Bad experience. Is it worth it?

Once a dog has been identified by a Rover sitter as being overly aggressive during a meet and greet or during a stay this dog must be flagged by Rover so that the next sitter will know and have an option to chose or decline based on another's sitter's experience. This will reduce the probability of an insurance claim, damage to person or property, or to other dogs. Not to do so puts everyone at risk.

Many sitters feel that clients lie to them about their dog's behavior, but in reality, many dogs will act differently when away from their owners. Did you conduct a meet and greet with the client and dog, and you and your dog? If you didn't conduct the M&G well you are at fault as issues between dogs typically happen when they 1st meet as you saw right after the new dog arrived at your home. I see from your profile that you own an older small dog, if this was me I would only accept older small dogs.

All of us have had bad experiences and chalk it up to learning, so don't get discouraged, your next booking will probably be a wonderful experience.

Meet and greets are the most important part of the Rover experience IMO. I honestly end up declining more requests than I accept because folks' didn't read my boarding requirements on my profile. Doing a M and G will show you immediately how things are going to go and saves you a lot of trouble in the long run.

Some owners will usually upload a profile of their dog to Rover as well. Look for things like photos of the dog with other dogs. If there aren't any, the dog may have not had a lot of exposure to other dogs. The owners also answer some compatibility questions there as well. That's how I know a lot of the requests I receive aren't good with cats which is a deal breaker for my home. So I just decline and don't even offer a meet and greet.

You can do a little cyber digging on those requests before you ever even respond to the owner.

If Rover dog attacks your dog, you separate them immediately and then decide if you want to keep petsitting the dog or not. If not - you call Rover and tell them they need to find a new sitter due to safety reasons.

How can you possibly let the Rover dog attack your dog two more times? It's understandable that not every dog will like your dog and vice versa. The Rover dog is stressed out, in a new environment, and you are responsible for both dogs.

After a fight, you just separate them. I dont understand why you would allow them to be together two more times if you knew they don't like each other...

I just had my very first meet and greet and had the dog attack my Corgi. There was blood but I think my pup will be ok. So scary! I love dogs but I have to keep my dogs safe. I turned off boarding as an option and will just be doing dog walks. Kinda bummed about the whole thing.

I've been dog sitting via Rover for a little over a year. In that time, I had one owner lie to me about how agressive the dog was; most owners are wonderful parents to their furbabies.

I've been rewarded with cuddles, kisses and hugs from pets. Pet sitting is definitely worth it.

I would suggest, since you are boarding dogs in your home, to have an extended meet and greet with the dog and their parents in your home. You want to see, before anything happens, how they will react around your dog. Checking out the situation ahead of time can prevent heartache.

To try to ensure a match, I always require a meet & greet with the client dog and mine. Sometimes, I've even had two meet & greets (usually to introduce to another guest canine to assess harmony). This is mostly for the benefit of the dogs to interact both outside and inside. Even after doing so, occasionally a guest dog will act differently& unpredictably in the absence of their humans. If your dog needs vet care, I'd recommend contacting Rover support to discuss having your vet send the notes and billing info. Rover may help offset a small amount of the expense. However, since they redirected payment to another sitter, I'd be surprised if you receive any payment for that bad experience.

I am in the middle of my first Rover job - the Meet & Greet went well but the dynamics changed once the dog was dropped off here. I think she is mad that her people left her, so she is taking it out on my female mixed breed lab/chihuahua. Barking at her, growling, a few snaps in the air but no contact. Today is a little better than yesterday, but it is making me reconsider the whole thing. I definitely will be adjusting my preferences after reading some of the suggestions. My 12 year shitzu is doing fine - he just growls at her and she backs off. But in my head this was going to be great fun for all!! (Story of my life - I create these idealistic visions in my head of how things will be - then reality bites me in the butt)

I just had a meet and greet with a 2 year old Lab/Golden mix. I thought it would be great. Nope! The owner unleashed her dog in my backyard before I even brought my first dog out. I should have known when the dog wasn’t interested in me after first getting out of the owner’s car. Once we were all inside the dog was super aggressive with my submissive tripaw. AND THEN HE BIT MY DOG ON HER ONE REMAINING FRONT LEG! That leg has a metal plate in it. I was like nope. She had said her regular sitter wasn’t available, but now I take things like that with a grain of salt.

Sometimes dogs behave differently in new places and/or with different people. Conduct a Meet and Greet prior to accepting new dogs and watch their dog's body language for signs of aggression and/or dominance. If they pass that test, once you're actually sitting with them, separate the dogs via baby gates and see how they respond. Play it by ear, but always be cautious. And never leave them alone together when you leave the house.