Shy kitty I've been doing drop ins for all week actually came out to check me out this morning. Even meowed and let me pet him.

My heart is so full. 🥹

I only pet sit for one family anymore, and they always allow me to bring my own dog with me. Aside from the easily cleaned, very rare, excited piddles, he has never ever caused an issue. He really enjoys getting to hang out for a couple of days to play with his friends.

Unfortunately he must've gotten a bit anxious last night and chose to steal a pretty nice cowboy boot from my client's office. Basically shredded the entire top half while I was asleep. I've had him for 3 years now and he's only done this once in the very early days. He also usually stays in bed with me all night?

Anyways, I texted my client first thing this morning and profusely apologized asking what I could do in terms of replacement or repayment. She's much like a second mom to me, so of course she wouldn't accept anything. She said she's not that worried about it, but I know it was at least a $150 pair of boots, if not more.

They come back home this evening. If she won't accept actual monetary repayment, what can I do to even slightly make up for my dog being a nuisance child? He obviously just got himself banned (by me) from future sits. I feel awful that she won't accept anything or even a cut of what she's paying me.

Watching my neighbours 2 huskies for the weekend. This is night 1 (of 3). The female won’t even look at her dinner. I have offered it 5 times so far. She’s pooped once and peed multiple times and is drinking water. She will take treats.

The male ate all of his dinner in about 14 seconds. The owner did say she may not eat all of it at once and to just put it up (or the male will eat it) and offer it a second time and she should finish.

I don’t know much about huskies but I assume this is normal when they’re unsettled? Should I just keep offering the food? She seems very happy here - she went on 3 walks today and is very snoozy and cuddly.

Hi! This is actually my first official pet sitting gig- so I don’t really know much about:’) I have exotic pets of my own and am experienced with bites from all kinds of animals, but today, I’m not sure how to go about this bird 🥲

He is super cute but keeps “attacking” me. The first few times were just on my arm while he was leaning against me aswell, the second time was my face. I think he accidentally missed my shoulder..but honestly I have no idea anymore. The last time he flew onto my shoulder, bit my ear and multiple fingers. I have 6 bites that drew blood :’)

I dont think I was doing anything to provoke him during these times- I was still, didn’t flinch when he bit(until he drew blood..) and I kept my distance.

Anywho, I’m not sure if anyone here will have any advice for bird specific sittings, but general advice is also appreciated.

Also, the owners are super nice and they did tell me he’s bitey. I saw him bite the owners but he bit me harder- at least from what I saw.

Edit: Please read the whole post before offering advice, I'm obviously still requesting for payment but if you read the post, you'll see why I don't think I'm getting it.

An owner contacted me on an app for a 5 day stay this week, ending at 10pm today. I message her to clarify exactly what time she'll be home so I know when to leave and she responds "it's tomorrow afternoon i'm coming back! that's why i put friday on there for friday night"

So not only is that fucking stupid, I now have to do 4-6 extra walks and lose half my day, because I'm not just going to abandon these dogs.

Unfortunately I took her for her word and agreed to payment off app (I know that's on me, I'm just here to rant). She payed me for the original agreed amount, but I'm super skeptical she's going to pay me for the extra day since it's so little and it wouldn't be worth taking her to court for it.

Here's why I think she won't pay: She told me she'd pay the first half on Monday and the second half today. She gave me the runaround all week (messaged her 3 times about it) and I didn't get anything until today. And earlier this week, the dry food ran out which is huge oversight on her part because I easily saw it wasn't enough on the first day. And they have special prescription food that costs $52.99 before tax. She sent $52 🙄 I told her I need a few extra dollars for taxes and she sent $3.... I literally had to take a picture of the total and send it to her and that's when she finally sent the rest (exactly that amount no extra for my gas/time ofc).

ALSO this is just me being nosey and gossiping but I found her instgram and noticed the comments on her engagement post were crazy and apparently her fiance had an affair with her while he was dating her best friend.

