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Original poster

Could someone explain house/dog sitting to me?

84 replies

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:11

We're going away for a holiday and in a local group somebody offered to pet-sit for us. She seems like a decent middle aged lady who does tons for charity but just 2 weeks before our departure it has come clear that she expects to spend the night in our home. I don't think neither of us are necessarily comfortable with this, but we've never done it before. I'm almost certain she's not insured. DH thinks that maybe we should meet her and see what we think but also beg our groomer and see if he could take our doggie. We're also struggling to come up with an explanation that were uncomfortable with it without offending her.

OP posts:

3monkeybars · 04/05/2022 07:15

My parents are both retired and did this for a couple of years - house and dog-sitting, traveling around the country to (mostly huge, expensive) homes to look after dogs and make sure the houses were kept safe. They did this unpaid through a well-known website and loved the experiences.
While I think it's a great idea, I would never want someone I don't know living in my home and looking after my dogs so I get your opinion! When we go away we use a local dog walker/boarder who keeps dogs at her house, it's around £25 a day and I feel much more comfortable with this.

PlanningTowns · 04/05/2022 07:21

I checked with our insurance and was told it would be void if we used a pet sitter. They checked with the underwriter and we’re adamant that we would not be covered in the event of anything happening.

there are different pet sitters. Those that come to your home and use it as theirs whilst your away (so sleeping there), and those that drop in. Depends on the animals needs and your wants.

AtillatheHun · 04/05/2022 07:22

I always pay someone to stay at ours with our animals - it keeps them safe and fed first thing, and keeps the house safe.
I use people I know (our cleaner or similar) as did try one of the websites where people stay for free but They came without references, wanted to use our car l, and were generally insanely entitled in the face of a week in a really nice country house close to tourist destinations with a couple of cats to feed. People use them as free holiday accommodation so lots of the applicants were from eg Florida and wanting to visit the Uk (house in country / close to tourist etc) but then expected us to move our booked holiday for their preferred dates etc. it was bonkers and much easier to pay someone

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Dogs

rookiemere · 04/05/2022 07:31

Where did you think she would stay ?
I can't believe you would let someone look after your pet without meeting them, but if you have met the person then it's a great way for your dog to be looked after at home.

We have a lady through borrowmydoggy she's like a family friend now. I pay for the dog walker in the day as she's sometimes in the office and get her a voucher for dinner in a local pub, plus some presents from holiday. So overall it's probably around the same as boarding at the dog walkers but rookiedog loves her and she loves him.

If your groomer can take him the explain you checked on your house insurance and it doesn't cover someone staying.

Original poster

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:34

I didn't think she would stay... She's localish (as in 10-12mi drive) and thought she'd pop in the am and pm. She's supposed to come and visit on Saturday, but I do feel iffy about the whole situation (which I know is down to miscommunication).

OP posts:

Clymene · 04/05/2022 07:36

You have a dog and you think it will be okay at home alone with someone popping in twice a day?

DrDetriment · 04/05/2022 07:38

I'm not sure what you expected. A cat would be ok with someone coming in twice a day but it's totally inappropriate to leave a dog like that. They need company as well as walks which is why dog sitting requires an overnight stay.

Original poster

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:38

Yeah, as long as the conservatory door is open (where she spends most of the day) and access to the garden, with plenty of food and water, that'd be more than enough for her (plus walks obvs).

OP posts:

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 04/05/2022 07:38

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:34

You can't leave your dog home alone with two visits in 24h - that's basically animal neglect.

I'm a pet sitter (I do it for a living and I'm insured) and if a client wanted me to leave their dog home alone all night I would absolutely not be taking the job.

Dogs need far more care and company than that so of course she needs to stay in your home overnight.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 04/05/2022 07:39

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:38

Yeah, as long as the conservatory door is open (where she spends most of the day) and access to the garden, with plenty of food and water, that'd be more than enough for her (plus walks obvs).

