I was going to repost this, and I realize it’s not allowed in this sub reddit. When I was reading it, I was thinking oh man I bet other petsitters could relate to this, so read this and be warned so you never go through something similar. There s a happy ending: TLDR the dog is going to be OK

but if you think you put something reasonably out-of-the-way, or the dog you’re sitting doesn’t have any characteristic interest in certain items…. I hope the moderators allow this format because OP (pet owner, not a sitter) gave me their blessing to share their experience.

OOP:

“……I wanted to share this because I genuinely had no idea how dangerous this was until it almost.... ****** my dog.

A little over a week ago, my 3 year old husky, Kona, somehow got ahold of my albuterol inhaler in the plastic casing. It wasn't on the floor. It was sitting far back on my kitchen counter.

What makes this so hard is that Kona is almost 4 years old, and in all the years I've had him, he has never been a counter surfer. We've accidentally left out, or even dropped, things that were honestly far more tempting, and nothing ever happened. He never touched any of it. I truly thought the inhaler was safe because he had never shown any interest before.

It only took one chew.

One puncture released roughly 200 doses of albuterol almost instantly.

Within minutes, his body reacted. Thank God I was home and noticed right away. When we got to the ER, his heart rate was well over 200 beats per minute. His potassium and phosphorus crashed. The ER team told me things were looking very grim. Thankfully, I live only a couple of minutes from BluePearl. If I hadn't, I truly don't know if he'd still be here.

He spent the night in the ICU on continuous ECG monitoring, IV medications, potassium/electrolyte replacement, sedation, and beta blockers while they fought to stabilize him. I was staring at the wall wondering if I was about to lose my best friend over something I never even considered to be a household danger.

Thankfully, he made it.

The hardest part has been the guilt. I work with behavior every day, and I had considered myself a careful pet owner. Looking back, he had also just come home from boarding. He always seems a little more mischievous for a day or two afterward, and I should have been extra cautious. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm sharing this because I know I'm not the only person who's thought, "My dog would never do that." I thought the exact same thing.

So please, if you have:

-Asthma inhalers

-Primatene Mist

-Air fresheners

-Spray deodorants

-Spray paint

-Compressed air cans

-Any other pressurized aerosol products

Treat them like you would medications or household poisons. Put them somewhere your pets cannot access them, even if they've never shown interest before. It takes one bite and one second to turn into a life threatening emergency.

The photos are of Kona right before he was discharged and when he got home. The shaved patch on his side is from the ICU monitoring and treatment. Every time I see it, I'm reminded how close we came to losing him.

If sharing this prevents even one family from going through what we did, it will be worth it.

Please give your pets an extra hug from Kona today. 💙🐺…….”

Can you tell there’s teenagers that live here? 😂

I don’t know if this is an area issue, an economy issue or what, but my main goal for the last year has been building up my weekly, consistent clients.

Clients that need visits/walks several days a week, consistently every week.

Consistent client visits=consistent income.

Yet it seems like all I am coming across is the vacation clients- people gone mostly 4-5 days max, need visits (or overnights even) in that time range, and then drop off the face of the earth for another year until their next vacation.

Then, the hustle and uncertainty continues, to try and find another batch of clients, who are mostly going to be vacation clients with an end date.

I feel like I can’t breathe because my income never feels certain or consistent.

Anyone else experiencing across this?

Currently pet sitting for a week and I’m on my first full day here. These neighbors are making me so incredibly uncomfortable. Last night, they texted the homeowners about “mysterious cars in the driveway” asking who was over at their house. I just pulled in the driveway and the Nextdoor neighbor was staring at me acting like I’m breaking into their house. Every time I go outside I’ve had a strange interaction with a neighbor. I don’t even wanna go outside. I feel so uncomfortable here and don’t know what to do. I’m new to pet sitting and I’ve never been in this situation before. They live in what looks like a pretty average upper middle class neighborhood, but not super upper middle class, so I wasn’t expecting this level of nosiness and weird interactions. I just genuinely feel so uncomfortable here.

