Can I book (traveling) two pet sits for the same weekend and/or over lapping at all even by just a day? I wasn't sure how that works and haven't had it happen yet, but I'm curious.
First and foremost, NEVER EVER OVERBOOK YOURSELF AT THE EXPENSE OF CARE QUALITY. If you've thoroughly assessed the facts of each stay and are still confident you can provide premium care then by all means, continue. Second, I PROMISE you it is almost always 4x more work than you think it is to take on multiple jobs at once. Account for driving time(weather&traffic), needing to be in different places for similar feeding times, and be conscientious if certain parts of the day are more important to different dogs' routines. On occasion you may luck out and get multiple requests within the same neighborhood- even then, I have never tried to accommodate more than 3 full time jobs at one time(and I did ALOT of prep for that weekend).
Alright, so I have answered a similar, but slightly more specific question that I will include in case it can provide even more clarity for someone.
Similar Question that Relates to Topic: "Hey Ashley I have a question for you. So understandably Thanksgiving is a time where a lot of people are looking for people to watch their dogs. How do you handle dates where you have multiple people wanting you to stay during the same time. I booked a stay with someone I already did a meet and greet with and now I'm kind of bumming from a financial standpoint because I got a request for a place to stay with two dogs instead of one, for a longer period of time, and for the holiday pay thing they just instated. So I'm excited to be staying with this family I'm already booked with I just feel like I'm missing opportunities, especially when currently Rover is my main source of income."
The Answer I Gave(and still stand by):
"Ummmm again, great question. I have found the very best thing to do is to be upfront with both/all owners . Basically, ASK the owners you are already committed to if it would be alright if you left the dogs for ~however many hours, however many times~ to care for another family's dogs in addition to theirs. I find it helpful to make it clear that their dogs are your number one priority because of order of commitments. However, state that you are confident you can still provide premium care to both families. (BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE!!!)
Basically the more honest you are (within professional reason :P) the more I have found that families will be willing to work with you.
I have gone as far as mapping out a schedule to send to both families involved to help them feel comfortable that all dogs in your care will be treated fairly.... However, that's somewhat of a last resort since then you are pretty committed to that schedule instead of my preferred route which is running on "dog time" and just meeting the individual needs those dogs may have at that ...
Great answer, Ashley!!
What Ashley has said is a great answer for Traveling sitters, but I think the scenario is different for home sitters vs traveling. I offer both but primarily watch dogs in my home. It is much easier to host multiple dogs in my home than having to coordinate visits to other dogs homes.
I get a lot of repeat clients who I know will be good together. After dog sitting for two and a half years through Rover, I feel confident and comfortable to make the decision whether I think the dog will be a good fit, or simply too stressful for me to handle. This Thanksgiving I shockingly had five Rover dogs in my home, plus my two. It may seem like a lot, but it was a perfect fit. I had two younger dogs who I knew would be playful with each other. I had one who was 100% a lap dog, and the other two were middle aged dogs who mainly liked to hang on the couch.
I agree that transparency is key. If you are already booked, but feel you could take on the extra request you get - let the owner know of the other dogs that will be in the home and ask them specifically 'Are you comfortable with this?' Never take an extra dog if there is something in your gut telling you not to.
Happy sitting!
Make sure you are not booking two overnights at the same time and actually doing one overnight and one visit. It wouldn't be right that the pet owner who's dog is only getting a visit or two is being charged for an overnight and they are thinking that you are staying the night with their dog while they are home alone. If you can't be there overnight, offer to do 2-3 visits for their dog and see if they would be okay with that while you do an overnight for the other owner, depending on if that works for both owners.
As mentioned by everyone else, be sure you can handle the responsibility of multiple jobs at once, and be open and honest with all owners involved. I don't travel sit since I have two dogs of my own who need me to be at home (I'm not comfortable bringing them into a new environment where I have less control over their surroundings), so I can't speak to the specific challenges that traveling would pose, but I could definitely see how someone could care for multiple dogs in multiple locations simultaneously, given that the locations are nearby, and especially if the dogs were compatible, making it possible to take them out for walks or play time together. Ultimately, I think you'd have to try it once or twice to be completely sure it's worth the money and time involved and to make sure you're still able to provide quality care for each animal.
The way I handle competing requests for stays in my home is by meeting each dog individually first to make sure they are a good match with me, my partner, and my dogs. If that goes well, I arrange to have the guest dogs meet and then get everyone together to make sure there's going to be a good group dynamic. I'm not sure if I would do it with multiple dogs I haven't watched before. I've got a long stay with two dogs from two households coming up in a couple weeks, so fingers crossed. :)