Hi I’m here again with the list of questions, sorry
Our dogs sleep on the bed with us. If they stay with friends etc without us, they are happy to sleep on their own beds, but know at home and other places, it’s with us.
I’m wondering how people manage this as not everyone wants a dog plonked on the bed, especially as our spare room has 2 single beds instead of a king size we sleep in. They are quite small dogs (10 and 14kg) but still it’s not for everyone.
What do others do for sleeping arrangements for their pets when the sitters come? How would I get around this? Thank you.
I have seen lots of listings that mention dogs sleeping on beds. The main point of having a sitter, rather than putting your dogs in kennels, is to keep them in familiar surroundings and maintain their routine.
If you mention this in your listing sitters will know before they apply and if it’s not going to suit then they can scroll on by and look for other sits.
We want the pets to be completely comfortable with us. And in keeping with their usual routine, we do let them sleep with us. However, you can’t really expect animals to sleep with you in a smaller space. I might suggest that you rethink sleeping arrangements. As an example, you can’t expect three medium size dogs to sleep with two regular size adults in a queen size bed when they’re all used to sleeping in a king size bed. We have tried that and no one gets any sleep. We understand if some people are opposed to sitters using their rooms, but then the consequences may be the animals must sleep somewhere else.
Especially because yours is almost a last minute sit you have to remember that there is a massive pool of potential sitters for you on this site but with every condition you add the pool gets smaller and smaller as more and more sitters decide that they are not a good fit for you.
It totally depends on how important your dogs sleeping on the sitters bed is to you and you being absolutely clear in your listing , Is it essential, preferable or not necessary?
Personally , I would not get a wink of sleep sharing the bed with a dog so reading that condition would result in us not considering to send you an application.
We like the occasional sit where we can take our furry friend to bed. Some listings will even say that this is a requirement. We would consider giving the sitter(s) your own bed, though, since it sounds it will be more comfortable with 2 dogs. The only time it didn’t work out for us when sleeping with dogs was when we had too little space. I was sleeping alone on a queen sized bed with 2 large dogs and a cat once, I couldn’t even sleep diagonally! Transparency from the start is also great, so you can find a good match. PS: It might also help to say if the dogs actually let you sleep. Some animals don’t sleep through the whole night (and make sure you wake up with them ;).
From my own perspective, as a sitter, I don’t apply for sits where the pets will be sleeping on my bed. When I go to bed, I fidget, snore and the pet would probably be accidentally flung across the room as, according to my long suffering husband, I’d make a good sleeping gymnast.
I appreciate home owners who are honest about the pets sleeping arrangements, for me, it’s a high priority as to where the pets sleep.
@ShirlW - I’m not sure what the size of single beds is these days but if they are 90cm wide, could you not push the two beds together European style? In Sweden and many other European countries that I have travelled to, you often get two single beds & mattresses and a single duvet each, with the beds just pushed together. That would give the sitters 180cm wide bed which would give the sitter/s enough room as well as the dogs if that would satisfy both the sitter/s and you and your dogs routine. Just a thought of how everybody could be accommodated
From a sitters point of view we would say the dogs should always carry on with their normal sleeping arrangements and routine (the advantage of having them being cared for at home while you are away), but of course you are not there to sleep with them! If they’re happy to sleep in your bed without you then fine, otherwise you would have to explain to the sitters in your listing that they would need to sleep in your bed along with the dogs. Personally we do not select sits where the sitter is expected to sleep with the dogs because I need my space in bed!
Please mention the dogs sleep on your bed on your listing. It’s important information. I love all animals, however, my bed is sacred. I only share it with my husband because he moans if I don’t! This would be a big no from me but Im sure you’ll find your ideal sitter who loves night time doggie cuddles.
Make sure you mention this in the listing. Some sitters are ok with it, many like us are not. It’s a deal breaker for us so we wouldn’t apply for your sit. You will get some who will though. Depends how limiting you want your pool of prospective sitters to be.
I personally would avoid a sit were dogs sleep on owners’ beds. If owners know they are going to be away from home regularly or over long periods, it highlights the importance of giving the dog its own sleeping area. You will then have a much bigger pool of sitters to draw on.
Lots of sitters like/love sharing their bed with pets but its a big no for me and I would never like the pet to change its routine so state in your listing that your pet sleeps on the bed and the sitter can choose whether they want to do the sit or not.
As a HO it is one of the things that is a definite for me - that’s if the dogs like you enough to share with you when you’re there I make it very clear in my listing that they may choose to get onto the bed, and would expect a Sitter that applied to therefore honour it. Both bedrooms have kingsize beds as well as dog beds on the floor. I did have sitters once where I found out they didn’t and never had any intention of allowing it, but didn’t tell me (long story). One of the reasons for using sites like TH is to ensure that our pets are as comfortable, safe and unstressed as can be, and to find someone who can meet our particular circumstances. As someone has already stated , it does change the pool of people who would apply, but then sitters choose on all sorts of criteria and we can’t all be a right match for everyone. I know if I was ever in the sad position of not having any pets with me I would welcome it!
We had a little poodle that like to sleep on the bed with his owner. However, since it was my husband and I there was no room for him. We brought his dog bed in the bedroom at night and my husband would pick him up and put him in his bed for the night. It only took a few nights of this and when we turned the lights off he knew it was time to go in his bed. When the HO returned she was amazed that we got him to sleep in his own bed and thanked us for training him.
I make it very clear in my listing that they may choose to get onto the bed, and would expect a Sitter that applied to therefore honour it. Both bedrooms have kingsize beds as well as dog beds on the floor. I did have sitters once where I found out they didn’t and never had any intention of allowing it, but didn’t tell me (long story). One of the reasons for using sites like TH is to ensure that our pets are as comfortable, safe and unstressed as can be, and to find someone who can meet our particular circumstances. As someone has already stated , it does change the pool of people who would apply, but then sitters choose on all sorts of criteria and we can’t all be a right match for everyone. I know if I was ever in the sad position of not having any pets with me I would welcome it!