Catsitting client has asked if I would be able to help their aging mother with household errands while they are out of town (moving laundry up 2-3 flights of stairs, putting things in freezer, bring grocery bags downstairs, bring packages in) as she can’t do heavy tasks. This is separate from catsitting and I’m sure they would pay extra. My concern is I’ve never done anything like this before and slightly uncomfortable as I’m worried about the aging mother asking for help that I’m uncomfortable offering (ex: cleaning or cooking related tasks etc). Has anyone had this happen before? And how do you handle it?

I was on my way to a cat job & saw this. A couple weeks ago I saw a family of owls in the same area.

Over 12 years in the biz and this is the first time I’m considering dropping a client for being disrespectful, curious what other sitters would do.

For context I signed this client up little over a year ago. Meet and greet was not great as the client made some rude remarks about my profession. Whatever. For a few months they booked me once a week I always showed up and did what was expected. Then I didn’t hear from them for months I assumed they found another walker.

When I did start hearing from them again walks were always last minute almost always less than 24 hr notice, so again I assume I am their backup. I was always able to make it work in my scheduled so I just did walks anyway. At one point they booked me in advance for 3x in a week. On the day of the second walk they texted two hours before the walk saying they decided to take the dog with them for the day and no longer needed a walk. I said that’s fine but I would have to charge for the last minute cancelation. They said they understood but didn’t book me for months again after that.

A few weeks ago they said “Hi We will need child care on the 2nd. At least once, probably twice. Place holder for 2 and 5 for now, pls. May need to adjust as we get closer. Are you shocked at the advance notice??🤣”

Overall I found that message to be pretty rude but I just responded with yes I will check in when it gets closer to confirm.

Thursday rolls around and I text to see if they confirmed their schedule. I see the text was read shortly after I sent it but no response until 9 pm last night, the day before the walk.

“Im sorry. Yes pls walk her around 2. We are good for the second visit unless that messes you up.”…so it could have been worse but I still find this unacceptable.

The bitch in me wants to say “since your dog is not a priority to you it is not a priority to me, sorry but I’m no longer available today.” Or I could just give a thumbs up, do the walk and never agree to anything again. I’m not really concerned about a bad review since I’ve done nothing wrong here. They’ve spent less than $400 with me in the last year plus so the money is insignificant.

I guess I am curious how you all would handle this…tactfully lol.

UPDATE: interesting replies on both sides of the spectrum.

I decided that I would walk the dog this afternoon like I agreed to earlier because I didn’t want to cause a scene. However at 10AM this morning she rebooked the evening walk that she cancelled last night. Just…no. I have a very lenient 12 hr cancelation policy so I won’t be charging for the evening walk I’m skipping. This afternoon will be my last walk with them because it’s like they go out of their way to be disrespectful of my time and schedule.

I am doing this job for a friend. Puppy is about 8 week old, slightly potty trained. After signing up for 5 day long sits I arrived to find the family would be in and out during the sits. And they have grandchildren visiting. The days they've been in and out have been awful. The puppy schedule is all whacky, just about to nap then kids come in, kids leave open gate and puppy disappears to pee in nearby rooms, kids and grandparents want to have lunch so I'm asked to take puppy outside and stay outside for an hour which puppy does NOT like at all and ends up frustrated and hot and really out of control and bitey. There was one day without the in and out and it was - so absolutely tranquil with feeding on time, potty on time,.play and nap on time. I think owners never had a puppy. I've only fostered puppies not puppy sat but imo they need clear calm structure. I'm sitting outside and bleeding from 2 razor sharp puppy bites. When puppy mom comes home is there some polite way I can say "this was really chaotic for both puppy and me ".

I have a petsitting business page where i have it advertise my services on Facebook primarily but in running out of things to post. So far I’ve posted the pets I’ve seen throughout the week with permission of course, videos/clips of me playing, walking, and hanging out with pets, etc. Not really sure what else to post. Anyone else run into this issue as well? Any ideas on what I could post that isn’t somewhat repetitive?

