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How to get a bit fewer problem dogs?

Hi Guys,

I started about a month ago and so far business is great, but I am busting my butt all over town 7 days a week mostly walking but almost every day in the summer booked out for house sitting or pet sitting. This is great, BUT it seems all the problem dogs are coming my way. I am skilled at training, but I don't bake that into my rate because a person wouldn't know that unless they looked at my profile or met me. I find myself training everything from puppy socialization and play based training to fixing anxiety and person aggression. To put it bluntly, it is a lot of energy and work and I love far exceeding expectations but I thought I would get a little more appreciation or maybe even a tip when people get their dogs back calmer, in better shape and a lot of their edges smoothed out. I didn't expect to have my house soiled, my arms bitten and my dog made to be crated away for her safety with every single client. Is this usual?

First off, my profile seems to attract dogs with zero training or major issues and then the owner doesn't disclose it or it isn't as apparent when we meet. How can I better suss this out? I want clients, but how can I rewrite my profile to get a few good dogs. Secondly, when I do take on a dog and they need training I let the owner know beforehand and how it is progressing including photos of their dogs being good, how can I convert this into proper appreciation or a tip? Is this reasonable to expect? Should I even try to fix these problems or just crate the bad ones away like my trainer friends suggest?

4 Answers

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Karen R.

Book a Stay
Chicago, IL

I read through your entire profile and can see why customers with poorly trained dogs might gravitate toward you. There are a few testimonials about training and, in our Yelpy world, people do tend to read reviews more than the profile itself. That being said, there is one sure fire way to handle the situation, aside from just raising your rates. Your rates are on the higher side, but probably still in the average range for your area.

When you encounter a poorly trained/unsocialized dog, you can offer to work on the dog's basic training but for a fee. Come up with an hourly rate or estimate for the entire stay and present it to the owner. You can probably use a creative approach to Rover's billing system (grooming, pickup and drop-off) to have it paid during the dog's stay.

I completely agree with you that you've gone beyond providing a basic level of care and that, literally, should warrant tipping. Your alternative is exactly what your friends have suggested. Do the basic and crate the dogs and, then, probably don't accept them again. But you should give it a shot with offering to provide training, whether through the Rover system itself or otherwise.

Comments

Thank you very much for reading through my profile! I am going to add training under my profile in place of bathing. I like helping my clients with their dogs and sharing something I find to be easy, but you can imagine I might get burned out. Your advice will hopefully help me.

Becky S.

I'm curious as to why Walt's answer was selected as "correct."

Karen R.

I think I could have made a mistake. I actually meant to downvote it because he didn't read or answer the question. If anything I would vote yours as the best so far. I tried to change it, but I keep getting errors from Rover's site.

Becky S.

Thanks, I liked Deb's and Megan's answers as well. Megan gave some great ideas of "extras" and how you can charge for them.

Karen R.

Yea, I upvoted theirs too. All good responses and I think relevant to a lot of us.

Becky S.

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Deb A.

Book a Stay
Irvine, CA

If you'd prefer to have some nicely behaved canines, you may want to remove the sentence "Experienced training challenging dogs..." because truly that's inviting/asking for those challenging dogs to come your way. You may even choose to eliminate or minimize the reference of the rescue work you've done (by moving lower down the profile).

The other option is that if you want to continue training for additional compensation, you can keep your profile as it is, indicating that you have a lot of experience dealing with difficult dogs and training, then also add to the profile that you are available to do training for an additional fee. Confront it head on at the meet & greet, by asking probing questions about what training and socialization they've done, what they're working on, what issues they're having and discuss if they want you to add training to the booking package.

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Thanks! All good points.

Becky S.

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Megan P.

How long are your meet and greets usually? Perhaps spending more time in your meet and greets could help. I have had a handful of dogs who are unruly in my eight years of doing this. I spend about a half hour with the potential client, then I ask them to go outside for a while and see how the dog reacts. if I am unsure after that, I will take them for a short walk. Spending more time upfront, can possibly save you from some of the issues you are experiencing. If you are doing this already, then making them a one time client is your next step.

Also charge for the value that you provide. If you are training charge for that. There is a cost adjustment area and I have additional services listed that Rover doesn't have. Such as a dog park visit and so on. If you get a client who at first appears not to need training. Charge regular prices. If you find you are training more than walking, then go to your client and say I'm sorry I can not provide the service we previously booked, here is a service I think your pup would do better with. If your uncomfortable with changing, another sitter may be a better fit for you.

So many people own dogs, don't hang onto a client who causes more stress than it is worth. Hope this helps!

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Thanks for the info and advice, I may take your advice and charge training as a separate item. My meet and greets are usually a half hour.

Becky S.

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Walt G.

Book a Stay
Woodbridge, VA

Welcome to the world of pet care, no one ever said it is easy, and no one ever said every dog you care for will be well mannered or won't pee or poop in your home. For many of us this is just another day on the job, you either accept it or move on. Problem dogs are usually only one time clients as I won't care for them again so over time you client list becomes one with the dogs that are easier to care for.

When I am first contacted by a new client I typically look at their profile to see how long they have been a Rover client, if it has been a long time that indicates they have used Rover sitters before so that sets up a question to ask them at the meet and greet. "so you've used Rover before, why haven't you gone back to your prior sitter?" Their answer is an indicator whether the dog may have been a problem; but it's just intuition!!

Best of luck to you and may all your clients be well mannered

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if it were only a bit of pee every now and again I wouldn't be posting. Thanks for trying.

Becky S.

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