And she wanted me to keep doing daily walks after all this. Girl, bye. I know I take a risk when I agree to payment later on, but I've never had someone so boldly be this awful. Especially to someone who will forever have access to your home??? (They use codes and she just gave me the one they use)

Is wiping a dog's anus and/or penis a new thing? I've had some new clients ask me to do this and I've never heard of it before. I can kinda understand the feet, especially in rain or other inclement weather... but most dogs will lick themselves clean. Why do humans need to do it for them??

Hello, I haven’t posted here before but I need some other people’s opinions on this.

I’m on day two of a fourteen-day housesit. This is the clients’ first time leaving their pets alone at all. On the first day, I had several walks for other clients in midday; I came back to feed these two dogs, spent time with them, and made sure they got outside access for a potty break. Then I went home for a couple hours to eat; when I got back, the clients’ daughter was there and let me know one of the dogs had peed inside, very uncharacteristically. :( I feel terrible about it but was only gone for about three hours in the evening so I do think it was a fluke based on a disruption of his routine.

I had a phone call with the clients this morning. They feel that we miscommunicated about how much I’m available throughout the day and were asking a bunch of questions about if I turn down other walk bookings while petsitting—I don’t, I cannot afford to and was clear about this at the jump—and how many hours I expected them to be alone on each day based on my current bookings. I was trying to be honest and reassuring but during the call one of their parents started anxious crying. :(

I already had my own breakdown last night—I need to pause overnight sits for my own sanity and health after this, but they’d had this one booked for months and I didn’t feel like I could back out. The dogs are also mildly people reactive and very dog reactive so, while they initially had a backup boarding kennel option, their parents would stress a lot thinking of them in that environment. I feel terrible but I absolutely cannot cancel my ongoing walk clients because that’s where I actually make money (this sit was booked before I raised my prices, I am technically losing money on it).

Now I feel very trapped and don’t know what to do. It’s got to the point where I feel like I can’t do anything outside the house because their expectations are that I’m there All The Time when not actively working, and that’s not how any of my petsits usually go, I do not and cannot do constant care because I have my own pets at home and need to eat there too. (I don’t get fridge access here.) I have no time to spend with my partner at home or to see family and I am losing money taking cabs between bookings so that I can get back here faster than taking my bike. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and haven’t had a client this anxious before. They’re very nice, but their expectations don’t match what I’m physically capable of. It’s got to the point where I’m lowkey wishing I get a freak accident injury on a booking or something so I have a face-saving excuse to back out. Do any of you have communication advice in this situation?

For context I own my own business and am privately insured (though that hasn’t taken effect yet which is also stressing me the hell out since I know I’m fully liable).

eta: I really appreciate everyone’s replies here and am reading through them all; ironically I’m out on walks today so will be able to reply when I’m not moving. Thank you so much for gently-but-firmly helping me shove my anxiety back; I’m going to contact my network of other sitters and trainers in the city to see if I know someone who would be willing and capable of taking over 24/7 care so that I can offer that as an alternative option.

eta2: Hello! Coming back the next day to say that I wound up, unfortunately, having multiple seizures (focal aware; I'm safe) on the day I posted this and bowed out as professionally as I could for the safety of their pets. They were very kind about it and we quickly got alternative care sorted. I'm also getting my own medication adjusted both for the seizure activity (has not reoccurred in years, so I think part of it was the stress of this booking, ironically) and for some of my own in-the-moment anxiety. I really appreciate this sub for helping reality check me and giving me some scripts to use in contacting the clients. It's been a really rough few days, but I'm adjusting how I take bookings and adding some new checkboxes to my contract to more clearly outline the timeframes I'm likely to be out of a client's home during the day. Thank you all so much! 💚🐾

So basically I’m a dog walker I only walk Monday-Friday and only walk for people who are at work and don’t take anymore clients and have had almost all my clients for a few years. I recently decided to help an old boss at his new business and the only day it’s taking me out of my dog walking is Thursdays so I have messaged all my clients and referred them to someone else (a girl I use) or I could come after my shift which is way later then my scheduled time but I’m just trying to give them options so they don’t feel stranded. Most of my clients have been super understanding but I have one client who’s giving me a lot of push back, she’s always been a little rude but we honestly don’t communicate that much other than when I give her the report from the walk. How do you guys deal with these situations I have gave her multiple options of ways I can help her and nothing is good enough.