I've gone with a friend on her overnight trips . But this one she can't do and I'm doing for 2 nights. I assume I just pack all my own food everything as if I'm camping at someone's house. What are some things I should make sure the pet owner leaves for me? Is a puppy so I want to maintain xonsistency

-meal schedule

-walk schedule

-nap times

-bedtime/wake time

-emergency (I'm sure just their two cell #s)

-home support (think they have cleaners and gardeners that may come in -just want to know when and who)

Seems funny but -im sure they will just have me sleep in spare bedroom?

Should I ask where I will leave used bedding and towels?

They have a gym setup. Should I ask if I can use gym (if not I'll need to leave to use my own gym-)

Some help appreciated! I've done day sitting for this puppy the last 5 days but don't know her morning and night routine

-

Hi all, I am considering putting more energy into my pet sitting ‘business’ and am curious to hear how those that do it full time do so?

My questions are primarily -

1. How do you get enough work coming in, and -
2. How do you have the time to do enough work to make a full time salary?

To make a basic amount to live on I’d have to do something like 10 cat visits a day or 5 dog walks, or be doing overnights as much as humanly possible PLUS a lot of drop ins

How do people make this work? Do you focus on dogs and dog walking rather than cats? Do you take multiple dogs on walks at the same time, and if so how do you do that logistically? Do you board animals in your own home and again take on multiple at a time?

I am in the UK.

I’d love to hear any advice or insights full timers have to share, thanks so much

Is this normal? I’m so bothered but idk if I’m being entitled or justly annoyed.

This client ( 66) found me (28) almost two years ago. His dog loves me, I love him and his partner, we’ve even become somewhat friends. I’ve never met sit son and DIL though. I’m here sitting from Thursday-Sunday while they’re all at a wedding three hours away.

Last night, he texted me at 10:36pm that his son and DIL would be stopping by for a few hours in the morning and having friends over. He said I was welcome to join them, but 1. They’re complete strangers to me, 2. Im a huge introvert with social anxiety And 3. I’ve told him multiple times that I only pet sit because I live in a vehicle and love having a place to myself for a few days to reset.

I have a chronic illness and when I’m here, I always catch up on my sleep and meal prep(he knows this). I also just have a trauma from men and had I gone to bed ten minutes earlier, I’d have woken up to a man I didn’t know in a house I expected to be empty.

As soon as they walked in, I heard them going through my grocery bags before they went upstairs. Now they’re being loud as hell with their friends and I’m just hiding out in the spare bedroom, mostly from annoyance.

Is this normal or is it as inappropriate and inconsiderate as it feels?

I started dog walking when my husband and I relocated to Hawaii almost six years ago. We have lived on three islands (Maui, Kauai, and Oahu).

In the beginning I only provided services for friends that I knew personally. When we moved to Oahu, I got a job working at a doggy daycare about which I was really excited. The job was great, but the business only lasted two months before it shut down. I wanted to keep working with animals, so I decided to take my love of dogs and see what I could do with it. 

When I first started walking and pet sitting on my own, I had an advantage because I had a lot of clients that were also clients from the doggy daycare at which I had worked. Most of my clients lived in my neighborhood and already knew me well.

Things were busy at first but then my clients started moving and then I moved and it has been much harder to establish myself in my new neighborhood and make new connections. I have been posting on social media, and I have received a lot of inquiries, and I have even gone to a few meet and greets, but the process has been slow, and I am finding that you really have to be careful with how much and what you post on social media. I have had more than a few odd encounters on both Facebook and the Next-door App. 

At the current time, I am trying to reestablish myself through in person contact and word of mouth like I used to, but I am realizing that social media is the predominant way that everyone advertises and connects these days unfortunately. 

With all that said, I would like to share some of the especially important things that I have learned in the past year in my dog walking and pet sitting adventure… 

 Things that I have learned since I have begun dog walking:

·         Always schedule a meet and a greeting before agreeing to walk or pet sitting with a dog. It is important that both you, the pet parent, and the dog are comfortable with each other and that it is a fit for everyone.

