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| commented answer | Dealing with overbearing owner wanting to chat on phone everyday, what do I do? Gotcha. That is odd for sure - she needs a friend to talk to! That is definitely not your job. I agree with Cari - at this point the stay is almost over so just deal with it for a couple of more days and then don't sit for her again in the future. |
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| answered a question | Can I bring my dog? I agree with Heather - definitely run it by the owners first and do a meet and greet before the first walk to see how it goes. It is normal practice for dogs to be with a pack during walks. Full-time dog walkers can have 4-6 dogs with them at a time from different households. So it is a common practice, but should still be run by the owner first so there is no misunderstanding or any issue. |
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| answered a question | What to do with a nightmare dog you are sitting? Hi Sarah, I know I am responding to your question late, but I had a similar experience over the holidays and wanted to share for the future. I was boarding a dog that I knew fairly well. I have a dog as well and this dog would become overly aggressive with my dog and bit me quite badly when I tried to break up a dog fight. She was fine 90% of the time but I was not ok with the risk to my dog and to me. I called Rover to ask if they could find another sitter. Because it was the holidays, they were unable to find anyone else but did reach out to me daily to check in and offered support and reimbursement of certain costs that I may have incurred (i.e. if I wanted to buy some extra treats or toys to try and calm the dog down). I am not confirming Rover's reimbursement policy here - I think this was just a nice offer because they could not find a replacement sitter. The team was great, even though they couldn't find anyone. The owner in my situation was the same - she offered no solutions at first and was resistant to even working with Rover to find another sitter. After agreeing to keep the dog, she attacked my dog again and my dog had scratches and was bleeding. I contacted the owner back and said she had to figure out something. She quickly found a friend who took the dog. Rover's team was with me throughout the whole process and followed up even after the dog was relocated. I think it is important to always chat with Rover's team in these cases. Even if the dog ends up staying, it is important to have a history of the dog and owner's behaviour on record for future incidents. In some cases, Rover may decide that an owner and their pup are not a good fit for the platform. I hope that you didn't have too much further trouble and your holidays weren't too stressful! |
| asked a question | What should I do when the owner was not upfront and I have a dog that is not house trained and cannot be left alone? Hi Rover Sitters, I have a dog with me from Jan 3-14th. Her owner was not upfront about how vocal she is and failed to mention that her dog is not house trained. At all! I also have a feeling that the owner lied about the dog being one year old. She seems more like a 6 month old puppy who is not house trained, is not yet obedient and constantly nips (she bites at my arms and legs constantly). I do not babysit puppies and would not have taken this dog if all of this was disclosed. I asked several questions and did a meet and greet in my home. The dog was fine for the brief time she was here and the owner barely said anything behaviour-wise. I get that it is normal for dogs to mark or have an anxious pee inside when they are at a new place away from their owner. This dog has not gone to the washroom outside once in the last 3 days. Even with frequent outdoor breaks, she does not go and instead waits until she is back inside to do her business. The owner did not mention this whatsoever. I purchased puppy pads but she only goes on them 50% of the time. She has already peed on my bed, carpets, you name it. If this was disclosed up front, there is no way that I would have taken this dog. I get that accidents are a part of the gig - but this is on another level that I am not comfortable with. In addition, the first question I asked the owner (as I do with all of my clients) is whether the dog is vocal or not. The owner said she will bark when she hears a noise at the door (totally normal) but it is brief and doesn't last. This dog is far more vocal than that. She barks at my dog constantly, barks if I am in the washroom, barks if I am eating, barks if I bring out my trash - you get the picture. I left her alone for about 10 minutes yesterday and my neighbour told me that she was barking and howling the entire time. I live in an apartment and cannot have noise complaints - it would jeopardize me continuing to be a Rover sitter and, of course, will upset my neighbours. It is not an option for me to be here with her 24/7 - I still have her for another 8 days and will need to leave my house to run errands. The owner is not reachable because she is at a meditation retreat with no phone access. She did give me her sister's number. What would you do in this situation? Suck it up and deal with the dog for the last 8 days or reach out to the sister? Perhaps she will have another solution or can give me the ok to try and find another suitable Rover ... |
| answered a question | Dealing with overbearing owner wanting to chat on phone everyday, what do I do? This does sound a bit extreme, but owners feel that they have a right to check in however they choose and that is fair - it is their pet after all. I would discuss with her that, while you are doing your best to accommodate her and send pictures and updates, that you are not there 24/7. Suggest that you check in with her at a set time each day over the phone if she wishes (perhaps set this for a time when you are at her place with the dog) and that you are happy to have a quick phone call (5-10 minutes). Also, I am not sure how you are keeping her updated otherwise but - if you are not already - try being super proactive and sending her texts and photos every time you drop in to see the dog. Reassure her that there is no reason to not trust you as a responsible sitter. Give her updates about the dog's walks, eating habits, etc. to let her know that all is normal and you are on top of things. Try something along the lines of "Hi [Owner], just took the dog for a walk and he had a great time at the park down the street. He did all of his business and is good for a few hours. I will be back to check in with him in a few hours." Attach a photo each time. It may seem like overkill to do this every time you go over there, but being proactive about it usually prevents issues and this would be excellent customer service. She would certainly have no room to complain. I do not think that it is a good idea to tell her that you will not accept any of her phone calls - it sounds like this will make her even more anxious. If you tell her that you will not speak to her on the phone at all she will likely feel very anxious and worried and I don't think it will be a solution but may even create more problems. I think the best thing for you both may be to set boundaries around the time and length of calls and nature of the updates and to go from there. Who knows, if she is getting updates throughout the day then maybe the phone calls will stop altogether. Fingers crossed! |
| commented answer | Not sure if I am overreacting or if this is creepy??...please help? Thanks for the response, Isabel. You definitely did the right thing. If he got upset over it he sounds like someone that you don't need to deal with ;) |
| answered a question | Not sure if I am overreacting or if this is creepy??...please help? Hi Isabel, I am sorry you had to experience this. It is disgusting behaviour. If you feel uncomfortable then you are not overreacting. Trust your gut in these situations and never follow through with a booking if you get weird vibes from the owner. No amount of money is worth your comfort. In this situation, I would immediately call Rover to report the incident and find out the best way to proceed to cancel it to make sure that he is flagged or at least contacted by Rover about his inappropriate behaviour. Make sure that you take screen shots of the text messages so that you can send them to Rover. I only maintain contact through the Rover app for exactly this reason. If an owner is asking you to communicate or operate outside of the site, it is usually a red flag. If owners give you an alternate contact number for emergencies, that is of course ok, but if they want to exchange numbers because it is "easier" that does not make sense given that Rover messages are sent via text to both parties anyway. Please update us - I am very interested to hear how Rover deals with harassment. Chantelle |