Like Amber said, if you use the black light you may be in for a surprise. Dogs leave behind urine all over the house, even the well trained ones that do use the bathroom inside. The dogs still have urine inside their tract even when they have used the restroom and every dog excretes a little bit with various every day activities. Not all of it may get on your carpet, but when they lay in their beds, your bed, couch, etc, it gets rubbed against furniture and carpets. It's inevitable, and it's something that a pet owner has to come to terms with (even more so for a pet sitter!)

Dogs leave behind their scent or 'mark' in may different ways and not only through urine. So just because a dog is paying attention to a particular spot doesn't necessarily mean someone had an accident there. If you think about the thousands of places we've been, and the thousands of things we have stepped in (majority of the time without knowing) we track all of that inside our home every day, and so do our pets. Just like you have to tell your kids to not put money in their mouth because that quarter has probably been in thousands of pockets, wallets, hands, and who knows what else. The same thing goes for us and our pets. Which is one of the main reasons why we do not wear shoes in our home. This is a bit of an odd topic for me when I have meet and greets in my home. I'll kindly let them know they can leave their shoes by the shoe rack (we have a tower rack that houses all of our shoes, since we strongly believe in no outdoor shoes in the home), and sometimes they kindly deny and say that they'll leave them on. Then what? I understand that not everyone is used to the same customs that my family and I are, but the fact of the matter is, you're in my home, and you have to respect it. I always feel awkward requesting for them to take their shoes off, though no one has ever objected a second time. I would never dare wear my shoes in someone else's home, and I've had some strange stares from others when they see that I have removed my shoes. Who knows! All I know is, I'd never disrespect someone's home by dragging my dirty 'though clean' shoes in their home.

I went off topic a little, but we drag stuff into our homes every day. Point blank! So I am always very good about constantly cleaning on a regular basis. Dogs mark to distinguish territory, but it doesn't always have to be over pee or poop. It can be anything they're trying to mask with their scent. I place baking soda on my carpets once or twice a week, let ... (more)

I am marked as available throughout the year, unless I purposely go in and block off a date or two for my own personal reasons. Otherwise I am always available, UNLESS I am already booked for said dates. Obviously Rover automatically updates my calendar for days I am booked full.

I was curious after reading your post, so I just jotted down the days of 2014 on a sheet of paper and highlighted the dates I had at least one dog in my home with me (2014). I was booked for 82% of 2014. 300 days out of 365 I had at least one rover dog in my home (this isn't including a lot of the dog walking/doggie daycare I do in my community outside of Rover). Looking at the sheet, there are several bare patches where I did not work (possibly because I was busy, or I simply had no bookings). I had no bookings from JAN 11th-FEB 6th, which is right after the Christmas/Holiday/New Year rush, where most people are returning to work and not taking vacation. I also had a no booking period from FEB 10-19. My next breaks in bookings are MAY 18-21, I went out of town, and JUN 1-5, also out of town. I didn't have another break until SEP 2-14. My final break of the year was from NOV 8-13, and that was for personal reasons. There is obviously a break in September, because that's when people stop vacationing from the summer and their children go back to school, and parents go back to work.

It really depends on the time of the year, and the demand in your area. I live in a very dog savvy city, and so are the surrounding cities, so there are a lot more people in demand for a sitter. We used to foster often, so having extra furry feet running around isn't anything we aren't already used to. Also if you compare JAN 2014, and what I've completed so far in JAN 2015, there is already a tremendous difference in how busy I am. Simply because I am more established in my area than I was a year ago. Majority of my bookings are repeated clients, and most of them I did not have back then. As time passes, and the more experienced you become, you'll be swatting away clients with a broom! I almost feel bad turning away parents, because I have a limit that I can take at one time. Of course during the summer and holidays we are able to take more dogs because the kids are out of school, and I'm more available to care for the dogs, but during the school year we cut back on how many dogs we have because we are more busy. Our home feels incomplete without at least one dog with us, plus my Binky needs playmates. She gets depressed and sluggish when she's ... (more)

