Dog nails can carry a lot of dirt and bacteria, and a scratch to the eye is never something to mess around with. I hope you got that checked out!

Are you sure your calendar is marked available? If so, by this time usually most people have found accommodations for their pets. Around now (a week before xmas) you will have a few last-minute planners looking to book. I had three today after a week of no requests.

Hi Deb, you seem to have this Q&A community confused with the "Search for Sitters" part of Rover. Go to the regular Rover.com page and look for the search bar at the top where it says "Zip Code or Address". From there you can search for sitters in southern California. You can then browse the list of local sitters in your area, who may or may not offer daily dog walking. That info will be in their profiles, and you can direct message them for further info from their profiles.

If I encounter a potentially frightening situation while out on a dog walk, I usually just turn and walk the opposite direction. This includes other dogs, loud garbage trucks, motorcycles, etcetera. I don't usually attempt to do any positive reinforcement training with these situations. Usually adult dogs are more "stuck in their ways" and as the dog sitter, I am not the primary caregiver. I only see the average Rover dog every other month or so, even once a year for some. Not enough time to do any meaningful training. However, if it's a puppy I always offer some training in these situations. We sit down on the sidewalk where they are scared of the garbage truck/construction, and I give treats for positive reactions (curiosity, looking at the object, moving towards the object, tail up).

If someone blows me off for a Meet and Greet (and many have), I give them another chance if they provided an excuse. Stuff happens, especially with families with young kids. I try to be kind and lenient, but also aware of when to put my foot down. I have found that you don't want to do business with someone who doesn't respect your time. Handle it case by case...if you get a bad vibe from a potential client, you can just say you are busy next time they ask. Or you could choose to accept their business and the possible bad behaviour that may come with it (owner dropping off hours late, canceling the day of the stay, picking up late, being unresponsive). Go with your gut.

The other answers here are great, and I'd like to add a comment: I think the breed plays a part here. When I watch dogs with heavy, wheezy breathing (pugs, french bulldogs, boston terriers, pekingeses) sometimes the other dogs interpret that noise as an aggressive or excited sound and react accordingly. It's really interesting!

I take it on a case by case basis. If the owner insists that they must sleep in the bed, but they don't cry and bark when I go upstairs to my bedroom at night, I leave them downstairs to sleep on the couch. If they are having accidents in the house, no way am I letting them in my bed!

I never expect a tip. Some of my clients tip well ($50) every time they book with me, and some don't tip at all, so it evens out in the end. One time a client went to New Zealand and brought me back some goodies (jellybean chocolate bar!). I was once tipped $100 by a client whose dog was a nightmare (she was old and very sick), which I didn't expect and didn't want to accept but she insisted. I am not put out when I don't get a tip though. Not a big deal!

For me it depends. My nightly rate is $35, but for stays over 7 nights, I charge $40, because of the added burden (the longer I have the guest dog, the fewer other potential new clients I can book...my time is valuable!). But if it were a repeat client and it was for 6 weeks, I would offer them a discount instead.

I've had this happen to me on many occasions, flights get delayed ALL the time. Since I only book dogs that are dog friendly (I have one of my own), I haven't had a problem when stays overlap. I always ask the owner to go on Rover and book another night with me at my regular rate. They are always super appreciative and usually tip well on top of that.