r/petsitting

One of my clients just adopted one of the beagles from the ridglan farms (the test/lab/research beagles). Obviously he’s been through major things and as much as I try not to put human emotions on animals he has some major ptsd and is experiencing life outside of the research lab and a crate (he’s 7 and lived in a crate 24/7)-so literally everything is new to him. It’s been just over a week that he’s been in the new home and in certain areas he’s done amazing well with in adjusting too. Some areas are getting better, slow progress. The biggest hurdle the owner and I are experiencing is the poor dog wants absolutely nothing to do with outside. He’s extremely afraid of being outside-he shuts down even more as soon as you open the door and doesn’t even want to walk through the door (even though he wants to go outside before opening the door-which he wasn’t even signaling he wanted to go outside when he first came home. He’s not afraid of putting his harness on or the leash anymore either!! Big win!) my very first walk with him, with some coaxing with some treats (though he wouldn’t take it from my hand-he’d take it if I set it on the ground) he walked 15 feet away from the door and peed on the grass-that was saturday 5/23-but since then it’s like he’s regressed. He freezes at the door on the inside dead fishes and shakes like a leaf. The owner and I carry him outside and put him on the grass (about 5-10 feet away from the door) thinking if we challenge him just enough it’ll show him it’s ok to be outside. He’s absolutely terrified of any noise-cars going by, lawn mowers, doors opening etc-and bolts for the door so we just bring him inside once he does that not to add more stress (thinking it would be more detrimental). We’ve both tried walking him with the Jack Russell that was in the house prior to the beagle coming in since he really seems to like her (we both thought that maybe she can help teach him how to basically be a dog, model walking and be like almost a security blanket/comfort for him. I know trainers sometimes uses another dog to help model behaviors). We’ve both tried using positive reinforcement. We both know clearly walks stress him out and he’s just scared of life in general. We’re both at a loss. has anyone dealt with a dog who is absolutely scared of walks? Is just something that overtime with more exposure going outside and as he gets more confident/comfortable with life he’ll hopefully get better with walks? He’s not aggressive at all-he just shuts down emotionally. Just freezes whale eyes shakes sometimes starts backing up and then looks for the door and runs for the doors
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

Does anyone have particular umbrella recommendations that are hands-free/easy to use when walking multiple dogs? I've been sitting for a family with two dogs, and between holding two retractable leashes, poop bags, and an umbrella, my hands get full!

I’m a part‑time pet sitter and something awful happened last night. I was watching two dogs I’ve sat done multiple drop ins for. Their yard is fully fenced, and the owner has told me it’s totally fine to let them run around and that I can sit inside or outside while they’re out.

I chose to sit outside. The dogs often run off together to play in the yard, so when they ran further into the back yard I assumed they were doing their normal routine. A few minutes later I suddenly heard fighting, yelping, and barking.

I immediately sprinted toward them yelling their names with my flashlight. One dog ran around unharmed, and the other walked back toward the house on his own and that’s when o noticed he was bleeding in multiple spots.

I called the owner right away and took him to the emergency vet. They found multiple wounds and said it was likely a coyote attack. The vet told me there was nothing I could have done as these attacks happen in seconds and that it wasn’t my fault.

The dog was very old with a serious heart condition, and the vet explained that surgery could be risky. The owner made the humane decision to let him go. She was incredibly kind and very understanding and said this could have happened even if they were home, and that I did everything right by reacting immediately.

I still feel awful and shaken. I keep thinking “what if I had done something differently,” even though everyone, the owner, my mom, and the vet said it was a tragic, wrong‑place‑right‑time situation.

I guess I’m just looking to hear from other sitters who have dealt with wildlife attacks or traumatic emergencies. How did you cope with the guilt even when you know logically you couldn’t have prevented it?

