r/RoverPetSitting

I have a dog being boarded at a sitter’s house. Funny enough, I’ve used rover before and the lady who previously sat for them lived next door. We just didn’t book with her because she was full for the weekend.

The girls this were super nice and so was their house. I could tell my dog got along great with them during the days we were gone. The one with the actual account even gave us a cute thank you card and picture of my boy when I picked them up. They own another dog too and she was super friendly and cute both times I’ve seen them.

The problem is when I left, the previous rover sitter came by and told me that she saw one of the girls curse at her own dog when she took them both for a walk. Something about tangled leashes around legs. I don’t know how to feel about it. It wasn’t the main girl who watched them and it wasn’t my dog she was angry at. But yelling vs muttering “curses” just feel different?

Again, they seemed like super nice girls and my boy seemed as happy as always when I got him back home. Plus they sent me DOZENS of pictures of them cuddling them on the couches or napping so it’s not like he looked anxious the whole time or anything.

Is this a red flag? I’ll admit I’m no saint myself. I think everyone yells at their dog but I’ve worked with this lady before and was just wondering how to feel… sorry about the flare, didn’t know which to pick.

Edit: I saw a comment asking what exactly was said. The previous dog sitter was vague but essentially it was something like “what the fuck is wrong with you” and she implied the girl said “if you don’t stop moving I’m gonna smack you.” But again, it wasn’t at my dog and it sounded like nothing actually happened. She got them untangled and went on with the walk.

I’m a pet sitter doing a last minute overnight stay. I was asked to replace a sitter that was not doing what was needed for the client. I arrived at the house and the owner and I talked on a call to do a walk through for everything for the dog. I did not realize until later that there are motion sensor cameras in the entirety of the downstairs minus bathrooms. It made me instantly feel uncomfortable because the owner never disclosed it, and she messaged me a comment about holding off on any snacks or treats for the dog. Am I crazy for feeling uncomfortable? I’ve been petsitting for so long and never had to deal with indoor cameras or indoor camera that are everywhere.

What’s actually wrong with people? Lol I have been doing drop ins for 5 days now for 2 dogs at a heavily discounted rate because they’re regulars and kind of close by. I love the dogs too.

They’re easy and sweet. But what is wrong with people?! Today in the am my visits ended. Left the key, cleaned up the doggy hair in the living room etc and went home. I’m settled in for the night. In my pjs, grab my candy and about to watch trash tv Love Island.
Look at my phone by chance. It’s their dad. “Hey we are staying until tomorrow afternoon”. If he would have said we had trouble getting home, can you go watch the dogs? So sorry to trouble you. Can you x? Then no problem. Wtf is “I’m coming home tomorrow afternoon?”And what was the plan if I said no? Dogs sleeping outside? Not eating? They already had no water left from this afternoon after I filled their bowl.

I’m so annoyed. I had to wake my child up and go let the dogs back inside and put them to bed. He asked me to water flowers too for 10$ a day. I wasn’t going to charge for that but now I’m definitely charging more.

I periodically have clients ask me to get together socially (grab coffee, go to lunch), and I always fumble for words. I don’t want to, (1) because I want to keep a professional relationship where lines can’t get blurred between “hang out time” and paid services and (2) I am a tired introvert who already has a full social roster.

I don’t think they’re necessarily overstepping and I don’t want to be rude; but I want to give a clear and final answer, which is nope, never.

How do I say “thanks for asking, but I never want to hang out with you” without coming across as rude or as if I don’t like them personally?

I’d love suggestions of specific phrasing to use!

I told one person “it’s against my policies to socialize with clients” but that felt cold and awkward. I’ve used the “I’m busy” excuse and people usually pick up on it, but I have one client who keeps bringing it up.

