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Why did owners lie about dogs weight and behaviors issues?

Phuong D.'s profile image

Hi, I recently accepted a booking where the owner claim his dogs is 5lbs and 20lbs, house broken, will sleep by themself on the couch in the living room, walk well on leash and they adore each other. When he dropped them off they were 15lbs and 40lbs. My profile stated I won’t take dogs over 30lbs. I told him I can’t take them and ask him to take them back but he said the vet told him they are 5lbs and 20lbs. He said he was on the way to the airport and since I accepted the booking and I didn’t do a meet and greet is my fault. I don’t understand how a meet and greet. I trust the information the owners provide and have declined multiples request due to bad fit, assuming all owners are honest I didn’t do the meet and greet since the stay was only for a few days and thought how bad can it be. I have experience with puppy to 15 years senior and never had any problem. I wished I would of just walk away but I was worry Rover would deactivate my account thus I went with it hoping their weight was the only thing the owner lie about. I walked the dogs, pee and poo (one of them). This was 11pm (he dropped them off around 10:30pm and told me to walk them but his care instruction say last walk at 7pm. I didn’t mind in order to keep my house clean. They drag me but I was like okay, I can handle this, just 3 days. An hour after the walk, pee and poo on my carpet, running and jumping non stop (he told me they will sleep after the walk), I told the owner and offer to drop them off at a friend or relative house for free and he said he don’t have friend or relative around here. I called Rover and told them the owner lie and ask them to find another sitter. I went in my room, the dogs whine all night standing in front of my door and never slept. 6 hours later I woke up to 4 poo and 3 pee all over my carpet. Like full on pee from a 40lbs dogs. I told the owner, not a single sorry. He said is my fault I don’t do the meet and greet, is my fault I allowed him to drop the dogs off so late and he can’t find another sitter, is my fault he’s stressed from me messaging him because of his dogs. Luckily Rover found another sitter and I dropped them off to that sitter immediately at 8am. I got pay $70 after Rover fee but that don’t even cover carpet cleaning which I have to get. When you have a 40lbs and 15lbs full on peeing and pooping on your carpet and both of them smell, only a carpet deep cleaning will fix it. After losing a night ... (more)

Comments

I wouldn't worry about the review he left. It doesn't say anything horrible about you, it only shows he blames you for his out of control dogs. And I see your feedback as perfect, 5 stars all the way, no negative rating. If I were you I would not respond the way you did, I would keep it short and

Lenka L.'s profile image Lenka L.

direct, without arguing or anything. so other clients can see you handle problems with grace. I would say something like I am sorry my service didn't meet your expectation, but you have booked a sitting for a 15 lbs dog and then brought a large sized dog instead, and that complicated this situation.

Lenka L.'s profile image Lenka L.

Thanks for the feedback and I response better next time (hopefully won’t be a new time). Your response is a lot better than mine. I was really mad of the entire situation and just wanted the other owners to know part of what happened. But I get where you’re coming from.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

My boyfriend's theory about pet owners lying about dog behaviors is that they know there is a problem, but don't want that to ruin them finding a sitter. Trust and believe I have had that happen on more than one occasion and it was frustrating because I couldn't get anything done.

Rebekah G.'s profile image Rebekah G.

3 Answers

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Karen R.'s profile image

Phuong, you need to change the dog size you'll accept in the preference category. I would recommend you use the up to 15 lbs one only. You cannot assume that any potential owner is going to read your profile. This way you will not show up in searches for dogs over that weight. The dog might actually be a few pounds heavier but would not likely be over 20 lbs, Far safer for you.

Also, I cannot stress enough that a M&G is critical. Trust your own eyes. Don't rely on anything an owner states in the dog's profile regarding its behavior and training. You need to see it for yourself. A half hour of your time is well worth losing sleep, having to get your carpets cleaned, etc. I never accept a dog without having a M&G. The only exception might be for an out-of-town dog left in my care for a day while the owner is attending a local function.

If a dog is crate-trained, then either request the owner bring one or invest in one yourself just in case.

Sorry this happened to you.

