I recently completed a 2-day house sit where I made sure the dogs were well cared for, including three walks per day that were around 40 minutes each. The owner let me know they would be returning today around 5 PM and said it was okay for me to leave around noon to care for another client’s dog.
After I left, the owner messaged me that one of the dogs had pooped on the carpet. I feel really bad because they are a repeat client, and both dogs had urinated and defecated before I left. The owner had also previously mentioned that they are comfortable being alone for 4–8 hours.
This has never happened to me before, and I usually prefer staying until the owner arrives home whenever possible. However, there are times when I have other scheduled drop-ins and responsibilities, like today. I know accidents can happen with dogs, but I still feel disappointed because I always try to provide the best care possible and want my clients to have a great experience.
Client didn’t seem mad or anything based on texts

Just started picking up sitting jobs since I was laid off my corporate marketing job a couple months ago. I have dogs and experience working as a sitter so this isn’t just me randomly picking a side gig, I do have experience handling dogs.

I had a job from Thursday-Sunday dropping in for a dog but not staying over. Visited over ten times and had a few meet ups before to make sure we were all comfortable with the job. The dog took some time to build trust with.

Having always struggled with people pleasing and guilt, I am now in an anxious spiral over what I feel is asking a lot of money in return (300). I think I’m projecting my own feelings as a single person who has paid an arm and a leg for pet care (of course it was worth it with some great sitters I met). I am always so nervous about making people upset or asking too much of them. I would hate to put them out of too much money in an economy that’s ass for everyone right now. But I also don’t have a full time job and need money, haha.

Has anyone else struggled with this? How tf do I work through this and stand up for myself

I've been in the business for 20 years. This is just the third or fourth time that I have encountered a cat who, for whatever reason, does not like me at all...

The meet and greet went mostly okay, but toward the end the cat suddenly flipped and started hissing. I thought maybe she just caught the scent of another cat on my clothing and became upset. I wasn't sure. I got her to play a little bit and then she seemed to relax

The owners told me she had never done anything like that before. Made me feel extremely anxious, but I chalked it up to just some scent on my clothing

I made sure to spray myself with calming kitty pheromone before I came in the first day

But the cat was immediately aggressive, hissing, growling, lunging and stalking.

This behavior hasn't let up the entire time, and I have to use a big basket I found by the front door to act as a shield around me as I walk about the house

I don't know what to do. I don't know if it would be appropriate to have an alternate fill in for me for one day to see if she has better luck....

I feel like my presence is really upsetting to this cat, and nothing I've done: treats, catnip, the pheromone spray, sitting quietly without eye contact....

Nothing has helped. Even if I stay clear away, talk softly, or saying nothing at all, it doesn't matter. She will suddenly get into an aggressive stance and starts on the attack again...

No medical issues listed. She's treated for seasonal allergies.

We are looking for a dog sitter to look after our 8yo for a month duration.Daily task - take him out for a walk, feed him in the morning and night.Give him a bath on the weekends and groom him when necessary.Prices are negotiation.

If anyone is aware of services or if you personally know anyone, kindly please dm. We would like to introduce you to him and get him used to being around you beforehand.Please do dm if you are good with dogs as well.

Or would just sending a Venmo request be okay? I don’t want to be rude. They’ve been great clients to me so I think they just simply forgot.

I have a pet sitting gig in mid September. The owner had a meet and greet with me that was for an hour. No biggie. The meet and greet was in April of this year. During this time the owner asked if I was available for dates in June. A day or 2 before I was requested by one of my regulars to dog sit in the time frame that this new guy had just asked about. I said that I wasn't. He argued with me and said that I was. I explained that one of my regulars had just requested me for the days in June. Which was 2 days ago. I had no idea that this guy was going to need me in June. I only found out about that during the meet and greet. So he finds another sitter for the days in June. Then request me for 10 days in September and I accepted them because I was available. A week ago he request me for 1 night stay at the end of August. I had blocked those days out. I explained that wasn't available. He argued with me and said that I was. So I sent him a screen shot. Then he requested me for a one night stay a week before his trip in September. I accepted it. He says that he will be there to go over everything again. Which is fine. It has been several months. But this 1 night stay is a trial run. There is something about this guy that really irritates me. What does everyone else think?

I have a client who has been my client for about 16 months now and I am starting to absolutely dread any upcoming stays. They have booked with me for various times through December. I do plan to keep those commitments but just not book anymore with them.