I've been on Rover for a few months and last week reported an instance of undisclosed indoor cameras in a client's home, and yesterday my account was suspended while they complete their investigation. They said it's a temporary suspension and that it's not punitive, but no one at Rover can tell me how long the suspension will last. I have 4 meet and greets scheduled for Tuesday and am wondering whether I should go to them as planned, given that clients cannot currently book with me? Has anyone else been suspended recently for reporting a safety issue and if so how long did the suspension last?

I guess I'm still trying to figure out the in and outs with communication with pet owners and what is and isn't taboo.

Had a meet and greet planned with a potential sit. Then randomly I was going through all of my clients to make sure dates and times were right, then noticed at the top of hers that it said request expired. Rover sitters know that Rover does not send a notification if a client is no longer interested in a request, it was completely by chance that I was able to see she was no longer interested, but she didn't say anything so I wanted to verify.

Sent her a message, "Hey, it says request expired, can you confirm if you're no longer interested?

Her: "Yes, I no longer need the appointment, thanks for checking in."

Me: "Okay, just in the future, let someone know that you're no longer interested in planned meetings so they aren't left hanging, rover doesn't notify sitters of these things and it was by chance that I discovered yours."

Her: A cancelation a week in advance is not leaving someone hanging, and hopefully rover in the future gets a better system so it isn't discovered by "chance", and hopefully sitters give owners the chance to communicate in the future"

And I guess her last part is what makes me second guess my own part because she speaks as if she was planning to notify me and I acted too rashly but I think it's simply polite to let someone know that you're no longer interested? Why should their schedule wait until you decide if you're ready to tell them? I mean if she could decline the request then she could've let me know right 😭 I'm an autistic gal who was homeschooled, I'm still trying to figure out what's appropriate for social interactions.

Should I have mentioned anything at all? Was I rude? Too rash, idk. And I guess it's weighing on me more than it should lmao

We hired a dogsitter for house-sitting over a 5-day period. For context, she is a full-time dogsitter. She had told us that she had to work around 5 hours during weekdays, which we were fine with.

However, we got Ring alerts that she had been leaving the house quite a lot even outside of these hours. For example, on Saturday (which she's not supposed to be working), she walked our dog in the morning but then immediately left the house after dropping her off at home and didn't come back until a few hours later. When we asked her, she said that she had to take on an emergency booking for a client and it had lasted longer than expected. Even after that, she would still leave the house 2-3 times a day for various duration (but usually under 3 hours)

I by no means expect sitters to never leave the house, and we did tell her that our dog can be left alone for 5 to 6 hours. However, this level of frequency seems quite high compared to other sitters we had in the past. I can't help but feel that she's double booked herself beyond what was agreed.

Am I overreacting? I'm curious what people think.

Hi all! This will just be my champagne woes about leaving my dog for the first time (next February) and having the privilege of being worried for likely what will end up being no reason so keep that in mind.

I have the glory of WFH full time so ever since we’ve gotten Sage over a year ago, her and I have gotten the pleasure of living the enrichment dream! She does not have separation anxiety and does fine alone for long periods of time, but I’m still nervous leaving town and hiring someone for drop ins/house sitting and if she’ll be getting enough stimulation.

She doesn’t have a strict routine but has a fenced in yard where she gets to bird watch as much as she wants, play fetch and tug, do lick mats, kongs, or other food activities most days, and does a 2 mile walk every day. She’s a mix of a bunch of breeds so I’d say she’s a moderately active dog but I think that can be kind of relative. I do my best to give her a fulfilling life and as you might be able to imagine it’s hard to be sure someone’s services will align with her needs.

The sitter who’s profile I like the most (SAH parent with veterinary experience) does not offer house sits but does offer drop ins and walks, but it feels a little outrageous paying $1400 for someone to only spend 2/hrs a day with my dog for a 7 days :(. On the other hand, there’s another sitter in my area (retired, also a bit cheaper rates) who offers house sits but not sure who will be most able to keep up with Sage. It’s really not about the money, but rather that someone will interact with her, enrich her, and keep her happy and alive while we are away, and allow us to not be too worried about them while we are gone. If all goes well, we fully intent to keep using the sitter leading up to and following this trip!