Hello! I’m a regular sitter and I have a few dogs who get very upset when I leave (they do it with their owners too). I know it’s nice because we are bonded but it also makes me sad 😂 I do lots of little tricks to try and do a shady bail but they are smart and know I have been packing up. It’s always only a few hours before their owner gets home but it kills me driving away and hearing them cry 🥲
How do you deal with puppers who get sad when you leave?

Hey everyone! I’m not an official dog sitter, but I have two large dogs and I’m very comfortable handling all types of dog breeds.

Backstory: my husband’s coworker asked if I could watch his 7-month-old Golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix, Luna, while him and my husband are away on a week-long work trip. I said I wouldn’t mind since the dogs have walked together before.

My Australian Shepherd, Sage, does growl at other dogs sometimes. It took about a week for her and my German Shepherd, Dexter, to get along and become friends.

The first night I watched Luna, Sage growled at her and kept barking. It’s been 3 days now, and Sage still barks, growls, and gets possessive over me and Dexter. Dexter and Luna get along great and play together all day long. Sage has never attacked another dog before, but she definitely doesn’t like other dogs.

Today, Dexter and Luna were play fighting while Sage kept coming over, growling and barking. During the play fight, Luna accidentally bumped into Sage, and they suddenly started fighting and attacking each other.

After I separated them, I noticed blood on Luna’s fur. Luna has a small scrape on the inside of her ear, and Sage is completely fine. The dogs are now separated in different rooms.

I do have to work tomorrow for about 2 hours, and I plan on keeping them separated while I’m gone. Since I’ve been watching Luna this week, I’ve been supervising them closely and keeping an eye on them the entire time.

My husband and his coworker are coming back tomorrow. Should I tell the coworker what happened and ask if someone can pick Luna up today? Should I wait and tell him tomorrow when he picks her up? Or should I just not say anything?

Personally, I would want to know if this happened to my dog while someone was watching them.

Genuinely surprised and upset about this but really want other people’s thoughts, from both sitter and owner perspective.

I recently moved and needed to get a new sitter. I found a neighbor that was happy to cat sit. We got along well and I walked her through everything too. She said it all sounds great. My cat has cancer and I made sure she was ok with the medication regimen as well. I have a detailed print out that all sitters I’ve worked with reference. My partner and I went over to her apartment day before I left to hand her my key and she invited us in and gave us wine and snacks. We ended up meeting her son and had a nice chat. It felt a little weird because I only intended to drop off the key but thought she was a nice old lady.

First day she was supposed to drop by, I texted her to make sure her feeder was filled because my app said it wasn’t. She called me saying she is confused and that she just directly gave my cat 3 meals instead of putting it in the feeder. I said no worries and she filled the feeder from that point on.

A few days went around and my cat’s chemo day came up. I texted her to remind her about her chemo, and she said she’s confused. She thought the chemo was her steroids. I told her the chemo is in the fridge. She said she’ll go back, but when I asked if she was able to find it she didn’t reply. So I called her and she video called me saying it’s not in the freezer and she can’t find it. I told her it’s in the fridge and she found it. But from then, she got upset. She said:

“You’re really stressing me out. I’m retired. I don’t want to stress out. I don’t do this for the money, I do it for the cats. I am really stressed and you make me feel like I’m doing something wrong. Can you find another sitter? I’m a really anxious person and this doesn’t make me feel good. I’m so anxious that I saw your flowers dying and I watered it. Also I brought you cheese that you liked and put it in your fridge. Can I take your trash out? This is just who I am, I like to do things for people”.

When I said I can find another sitter, she said “I know they won’t be good though.” When I said “you don’t have to water the plants or take the trash out” she just kept saying she is a giver.

I texted her afterwards that she doesn’t have to drop by anymore because we’ll be back the next day and I don’t want her to stress anymore. She said she’s not stressed anymore and she can keep coming. I said I insist she doesn’t.

