As Amberlie said, some dogs may appear to have a bit of an uneven spine. My bully breed mix has a slight roach-back, making the spine oddly visible halfway down his back and making his rear end slope a little more than you would typically see in similar dogs, but his vet said it wasn't severe enough to cause any harm. So if you have any concerns with the shape I would recommend asking your vet!

The above is true, but I just wanted to pipe in. If your phone, for whatever reason, isn't working properly, I'd recommend frequently checking your Rover account for new messages.

During the time my first client and I were discussing the stay, my phone just stopped receiving texts all of a sudden. From everyone. Or, I would get them hours, hours later. Thankfully I had noticed this problem before having the client wait too long for a response and kept up with them through Rover's messaging system.

So I guess moral of the story is just to not rely on just phone notifications even though it's the quickest way to get most peoples' attention.

My first client simply told me that he 'had cameras', without specifying where. So at the end of the Meet & Greet, I asked him. I didn't want to make him suspicious or something, so I just told him that I've never stayed in a person's house before that had cameras in it (which is true) and that knowing where they are would just help to ease my nerves a bit. I don't have a problem with there being in-house cameras, but it is useful information to know, as others said, such as with pajamas and whatnot. Don't want anyone to see parts of me that I don't want them to see, ha! He specified where the cameras were and that was that. Booked and completed the stay, everything went swimmingly. I didn't have any bad gut feelings and he wasn't off-putting in the least.

I think it varies from person to person on how long they have to wait before their profile is approved/for their Rover 101 sitting quiz badge to appear on the profile. I personally had to wait a little over a day before my profile was made public, but I had to wait several (I think it was at least 3, no longer than 5) days for the sitting badge to appear on it.

My client gave me a quick tour of their house, and gave me the option of sleeping wherever I was comfortable, either in the child's bed or the master bedroom. They also brought up the subject of letting me watch their TV, bringing my laptop over and hooking it up to the wi-fi, and what I could eat that was already stocked in their house. (This is going to be a week stay, mind you)

If they hadn't have brought a couple of those topics up first, I would have asked about them at some point after getting to know the dog better.

I just booked my first client yesterday, and my parents did take me to their house! My mom came in with me, just to introduce herself and to mention that it was my first time doing something like this, especially since I'm going to be staying overnight at their house, and my client had no problems whatsoever! But yes, definitely mention it to your client just so that they're not surprised.

Oh no, you're right! Thank you for letting me know, I can't believe I didn't notice sooner!

Hey, all!

I've seen a few Rover dogsitting groups on facebook, but none based anywhere near where I am. So I took the liberty of creating one for us, I know there are a good amount of us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/955766941110556/

I wrote up a description and all that, but basically it's an opportunity to interact with one another and share experiences! I know that I, as a very new sitter, would appreciate hearing the stories and tips of the more experienced sitters. If you'd like to join, just request to do so and send me a link to your profile here.

And what helped you get your name out there?

I'm in Seminole, Florida right now (in Pinellas County) and it's a pretty small area. I'm planning on moving to a much bigger city but I won't be able to do so until I have the funds for that, so:

Are there any extra tips and 'tricks' you've done to get more clients in a smaller area? I've promoted my profile on my facebook, twitter, and craigslist, but I'm afraid for the most part that's only reaching a fairly small crowd. I'm planning on getting some free business cards and I know a couple of animal places where I can ask to display those, but other than that I'm not quite sure how to reach a larger audience?

There's also the fact that I must rely on my bicycle for travel for 5 out of 7 days, making my service area at a max of 15 miles most of the time. I'm also not able to board; I can only dogsit at the client's home.

Thanks for any advice!

Since I've been having a lot of trouble finding a job (relatively small area, I'm young, I've never had a paying job before) I turned to Rover to hopefully start making some money. And it's a perfect opportunity because I just absolutely love dogs, always have.

What I'm hoping for is to make enough money for me to move closer to my university. It's a bigger area, with a LOT of busy dog owners, so there's a good chance to make a good amount of money by dogsitting there. And I'll hopefully be able to find another job as well, so I can go back to my university and finish up my bachelor's in animal biology. But I wouldn't give up being a Rover sitter!

So even though right now my primary focus is making enough money to move out, it's very closely seconded by my desire to meet tons of new dogs of every breed! And of course, the opportunity to learn more and more about different clients, dog ownership, and entering the working world.