Like what Karen said, mentioning in your profile that damages to your home and belongings within your home by a guest dog have to be reimbursed by the pet parents. When my pet parents come for their meet and greets, I have not only information forms for them to fill out regarding their pets, but also a form detailing all my contact information, discount codes, services, and an agreement they need to sign regarding damage to my home, injury to my family members, myself, family pet, or other pets. Most parents do not have a problem signing it, and I honestly can only think of one that seemed to be hesitant with signing it. Not sure why, since it's all a formality. It's all legal and binding, and my father helped me with it a long time ago. I used to just be okay with rover's policies, but honestly they don't cover some of the important things, so you do have to make sure you are covered in these instances, otherwise you are taking a gamble that the parents will not cover damages their dogs make. I decided to start making my pet parents sign the agreement after a parent refused to reimburse me door frame that their dog gnawed in the middle of the night. They told me that there was no way to prove that the damage did not already exist (even though they did tour the home and it was clear that it was not there beforehand) and that it could have been my dog that did it. #1 my dog doesn't gnaw on the doors in her own home, otherwise we'd have gnawed up frames everywhere, and I woke up to see their dog sitting right next to the door with the guiltiest look on his face, meanwhile my dog was KO'd in her bed. Secondly they tried to blame it on me that their dog must have been confused because they NEVER keep the door closed to their bedroom in their home, and that their dog walks freely in their home. Allowing your dog to walk around freely in your own home is understandable, but it's not realistic when they are staying in someone else's home. So I would never allow a guest dog to wander the home freely in the middle of the night while I am sleeping and could potentially get into something and harm themselves. I always close my bedroom door at night, and not because I don't trust my dog to wander the house, but because it's naturally something I do. Most people close their bedroom doors at night, it's normal, not to mention I wanted him to stay in my room, and not be wandering the house. Despite their 'reasoning' it was quite obvious they just did not want to pay for the damage, and I have refused to service them again because of it. They've requested ... (more)

Janete and Tony,

You can alter your prices at any time, and change the rates manually when booking with a specific client. Simply explain to them (or note it in your profile) that your rate for a intact male is higher than for a fixed one. Explain why, and that it's more work for you to keep them safe around other dogs and typically for cleaning up after them. Anyone who says any differently about intact males, doesn't understand dog behavior and tendencies. It is true that an intact male marks more frequently than fixed ones (not to mention their urine is much more potent), and are prone to attracting more aggressive behaviors from other dogs (typically male:male, female:female). Each occurrence is different for every dog, but the risks are higher with intact males over the age of 1 (in some cases even before then).

I take care of a 7 year old in tact Rottweiler, and every time he comes over, not only do I have to wash everything he's laid on and any jackets or sweaters I've worn while he's here (BECAUSE OF THE DROOL!), but I also have to go around the backyard and spray down all the bushes and trees. The reason for this? Because his urine is POTENT! It's so strong that it makes me sick every time I pass by it. He is a very healthy Rottie, drinks plenty of water, and is in fabulous shape, he's not fixed though, so his urine has a strong smell. He has marked 1 time in my house, the first time he every came over, but I made it VERY clear to him that it was NOT okay! He never did it again. He's potty trained, and knows he isn't suppose to go into the house, so because I made it clear that he wasn't going to get away with marking in the house, he understood, and hasn't done it since.

So I don't have issues with marking in the house anymore, though he does it VERY frequently everywhere else (outside, on a walk, at the park). My problem is the constant fear I'm in when walking him around town and on the trails. I understand that dogs tend to attract negative attention when they are not fixed, but he is like a MAGNET! I had to stop walking him down a specific street in my neighborhood, because two male dogs (that are normally very friendly when I walk any other dog down that street) that live on the corner house were trying to jump the fence to get to him, but they were unsuccessful. Knowing that they could not jump the fence, the next time we passed by this house, they were trying to tear through the fence to get to him! They were literally tearing the boards off of the fence trying to reach him, so I had no choice ... (more)

I used to have a similar issue with my dog Binky. Her situation was a bit different though, so I'll explain:

Binky can hold her blatter for very long periods of time, and when I was very sick a little less than a year ago - she held it for over 24 hours because I couldn't even get out of the bed. Which made me feel very bad, but I was also very proud of her for holding so long. She also has typically 2 BM a day, one very large one in the morning, and perhaps another decent sized one in the late afternoon/evening (her favorite treat is pureed pumpkin, and she gets a tablespoon with every meal to keep her regular and of course she LOVES it, but it causes her to go poop more often).

