Hello my fellow dog lovers. Question....After you stay with a dog, Rover asks you to rate them. I am wondering who can see these ratings. I wouldn't want the owner to see a bad rating of their dog but I would like to let my fellow pet sitters know what to expect from that dog.

I have certain hours that I will not respond to requests. For example, late nights after 10pm, out of respect to my husband and children. Those are not my working hours. However, when I get a late night request like I did last night at 10pm, Rover will send a text saying "It's been quite a while, so and so would sure like to hear back from you." Well no, I'm not answering anyone at 10pm. Can this feature be turned off or is it automatic? It's a bit annoying, as if you have to respond that instant no matter what time it is.

I am so glad I am part of this community, you guys always give the best advice. I had a meet and greet yesterday and the owner of the dog said her dog "might" mark. I've had a bad experience before with a heavy marker and I learned my lesson from that time as to not let him roam around the whole house. I told her about the belly band/wraps and she never heard of it. She said she will buy one for his stay but my question to you is this.....how long do you leave the belly band on? Do you leave it on all the time except for potty breaks and walks or is it something you leave on for a few hours? I am not experienced with this. I mean, I wouldn't want it on too long that he will get an infection. Does anyone know the proper usage? Thank you.

I am in this business because I absolutely love dogs. I enjoy what I do but I have one problem. I get dogs that have problems, whether its anxiety, whining, markers, etc. Let me make this clear, I am not complaining. My question is, do you refrain from giving the owners advice. I keep wanting to mention something. For example, I had a dog that was afraid of her own shadow (rescue dog.) She was so scared that she couldn't even walk, she would rather drag herself on the floor or if she did walk it was with her head completely down. Poor baby I felt so sorry for her but it was clear to me that her owner needed to work on her self esteem. I took her for a walk, we ran, her tail wagged and she was a different dog. Then she clamed up again when we went in the house. The owner says she is that way in her own house and she's had her for 3 years. I just want to give the owners some advice but my husband tells me to mind my business and that everyone deal with their pets in different ways. Ugh, I really want to say something. Has anyone gone through this? Do you say something or just ignore it? Thanks.

I find people are confused about the extended stay procedure. I tell my customers " I have extended the stay for you now it is waiting in the queue for your approval. Please click on the accept button and we are good to go." They usually immediately confirm. If they do not confirm after that then I would assume they are trying to stiff you. Hopefully sending that message will work.

You must be exhausted. I feel for you. I had a dog under my care last weekend who was so hyper. I had to tell the customer it was not a good fit. Hate doing it, but I had to for my sanity :)

I see you posted this 4 days ago, wondering if the dog has settled in. I don't take puppies for that same reason. In all honesty it's puppy behavior and we are talking about a husky. Whenever I see a desperate owner I see red flag. I first wonder why is the owner desperate, lack of planning, or no one wants to deal with her dog? At this point I would keep him separated from your dogs until the stay is over hopefully in a crate or baby gated. I don't use crates but I have plenty of gates where I can section him off if needed. Let Rover know what is going on, sometimes they can reach the owners and for the next time, follow your gut feeling. You weren't sure about this dog in the first place but yet you took him in. Sometimes we want to help out the customer and end up miserable. Trust me I've been there and it was a hard lesson learned.

To be honest I do not like APSE, I think they are relatively new and have a lot to work on. I won't be renewing with them again. I have heard good things about NAPPS and PSI. I have a few certifications under my belt and I am interested in looking into PSI certification program.

I am a member of APSE, is there something specific you wanted to know about?

Yikes, yeah I wouldn't want to keep seeing that either.

There is not very much you can do since she is not answering. I have had this happen to me and once I extend it I immediately text the customer and tell them "I have extended your stay it will not be approved until you accept it on your end, please click on the approve button and we are all set." When I send this out they usually respond quickly. Some assume that you just extend the stay and it's all done. They don't know they have to approve the extension.

You can decline walks as you see fit but make sure you decline it before you book the walk. So if you think it won't be a good fit after the M&G, let the client know. If you book the walk and then cancel that will affect your ratings.

It means if you are available to care for the dogs on a full time basis on the weekdays. So if you work outside of the home or go to school that would be a no. I do this full time so I am always available for them, but I do step out to run errands. If the majority of the time you are with them then you would answer yes.

By this time I am sure you received your tip which by the way was very much deserved. Whenever a client wants to give you a tip do not hesitate to take it. I love when customers really appreciate what you do for their pups and reward you with a tip, it means you did a good job and they are appreciative.

When you board a dog at your home they have to go out and potty or go for walks to do their necessities. If not you'll have lots of accidents in your home. Like Karen said, it is all inclusive so walking is included in your boarding price.

When you do a drop-in visit it is usually for 30 minutes. You'll let the dog(s) out for potty break, feed, play and whatever else you have arranged with the owners. Sometimes they like you to turn on lights so people think they are home or even pick up their mail. All of that should be discussed at the meet and greet but typically it's to give the dogs their necessities and spend some time with them.

Sorry I probably misread your post. I'm not sure if it's too late but you might have to try to network with other sitters. I have a sitter that I send customers to (she's actually on this board) when I am booked or unavailable. That is the only thing I can think of at the moment.