We came back today and I sent my boyfriend to pay her and get our key back. From what he told me, she immediately said “your girlfriend is a really stressful one”. He was stunned and just apologized for the way things ended up and let her know we found someone else for the next trip. She then said things like “I thought we would be good friends, my son also really liked you guys but I don’t see that happening anymore. I’m really disappointed in the way I was treated. I don’t understand.” My partner did his best to end the conversation and leave. Her last words were “you’re being distant. Why are you being weird? Fine, leave.”

I’m really shocked about how this ended up and am almost even worried knowing she had my key and access to my apartment for a week. I’m wondering if I should say something, reach out to apologize or should just leave it. Even considering changing the locks at my apartment. I just feel really weird about this. Never had an issue like this with a pet sitter, my instructions aren’t difficult. Many sitters I worked with on Rover never had issues administering or understanding the responsibilities. I also paid her what she asked for, $20/visit (her visits were 10-15min).

I will say I texted her a lot but that was mainly because this is my first time with her and she did not update me some days unless I reached out first. I also just wanted to make sure she was becoming familiar with the medication regimen, but normally for other sitters I didn’t have to because they gave me lots of pictures and confirmations of everything.

What do you guys think?

Hi! I’ve been dog sitting and dog walking for several months and recently created my own small business so move off of the third party apps. I have several dogs of my own and genuinely love being around them. I have 10+ years of high level operations management experience. Just share that note to express that I look at this as a professional business opportunities spending time with dogs. Makes my heart so full.

Just wondering if anyone out there has pursued becoming a dog trainer. How did you do it? What was your experience like? Any regrets?

Thanks so much!

I was pet sitting an older golden retriever for a week while his owners were out of town. Every night before bed, he would quietly sit by the front door for almost an hour like he was waiting for them to come home. On the last night, I sat beside him and he rested his head on my lap without looking away from the door once. When his family finally came back the next morning, I realized he had been keeping hope alive every single night.

Hi everybody,

I am currently a dog walker and pet sitter for a neighbor of mine and I’ve been doing that for about six months now. I’ve dog sat for them many times. Sometimes as long as a week straight. They have a younger dog that is about a year old and an older dog who I think is about 13 years old.

The family recently told me that they were planning to put the older dog down this week. However, I feel conflicted because I don’t believe it’s ‘his time’ yet. I definitely trust the family and I don’t think they would do this on a whim. Maybe there is an underlying condition that I haven’t been told and don’t feel that it’s my place to ask? His hearing is mostly gone. He can still see fine and he’s on a joint medication, but is well enough that he can jump on the couch and get up and down the stairs. Sometimes he will pee himself in his sleep, but other than that, he really seems to be in good health, which makes me question their decision.

Obviously, I want to be respectful and understanding during this tough time. I’ve brought him lots of treats and even made a dog cake for him. I took lots of pictures and made a picture frame that I will give to them next week after their vet appointment. Tomorrow is the last day I will see him. Is there any way to appropriately ask why they made this decision before it’s too late? I’ve worked with many dogs who are in much worse conditions than he is and he’s not in a state (at least from the outside) that I would consider end of life treatment necessary. I don’t see him in pain at all. I really just don’t know how to address it.

Any and all ideas, suggestions, advice, and similar stories are appreciated! Thank you all 🫶

i worked as a vet assistant before i started pet sitting, so i know a little bit about pain from arthritis. the dog i am pet sitting is senior and usually gets a monthly shot for it. owner decided not to take the dog to the vet before leaving it to me. she left the dog with long nails, smelling bad and without the shot. dog is clearly in pain and needs to go to the vet. it’s a senior dog and she also has another younger puppy that she took with her. i know that this might sound rude, but i hate it when they pay attention more to one pet compared to the other- especially the younger one.
it’s like they completely forget about their senior dog and think that it’s ok to leave it in distress and pain. i’m trying to do whatever i can to help the dog for now, but there is not much i can do without the owner’s consent. i was thinking of giving it a bath at least and trimming the nails.