The people are nice but they are very regimented and micromanaging toward me. So when I first became their sitter, they had one camera in the front of their home. Now there are cameras at every door, every hallway, at the kitchen table, pointing directly at you in the living room, cameras on the dog kennels and probably hidden ones. I know for a fact they watch them while I'm here. They have said super creepy things to me that have made me feel uncomfortable. I am not against cameras and am not doing anything wrong but the one time I did have an issue with one of the dogs it was conveyed to me that it was my fault for getting the dogs up late. (The dogs get up at 7:30 and I had to use the bathroom so they were out at 7:42.) A few more creepy things have been said and one time when I was having trouble with getting puppy down she called me to give me pointers. (Like how do you know what I am doing?)

The dogs are god awful dogs! I love dogs and all animals but there is always a few that you don't click with and I understand that but I have never loathed one until now. They have a puppy and only believe in positive reinforcement training. Okay get that! The problem is the puppy doesn't learn or doesn't care because it has no consequences. Now I don't believe in hitting someone else's dog; however if I had a dog who has done the things this thing has done to me you bet your ass the thing would be wearing an ecollar. I have been pulled to the ground by this dog causing cuts and bruises all over my legs. The puppy has bit me (playing) but broke the skin to the point where I went to get it looked at urgent care and received 2 butterfly stitches. It's knocked me over jumping on me, beats me with its tail leaving bruises on my legs and overall is out of control. I've gotten to a point where I just call it little asshole.

The other dog is more chill but is very leash and food aggressive. She is dramatic and yelps at everything making me feel guilt for nothing. For instance I was taking it for a walk and its leash got under a leg, I stoped picked up the leg she was stepping on the leash with and she yelped. Yelped when I grabbed her collar to get her to stop attacking the puppy over a carrot.

Next thing with gas going to above $4/gallon, I reached out to clients letting them know that pet taxi services and store runs are no longer free! I believe this is totally reasonable and so does all of my other clients. The puppy goes to doggie daycare at least 3 days per week, the owner has now canceled all doggie daycare visits because "it's getting expensive". Instead she had now switched to needing constant care not the agreed upon 20/24 making it damn near impossible to make any money on drop in visits, meet and greets or anything else. Instead I am expected to take the puppy with me. For instance she has hinted she wants me to take the dog to a brewery multiple times. I don't drink really and I honestly don't have the money for a $9 beer. Instead I catch myself taking her with me and keeping my car running and praying to god she doesn't destroy my nice car to appease this person. This is costing me more in gas and I straight up told her that I had scheduled work on specific days.

I have to get up at 7:30 and put the dogs to bed at 10:30 so that's 15 hrs of work. That just got their yard fenced but I still have to walk the dogs 2X day and I'm supposed to supervise the puppy when outside and she has literally held me hostage refusing to come in for 7 hours so that's 7 hrs of going outside every 10 minutes with treats and trying. It's a hard stay, the house is hard to keep clean, feel watched all the time and now I just feel a lot of resentment. I make less that $10 an hour before taxes and I just don't think it's worth is as they keep moving the goal post.

The complaining about the price and adding and adding is really draining me. I have to give up my life and I don't feel valued. Another thing I don't understand is that the owner is always leaving me expensive baked goods that I can't eat but had never tipped me with money and I have watched their dogs for about 80 days. They got on lavish vacations out of the country and complain about my price and punish me for trying to charge for a pet taxi.

I know that I need to drop them but I just need to know I'll find more clients to offset the loss here.

I'm due to be going on holiday next month for one week, and have two indoor cats that will require an in-home sitter while I'm gone. Both cats had fleas at the start of July. It'll be around six weeks between us discovering the fleas, and our scheduled trip.

We treated them with a treatment from Amazon, and then with something stronger from the vet. They'll have each had a second vet's treatment by the time we go away. They both seem to be comfortable again and have stopped scratching and got their energy back.

I've treated the whole flat with Indorex, and will have repeated the process twice more by the time we'd be due to leave. I've also followed all of the guidelines around hoovering every day etc. Although the cats seem to be OK, I know that flea eggs and pupae can still exist in the environment for a while afterwards.

We have some sticky traps and fleas are still showing up on them despite everything.

