Have you ever had to end a stay early? What happened before and after? I had to abort a weekend stay a dog had with me because wouldn't stop barking. The owners were understanding and rover very helpful. I read these questions where people have the guests dog biting them and I wanna know what makes someone say I can't.
I've had difficult stays but have never ended a stay early because that would be pretty unprofessional, IMO. Unless the stay is extremely long or the dog is extremely aggressive I think most people can stick it out. Did you do a meet-n-greet? This is usually how meet n greets are useful and you can avoid problems like these.
It's very lucky that the owners were understanding because it's a strong possibility that someone will get a bad review from ending a stay early. Most sitters avoid it partly for this reason.
I agree with you! I didn't do a m&g but in this case wouldn't have made a difference. The dog was so beautiful, polite and well mannered. She just scream barked if put in kennel or was I was out of eyesight . Did all the suggestions rover and owner gave but nothing helped resolve it.
Did you ask about his barking behaviors beforehand? The dog won't always behave as the owners describe but it's a good idea to ask about his behavior in detail & definitely ask about behavior that will be a dealbreaker for you. You can say something like (cont'd)
I had made clear on profile and in person that dog had to be okay with being in kennel for up to 4 hours if I ran errand/went to wk etc. The last dog I didn't require kenneling, bit/scratched thru my door. I know it'll count against me but I can't afford to lose my regular job that pays the mortgage
'I live close to others so unfortunately I'm not the best sitter for constant barkers' or something.
Okay, well that's unfortunate :/. I would recommend raising your rates because that tends to get better quality stays in my experience. I would also mention barking directly, not just 'they need to be okay in a kennel.' Like, 'I cannot have barkers in my home & if this is a major issue ...'
'then I cannot continue the stay, for employment purposes, unfortunately. Thank you for your understanding!' Like the real dealbreakers be extremely explicit about how you simply cannot care for those dogs at any point and would have to terminate the stay.
And yes, I also talked about how since I work from home I can't have non stop barkers etc. The dog barked 8pm-11:30pm, started back at 5am. I let them know that someone eles would be better suited, that didn't require her to be in kennel. at all. That I didn't want to have her so stressedout
Yeah. It totally sucked! The dog had the best manners in general, played so nicely with mine, it just couldn't be in kennel for more than 5min. I had shown my office area and they had said oh she may bark a little when you first put her in kennel but she settles down right away. Sadly was opposite
Maybe you should do a full day + night meet-n-greet to assess whether the dog would be a good fit? You can say that because of your living/working situation you have to make positively sure it's a good fit. If a person is unwilling then it may be a sign they're not being totally honest.
That maybe what I have to start doing. Cuz I don't know of any other way to honestly assess if the dog will work. Like maybe offer it half off for trial basis? Normal nighty rate is 30....I'm in Nebraska
Since it's a meet n greet I would maybe do it for free while you build up your clientele. The meet n greet is for your purposes, not theirs. I don't think you can expect them to pay for a day they didn't ask for
How many reviews do you have? What do other people in your area charge? Do you think you could be justified in raising your rates a bit?
True....wish there was a better way. I find the owners either overestimate their dogs ability or they're just not upfront with the issues.
Rates go from $53-$18 a night I have five reviews on my account one says verified stay and when you look at my profile it says five stars.
Unfortunately if you're explicit about what you cannot tolerate and this keeps happening, there probably isn't another way. I actually just looked up Omaha Nebraska on Rover and it seems like $30 is actually a higher rate for that area so you're probably fine.
I have only ended a stay once. I had met with the owner and dog prior for a meet and greet and all seemed fine. As soon as the owner was gone the dog became aggressive toward me. I put up a baby gate to give him some time to calm down in the living room. Several hours later he was still behaving aggressively. I tried to get him outside to the bathroom and he ended up jumping our 6 foot fence. My husband and I called rover and the owner and looked for him for an hour. He eventually came back and when my husband attempted to put a leash on he full on attacked him and we had to go to the emergency room. We did get him into a crate before we left and the owner's emergency contact picked him up that evening. We were out a couple grand from the ER visit and my profile was paused for two weeks. This is my full time career so it was a nightmare. Be sure you are 100% comfortable with the dog before booking
I'm confused. You work from home but put the dog in a crate?? Most Owners interpret a Sitter working from home meaning they will be able to give the dog attention throughout the day.
It's not fair to be anything but 100% honest with an Owner. If you expect their dog to be silent when put in a crate YOU are the one who has to bring it up at a Meet & Greet. Which BTW is a MUST. If you don't have time for the Meet & Greet don't accept the booking. Any Owner who would be willing to book with you when they have not yet vetted you or your home means they are willing to risk their dog's security and safety which does not portend well for the dog's behavior.
I kennel all dogs when I leave the house. I go to church, get groceries, etc. The dog got dropped off about 6pm. She barked from 9pm- 7am non stop. Didn't matter if I had her out of kennel. Barked through the entire night.
Oh I was just responding to this statement "I also talked about how since I work from home I can't have non stop barkers etc." and in another comment you mentioned the barking was happening when they were crated.
I haven't had to end any stay early. Aggression that was beyond manageable would probably be my only reason for doing so. However, I've had a lot of success in suggesting that the pet owner let their dog spend time here before a long stay. Sometimes it's for roughly a few hours or more during the day or evening. Sometimes it's just one overnight. Sometimes the owner asked first. Other times I suggested it, so they and their dog can get comfortable with the arrangement and reinforces the owner will return. I never referred to it as a m&g. It's a trial basis. If their budget is really tight, you may suggest pro-rating the time (if during the day/eve.) or offer 50% off. Both sound fair to me.
I canceled a stay because the owner guaranteed that the dog was friendly, calm, and relaxed around other dogs. It was a last minute booking so I should have known there. I agree that I think raising rates gets more quality stays. Then when we met the other dogs I was sitting, he was aggressive and anxious and unpredictable. Not to mention he brought fleas into the house! He was smelly, anxious, and jumped on everyone. When I picked him up, I should have seen the red flags. He was stuck in a crate to the point that he was self mutilating himself and way way too anxious all the time. I would have finished the stay if it weren't for the safety of the other dogs that I was sitting. He also couldn't be left alone even if I was outside and he was inside otherwise he would scratch and damage the door. I should have known and my fault that I didn't do the meet and greet. It's definitely the last time I'll ever do that.