Hi everyone, I rarely ever get sick, and most of my clients are very understanding when I do. I think I may be coming down with something right now and I’m worried about addressing it with one of my current pet sitting clients. This owner was very insistent that their dog needed walked for 2 hours per day (1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening). If I do get sick, I don’t think that I can do that. That is a lot of walking. I can absolutely still care for this dog, but I’m not sure how to let the owner know that I may not be able to do the full two hours every day.

What would you all do?

I swear to God I am going to have to eliminate Boomer women from my client lists. It’s like their brains have all quit functioning. First of all, I am a recent widow and both of my dogs died so I am barely holding it together. I have been pet sitting since 2018, so I’m not an idiot.

Client #1 confirmed her set of 2 dates MULTIPLE TIMES via text and FB Messenger, but when I show up for the first visit, there she is at her house. Both sets of dates are incorrect. I try to be patient bc she had a brain tumor last year, but I can’t work with incorrect information.

Client #2 was very nice when my husband died, and is always telling me how wonderful I am and wants to chat on the phone all the time bc of my situation. Goes on a 10 day trip to Germany. I sent her an invoice the night before she leaves letting her know that I accept cash or check because I know she doesn’t use PayPal. This is not our first rodeo, but there is no check or cash when I get there so the day after she returns I asked her to please mail me a check because the mortgage is due. Nothing has come in the mail.

Client 3 pulls the same stunt as client 1. She sends me her memorial weekend visits and I show up Friday night to feed pixie and give her her meds but the client is there. She never once thought to tell me that they weren’t leaving Friday afternoon and she also neglected to tell me that she wanted visits Sunday night and Monday morning.

I do not read minds. Because if I did, I would have my own island somewhere with no people thank you for listening to my rant. I’m just so frustrated that something that has been done so many times is like a brand new situation they’ve never dealt with before.

Hey everyone, I need to vent and get some outside perspective. I’m an independent pet sitter, and I’m 99% sure I’m firing this client this week, but I want to make sure I’m not crazy.

The Background:
I have a client, "Sarah.” She’s been a client for over a year and goes away frequently and for longer periods with her family. She has booked me for summer dates in July and August. Historically, she is a slow payer.

I always have to send Venmo requests and follow up with "checking in" texts just to get invoices settled.

A couple of weeks ago, a different client flaked, so I politely reached out to Sarah to see if she still needed coverage for May 22nd–25th. She told me no, her niece had it completely covered, and she only needed me for one single overnight: Tuesday, May 26th to Wednesday, May 27th.

The Ambush:
Tonight (Memorial Day, May 25th), at 7:00 PM, she drops this text on me out of nowhere. For context, my usual arrival time for her house is 8:00 PM:
"Hey, just wanted to touch base. Make sure you’re headed over there tonight and tomorrow night. I think we fly home around seven Wednesday again just had dinner and their visit so they should be happy to see you. Door code is the same ***** Hopefully my niece left everything nice for you in the guestroom."

I panicked for a split second thinking I messed up my calendar. But I checked my data, and my memory was 100% correct. Her niece was supposed to be there tonight.

The niece clearly flaked last-minute to enjoy the holiday evening, and instead of Sarah being honest and asking for an emergency favor, she tried to gaslight me into thinking I was already scheduled so she could squeeze an extra night of holiday labor out of me.

My Response:
I refused to let her rewrite reality or ruin my holiday night. I also knew if I just said "no," she could try to negotiate or guilt-trip me. So I deployed a tactical boundary and replied:
"Hi Sarah. Oh no it looks like had a little mix up on dates. 😮 Our dates were just for tomorrow the night of the 26th, to the morning of the 27th, to take over after your niece finished up. I’m so used to doing multiple overnights that I definitely remember this one was only for one night! 😅 Since it’s Memorial Day, I’m actually out of town at a friend’s place for the night (over an hour away), so unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to even cover tonight. I look forward to seeing X and X tomorrow night!"

Her reply was incredibly flat and casual: "Oh, OK. Well, I will get them covered and plan on you coming tomorrow night."