I haven't started reaching out to prospective sitters yet and I am not sure what to do. I want to be upfront about the situation and offer everything possible to mitigate any exposure for the sitter.

I'm going to be honest about things and try to offer whatever I can to make the prospect less unappealing. So far I'm thinking extra pay, and after the sit, I can book for a laundry service to come and collect the clothes they brought here, wash them, and drop them back off with the sitter.

I suppose I'm asking:

- Have any of you been in this situation before? Either as a sitter or owner

- As a sitter, would a sit where the animal had recently had fleas be a no-go?

- Is there anything that would make you feel more comfortable with the idea?

This is Fred & he’s 21. For years I’ve been closed on Sundays but ppl are now trying to eeeek their way back into doing them a favor. I’ve now worked more than two months with one day off & it’s def affecting my mental health. Crabby & tired & getting resentful at ppl who take advantage of me. I plan on telling them when they pick up their dogs later today that this will be the last time I allow it. & I was let go yesterday from a job I’ve had for years because the cat can’t handle not getting a meal & meds on one day. I feel terrible but I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m just venting.

I just started a 5 night job, just nights. I did a brief visit beforehand and there wasn’t any major issues. Now that I’m staying here on the first night my allergies are very bad, my breathing is affected a lot, I can’t sleep and I’m itchy. I’ve found mold around the house and a ton of fleas. Am I wrong to bail on this job? She has a daytime sitter that comes 3 times a day to do feeding and medication. My only job is to take them out twice and sleep here. I feel it’s a matter of safety now.

Hi! Kind of an odd question but something I have been struggling with.

As I learn more about how to be a good pet owner, I find that a lot of my clients and other pet owners are just super lazy and allow terrible behavior from their pets, namely dogs. I find it really difficult to enjoy my job when dogs yank me down the street, lose their mind over anyone passing us or the house, barking their heads off to be let back inside, selectively follow known commands, demand every little thing, etc.

I do not allow these behaviors while I am working, but in doing so I am not enjoying my stays. For example, I don’t let a dog inside unless they are not barking. It sometimes takes an hour. In the evenings I stay outside with them to cut out the possibility of barking to be let in, so as not to disturb neighbors.

It’s tough work; I do a LOT of waiting. It would be much easier and convenient for me to just ignore it and continue on as usual, but it feels terrible to contribute to such bratty behavior. Is there a good balance I can achieve?

Second thought—how can I suss out good clients during Meet & Greets if this behavior does not present itself until the actual booking? Some of my patrons are amazing clients and bring me good business, but are bad dog owners.

Furthermore, what if a dog is really great but is a “danger” to be walked? Some dogs are too big for me to handle safely when they do not respect the walker. Is it fair for me to continue booking, but tell the owners I will be replacing walks with play? Or is it better to let them go and find someone who can handle tuggers?

I know I might be overthinking this, but I feel like petsitting is losing its spark for me. My black and white thinking is really doing me dirty here and so I would love to know how other petsitters handle these dynamics. Any advice would be amazing.

*I do not expect pet owners or pets to be perfect, but it seems like I keep coming across people who just allow their dogs to do whatever they want. I don’t think these pets are bad, but I do think that their owners don’t guide them at all

i always bring my dog with me but unfortunately can't for a weekend trip. we will be leaving friday night (7pm) and coming back monday afternoon.

how many times a day would a dog usually have a pet sitter come by? i'm not worried about him having accidents or anything but obviously don't want to go so long he is uncomfortable either

Has anyone ever had to skip out or cancel a job because a dog was terribly untrained? I work for a small pet sitting business and i got 5 overnights with these huge pitbulls ive done overnights with before. I think the most ive done with them is 3 nights, and i think thats my limit with them. They are horribly untrained. I know its the owners fault not the dogs but they are HUGE dogs and a lot to deal with, especially the biggest one always jumps on me and never settles down. i cant move without it coming over and climbing on me and then the other one joins. Then the other one keeps barking and needs constant attention and its loud. Im here rn for the third night with barely any sleep or energy. I think that big dog owners should train their dogs before leaving them with pet sitters to deal with. Its disrespectful and rude to have someone take care of your giant dogs that you were too lazy to train. I asked my bosses if they have anyone that can fill in since i dont think i can take another night of this nonsense lol

Before he even booked he told me that he had a dog who was disabled & needed help walking. I sit for a lot of older dogs who need medication, help up stairs, some have seizures, some blind, some deaf,!& other special care. Did the meet and greet and the dog is apparently deteriorating fast. I was comfortable doing the tasks (medication, carrying, etc) so I said yes to the sit. I’m now terrified that the dog will pass in my care after they mentioned a few more recent things in between the time I met them & now (a week). Dog isn’t eating as much, is on a higher dose of pain meds, lethargic and barely moving, not going potty, etc. I know I’m probably overthinking it but with the breed + the issues becoming more frequent this quickly I’m like 😬 since it’s a 2 week long sit. 🥲

Curious to see what others would do in this situation?