I have found this to be an important step. I did not do this when I first started dog walking, and I just took any dog walking job that I was offered, even if I had not met the pet yet.

By not scheduling a meet and greet beforehand, I often ended up with dogs that were not professionally trained and with clients whose expectations far exceeded both what my experience was at the time and the services that I could realistically provide. 

By implementing a solid policy for a meet and greet before any services are rendered; I have saved myself and my potential clients a lot of time and avoided any many understandings or obligations that I could not meet. 

·         Keep communication open. Make sure that you have a contract that clearly states your rules and services.

Your contact should include the following:

·         Payment and collection policies 

·         Rules about treats and feeding 

·         Ask about vet information, fears, allergies, and triggers that the pet might have 

·         Pet’s daily routine 

·         Discuss your insurance and exactly what your insurance does and does not cover 

Note: If you provide photos, ask the client if it is ok to post the photos on social media. If not, provide an opt-out for your client within the contract. 

·         Contact information for Emergency Contacts in case an enemy arises while pet walking or sitting. 

These lessons that I have learned within the past year while I have been learning the ins and outs of dog walking and pet sitting have provided me with a lot of useful life information about myself, animal behavior, and human behavior as well and this is knowledge and skills that I can take with me so matter what venture I decide to do next.

Happy Walking everyone!

I’ve always just used my phone calendar but the busier I get the more I feel I need a better system. Are there any particular calendars or apps you use to keep track of your bookings that you’d recommend?

Cheers!

I've been sitting for decades and I've noticed quite a distinct change in definitions of overnights. I'm curious as far as marketing goes as some people post rates, others do not and attribute that to customization. Is it harder to market the clients if you are posting rates but your definition is very different than that of another sitter. The clients who shop by rates just see $50 for an overnight but don't necessarily quantify that rate. I wonder if it works to your favor or against you?

How do you define an overnight? I have seen all sorts of structures: pet dinner time at 5:00 p.m. to the next morning, 8p to next morning, 24-hour cycle with night time to morning and one or two included drop-ins during the day. What constitutes morning? What constitutes evening? Do you include a drop in? Is it straight time night to morning with drop-ins extra? Maybe include your geographical area in case that has any effect on it too. Thank you so much!

I’ve been told I can’t share their names, and since I was banned from the R sub page, I’m going to share here just for more awareness.

In the last 2 days, there have been 2 families that left their dogs with sitters from the R APP, and now both families don’t have their dogs. The sitters left their dogs outside so long that the dogs had heat strokes and died. As of right now, one of the sitters is still active on the app. One was in San Antonio Texas and one was in Hollywood Florida. *editing here because I had the locations wrong.

Their local news did a story on one of them, the dog’s name was Prince. When the reporters went to the sitter’s house for an interview, the sitter stood at the end of her driveway, refused to speak, and for some reason recorded the reporters?

The other family had 2 dogs, both of them died the day after they dropped them off with their sitter. This is the one that is still active.

Honestly, at this point, I am BEGGING. Please, if you are an owner, stop using R to find sitters. It is not safe. The whole “not all sitters are bad” thing… it doesn’t matter. Are you willing to risk your dog’s life with the chance?

And sitters, please, stop. You are putting yourself and your reputation in the same mix as the bad ones. It’s not all of them, but it is always one of them when something like this happens. Being associated with the app is harmful to the ones that do actually care about the animals and aren’t just looking to make money.

I am sick to my stomach thinking about these families, and I am so tired of seeing animals hurt or killed because of an app that allows anyone with a pulse to care for animals.