No apology for the "mix-up," no screenshots to back up her claim, nothing. If it was a genuine mistake, she would have argued or checked receipts. Tonight, she just folded immediately because she knew she got caught trying to manipulate me.

But the sheer entitlement of trying to trick me into this one hour before arrival on a major holiday has left a terrible taste in my mouth.

I plan to wait until my overnight tomorrow is over, secure my payment, and then possibly send a professional cancellation text wiping her from my July and August calendar.

What are your thoughts? Would you drop her immediately after this? How would you handle this?

I’m a solo pet sitter and recently gained reoccurring Monday-Friday dog walks. Usually when I go away (which is rare), I just don’t book any pet care. This time is not that easy.

How do I tell them I’m going away? Do I need to be detailed or just say I won’t be in town? I will be suggesting a back up walker, they will have to schedule the meet and greet with the backup walker (I can assist with it! But just to explain that it’s another pet sitter company)

- I’m leaving for maybe half a week in July for my sisters baby shower. I have coverage that can take my walks if they’d like to use her.

- I’m also going to need to leave pretty last minute when she goes into labor (she lives out of state). This will mean extremely short notice for the rest of the week. I have a couple options for last Minute coverage

Do you require up front payment? Usually waiting on a client to pay until 2-3 days after they return from a trip...and it is a demanding client.

First time watching this little fellow, and I thought it would go well because it’s a nice home and the owners seem friendly and organized

Well, after three days, this dog poops a ton inside sometime in the middle of the night. I think it’s a fluke, but then it happens every day after that. I’m here for two weeks and I let this guy outside at least five times a day, and this happens. A few nights ago I let him outside for a quick bathroom break before bed (he had been sleeping most of the day) He peed outside and that was all he wanted to do. We get up to the bedroom and while I’m in the bathroom, he poops in the bedroom.

Everytime he goes to the bathroom outside, he gets a treat. But I think he just pees and then doesn’t understand he needs to go poop outside as well.

I also wonder if the owners lied to be about his age because they told me he’s ten, and this is not ten year old dog behavior. This is puppy behavior. I once pet-sat an 11-month year old, and it was this.

So, I don’t know what to do because on top of the dog pooping every time I go to bed or leave for a couple of hours, the owners home is making me sick. I realized it’s their dirty humidifier in their hvac, and it’s covered in this calcium. It’s basically acting like a giant dirty humidifier that spreads all these particles throughout the house, making my throat hurt and leaving me coughing like crazy.

The crazy part, is that I called them out on this before our sit even began, and I asked them if their HVAC had any issues beforehand. They said no, but nope! It’s barely blowing out air and it’s made the basement 60% humidity and I think it’s even higher than that because my ears hurt because of the humidity in the house. It’s just so chaotic.

I haven’t told them any of this and just am trying to get through the sit. I don't know why I would even say.

My entire family is leaving for vacation this summer for a WEEK. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats, and I can’t comprehend the thought of leaving them for an entire week. My parents said they wouldn’t force me to come, but everybody wants me too. The other thing is, I am 14 and do not have a license. So, I’d be stuck here for the entire week. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to go on vacation. But I don’t understand how people just leave their dogs so casually?? Any advice helps!

I have a client who expects us to walk her dogs every day at a drop in visit, and the drop in rate is only $15. Walking a dog obviously takes more time.

She is also very particular and rigid about what time we go. She wants us there at 7am for the first visit (really early for us, and none of our other clients ask for that - she even demanded we come at that time over the holidays when I told her 8:15 AM was the earliest we could do), then dinner time, then 9 or 10:30 PM for the last visit.

Basically, she wants the perks (timing wise) of a house sitter or a pet sitter who is staying there while paying for drop in visits. Do people do drop in visits at 7am or 10:00/10:30 PM? Are walks included? TY!

What do you, as a pet sitter look for before and during the meet and greet when hiring a new sitter to watch your pets? What do you look for during the visit that will make you want to hire them again?

On the other side of that, what are red flags that you look out for during the process?