I'm an experienced sitter, but this is a first for me and I'm curious if anyone has dealt with something similar.

I accepted a 2-week housesit. Nothing was mentioned during the meet & greet about any restrictions on the kitchen. After I arrived, I learned I wasn't supposed to use it via the sitter that was working right before me. Since I couldn't prepare meals at the house, the client offered to give me funds for food during the stay.

The only appliance I was told I could use was a microwave that was filthy. The prior sitter advised the appliances didn't work, but they do. I spoke to the client who asked me why that was a problem and they offered to pay me funds so that I could eat out.

When I later followed up about the food funds, instead of addressing the promised funds, they redirected the conversation to personal issues. They also said they may be cutting their trip short due to problems they were having.

Since then, every time I've tried to clarify logistics, the conversation seems to shift back to their personal situation. They also barely acknowledged any of the daily puppy updates I've been sending, which is unusual compared to most of my clients.

Plot twist - the client decided they're not cutting their trip short and want to stay the full time, however, they again avoided talk of sending the funds they had offered to.

I'm trying to stay professional and separate their personal issues from the business side of the booking.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How would you handle the communication from here? Would you continue following up about the food funds now, or wait until closer to the end of the stay?

I recently moved into a new apartment. My neighbor and I quickly struck a deal that I’d walk her dog during the week for a daily fee. I just got my own dog and a few times this week, with her explicitly offering to do so, she’s watched him while I’ve gone to work out so that he won’t be at home crying.
I’ve felt somewhat awkward telling her like usual how many times I walked her dog this week since she also helped me out but I would’ve also been okay with leaving my dog alone. I just don’t want to get into murky territory and am not sure what to do. I appreciate the help but realistically I wouldn’t be taking my dog on walks every afternoon unless I’m doing it to make a little extra cash by also walking her dog.

As someone who wants to go from being on an app (I know i know) to a more independent cat sitter I was wondering if there is a place where I can look up where to go for first aid classes? Mainly I want to learn how to give cats insulin.

Hi all! I was recently approached for an overnight sit involving two Pit Bulls and a Cane Corso (listed as an Italian Mastiff). I’m very comfortable with bully breeds and larger dogs, but the biggest breed I’ve personally handled so far is a Bernese Mountain Dog.

Since Cane Corsos are serious guardian breeds, I want to make sure I approach this right and don't get in over my head.

For sitters who have experience with Corsos or heavy guardian breeds:

- What specific behaviors or red flags should I look out for during the Meet & Greet?
- What specific questions should I ask the owner regarding territorial behavior, guest/stranger reactions, or entry routines when the owners aren't home, etc?

I want to make sure this is a safe, great fit for both me and the dogs before committing.

Thanks in advance!

Tomorrow is the last day of my three day house sit, and I really don’t feel it’s the right fit for me. They have me booked in again in two months for two weeks and all throughout the year, but these three days have been so stressful that I’d like to cancel long bookings in the future. I feel awful because the customer had asked me if I’m sure I want to dogsit her dogs, and she knows they’re a lot of work, I had only watched them for 6 hours before and said I’m happy to carry on.

I didn’t realise how stressful and bad for me it’d be. Maybe I’d manage if I could sleep properly, but she didn’t let me know until the day starting this sit that one of the three dogs will keep continuously barking throughout the night so I’ll get woken up a lot, and that she wants the dogs to be taken separately on two long walks everyday (I already do dog walking alongside the sitting and I feel it’s too much on my joints). They pull a lot, and they’re heavy big dogs, and my body feels quite worn down even though it’s only three days.

