Would sitters come to a month-long house sit with no pets?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Question: Seems a big reason sitters sit is for the pets we get to take care of. Would anyone be interested in a house stay with no pets, and light weekly, (not daily) garden chores?

I filtered the listings worldwide for a sit with no pets, and nothing came up. I’m a sitter, homeowner, and have been delaying getting our next dog because we are wanting flexibility to travel. A friend told us about THS, and we love taking care of others’ furry family members and discovering new places, often with the dog leading the way to their favorite local trails.

A 3-week trip absence from our house reminded us that houses need sitters, and cars need driving. They can’t just sit unused and empty, otherwise critters move in, or other maintenance problems may happen, and go unnoticed and unresolved due to absence.

Since we’ve discovered the joys of sitting, we are pondering the THS Combined membership, and having a THS come to our house while we are gone. But we have no pet.

There would be some light garden duties, depending on the season… making sure that the blueberries (5 bushes), plums (2 trees), and/or figs (1 tree) get enjoyed, or light mowing a patch of grass in the front yard, to keep it from becoming totally overgrown. A few dandelions are fine, and we don’t water, so the grass stops growing in the summer. Maybe a quick mow once every 2 weeks. The chores can be left alone for a week, but after 2 weeks, a little care is needed. Is that too much?
The house is mostly family friendly, only 1 bathroom and no TV (which are the downsides.) Otherwise 3 bedrooms, private office, family room, strong wifi, private large fenced backyard, near a large nature park, walking/biking path, and supportive/handy friendly neighbors if any help is needed. Possibility of a car included.

Again, our Question: Seems a big reason sitters sit is for the pets we get to take care of. Would anyone be interested in a house stay with no pets, and light (often edible) garden chores? Leaving for 2-3 days is fine to explore our beautiful region.

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Hi! I know there are others with no pets that want their homes occupied so hopefully they’ll reach out.
I’m sure they’re be an interest though as some people are full time sitters.
It also depends where you are, you’ve not shared that information.
Here’s to you getting some positive responses!

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Yes, I’d do that although am not the most green fingered of sitters! As others have said, where are you based because that makes a difference too, I would prefer to have the company of an animal or two though but have done two sits with no animals.

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Absolutely! Sometimes, especially for full time sitters like us, a break from pet care & all the responsibility is welcome! In our 6+ years as sitters we’ve only ever done one pet-free sit! This was for a family whose home was under renovation and not fully secured so our job was simply to be a presence there to keep the home secure. They did actually have a dog but he was sent to a family member.
Just before reading your post I was studying a listing for a large rural property in France which is for 4 months in winter. No pets, only garden care & basic maintainence. For me 4 months would be too long in that kind of set up but your one month sit would be a perfect length of time.
I think you would get lots of interest. Depending ofcourse onwhere you and what you can offer a sitter.

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100% yes!! Depends on exact dates and location, as others have noted. But a stable location for a month with easy home care responsibilities can be a great sit :slight_smile:

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this sounds so lovely, btw!:face_savoring_food:

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I get a little excited when a HO allows me to do yardwork in their absence.
As much as I enjoy the pets, the flexibility of not having to adhere to a specific schedule has appeal.
Another thought, I know there are sitters on the platform who travel with their dog, if that is something you may consider, it might broaden your pool of applicants

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Hi! We would absolutely do a sit without pets , we’ve been full time sitting for a year and whilst we obviously love animals, it’s nice to have different responsibilities every now and then. We’ve done light gardening duties before at sits outside of THS too. Depending on the where and when, we would be interested. Feel free to message if you’d like to know more about us.

P.s. having no TV sounds dreamy, not a downside for us at all :slight_smile:

Sarah and Justine

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It all sounds great to me, except mowing the lawn. That’s not something I am able to do. Caring for gardens otherwise is fine. I have access to PBS on my laptop, so that’s all the TV I need; mostly I read. I love caring for animals, but a sit without them for a few weeks would be acceptable.
I’d be happy to start someone’s car, or at most, drive it around the block, but I am not comfortable driving someone else’s car, and I have my own.

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Absolutely, and there are indeed listings without pets. It’s an exchange between travelers—the main reason to do this is, first and foremost, to travel and discover new places.

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I would never do his, would find it too lonely and I am not at all a gardener.
However, lots of other people will jump at this I am sure.

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We would jump at the chance for this if it was in a location where we wanted or needed to be. It sounds perfect for anyone who does not mind the yard work.

From your handle, I am guessing you are in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). We live in Portland. The blueberries, figs, and plums are so good in July and August!

Sounds easy.

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Yes, would love it! I really enjoy working in the garden -I’ve done housesitting in return for garden chores before - , and it would be quite nice as well to not have pets for a change. E.g. I did a 1 month pet sit over Christmas, and then a local friend asked if I wanted to join camping for the weekend. I couldn’t as I was looking after 2 cats. With a no-pet sit, this might have been possible.

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I’d definitely consider this. Sadly, many “no pet” sits on THS seem like veiled requests for free labor. When I was petless and owned a home, I paid housesitters (didn’t know about THS back then) and still kept my cleaning and garden services. I mostly wanted someone there for peace of mind—leaks, security, etc.

One thing to note: THS search filters are weird. If a sitter selects “Any Pets,” they won’t see listings with no pets. They have to specifically search for “No Pets”—and most probably don’t. For example, I usually search for cat sits, so a “No Pets” listing wouldn’t show up for me at all.

So if you want more eyes on your listing, consider gaming the system: add every pet type (dog, cat, bird, fish, etc.) with fun avatar pics, then write, “Just kidding—no pets!” That way your sit shows up in searches, and people might be thrilled there are no animals to care for. (Or if THS is listening, they could make it so “no pets” could be selected along with other pets - please?)

I’d personally only take a no-pet sit if yard work was handled by someone else. Your house will sparkle if I’m there—but I don’t mow, not even my own lawn!

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Yes, very true. I’ve always found it very strange that you can NOT select No Pets on THS if All Pets has been selected. @Jenny - anything that can be done about it?

I always find it a pity that I miss out on the few No Pets sits, because I can’t select that option (as well!) when the All Pets default is on.

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Yes. No, wait… Let me re-think that…

YES.

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Absolutely! While we love having fur babies on a sit, it would be nice to have a sit that is different, especially if it is somewhere we want to visit :slight_smile:

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While we love sitting pets, it would be great to sit without pets for a break and for a month, or even longer would be fantastic. We love doing a little gardening too.

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This drives me crazy! How about allowing us to check “All pets” AND “No pets”? I can’t imagine why this is a problem for the software or something.

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I often search for sits with no pets, as it would be a nice break not to have as much pressure as tending to pets brings. However, I can never take a month-long sit because of my business I run. I see some others on here saying no to mowing - but from what I’ve seen in listings with pets that also ask sitters to mow, plenty of sitters do mow for the HO. I applied for a couple of sits requiring snow shoveling and lawn mowing and asked in each case if it might be possible to hire someone to to do those chores because of my joint problems. They were very happy to do that on my request. If I really wanted the sit but that was a deal-breaker for them, I might have offered to pay someone to do it, like a neighborhood kid or someone they would approve of. I say go for it, and I wish you well!

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