Binky could probably stay home for days (haven't actually tested this, and won't) and not have an accident as long as I have her use the restroom prior to me leaving her, BUT that is only if she's blocked off from going upstairs, or if she's in my room with the door closed. If I allow her access to the rest of the upstairs - she has a spot. A favorite spot that if she hasn't had her AM pee and poop (which happens rarely when I'm very busy, and have to rush out of the house. We all have those days), she will go to this spot ONLY and pee and poop. Now if she's downstairs with the stairs blocked off, or in a bedroom with the door closed, she's fine! Even if she hasn't gone to the restroom, she will hold it until I come back. BUT if she can get to the loft, she will go to the bathroom. This is the ONLY area in our entire 3500 square foot house that she has ever used the bathroom in. I find it very VERY odd. There's just something about that room...that she associates with being a bathroom?

My theory is: in her mind, the loft is the least important room in the entire house. She sees the loft as irrelevant, and will probably not get in as much trouble if she were to go to the bathroom there versus any other room in the house. She knows are bedrooms are important to us, because that's where we sleep - and a dog will NOT go where they sleep. (Look up the mindset of an outdoor dog, an outdoor dog will ALWAYS use the restroom on the opposite side of the yard that they eat and sleep in. They will poop as far away from the dining and sleeping quarters as they possibly can - the same is said for wild dogs) The kitchen and dining rooms are where we all eat, and food is made = important. Living room is where we gather to spend time together = important. Bathrooms ... (more)

I go back and forth with this specific issue, since I do and don't allow dogs on the furniture. Primarily I only allow dogs that are invited onto the furniture, to lay on the furniture. If that doesn't make any sense I will explain.

With my own dog, she is allowed on all furniture in our home except for my parents bed, and our leather couches in the game room. That being said, she does NOT get on furniture when not invited to. She will not jump up on a bed or couch that isn't hers, until invited to come up. (i.e., she doesn't take the liberty to lay on furniture herself).

She sees laying on furniture with us as a reward for good behavior, a great run, or just because we want to snuggle with her. She will only stay on the furniture for so long, before she gets off to go lay on the cool hardwood floors.

The standards I uphold with my own dog, are applied to my guests dogs. If a guest dog takes the liberty to jump up on the furniture without being invited, they have to get off. Once they've decided to stay off, and go elsewhere, I will invite them to come on if they still want to.

I use couch and bed snuggle time as a reward that they look forward to. I tend to do this with a lot of other normal activities (i.e. treats, meal times, water, walks, cuddle time, fetch, etc.) These are normal every day routine and activties, but I make my dogs work for it, which also stimulates them mentally and physically. My dogs stay for at least 6 seconds before entering and exiting any door or gate, entering a car, entering/exiting a building, entering/exiting the dog park and sit and stay whilst other dogs approach us, kindly say hello, and go about our way. This is a standard I hold with all of my dogs, and for guests that are not used to this kind of training get special attention (solo walks, solo park time, solo feedings, etc) until they get the hang of it, and can do it along with the rest of the pack.

It also helps tremendously when they have someone other than you, that upholds the rules to follow. Binky, my resident dog, leads and shows all of our guests about how to act when staying with us. They often follow her around the house, if she goes to the living room and lies down, they will to. If she goes to get a drink of water, they will follow, if she goes upstairs to try to get away from them, they follow her lol. I honestly could not function as well if it wasn't for Binky. She's my biggest and best helper!!

The key is to be consistent! If you give in, or slip up one time, that's all ... (more)