To expect dog sitter to....

[365BeachDays]

Walk dogs daily, regardless of weather, to an extent of course.

Clean up dog mess from garden.

Send updates/photos etc.

Keep house in decent condition - I.e, the way it was before.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

TIA

I would do whatever the owner required to maintain the dogs care as close to normal/usual as possible.

Pick up shit
Clean up any messes I make, and keep the house as it was when I arrived.
Walk dogs however many times a day their dog is walked or as arranged.
Entertain/train/play games with dogs
Groom/brush as necessary
Feed/water/give relevant medications

I've had some odd arrangements in some cases - one lady allowed me to take two of my own dogs with me, for a 3 week stay. She provided food for mine as the logistics of taking enough raw, frozen food for 3 weeks were silly and hers were raw fed anyway - she obviously got a discount as a result. We re-jigged how her dogs were walked to take into account I also had to walk my own each day (and walking all four together was not a smart idea!)

Another stay elsewhere, I had to bleach and jetwash the back yard twice a week, to ensure her dog hating neighbours didn't complain.

I would not consider the job 'dog sitting' if I didn't do all the above stuff though - the job is to care for someone elses dog, in the way they want them cared for!

@Weflewinstyle no, we haven't paid for this level of service multiple times. We accepted that she wasn't perfect - I.e, shorter walks than we'd have liked, house a tad messy, having to nudge for updates, but this time was on another level. We accepted those things before because we felt our dogs were being looked after generally and were safe. There's a huge difference between walking a dog for 30 minutes less than you'd like and not walking them at all.

Oh and to clarify, she was staying overnight and walks, updates etc were agreed when we first started using her. I said that walks weren't necessary in really hot weather or monsoon like rain. We had neither of those things.

The price hasn't changed, so her standards and services shouldn't have changed either.

Raise it with her

You're totally bonkers to have kept using someone that useless tbh

@Actiongirlalltheway she really wasn't useless though. A shorter walk and sporadic updates isn't useless. As I said, it wasn't great, but this is very much on another level.

Why are you thinking of paying? She hasn’t fulfilled her side of the contract. I would detail what she has done, ask her if there is anything to add and pay pro-rata. You wouldn’t pay if someone left you with a half a bathroom when you had agreed they’d put a whole one in. It is no different.

I don't expect daily updates from my cat sitter. I assume if the cat decides to move to Vegas and start smoking bongs, she'll let me know. Otherwise, I'm not bothered.

I dog sit for friends for free whilst holding down a fulltime job and I’d do all those things to the dog’s usual schedule! Even during that heatwave last year the dogs were getting at least 5k of walks a day by going out at the crack of dawn and again once the sun went down at night. Plants in the garden were watered, kitchen was as clean as I found it, floors were vacuumed (dogs were hairy but they brought in a lot of dry grass!), bed stripped and I did a quick wipe in the en suite because who wants to come home from holiday to a mess?!? this weekend it’s been so wet that both me and the dog needed a shower after walkies because we got so wet and dirty!

I can’t imagine not being happy with the first time I left my beloved dog with a sitter - and then carrying on rebooking knowing that I’m leaving her with someone who clearly doesn’t really give a toss

I would not be happy! 2 walks in a whole week? And ignoring your messages? I think it’s rude and a ##$$ take
can you question her to as is all ok? Perhaps there was something going on in her life? Or that she wasn’t comfortable with the job? Is she a professional sitter? As in insurance and regular dog sitter? I think I would question her cost of the service you received as I don’t think it’s fair you are paying for a service that you did not receive, nor are happy with

You absolutely do not pay for a service that you didn't receive. I know you're not going to use her again as you know how she's taking the piss but I would be really really steaming if I found out that others had used her, she behaved like this, providing a shoddy service - which is bordering on cruel, - and never pulled her up on it. The next person may not be as lucky as you with concerned neighbours and an outdoor camera.
My two would be so stressed if that was how they were treated, I would be imagining all sorts, if she cared so little about them to not bother walking them, did she interact with them at all? if mine don't get greeted, petted, talked to (as if they were toddlers😊) when we come home they would think they had done something wrong and retreat back to their beds.
Dogs thrive on routine and familiarity and although ours are well looked after and cared for when we go away they still miss us and go berserk when we come back.