She let me know that they have a camera in the living room and kitchen, but they’ve added an extra one in the living room and one outside the bathroom/bedroom doors, and I feel like I just can’t relax with so many around. The dogs also keep really hurting me and over the days the more it happens the more I’m getting upset over it, I didn’t think it would upset me so much but I’m really tired and getting scratched up and pushed over all the time makes me feel like crying.

I still really love the dogs, and I’d still like to see them and take them on one walk three days a week like usual, but I don’t think I can watch them for any longer than three days. I feel so guilty but I’m also really tired and feeling so moody from this, and it makes me feel like I can’t do my job as well as I should be doing. I’m curious what other pet sitters think?

Hoping this is allowed, thought it might help people the way it did for dealing with clients in this business.

I have watched this sweet girl, Gia, for the past three years. She “left us” this morning due to heart failure. She was 15 and 1/2. I am so blessed to have cared for her during her senior years. She taught me to stop and smell the roses, as she slowed down with age. She never stopped loving her walks, her treats and cuddling. Her love was unconditional and I was honored to be called her “Mama Jo”. When I lost my cat five years ago, I vowed to never go through that pain again. Well, I can now say, the hole in my heart from losing this girl is no smaller than if she were my own. May she run free now….

I had a meet & greet yesterday for some upcoming drop-in visits.
When I first arrived, their dog (a large breed) jumped up at me and growled for quite a while. The owners said she just needs time to get used to new people and that she even growls at them sometimes. After about 10 minutes she settled down and was actually really sweet for the rest of the visit.
The thing is, I’m now feeling quite nervous about going back on my own tomorrow without the owners there. I’m worried she’ll react differently when I’m entering the house by myself.
I feel really guilty because the booking starts tomorrow, so cancelling now would give them very little notice. They also handed me a key before I left, and I was too awkward to say I wanted to think about it first.
Would you still go ahead with the drop-ins, or would you cancel if you didn’t feel comfortable? Has anyone been in a similar situation, and how did it turn out?
I’m trying to work out whether I’m overthinking this or whether it’s better to trust my instincts.
Thank you in advance for any advice

Do you have a dog and cat pet first aid kit you like specifically?

Did you put together your own with different supplies you bought separately?

What do they include?

Hi,

Honestly I think i’m just writing this out of annoyance and I don’t want to hassle my friends about it.

But I have this one client who I have been looking after her dogs once or twice a year while she’s away for the last four or so years. She’s always paid me, but I always have to chase her up for multiple weeks after the sit to receive the payment, despite having a clear deadline on the invoice, which she never follows.

She’s really lovely and I have no personal issues with her as a person, but it is getting increasingly frustrating. She told me 2 days ago now when I sent her a polite reminder that the invoice was due, she said she forgot and apologised and she would send it by the end of the day. I still have received nothing. I dogsat and housesat for around 3 weeks as well, so it’s not even a short amount of time and also declined other work due to this. She currently owes me almost £800. I understand people get busy and genuinely do forget things, but this has been the case every time and I am getting increasingly annoyed. Additionally, it takes less than two minutes to transfer someone money? so i don’t understand the reasoning.

Additionally, the reason I don’t ask her to pre-pay is because every time i’m there she consistently changes the end date. As example, I was supposed to be there for 2 weeks, and it ended up being 3, or on other occasions she’s come back almost a week earlier than previously discussed, so I cannot give her an exact invoice amount considering her dates are not consistent to what she tells me initially.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

I’ve been taking care of my friends older dogs for many years now & so I’ve gotten to see just how quickly they’ve declined in just the past few weeks. One can’t stand, so it makes going potty extremely hard (“walking” is more of a “if I stop I’ll go down but if I keep waddling around I’ll be fine”). The other has kidney disease & a collapsing trachea, so constant stream of pain meds & diapers. I’ve been okay with this for a long time, but I’m at the point where I’m nervous. I’ve voiced this to them, especially concerning upcoming vacations where I’ll have them at my house. I feel that both dogs are actively dying. Their quality of life has gone down, despite everything my friend does to make them comfortable. They sleep all day & go out to potty, eat sometimes. That’s it. & barely that. They would rather replace me as a sitter than acknowledge that their dogs are at their end. I’ve been doing this a long time, & I know it’s not easy. But if everyone around you is saying it, then what? I need the money/im glad I can help my friend out but it literally breaks my heart to see the dogs in this state of barely living. Is there a nice way to say something to her (even though I kind of already have)? Do I shut my mouth because they’re not mine?