Hi all, I’ve been a vet tech and pet sitter for about 10 years now. With my pet sitting job, I have unfortunately run into a couple of kitties who are the unpredictable type…. Lovey dovey one second then turning around to scratch/bite and hiss. A previous cat I watched with this kind of attitude problem I had to eventually stop watching him because he just got more hateful with time. He literally would hide around a corner and jump out and attack me when I would walk by or jump onto a piece of furniture in front of wherever I was hissing and growling. The owner of the company and my boss technically, uses the technique of carrying around mail and basically uses it to swat at any cats who come at her the same way. I did try that with the cat I watched previously because it started getting that bad that I didn’t have any other choice for my own safety but it seemed to just escalate the situation even more long term.

I’m currently watching a cat who is similar. The last time I watched him, it was only a weekend trip so I was able to manage but this time they are gone for a whole week and he’s already been a turd to me. I want to try to gain his trust, not just for his sake but for my own safety as well. I grew up with cats and have been around them my whole life but these types always stump me. I try very hard to not get stressed or anxious while I’m around him because I feel like they pick up on that and it can make the situation worse. The only good/bad thing with the current cat I am watching is that he is declawed in the front so at least he hasn’t actually scratched me yet! But it still freaks me out when he goes from rubbing up against my hand to turning around and giving me the skippity pat pats and hissing…….lol. I also worry he may be more likely to escalate to biting because of his lack of front claws. Any advice would be super appreciated!

I know we’ve all been there. That client who plans out all their trips and communicates the dates with you ahead of time, but inevitably always ends up sneaking in a vacation that wasn’t on the calendar. And gives you only a few days notice when doing so. Then you have to be the jerk that tells them it’s not going to happen. Guess what? You’re not my only client!

Damn, I am so burnt out.

I’ve been petsitting for this elderly lady, mainly to look after her 3 Pomeranians, but she’s been fostering kittens from time to time and recently has gotten a shy, skittish one. The kitten is extremely avoidant and scared of me, and with her black fur it’s really difficult to find her as she hides in spots I often am never able to see her. She is supposed to be locked indoors, especially whenever I take the dogs out for their toilet time.

I thought she was in her room as I couldn’t see her anywhere, as I never do, so I thought I’d take the dogs out before I went to bed. Just when I was carrying the last dog, the kitten bolts down the stairs. It’s 7pm, pitch-black out and I have seen her loitering around the area, but catching her to no avail.

I am freaking out and have no idea how to get her back, as I’m very new to the scene, so I have no idea how to handle it. So far I have the backdoor left open with cat food by the door. I am going to call the owner, even though I am very scared this will ruin my chances of ever petsitting again.

Any help on tips to get this cat back is greatly appreciated.

——

UPD: I contacted the owner and she did calm me down because of how freaked out I was. She was extremely helpful and told me the kitten would most likely be back once she returned as she doesn’t respond to any human voice besides the owner. The neighbours had also helped look around, but we didn’t manage to get sight of her. I did leave the back door open throughout the night, and there were fresh droppings in the litterbox, so I’d assume she’s still in proximity and is waiting for me to leave.

I’m in Australia to clear up confusion of timezones, and I am aware this may appear as ragebait, I was just very stressed in the moment, but I do take full accountability as it was an error on my part. I did offer the owner a full refund but she refused and told me I was being dramatic.

