I keep having people ask to come check out my place.

Thats a tough one. When I started dog sitting and received my first meet and greet request, I to was a little nervous having them come to my home. However, when I flipped the role and thought about what I would want if I was leaving my dog in the care of someone else it brought more clarity. I absolutely wanted to see where my dog will be and their surroundings. It's easy to say you have a lovely fenced in yard and leave out the fact that the fence is rotted or only fenced in on one side and open on the other (true story). It is also important for your dog to meet the resident dog in their home. You can determine how the resident dog interacts with your dog and if they are territorial with the resident children or even the host. If your dog has a tendency to eat non food items like baby toys, shoes, etc.. And the host you visit has such things everywhere-which is fine, just not for a dog that will see it as dinner. I understand your concern and maybe do a meet and greet in public and given your comfort level do a second visit. Or you can create a questionnaire that you can send them prior to the visit that will force them to provide their contact details. Good luck..

Rosie

I always host M&Gs at my home, unless the client requests otherwise. One of the realities of running a business out of your home is that your home also doubles as a work environment, and just like you'd never send your dog to a daycare or kennel that didn't allow you to see their facilities, a lot of people would never leave their dog with a home sitter who won't allow them to see their home.

If it helps, I structure my M&Gs so the owners come to my home, but I meet them outside on the sidewalk first to meet them and their dog(s). Then I bring my dogs outside for introductions, and we take them all for a walk around the neighborhood. This gives us time to get acquainted and let the dogs calm down before going inside. It's never happened, but if I were concerned about letting them in my home, I could end the M&G before that happened. In our discussions I let the owners know this will be the plan. I'd also encourage you, if you're concerned about a client coming by, to have a friend there with you for the M&G, or at least let someone know who will be by and when and have them check in with you after a designated amount of time. Or, instead of giving owners your address, give them the address of a nearby park or coffee shop, then after intros are done, invite them back to your home to see where their dog will be staying. Not all owners will be concerned about seeing your home (though in my experience most will be), but if you refuse until after booking the stay, you may lose a lot of great clients.

I've been a sitter in my home for 5 years. I've only declined 2 times, both times because of the owners.

I recently had a couple that wanted to go through my entire house. I have reviews attesting to the kind of sitter that I am and to the cleanliness of my home. Coming into my main level is at my discretion and on occasion I allow that. But, no, you are not going upstairs into the bedrooms or into the basement or garage.

This was an $800 stay and I declined. The dog seemed great, but the people were rude, condescending and snobby. Keep in mind these kind of people may very well be a total pain during the sit.