What is the standard expectation of how long the sitter will leave the dog alone in the house? Mine won't eat food unless there is a person present. Thanks for your input.
If you are an owner, be sure and mention this to your prospective sitter. Things like this should be discussed at the meet & greet prior to booking. As a sitter, when I meet with a new client, I always ask about feeding - times, habits, etc. Read the sitter profile, because many indicate how long they will be away from home.
Everyone's expectations and needs are different. This is something you need to ask potential sitters. Their profiles should give you an idea of whether they're home most of the time, attend school or have other employment commitments. While I am no longer working, I do need to leave home to run errands, etc. I tell my clients that their dog will not be left alone more than about 3 hours and if I know I am attending something that will take longer (like Thanksgiving dinner with my family or attend a play), I do inform my clients and ask if it will be a problem for their dog. Also, because I have my own dog, there can't be free feeding where food is left out. All feedings are personally supervised by me to ensure each dog eats his/her own food.
(Added) The idea behind Rover is that a dog owner is leaving their dog in a home similar to their own. I am sure that they leave their dog alone for periods of time. If they need 24/7 supervision that sounds like a kennel situation to me, with a shifts of employees. I do not feel that I am giving a dog inferior care if it is left, with my own dog, for a few hours at a time. Many of the dogs under my care are owned by 20/30-something working adults, some of whom leave their dogs alone all day while at work. So I definitely think my services give their dog a superior situation. Not a single person has balked when I tell them that I may go out for a few hours but am fundamentally home most of the day and night.
I concur with your answer. Especially those long stays (7+ days,) there is no way one can stay with them 24 hours a day and I don't think anyone expects that. Like you said, most people go to work all day and leave their dog alone for more than 8 hours.
I work an 8 hour day and when my husband is away for a few days, I find a sitter who can be available for my dogs off and on during the day. It is about ethics. I can keep my money if the 'sitter' will do no better than I when I am gone all day. I would never book for such limited service.
That's why it's important to ask how often will the dog be left alone and for how long. The dogs I stay with are almost never left alone but if they are it's no more than 1 hour. However, there are sitters that work full time and pet sit as a side job so it's important to ask.
The is no "standard". My suggestion is to be clear within yourself what works for you. If you can't be home 24/7, then don't try to force yourself in that hole. Objective of Meet & Greets is to see if you are a fit for the potential pet guest and if the guest is a fit for you.
I agree with the other sitters that expectations and understanding should be discussed during the meet & greet.
My situation is unusual in that my life now revolves around dogs. I rarely leave home when I'm dog sitting and if I do, it's usually for a hour to walk another dog that is not staying in my home. Other than that, I usually plan my other commitments (groceries,etc) around the stays at my home.
Many people will have different expectations as to what it means to "treat their dog like family". For some of my clients that are either retired, work from home, or take their dog to work, the dog is used to being with one or more pet-parents nearly all the time. For other clients, who are away from their dog during long work days and social events, their dog is used to being alone more. Often this is the deciding factor, whether they prefer to have me care for (walk, play, feed, etc.) their dog at their home - often with multiple daily visits... or stay at my place.
I'd suggest discussing routines and preferences regarding the dog's preferred amount of human interaction with detailed information about walking, eating, play, and any applicable medical or other concerns, before the stay to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the arrangement.
I usually plan everything around the dogs stay and do not leave for longer than an hour or two. I separate my dogs from the guest dogs while I am away. They are all inside and very well taken care of. I wouldnt feel right leaving them for long periods because I let the owners know that their dog is my top priority. Everything I do is geared towards the dog and its care.
I would not leave my 14 yr. old Cocker Spaniel more than 3-4 hours alone. Since Carly is a senior citizen, she has to potty every 4 hours, day and night, which I supervise and although she sleeps a good part of the day, she still has to be watched during her waking hours. However, when Carly was younger, I worked and was away from home 9-10 hours 5 days a week. I had a walker who would take her out to potty and walk her and her food and fresh water was always available. I would give her a short walk in the early morning and potty and when I arrived home, another short walk and potty. Everything worked well but Carly is older now and has a few health conditions which require medication. So it all depends on age, health and habits. Again, I would not think of leaving Carly more 3-4 hours unless she was cared for by a sitter. My life now revolves around Carly so if I have to travel, I would find a stay-at-home sitter and confirm if he/she was able to care for her under these conditions.
Our life and activities are centered around our visiting dogs.. My husband & I are both retired and home bodies, so we are flexible and can do our errands whenever we want alone or together. We can go out for a couple hours for dinner & dance but it will always depend on who will be left home. We always want to know they are comfortable and stress free.... and will be good together for a little while. In three years with Rover we have never had a problem...
Not more than one time. And that should be limited to no more than two hours .
I am kind of the opposite of most of the people here. I still have a full-time job and would be leaving the dog alone for the majority of the day (I come home at lunch to see the dogs, make sure everyone is doing well). But I am also abundantly clear about this during my conversations with the client, even before we get to the meet & greet. I tell them my work schedule and that I will be home for lunch and then spend all night from 530 on playing with their dogs and hanging out. I also tell them during our conversations that, given my schedule, more independent dogs that are already used to being alone while their owners are at work are the best fit for my house. I am constantly booked, and I think a good portion of that is because I am completely and 100% honest of the expectation of time that I will be with their dogs and what they would expect with me. I also do meet & greets that are anywhere from 30-90 minutes to guarantee that they are going to get along nicely. If I were to leave my dogs with someone else, I would be fine with that expectation too, since my dogs would way rather play with other dogs than with a human anyway. To me it's more of an option of their dog getting some during their time away, or being kenneled. And again, with a full disclosure of information to the pet parent, they can choose if my style suits them or not. But I'm totally booked up for the next month and a half so at least a few people are OK with that..
I usually get clients that don't leave them alone for more than 4-5 hours so they can get potty breaks, of course that's assuming the dog is in great condition and is not either a puppy, or a senior who needs to be watched more frequently, which then you should not leave them alone for more than two hours. I hope this helped!
Unfortunately the sitter I selected told me they were part time workers and my dog wouldn't be alone for more than 5 hours any given day. It turned out my dog was left home alone for more than 8 hours a day almost the entire week, she became sick and I won't go back to them , they mislead me.