I've been regularly sitting a Havanese puppy who is 4 months old at this point. The park/lawn area of the apartment building my clients live in is popular for dog-walking but also for rabbits, and this dog likes to eat the rabbit poop hidden in the grass. Walks are sometimes a challenge with the pup because of his habits of trying to eat poop (and really just generally putting everything he finds in his mouth) and his charging. Of course he's still a puppy and is still learning, so I don't want to say, "This dog hasn't been properly leash-trained," especially when I'm not exactly an expert. Typically when he pulls I stand still and wait for the leash to slack, which can be a while if he's really focused on something.

Last night, though, I figured out that if I brought his bully stick I could easily lead him away from poop, distract him from people he wanted to charge at, etc, as well as get some outdoor play time in. I was happy with this because it seemed like both of us benefited from using the stick, but I asked the owners if they were okay with me using this method because, again, not an expert and I don't want to somehow mess up his training. The husband replied to me, "That or just use the leash to drag him away..." and I really wanted to reply that I don't think it's very safe to just drag a dog, especially as often as this one tries to eat rabbit poop, but I don't want to imply to my clients that I think they're bad owners or know less than I do, etc. This isn't the first time I've heard them suggest dragging him, and it's made me uncomfortable every time because as far as I've been taught, doing that can injure the dog. They're fine with me using my gentler method, but they're the ones walking him the majority of the time and I don't know if I should voice my concerns. Advice would be appreciated!

Oh, forgot to say that that is such a great picture! :)

Thanks for the tips! I do tend to send some lower-quality pictures to clients sometimes if it shows them really happy, because that's the most important thing, and sometimes I just send a picture of them chilling because like you said, it's comforting for clients to know their pup is relaxed!

Oh, I love the temple idea! He's still in doggy kindergarten so he doesn't always sit but I'll try that out! Quick question - how do I pretend that I have a treat? Put my hand in the back and take it out with my hand closed?

Thanks so much for the tips! The dogs I walk don't have access to dog parks so when we're outside I've kind of got my hands full, unfortunately. My phone's burst mode isn't great; I thought my phone camera didn't have an action mode but it turns out it's under "sports" so I'll try that out! :)

If you have the Rover app, it will let you adjust the availability so that it actually shows up when you view on the computer. I have Android so I can't guarantee that it will work on another smartphone OS, but that's the only way I've been able to turn green days red.

It's definitely been annoying because no matter what browser I use, when I click a green day where I want to try again to mark it as unavailable, it basically confirms that I've already marked it as unavailable, but it still shows up green on multiple browsers as though I'm available. The Rover app is the only thing that will actually turn my unavailable days red, so I would recommend trying to manage your calendar through that if you can!

Like, I could have all 5-star ratings except for one that's 3 stars, and I have no way of knowing beyond asking all my clients client which one I messed up on unless the client's messaged me already with complaints, so it'd be nice to do a post-stay check-up if their rating says they weren't happy.

Oh, I 100% agree; I meant that, if I see that the same client gives me 4 stars for a great stay and 4 stars for one that wasn't my best, then I'll know what kind of ratings to expect, but if I get a lower rating than usual I can ask them what they'd like me to improve upon, you know?

So, I've heard back from Rover (Thanks, Emilee!) - apparently some clients will just leave a star rating, but no written review, in which case it isn't public and you don't get notified. I had kind of assumed that the "pending review" status in my list of past stays meant that the owner hadn't given a review (I tend to not bother with giving my review of a dog because it's not hard for me to remember whether a dog was difficult or not) so I was really confused as to how I would have so many hidden reviews but it makes sense now!

I have to say I'm not super comfortable with that method because if a client isn't entirely happy with my service and only indicates as such with a star rating, I would like to, you know, be informed as to how I need to improve and also be able to apply context to a rating. I'm pretty hard on myself and have had little slip-ups in my stays before where I was a little surprised that the owners gave me glowing 5-star reviews because I always think I've tanked it if I've made a mistake, even if it's small and I fixed it quickly, etc, so it would be nice to know whether a client is just someone who never gives anything 5 stars, or if they're actually not satisfied with my care.

For me, I can't imagine who would have added a review/testimony - I have a lot of repeat business with a couple who have never left a review before and I can't imagine them deciding that after several weeks they should leave one, or that they would submit 5! I'll let you know when I hear back!

My profile says I have 11 reviews and 4.5 stars, when I really have 6 (3 testimonials; 3 5-star reviews). I've contacted customer support about it and am waiting to hear back (I am hard of hearing so I decided to forgo a phone call unless it becomes a more pressing matter) but I was just wondering if this is something other sitters are noticing on their profiles, too?

Thank you! I was going to post in that section, I just wanted to make sure it was okay to. I know that she's contacted the police and animal control, and she intends to sue the guy, but unfortunately she only has until the 29th to pay the bill, hence the fundraising. Thank you for the advice!

Hi! My sister's friend Michelle was recently evicted (for no apparent reason and breaking their lease in the process) and her dog was thrown out on the street while she was at work; he was attacked by a much larger dog and now has a broken back, among other injuries. Michelle is now about $1000 in debt to the animal hospital that saved his life, and I'm trying to think of other ways to spread the youcaring fundraiser link that's been set up to help and it occurred to me that a community of dog-lovers would probably want to help, even if it's just to share the link. However, I obviously don't want to violate any rules and I recognize that it's essentially solicitation. The FAQs for the Q&A community weren't very clear on whether this would be accepted, so I just want to check.

Thanks so much!