Comments

Yes, I did meet and greet with the dog I schedule for next week after the incident. I actually chatted with the owner and confirmed with him and he texted, said his dogs 5lbs and 20lbs. Confronted him on the weight, he said the vet told him that and won’t take them back. Now he updated their profile

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

Left me a negative feedback saying he requested Rover to find a new sitter bc he was concerned with the dogs safety, but I was the one who called Rover first and won’t take them back even when I told him I wasn’t happy with his lies. I wish my feedback for him is public to warn other sitters.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

He claimed he boarded them before and never had problems. Is sad people lies like that and I can’t trust anything they say. Thank you for your response and tips. I been one Rover less than 2 months and was in shock when I saw the dogs I wasn’t smart enough to walk away but instead held the leash.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.
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Deb A.'s profile image

I read through your super long post. You may choose to edit it at any time, by clicking the edit link.

This was definitely a Learning experience for you.

Rover suggests setting up meet & greet and if I had known you, I would have told you that it's Always worth the time to meet the dog & owner before booking any services. Due to the pandemic, some people have even had a virtual/digital online conversation using their phones or other devices via Face Time, Skype, or similar app. (if you set it up, it can easily be done through the rover assigned number, rather than sharing personal info.) In your case, where you don't have to be concerned about getting along with any other pets and only take one household at a time, you would have been better able to see their size. Some sitters ask/require the pet owner to upload a recent vet visit document showing vaccination status, which also shows the dog's age and weight and sometimes breed.

To resolve the destructive behaviors at night, many sitters will only accept crate trained dogs and secure them in their crate during sleeping hours, since dogs generally will not want to soil where they sleep and will not eliminate in their crate.

Boarding pets can lead to many sleepless nights and property damage day & night (sometimes due to nerves, or medical issues, or simply not being on usual routine: new place, new people) and even non-carpeted floors like wood & laminate can be damaged. I understand your motivation behind doing rover, so I'd suggest that visits, walks, and house sitting (all done at the pet's home) may be a better fit for you. Unless you want more unwelcome surprises, that means meeting them outside & then going inside their home to check out all the areas where you/the dog stays. A thorough meet & greet where the sitter and owner ask questions, share information, and get to know the pet can last about an hour. In order to be prepared, bring your list of detailed questions. For example, people can put different meanings on words like active and social butterfly. That can easily seem like hyper to someone else. Sometimes m&g can be shorter, but anyone that only had 0-15 minutes for a m&g was Trouble and Not a match. If at time of drop off, it's the first time you notice a deal breaker (in this case weighed 20 lbs more), you can call rover immediately to ask for their help transferring booking to another sitter and decline to accept the pets while the pet parent waits with them to coordinate. I've done this. This is better to do much earlier during daylight hours, as you can understand it would be far easier to find another willing person to take custody of pets in the morning or afternoon.

Over the years, many sitters have requested rover facilitate some way for sitters to share information with each other, ... (more)

Comments

Thank you for the tips and response. Asking for vet record to see breed and weight is a great idea. I am going to start doing that. I just ask if their flea treatment and vaccines are up to date and I just trust the owners words. I’ll spent more time filtering and meet and greet.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

I trusted owners to be honest. Why lies to only have the sitter request for another sitter. Rover should have on owner profile how many time he used Rover and his feedback for other sitters. Rover platform her to better protect sitters instead of favoring owners. How do I look at the dog stay photos

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

Currently, hovering over stay photos does Not have same functionality as it did previously. (by going to Inbox, Past Stay, select a client, & click Dog's face) Sometimes, owners don't know how the dog will react because they were never boarded or whoever never told them the truth. Lots of ?s helps!

Deb A.'s profile image Deb A.

What many sitters don't realize & later learn is Rover mainly connect sitters to pet parents, helps w/ payment, & some issues (like supporting transfer of booking from sitter to sitter or help with communications ie. lost pet). Last I knew, Rover isn't profitable co.=not in a position to do more

Deb A.'s profile image Deb A.

I am trying my best to have the feedback remove on my profile, Rover trust department reviewing it. I know it won’t hurt my booking since I only board 1 dog at a time and I live in an area with limited sitters and my other reviews are amazing.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

I am going to email the trust department and provide my feedback. If Rover allow owners feedback to sitters to be public, that should be the same for sitters to owners. Or at least allow owners to see how many time the owners have used the Rover services and all the feedback the owners leave sitters

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

I know one email and a couple phone call from me to Rover won’t do much, but I few like I should at least try and hopefully most sitter will fail complains and Rover will reconsider their platform features. Rover take 20% fee from sitter, how come the platform favor the owners. This is discouraging.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.
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Lenka L.'s profile image

Hi Phuong! I am so sorry to hear about this terrible experience because I understand what you went through! Majority of us would never even suspect about the owners lying to us about their dogs. And then you learn the hard way. It happens. A lot! It's hard to believe that people like that exist, but they do, they just want to drop off their dogs and go away on their vacation because they need a break, because they did not train their dogs well, didn't teach them commands and obedience, and didn't potty train them.

