members, from both sides there are numerous advice articles on the website blog which will help everyone manage their sits to be successful and the best experience possible.

As experienced members we can pass our knowledge, help and expertise on also which I know many do.

I have helped many new owners which has resulted in everyone having a great sit experience, that’s the benefit of being part of our community and also having the forum, helping each other as we never stop learning.

Across all of the conversations here on the forum everyone agrees with the “communication, communication, communication” mantra.

I agree. A very short sit so couple questions and I t didn’t think much. Here what I am upset is leaving a dog for hours with no potty. Lately I see, a lot of houses do not have dogy door. This is not rental.

Advice that I have not seen yet on this thread:

As soon as the sit is confirmed/accepted, exchange all relevant phone numbers and email addresses. This makes communication easier. Often I then text if I have quick questions. Also, get the physical address of the home so that you can plan your travel.

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Hi Angela, it looks like my THS set up is not working the way it should be. Once I have an owner interested in having me sit, a box comes up asking me to accept the sit without allowing of me to ask all the questions a responsible sitter should ask. I have to ignore the “confirm sit” and ask all the questions I need to ask first. When I go into update my profile, it shows it is done but I go back in the next day and the updates have not taken. Then when I try to show my unavailable dates, it does not let me input them. These are dates are other private unavailable dates outside of THS. I have had to show these dates in a separate file to get around this problem. I have already brought the unavailability problem to the attention of the help team but as it never got fixed, I Have just done my own “patch up” job. Others may not experience this. My software is up to date on this device.

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Hi @Willexcell … Thank you for the feedback I will tag @Therese and get her to look at this for you when she is back online (Monday) …

There is no marking of unavailable days, only marking of available ones. The only unavailable days are when you are on a THS sit.
This is why many people find the calendar unusable, plus HO’s don’t know what white and green mean anyway.

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This is correct. It seems you are asking questions before confirming?

I’ve learned to get as much information as possible in the video chat prior to confirming. I take notes during the chat and tell the HO that I’ll be sending a THS message with some of the key points, like whether the dates are firm, what the dates are, what the expectations are for presit and postsit time, any thing that could be a deal-killer if misunderstood. I understand that dates can change through mutual agreement, but I’ve seen misunderstanding in this area.

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Agree PV Gemini. I now have a standard questionnaire that I send out to all owners. That way, I know I have asked all the questions I should be asking and do not leave everything to chance at the last min. I would be concerned about pets being left and not being able to go to restroom and I would want to know where the cat crate is just in case I have to take the cat to a vet. If sit is just a few days, it is not so bad but better to be fully prepared. If the owner does not want to answer questions such as is the pet chipped, I then have the option of declining the sit

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I now have a standard questionnaire that I send out to all owners.

Would anyone else like to trade questionnaires, so we can benchmark off each other?

Just upload it somewhere, (google docs, dropbox, whatever) and share the link, that would be so useful. I’ll get mine up tomorrow. (If we’re not allowed to post links for that on here, then message me and I’ll help you access a somewhere to upload it for free)

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Hi @MissChef there is a topic on where sitters have shared their list of questions for owners … List of questions from sitters to owners - #8

Take a look and perhaps add yours?

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Hi @Willexcell … I have emailed you directly from membership services.
kind regards
Therese

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Ohh neat.

@Willexcell and anyone else, my offer still stands. I’m fairly new and I’m already discovering inconsistency between what sitters ask… Maybe because there’s SO MUCH to ask it’s easy to forget, or maybe because it’s uncomfortable to ask some of the questions (in my case for example, what to do if an elderly pet passed while the HOs were away. I -hate- bringing that up. My own dog passed 7 yrs ago and I still get choked up thinking about her.

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The last time I went away, my pets were in boarding and I was literally uncontactable except by satellite phone, so my friend had to be the emergency contact. I left a list of ‘what if’ instructions including pet health history (which the boarding place had too) and death. I like to be prepared!

This is uncomfortable to ask but I always ask what the owner’s wishes are in the event their pet died while in the sitter’s care.

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Hi @MissChef there is a conversation about pet’s passing while in the care of sitters which yourself and other members may find helpful.

https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/death-of-a-pet-on-your-watch/7262/19

Thanks for this. I commented on that thread, and you replied to it already too. :pleading_face: How sad tho…

Pay Attention to the Photos or lack thereof. I saw a photo this morning with “this room will get cleaned” overlayed on it; yet when I looked at photos of other rooms was left wondering, what about these rooms? A picture of the room you will be staying in and the bath are really important indicating size and cleanliness. As a retired real estate professional I can tell a great deal from the photos. This determines whether I will apply for the sit or not.

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Pictures of the bedroom, shower room,kitchen/diner and living area are to me a must see. Also that the house is a non smoking house,if animals are well behaved on the lead/ towards other dogs, neighbourhood without graffiti etc, confirmation of actual times of departure and arrival. breed is dogs, if owner is planning on being in the home at beginning of sit . Some like to make a big social event and cook meals for sitters. And of course, prior sitter reviews ( hopefully not friends who have out in a good word) And More important, what the reviews do not mention…!

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