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Is it right to be annoyed when pet owners deliberately don't mention behavior?

WARNING: If you don't want to read (perhaps over the top lol) venting then definitely skip this post ;)

What do you think about owners leaving out information before you housesit that could make the stay very difficult? Do you think it's understandable or rude? Or rather, does anyone want to vent, lol?

The owners emailed me a very detailed, professional and thorough manual that told me lots of things including nighttime behavior: 'they will try to sleep with you'; 'they like to snuggle' whatever; everything framed in a cute and easy way.

When I'm already sitting the pugs at their house, I send a photo of a pug to the owner and he says 'She's cute, she snores; she's just adorable.' So he randomly, casually brings up that she snores for the first time without prompting while I'm already there.

And the pug snored like a freight train (ear plugs did not help)... I have slept with major snorers and this was INSANE. I pulled all-nighters for most of the nights and napped a bit during the day as I was so utterly exhausted that nothing could keep me from sleep. During a moment of desperation during one of the nights, I put them upstairs and they pounded and clawed at the door until I let them in. They did the same right outside my bedroom door.

I mention to the owner that 'wow, stella snores! I need ear plugs ;)' and he responds 'haha yeah she does'

So at the end of the stay I (politely) tell them I couldn't sleep at all and wouldn't be able to take care of them overnight. They were sympathetic but like 'we've never had a problem! we've had many sitters and no problems.' And then said they'd touch base in a week to figure something out with me because we had confirmed another stay before I even sat for the pugs. And of course, she never reaches out and lets me know what's going on. Blegh, if you don't intend to use a sitter again (and they've sacrificed days of sleep for you) the least you can do is let them know that they're going to find someone else (for a stay in over a month) rather than string them along

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Oh, also, have any of you actually confronted an owner over withholding important info?

My in-laws have pugs who are exactly the same. We call them "the pigs" because they are just nasty. Their snoring keeps us up, so we crate them on the opposite end of the house, but their owners let them sleep in the bed and don't even notice the snoring!

Yeah, the owners have a 1 year old child so it's possible they're always so exhausted that they don't notice it. Still, this pug is 10 yrs old and I think they know by now that she is quite the snorer. The 'oh, but we've never had problems' implying I'm hyper sensitive/crazy or smthng is annoying

4 Answers

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It's perfectly appropriate to feel upset. I always go through any behavioral issues with my clients. I keep having to get more and more specific since people always leave things out. There are quite a few dogs I will never sit again because of it. Not worth it. Never worth it.

I'm not a very confrontational person, however, so most of the time, I don't mention it. Unless I have issues like you did, then I ask what they do when their pet behaves like that.

Pet sitting is tough. It's a major learning curve.

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The first dog I sat for on Rover turned out to not be house trained. The owners didn't mention a word of it, and instead included 2 full packs of puppy pee pads in the dogs overnight bag. The dog was not a puppy, she 7 years old. She also didn't know how to use the pee pads. She also had clearly never been socialized with other dogs. She continuously snarled and barked at my dog WHILE she tried to mount him. (She was a shi tzu and I have a senior beagle.) My dog is very friendly but he hated her. They had to be separated the entire 11 day stay, which was difficult because of the housetraining issue.

I swear I update my preferences everytime I dog sit. I've only been dog sitting for about a month and a half and I have this list of NOs already 1. No wet dog food 2. No dogs that dont eat their food 3. No dogs that aren't housebroken 4. No loud dogs 5. No French bulldogs 6. No dogs under 4 years old (some exceptions) 7. No dogs that need 24 hour supervision 8. No hyperactive dogs 9. No cocker spaniels

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I had this happen with my first sit as well - they mentioned it like oh sometimes he has a hard time with his bladder but went to the bathroom literally all over the place. I think it would have been alright if they had been upfront but since I had no clue it was really frustrating

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Phew, that sounds rough! My first overnight stay request went horribly. Like you've said, the owners seemed very affectionate towards their dogs and when I went for the meet and greet all seemed well. It wasn't until I tried to enter or exit the master bedroom where I was supposed to be sleeping that I learned that one of their dogs was EXTREMELY possessive of their room. He snarled, showed teeth, barked incessantly, and lunged at me with teeth barred anytime he felt that I stepped too close to their bedroom door. I alerted the owner of his behavior and that I didn't think I would be able to sleep in that room, and they were like "Oh, yeah, he has been acting out since we recently had our first baby." Didn't they think this would be important information to share BEFORE I began my sit? I ended up having to cancel the stay after the second night because the dog would no longer allow me to move around the house and would block both the front and back doors. I think you totally have the right to feel annoyed, because I think it is important to know/be aware of as much information about the dog(s) as possible to be prepared and be able to provide your best care for them and it is inconsiderate of the owner to withhold information, in my opinion.

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Gahhh that sounds terrible! I hope they didn't leave a bad review after you had to cancel the stay!!! That's always a concern

Holy cow. I had a husky who was equally aggressive, and I'm pretty sure they knew he was like that and just didn't bother to tell me. I actually got bit several times with that one.

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Don't feel you are overly sensitive etc. Dogs behave differently with new people and maany owners excuse bad behaviors.

I've had some dogs with seperation anxiety that were horrendous. One I had to end stay early because the dog would not stop barking. I tried everything the owner and rover suggested but nothing helped. I didnt feel guilty because 1. The owner knew this was non negotiable since I work from home and had seen my office. 2. I had tolerated this behavior with another dog and was stressed out to the max.

I've modified my profile each time but it seems like the owners always over estimate what their dogs can tolerate. Which is ridiculous to me because you should know your dog best not a stranger.

I do suggest making sure they can be crated happily and quietly for at least 4 hours. Also that you raise your prices because that weeds out alot of apathetic owners. Sometimes just having a conversion with the owner help you read between the lines. Meet and greets are good but they don't tell you everything.

You're not alone though. I personally have become super, super picky about the dogs I take just because of owners missrepresenting information.

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I'm SO glad I found this post as I was going to add a question of my own! I'm 2 days into a 7 day stay with a German Shepard puppy. I have kept him once before a couple of weeks ago and he was tough then but now he's a terror! He lunges at my face and bites and scratches when I try to but his leash

On. I want to get some energy out of him. He will NOT walk on a leash without standing straight up and pulling. I did walk him this morning to tire him out - I thought. Nope. Came back and he was still running around nuts biting at my pants leg and snapping at me. This dog needs to be under control

And fast as they have 3 small children. He will obey me for going in and out of doors or for his food. I have walked him, I have played endless hours of fetch, I'm exasperated! They already have me booked again in October! My arms are all scratched up and bleeding! Any suggestions??!!

And of course they are on a cruise and unreachable.

This is why I wish Rover would let sitters share reviews of dogs. I had a week long stay with A pup who seemed easy going up until it was time to come in the house. She'd run off, once I'd get a hold of her collar, she'd start yelping and and standing on her hind legs and even bit me.

I contacted the customer and they were aware of this behavior but didn't bother mentioning it. I reported it to Rover and they followed up with the owners but they haven't been removed from the site. Unfortunately another unsuspecting sitter will get stuck with that pup.