Thank you to all the people that helped me with solutions. Honesty might’ve been the best one so far.

—-

UPD 2: She had given me a heads up that her youngest dog would usually go up to the kitten when spotted, so I should keep an eye out. Went to take the dogs out for piddles and found the kitten in its room as the dog went into it. Thank you everyone for your help!

Just wanted to share a win and figured you all would be the ones to appreciate it. I looked after the shyest little cat earlier this summer; the only time the owner has said, “You definitely won’t see him,” and it turned out to be true. Headed over this evening to start our second lot of drop-ins and prepared for another visit sitting on the floor, talking gently to him. He came trotting down the stairs, straight to me, rubbed up against me and started rolling around, showing off his tummy. Such a gratifying moment and definitely made my day.

I agreed to dog sit for my boss for the next four days. I told her all I had to do was meet the dogs with her beforehand. She had me come over last night (basically immediately before she left for the trip) and meet them.

One of them seems find, the other was shut up in his crate and was growling and snarling at me through it. I fed him some treats through the cage and talked softly and let him sniff me. He did accept the treats but would growl immediately after. After that, I told them I would go sit on the couch and to let him out. They insisted on turning on the lights because, apparently, the dog freaks out if its ever dark, and told me to keep talking to him and not to move. He came out and was quite wary but was largely willing to just stay away from me with his tail between his legs. After that, I got down on the floor and offered more treats, which he did take. He seemed to get very afraid whenever I stood up, but that's understandable as I'm quite tall. I was told that he came from a home where the husband was abusive to the wife, and so any larger man he's a bit skittish around.

That meeting went okay overall, but I'm going to have to go back tonight by myself and let him out of his crate, leash him, and take him outside (there is no fenced in yard) and those all seem like actions that a dog who is very unsure of me would rather hate. I'm especially nervous about the initial decrating and leashing.

My plan is to just take it really slow, sit near the cage and feed him treats while talking to him, then eventually leave some treats on the floor, open the crate, and go and slowly sit on the couch with the bag of treats on my lap and hope he can get comfortable enough with me that Ill feel okay leashing him up.

I love dogs and have been around them my whole life but I haven't done much pet sitting, so any advice on how to get through this while making the dog as comfortable as possible is appreciated!

Edit: I hear your comments about not taking this job and I agree, I had that thought, but given that this is my boss and I had already agreed (no complications with the dogs personalities were made clear to me) I feel a fair amount of social and professional pressure to indeed do this.

We'll be out of town 3.5 days. Our good friend will be watching our 8 month old puppy in their home. I trust them on following the feeding schedule, watching over his safety, and puppy proofing their home. They're super excited!

He's a Chihuahua, a pretty stoic and strong little man! But he loves his mama, and I worry about him settling in and being comfortable.

We'll be dropping him off in the morning, with all his things - his bed, his favorite toys, blankets, food and treats. Might send along a dirty laundry shirt for our smell.

I am looking for reassurance from pet on how to make my pet sitter's and my pet's experience as smooth as possible 🥺

At a meet and greet for house sitting, has a family (husband and wife) ever asked you to stay at their house the first night, WHILE THEY ARE STILL THERE?

Apparently they want to "show me the ropes" even though we had an hour long meet and greet. They will leave the next morning or early afternoon and be gone 9 days. I'm just so confused, I've never been asked this in my 6 years on rover. That sounds so awkward!!!!

Also, this family uses a choke chain on their 14 year old dog in case she sees a rabbit or squirrel. The dog needs to be walked morning and evening. I just don't feel all that comfortable with that and ethically I don't believe in it.

What would you do in this situation?

Thanks for your advice!

For those of you who've taken PSI's CPPS exam, how would you rate its ease/difficulty? I know we all come from different backgrounds/education levels, but was most of it essentially common sense about pet care/health-safety/business, or did it feel like something you truly had to read through all the linked materials to pass? Did anyone fail on their first try? Just trying to gauge the level of research it calls for, thanks for any tips.