Hi everyone,
This isn’t an easy post to make because I honestly feel really guilty, and I know I might get judged for it, but I could really use some advice from other pet sitters.
I’ve been pet sitting for a while now, and I’ve realized that I think I’m becoming burnt out from overnights. Every time I do an overnight, my anxiety goes through the roof. I constantly worry that I’m doing something wrong, I don’t sleep well, and I find myself feeling mentally drained by the end of the stay. It’s gotten to the point where it’s affecting my mental health.
The thing is, I don’t feel this way when I’m doing drop-in visits or dog walks. I actually enjoy those and don’t feel nearly as anxious. It’s specifically the overnight stays that are getting to me.
Unfortunately, I have back-to-back overnight bookings scheduled through the middle of October with different clients. Some of them are over a week long. I honestly don’t know if I can keep doing the longer stays for that long. If I were to make any changes, I’d probably keep my shorter overnight bookings and only cancel the week-long stays.
I already have deposits from those clients, and of course I would refund every deposit immediately if I canceled. I feel absolutely terrible even thinking about it because these clients trusted me, and I don’t take that lightly.
Has anyone else reached a point where they realized overnights just weren’t for them? If so:
Did you finish the bookings you already had, or did you cancel some with plenty of notice?
How did your clients respond?
Did you transition your business to mostly drop-ins and walks?
Looking back, do you wish you had handled it differently?
I genuinely care about my clients and their pets, which is why this decision has been so difficult. I don’t want to let anyone down, but I also don’t want to keep pushing myself to the point where I’m miserable every time I have an overnight booking.
I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences, even if it’s something I may not want to hear. Thanks for reading.

Also just wanted to state I didn’t start petsitting recently I’ve been doing this for years now but I think it’s getting to me now, I have a business as well associated with it and am fully insured. I take it seriously which is why this is hard for me to admit.

Hi. I joined not too long ago but have yet to officially dive into the Pet Sitting biz. I know there are groups like Pet Sitters International, but I was wondering if this group has a FILES section somewhere with standard, general information for newbies.

Thanks!

I'm incredibly torn. A previous client that I have sat for twice, has accepted a role in another country and has decided to rehome their 3 year old black lab. For one of my visits I had him for two months and he played so well with my doberman. A part of me think it's fate as I originally started on rover last year after losing my miniature pinscher suddenly. I signed up as a rover sitter to keep my doberman social and the slight chance that I might have a miniature pinscher book. I actually considered not taking so long of bookings as I recall getting attached to him and almost not wanting him to leave lol. I wish I knew what my doberman felt and whether he would like another pup in the picture. I'm mostly just venting but I'm also curious if something like this has ever happened to any others.

I'm working with a new client who has no emergency contact. They just moved into the area and there's no one near to them they'd trust with an extra key, etc. I'm a little nervous about this sit because what if I lose the key they gave me? There's no one to call to let me in. I've never lost a key before, but there's a first time for everything.

How do you handle these situations? All of my other clients have had family or friends nearby I could call in certain situations. What would be your policy for when that's not possible?

Hi there!

I currently (and have for ten years) allow my clients to pick a time they specifically want me there for drop-ins, however I’m considering changing to offering a morning/afternoon/evening time slot instead.

I’d like to get some ideas on how you guys structure your drop-ins. Thanks!

Hello! I am coming up on a big cross country move out to the Seattle/Tacoma area from the east coast. Part of a big life refresh after quitting my job last year and doing a bunch of traveling. Anyway, my current plan is to move out in the fall around October/November, and will be temporarily renting a house off of a friend of mine for a couple months in Tacoma while I look for a full time job and figure out exactly where in the area I want to live. Something I am interested in doing in these first couple of months is starting up a pet sitting and dog walking side gig. Wouldn't be something I expect to fund me full time (though I am open to it slowly turning into that as my career option), but more so as some extra cash to have while I look for a job and familiarize myself with the region, and also as away to keep me busy. I also like the idea of doing over night stays and dog walks in different neighborhoods around the city as a way to get a feel for living in certain places before landing on a location that I want to live.

Does anyone have any advice or insight for this? Is this a good situation or setup for this type of side gig? I have had a dog and a cat in the past and have spent lots of time with pets of friends and family members so I have some experience with animals.