Thank you. I did chat to her and she said that the puppy was not out of her sight! I do not want to be offensive in any way.
You definitely don’t have to be offensive @Coco but it would be good to give future owners a heads up that they need to spell out instructions for this particular sitter 
How absolutely disappointing for you @Coco and so much damage done to rooms that should not have been accessed. I notice you have not left that sitter a review so I hope you will do so as she needs to learn where she is a new sitter.
Just a reminder never to leave the house with the dryer running as it’s a fire hazard. If wet sheets are left in a washer or dryer with the door closed they will start to mildew. This could also happen if left for any length of time with the door open.
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@EASTBAYCA I applaud your self awareness that your travel tiredness may have coloured your preception of your sitter. I had the same experience after 36 hours of flying home but after I’d settled down after a few days home I relaxed my expectations of our sitters who did a really good job and deservedly got a 5 star review.
As sitters we try and wash as much as possible on our exit day to help out the HO. We do check with the HO when we arrive about what they want done with bedding & towels. Some say leave them, others say wash them. The key is communicating your wishes. As a HO we ask for fresh sheets to be put on our bed as we only have 1 bed in our apartment but if the sitter doesn’t get time to wash the sheets then we say just leave them in the laundry as we will wash them on our return. In our Welcome Guide we also lay out what we’d like done on the sitter’s last day like remaking the bed, emptying bins, vacuuming/mopping the floors, cleaning the bathroom.
Again, pre sit communication of your expectations is key. But remember the old saying “expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed!”
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I am trying to decide how to word it.
@mars has suggested in another thread which she has tagged you in @Coco on using Colin’s “sandwich” approach. Check it out and good luck.
It’s hard to watch a puppy every second. I was sitting for one and I kept doors closed, because I didn’t want her to be doing anything in the rooms.
On the day before the last, I was vacuuming and I didn’t realize she wasn’t just sitting on a big bean bag chair, like she’d done for days previously. It turned out she was chewing a handle that was sewn into the bean bag chair, while she sat on it. She was black and the bean bag chair was black. And the room was naturally dark, because of the orientation of the house. I had kept her with me in the room to avoid leaving her alone. But I had to turn at various points while vacuuming. I felt terrible that she’d chewed the bean bag chair handle a bit. Luckily, I caught her before she did serious damage. And luckily her HOs didn’t freak out when I told them.
She was the sweetest dog, but I don’t think I ever want to sit a puppy again. It’s nonstop.
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I totally understand. The door in question was on the top (second) floor and I had explained that it was our sons room. There was absolutely no reason to open the door and if interested to look please shut it afterwards. I was really clear in the beginning. There was door hair all over her bed so I can only assume that she had the puppy upstairs (even though we never allow dogs upstairs). We totally understand she may chew in the rooms she is allowed in (5) and have removed anything that would be missed. The puppy is over a year now and is really good in every other way except for chewing.
You were understandably upset after offering specific guidance that she ignored. I meant that when she said she never let the puppy out of sight, it’s not really possible, on top of her not doing as you’d asked.
It makes no sense that she even went into your son’s room. I’m on another sit now and haven’t even gone upstairs once over two sits here, because there’s no need, since the guest rooms are on the ground floor. The HO wife even invited me to use the upstairs bathtub if I wanted, because they have a beautiful soaking tub with a terrific view.
Their dogs are allowed only in a limited area, even downstairs, so I’ve followed the wishes of the HOs.
You said your sitter is a nice person, but that doesn’t necessarily make anyone a good sitter if they disregard what a HO asked. And what you described requesting seemed perfectly reasonable.
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This is one of the reasons I won’t look after a puppy younger than 18 months.