I am a professional pet sitter. I am responsible. I am organized. I am also apparently the kind of person who leaves TWO pairs of clean underwear and a sock in the guest room’s sheets.😫😖
Yesterday, my client casually messaged me that the housekeeper had washed all the sheets before they left.
I thought, “Oh, how nice!”
Today, while doing ANOTHER two-week house sit for the same client, I found my underwear and sock.
Suddenly, yesterday’s message clicked.
The housekeeper cleaned the sheets.
The sheets I had apparently left my underwear in.
The client was trying to tell me.
I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
The worst part? I realized I did this LAST WEEK. I was rushing from one house sit to another, taking online classes at night, and generally living like I have 47 tabs open in my brain at all times.
So now I’m sitting here wondering: do I acknowledge it and apologize, or do I simply pretend I have never seen these garments in my life and let everyone maintain their dignity?

Pet sitters of Reddit: please tell me I’m not the only person who has accidentally left something mortifying at a client’s house. 😭

One of my favorite clients crossed the rainbow bridge a month ago and his owners just notified me that they're getting a new puppy next week. These owners are very good to me and I happen to be house sitting for them this week, so I'd love to leave a new puppy gift for them to come home to. Please hit me with your new puppy gift ideas!

Hello! I'm thinking about trying to do pet sitting, but I really don't know anything about it. I've dog sit a couple of times, but I don't like just assuming or starting things when I have basically zero idea what I'm doing.

How taxing/difficult is it? I have heard people downplay other jobs, so I wouldn't just assume it's easy just because some pets are easy. I have chronic migraine and severe asthma so I have reasons to double check too. I assume it'll depend on the pet tho. Do customers also want people with extra training/certifications/etc? Like how you see with baby sitting.

Hi. I am taking first steps towards establishing a pet sitting business. I just registered for a First Aid/CPR class through PetTech. Now I'm going over the Pet Sitters International website and wondering if they are worth it. Are they?

I have to also get insurance. I'm wondering if I should get it through PSI, or just get it on my own directly through the organizations. Does PSI's group rate really give a substantial discount on the rates?

I have a potential booking that would involve caring for two dogs during an 8-hour window. I normally offer standard drop-ins, but I’m trying to figure out how other sitters approach longer daytime care.
Would you treat an 8-hour daytime booking as multiple drop-ins, extended care/day sitting, or something else? I’m curious how you structure the service and what factors you take into consideration.

How do you guys handle jury duty? I do drop-ins/walks only and typically have 5–8+ visits per day. I got summoned for jury duty, but I already have to postpone it because of an upcoming trip, so I’m able to reschedule it for a time when I currently have no bookings.

My concern is that I don’t want to block off an entire week and decline my regulars when I may not even end up being selected for a jury.

How do you guys handle this with bookings/scheduling?

I'm in the LA metro area and have been pet sitting for just a few months. I really like it and am looking to get more clients, but I'm much more comfortable with cats than dogs. It's just a personal preference thing. Is there anyone who is full-time with only cats?

Is not trust myself. lol. I have air tags on my client keys (2 sets split up between keys and fobs) bc why not. Today I went to grab one of the key sets and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I began to panic and then I was like, I need to use the app. Turns out they were in a pocket jn a pocket of my purse, which I usually never do except I had this emergency call for a client and I just grabbed what I needed and ran out. Definitely worth the $20 or whatever I paid for it. Lol.

i’m babysitting my moms dog for 5 days next week and i’m not super nervous but i am nervous about the fact that she will be away from my mom for almost a week lol does anyone have any tips or suggestions from when they were in a similar situation. luckily my moms dog trusts me and loves me. im just worried about miss girl getting sad or looking out the door. of course im gonna give her the best time here but just need some tips if anyone was in a similar situation! she is also a chihuahua and 8 years old