I know how difficult it was for you. I've been there. There's nothing like an owner from hell! They lie and scam. They are here on Rover, and will lie about everything.

I don't always request a meet and greet, but I do ask questions, I want to see photos and details listed in the owner's profile. Like I said in a different post, I am very careful with new profiles with NO photos and no description of their dogs. If these people don't care to fill out all the important info and they just don't care, it only shows me they are going to be very difficult to deal with.

When I used to offer boarding services, I had all kinds of requirements posted on my page to weed out all those who are not a good fit for me. I no longer could accept high energy breeds, or non stop barking dogs, or dogs who were not potty trained. I asked all kinds of questions about their dogs energy level, how many hours a day they needed to be walked or trained, how they were inside the home, if they were potty trained or if they mark. I would require a crate and pee pads and diapers for those who may possibly mark inside the house. I also requested they leave an emergency contact for someone local in case this is not going to work out (now I am talking about extremely high energy dogs who aren't house broken and never been left alone with a stranger!!), so they can come and get the dog if needed.

I esp ask if the dogs were ever left alone with a stranger and if they sleep at night, and what their typical day looks like. If they bark or pee inside etc.. I used to list all breeds I can not board... like weimaraner, akita inu, dogo argentino, husky and malamutes or belgian malinois... NOT because I don't like them! I do LOVE akitas and malamutes and belgians, but from my own personal ROVER experience, these dogs turned my house upside down when I boarded them, their energy levels was insane, and none of them was trained for obedience. They destroyed carpets and pooped inside and I was going insane. I had my own 98lbs White Shepherd, so I wasn't afraid of big dogs, but my dog was trained for obedience and was house ... (more)

Comments

I am shocked by why people even lied like that. He should of asked for non carpet flooring and yard. I don’t think is a miscommunication but he is out there to make thing difficult for others. He claimed his dogs walk well on leash, house broken and are good dogs. Neither is true.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

Yes, I updated my profile and made it clear on no aggressive dogs, no hyper dogs, no non stop barking dogs, or weight over 25lbs. I called Rover multiple time asking for feedback to owners make public, but that’s just wishful thinking. Another sitter will fall victim to his horrible lies.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

I been on Rover less than 2 months. Is definitely due to lack of experience and not knowing what to do when it happens and everything from drop off time (10:30pm) didn’t play in my favor. Thank you for your tips and response. It a hard lesson and there’s moment I wonder if I should continue Rover.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

I asked a lot of questions before confirming the booking. Do they sleep at night? Where do they sleep? Are they dogs and strangers friendly. Is hard to filter when owner intention is to make life difficult for others on purpose. I had dogs throw up and pet on my carpet but owners apologize.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

Don’t know why I can’t type longer response. This is especially a difficult experience not just the sleepless night, expense of carpet cleaning, and dogs being difficult but the owner pushing the faults on me and still think he and his dog are the good one and never apologize. Just a horrible person

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.

When I was new to Rover, I was in the same position as you. I trusted the owners and allowed them to take advantage of me because I just was "afraid" to set my own rules. But after few bad experiences I learnt I am in charge, this is my business and I decide if they are a good fit or not.

Lenka L.'s profile image Lenka L.

I was actually scared to say NO to a new client. I was scared to ask questions in situations that didn't feel right and I was scared to tell them that their dogs are not a good fit. I didn't want to lose a client. BUT now I am very selective and assertive. You will learn all this as you go ♥

Lenka L.'s profile image Lenka L.

And even after a bad experience with a dog who was not behaved, and pooped in the house etc... I cleaned my carpets, bought new rugs, and after the person picked up their dogs I thanked them for choosing my services, and I NEVER accepted their request again. I would say I am fully booked.

Lenka L.'s profile image Lenka L.

The cost is high, haha. At least no one got hurt. I updated my profile, increased my price and will be more selective. I am glad I posted my experience on here, got a lot of great tips and will follow it. Sorry you had bad experience when you started but I guess that’s how we learn, sad but oh well.

Phuong D.'s profile image Phuong D.
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