That's neglectful.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 04/05/2022 07:40

And if knew someone was leaving their dog home alone like this (outside of a desperate emergency) I would report them and hope their dog got taken off them.

lassof · 04/05/2022 07:42

Oh dear! Where did you learn that it was okay to leave a dog alone in the house for a week? That is definitely not okay
Your options are:
dogsitter/other person stays at your house,
or,
dog goes to dogsitters/kennels

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 04/05/2022 07:45

We've used a trusted dog sitter before and she was great. It was very low stress for our dog to remain in her own home. The only thing for me is, I missed that feeling you get when you walk in from a holiday and your house looks immaculate - just how you left it. Obviously someone has been cooking and so on in the house so it looks more lived in on your return.

Original poster

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:48

Our dog doesn't spend any time with us at all in the evening. Maybe we were just naive but we didn't think she'd miss us. We go to our bedroom around 8 and she stays downstairs for the next 10-11 hours.

OP posts:

Original poster

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:50

She's our first dog together, and my first dog in the UK. My DM has a full time "dog nanny" so I genuinely had never thought about it.

OP posts:

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 04/05/2022 07:53

Onlyrainbows · 04/05/2022 07:48

It doesn't matter, you can't leave your dog alone for nearly 24h with no overnight company.

You must pay for care - either put her in kennels, pay for her to go to a licensed home boarder or hire a sitter to come and sleep in your home.

Dogs are sociable animals - leaving one alone all day with just two short visits is not appropriate. They're not cats or rabbits.

SillyLittleBiscuit · 04/05/2022 07:54

This can’t be for real. Poor dog.

Notcreativeatall · 04/05/2022 08:03

I know people who do dog visits like this- a friend of mine volunteered to look after my dog and it was only after a few confused messages that i realised that she was expecting to visit a couple of times a day rather than have the dog to stay- i think it depends on the dog. Mine is heartbroken if left alone for too long (i came home a couple of hours later than intended and DP had gone out- Dog was barking/crying) - i generally have my dog go and stay at a sitters house- i book through a website but always meet the sitter before hand.
Pet Sitting in your house seems a good idea - I'm just a bit uncomfortable with the security aspects and also having to tidy the place. Its also a bit odd as I've seen this described as the pet sitter doing a service for you (eg you pay them) or where they are basically getting free accommodation in return for a favour - I'd be a bit concerned about the latter as they may not be pet people/not be focused on the animal - also if they are doing it as a holiday it would be difficult to meet them. That said I'm really tempted by the latter- the dog sitting costs a fortune and our dog likes her home plus we live in touristy area which is in demand

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 04/05/2022 08:08

I have a dog walker who stayed in my house for a couple of nights when I was at a wedding. It did feel a bit strange having her stay in the house but at the end of the day it's what was right for my dog.

It cost £84 a night which I was happy to pay.

Clymene · 04/05/2022 08:08

Your poor dog. People like you should be banned from having pets

OutDamnedSpot · 04/05/2022 08:11

getting someone to pop in twice a day to feed, play and discard dead birds is what I do for my cat. You can’t leave a dog like that! That’s why we don’t have one, because we value holidays too much and work out of the home all day. Your plan wouldn’t be fair on the dog. It sounds like the potential sitter knows more about animal welfare and using her would be a much better plan than your idea of finding someone to nip in and out.

MiddleClassProblem · 04/05/2022 08:17

Does she not need the loo etc? That’s really sad. Even if she is a dog that likes her space that’s quite different to one that knows they are alone in the house.

and to consider someone you have never met? Crazy! How do you know you can trust them with your dog’s welfare? Dogs thefts are so common too even. No thanks.

I treat finding care for my dog very similar to finding childcare for my DD.

ShadowPuppets · 04/05/2022 08:22

Echoing others - I’m a cat owner and when we go away we have someone to come in and feed/play with him twice a day, but I’ve never known anyone with dogs to do that - they’ve always used a sitter or kennels or made a holiday dog friendly so dog goes with them. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve sadly accepted a dog would never work with our lifestyle.

crumpet · 04/05/2022 08:26

Far too long to leave a dog alone. Utterly wrong.

Corkball · 04/05/2022 08:29

You can’t leave a dog like that!!

I feel bad enough having a similar arrangement for our guinea pigs for a few days. If we’re away for a week i find somewhere for them to stay.

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