u/Fit_Seaweed5174

Hey, I am 20 years old and I have been Dog Sittin for a couple years now just on the side nothing too crazy to where it is consuming my life. A friend who used to do this family didn’t love this dog and was moving and gave the job to me. The dog is a 15-year-old small dog and she’s really sweet, She’s just very needy of course. Needy as in follows around, stares at you, and barks at you if you close the door to go potty - all normal.
In the past, I have pets sit golden retrievers, labs, and at one point a Great Dane. They had me booked for some dates early December 2025, they had me booked late January into February, March for two weeks, April for two weeks, they just booked me for the end of May for 12 days, have already sent me dates for the whole month of October, into November, and four dates in December. They also have asked me to dog sit all the way up until 20 December, the week of Christmas, but I said I don’t think I can do up until the 20th because that’s Christmas and family time. As a 20-year-old I see it as an opportunity to make easy money as I can work alongside being with the dog and Dog Sittin because my job is in the area that they live as well as has some remote work that I can get done. My only dilemma is the fact that I can’t leave the dog for more than four hours and it’s very inconvenient to drive back-and-forth especially with gas prices currently - work is 15 min away- can be there for 4 hours, go back check on pup, drive back to work etc. then figure my afternoons - gym, workout, me time yk. This family is super nice and the dog really is easy but is it normal for people to just keep booking you that far in advance as well as with a 15-year-old dog? I say yes because I am 20 and have a car that I need to pay back for as well as the want to need to save money at this point in my life so I keep saying yes, but I find that I get a little depressed every time I’m there.I just get stuck in a loop. Has anyone experienced a little depression while Dog Sittin and or a family that keeps booking them in advance? It kind of makes me anxious because I don’t know what I’m doing at the end of this year. I’m only 20 but at the same time I’m gonna keep taking jobs because it’s guaranteed money. Is my stake to buttery. Or am I a little valid because I’m young. I don’t have a lot of friends so it’s actually kind of nice to have plans but then I find that all of the plans that people try to make with me are around the time that I’m Dog Sittin and can’t be gone for the periods at a time.
I also forgot to mention my boyfriend lives an hour away and it’s just the amount of inconvenience that I wouldn’t be able to see him all that much, and that we really wouldn’t have time to see each other for over a month and then again around the holidays.