u/Throwitaclay

Some of the delightful pals I’ve gotten to hang out with in the past year…

HOs are first-timers. Went to meet 2 Dalmatians I’ll be taking care of for a month, starting in a week. Met with wife. Husband has already left town. Dogs are male and female litter mates, ten years old. Female is sweet and smaller, male is big and anxious. Apparently, the male sometimes tries to jump on people. Intro, patting, and scratching was going well, so I started to kneel down, hoping to be even more non-threatening, at which point the male jumped up and nipped the inside of my right upper arm. It was the smallest, but sharpest nip I’ve ever gotten from a dog, a good pinch. When I said “Ow!”, HO asked if he bit me, and I said “yes, he nipped me.” It didn’t break the skin, and I don’t think the dog was being aggressive or defensive, but that his anxiety, combined with jumpiness, overwhelmed him, and it may have even been playful. Whatever the case, now, 5.5 hours later, there’s a small bruise. Now I’m wondering if this is an occasional thing with this dog. They’ve welcomed me to have guests, but I feel no inclination to put other humans in the path of this dog’s anxiety.

When showing me the back yard, HO told me where the mower is “if you need to mow the lawn.” First of all, I never NEED to mow a lawn. Second, we never discussed lawn-care and haven’t been planning on it. Third, per THS chatbot: “Sitters are not usually expected to mow the homeowner’s lawn. Lawn mowing is considered maintenance work and should only be included if both you and your sitter discuss and agree on it before the sit. The main responsibilities for sitters are caring for pets, keeping things tidy, bringing in mail, and watering plants.”

HOs, regardless of whether you have a lawn, would you assume that someone taking care of your pets and home for a month means they’ll mow?
Is there any reasonable expectation of lawn-care on a month-long sit?

Their profile says dogs need 60 minutes of walking per day, but when I brought it up, HO said no, and that they just take them for a short stroll after work.
They didn’t disclose on their profile that they have a doorbell security cam, and one on the garage exterior, but I really think they didn’t know.
After a few minutes of patting them, my hands felt filthy and smelled awful. Is it reasonable to ask them to bath the dogs before the sit begins?
I’m counting on a month of housing, but, after all this I’m not excited about this gig. It could be easy, but all of a sudden, it’s a lot on my mind. Now that I’ve met them, and experienced all this, I know that their profile needs a lot of development.
Everyone, where would you go from here?
Many thanks, and happy pet-sitting.