We plan on meeting with both sitters and seeing who feels like a better match and quickly making our decision to not waste anyone’s time. Any advice? Not trying to be a neurotic pet owner but any advice would be amazing as someone who’s never used this service before. After reading some posts on here, I will be 100% transparent about Sage’s needs, my expectations, and any behavioral quirks she has for them to look out for so that way they feel confident with this arrangement too (but she is pretty perfect ngl LOL) and we will have front and back door cameras to confirm entry but none inside cause it would be weird to monitor someone who I want to feel comfortable. I just don’t want our little love to be bored out of her mind or lonely. Will include a photo (maybe in the comments) if it’s allowed. Any advice will help!

Hey all, looking for some advice from fellow petsitters.

I just finished a 2-night, last-minute house sitting for a very sweet cat. The owner had a family emergency that was taking longer than expected, and her planned overnight sitter also had an emergency so she contacted me. As far as I understand there was another sitter doing drop-ins for several days before I came (I picked the key up directly from that sitter, so i got a chance to meet the cat and see the apt).

Staying at the apartment i noticed it was a little dirty but not too bad. What i mean is dirty floors (dusty+dried cat food stuck around food area+a mysterious hallway stain), used bedsheets, 2x bathroom mats covered with cat litter pieces, general clutter on most surfaces (kitchen was spotless tho). It definitely felt like i walked into someone's house who wasn't necessarily a slob, but didn't get the chance to clean up. From my side i understood and assume the client rushed out quickly due to the family emergency and didn't consider overnight sitting at first, and im not a neat freak myself. She video called me telling me where the clean linens and cleaning cupboard was (she didnt tell me to clean, i just asked where it was) and I just swept and mopped and made do. She didn't say anything like "excuse the mess" at any point though, which didn't sit totally right with me.

Now to my dilemma - yesterday before she came back she asked if I'm free later this month, to which I automatically said I'd love to but I had a trip planned and wasn't sure when, and would update my schedule that evening. Well, after confirming I was indeed free, I didn't update the client. And now it's the following evening and I still haven't replied to her, except to heart react her message that she's back home and thanks again. And I think I'm in two minds because of the dirty apartment. While I get why she might not have had time or foresight to clean, it's more the fact she didn't address the mess at all and I'm worried it might be messy the next time I stay there, too.

Another issue is the alternative to overnights in this case would be 2x a day drop-ins, which would be 2hrs travel per day and I have a 9-5, so it's not really an option. What would you do if you were in my shoes? I also have to hand her back the key in 2 days so continuing to ghost isn't really an option either lol, and I already feel a bit shitty for it. :(

Dog is finally getting picked up today and I needed to vent if that’s allowed here

10 day booking for not nearly enough money, over the holiday here in America (fireworks)

He’s been barking like crazy and that was not listed in his current feedback and I was not warned by the owner, I reached out after a few days to ask if it was typical and the owner basically said “yeah he does that feel free to just deal with it”

And last night he almost busted through a door because he was so freaked out, I don’t understand why people with anxious pets don’t have meds on deck for special cases like this

They knew he was hyper sensitive to fireworks and then left him with a complete stranger?

I live in an apartment that’s not even supposed to have dogs (my own problem ik) but him barking at 6 am is not helping anyone and there nothing I can do to make him stop

Very happy to be almost done

Currently house sitting and I need help

I all, I’m (28F) new to this community. I’ve only house sat a few times, and that was for small dogs with responsible owners. Right now I’m dog and house sitting a 1.5 year old male corso. He’s huge and he hasn’t been fixed.

I did the meet and greet and the owner showed me where everything is. She seemed pretty flustered but the dog seemed to be healthy. So I booked the 3 night stay.

Today, I got here and the dog is excited, like he was when we first me. But then his owner left, and he has immediately flipped. He is jumping on me and scratching me, panting constantly, and keeps trying to mount and hump me.

