Seeking Advice on Controlling Owner?
Hello! This is my second time using Rover, and I am looking for advice on my current house sitting booking. I've grown up with dogs my whole life, and am an adoption ambassador where I foster animals of all ages back to health. My friend is a rover sitter and loves it, so I thought I would try it out too!
Right now, I am sitting three small dogs (for the price of one) who are five years old for five days. The dogs are really sweet, but the owner said sometimes they have accidents in the house and that I need to clean up after them. After the first day, they peed about six times not on their pee pee pads (even though we went on three long walks that day). I notified the owner of this, asking if this is regular behavior or maybe just nerves since I am a new person taking care of them, and she said this is really unusual for them to pee so much not on their pads. But when I first arrived to the house there were three old pee stains in the apartment (they were in the kennel), and there are poop marks all over the carpet, so it looks like accidents are pretty common. The dogs typically get two walks a day, but I've been taking them out four times which has helped with the amount of accidents. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to handle this, because I'm pretty uncomfortable in the house. I clean up after them, but it's still a dirty environment.
I'm also supposed to give them treats throughout the day, but the owner left me with only three. She left me $5 to buy more, but she wants me to get very specific kinds, and they are well over $5. When I mentioned this to her, she got really upset and implying that I'm not taking care of the dogs well. She sent me an online photo of the treats being under $5, but when I went to pick them up at the store they were more than that. I ended up going to three different stores, and all have the same price. I just paid the difference with my own money, but I'm afraid to ask her for the refund since she's already upset with me. She also accused me of not sending enough photos, even though I send her about 13 throughout the day. Has anyone ever experienced a controlling owner like this? I'm feeling a bit discouraged, and not sure how to handle the remaining three days of the stay.
Thank you! Noelle
I have not had a job sitting in the owner's home; I've had drop in visits, but mostly I board in my own home. The owner supplies everything. And my fees are based "per dog" so you are losing money by not charging for 3 dogs. Don't get discouraged; just don't accept future reservations from her.