When I tried to calm him down by hiding in the powder room for a little bit, he peed outside the door. I’ve been trying to calm him down by putting him outside each time he tries to mount me, but he’s insufferable.

Some other notes and things I’ve noticed: the owners threaten and scream at the dog, and I saw them hit the dog with their shoes before they left. He never gets to actually go on grass, they have a wooden deck that they hose down every time he needs to go to the bathroom. He only has one hard toy, no treats, and no lease/harness. The owner did tell me she never takes him on walks since he’s so big and drags her around. Also, more of a personal complaint, the owners want me to stay with the dog and not sleep on their bed, but the couch instead. I was ok with that, but I would hate to be humped for three nights in a row.

If the dogs is following me around, he’s panting. If he’s calm for a second, he begins to whine and begins the cycle again.

I texted the owner that the big dog could turn aggressive while I tried to clean the pee off the floor, and her advice was for me to use the bathroom with the door open.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I should do for the next 4 days? I could really use the help.

Ok so I had a last minute booking from a girl who originally wanted two drop ins per day for her dog over the 4th of July weekend. She said her last sitter cancelled last minute and was scrambling to find someone. Once I responded, I realized she was going to be out of town and asked if she would prefer me to house sit or at least add on another drop in for the afternoon. She added on an afternoon drop in. There are three cats in the house, but she told me her roommate is taking care of them while she’s away, so my only job is the dog.

Anyway, Friday went fine, the roommate was home with the pup and I did my drops ins and all went well. However, their house is dirty. Not in a clutter or disorganized way, in a *filth* way. I set a plastic bag down on the counter in the kitchen and it literally stuck to the counter type of dirty.

The owner had told me that her roommate was likely going out of town today (Saturday), and I was worried about the fireworks for the dog, so I told the owner I would do a fourth drop in later in the evening just to check on him and make sure he was ok. Not charging for it or anything, literally just want this dog to be ok and have someone there with him instead of being totally alone on the scariest night of the year for dogs. I go back to the house around 9pm, and I notice that one of the cats peed outside their litter box. I look at the litter box and it’s not terribly dirty, but it’s definitely not clean and the pellet litter is pretty scarce/low. I know that cats will pee outside the box if it’s too dirty or doesn’t have enough litter. I don’t think the roommate cleaned the litter box out before leaving.

So anyway, there I am with cat pee on the floor, trying to comfort this old dog whose so scared he’s shaking, and just knowing that I can’t stay all night because I have to get back to my own dogs and wasn’t booked for a house sit.

Idk. My friend is telling me it’s worth a report because between the state of the house, the litter box, and leaving the poor old guy alone during fireworks it adds up to some form of neglect.

What do you guys think I should do here?

I have to rant about the sitters I’ve been getting lately for my two cats.

I make it very clear that our boys are more social than the average cat and need mental stimulation when we’re away. Today is the third time I’ve hired a sitter who has shown up to my home, pet the cats for 5 mins, did the chores we requested, played on their phone instead of with the cats 🙃 and ended up leaving early!! Like!? Are you kidding!? (If it wasn’t obvious, we have a cat cam, & yes we tell every rover about it)

I occasionally rover sit for extra income, and I ALWAYS make sure I play with the cats. Even if they don’t pay attention to me, I try to make an attempt and I try to avoid getting on my phone. So, to have two social cats and see these sitters not pay them any attention even when deliberately asked is insane to me. These are also sitters with tons of good reviews, so I don’t know what’s going on, but I keep getting so unlucky 🥲🥲

My neighbor has illegally boarded dogs for a few years now but I found her rover and sent it to the city. She's back to boarding dogs now and the fines will range from $1000-$2000 a day. Does rover remove accounts that boarded illegally in townhouses if I can give them the city's ticket numbers they've given her already?
She kennels dogs and then leaves for work and it's a townhouse so I hear and have to manage those dogs noises. If I'm lucky she leaves the tv blaring all day for them. Not serious.