it doesn't seem that pet owners undergo background checks and I think that's messed up. in using Rover, BOTH parties (owner and sitter) are engaging in very personal business with people they don't know...entrusting strangers with their beloved pets on the owners parts, and on the sitters parts, sleeping, which is when we are most vulnerable, in an unfamiliar place belonging to people they don't know. to me it's a no brainer to start performing background checks on pet owners, at least if the sitter is going to spend any time in the owners home.

A sitter who knowingly lets a dog's pee accident dry on the owners floor without cleaning it up should not receive the same overall compensation as a sitter who is thorough in actively looking for and cleaning up fresh and dried accidents. Just as an example...

Totally. I don't really know why tips aren't encouraged more for Rover sitters. Tips are to acknowledge / show appreciation for above-average quality, IMO, and sitters provide a WIDE range of quality in their services.

Sure, we should all expect that we're on camera a lot of times..in PUBLIC. There is a fine line between cameras in a school or shopping mall, and in the privacy of someone's home. None of us would be okay w/ hotel rooms having cameras in them right? Same idea & same problem with house sitting IMO.

there's no guarantee that a dog who's never bitten anyone before won't bite in the future, so i think owners definitely need to know if / any time their dog bites. you'd actually be doing a courtesy to them by telling them, and could be saving them future legal issues if the dog bites again.

of course you should tell the owners (and Rover) about the bite! dog bites are scary because they can mean so many different things (playfulness, aggression, teething, who knows!) and the dog's motive can be really hard to determine. a playful bite, if under certain circumstances, could turn ugly.

I just finished a 10 day pet sitting gig for a 12 year old, deaf rescue dog, who is essentially not potty trained, just as many puppies aren't. She also required tons of meds and medicated baths and for me to carry her up the two different flights of stairs in the house, multiple times every day. In all, this dog required more care and work than any other dog I've watched, including puppies, so I might consider charging an elderly dog rate / charging my puppy rate for dogs over a certain age.

I charge $62/night for puppies, as opposed to my regular rate of $55/night.

Just like pet owners need to feel safe about a sitter in their home, sitters should feel safe in the homes of their clients. Sitters on Rover are vetted thoroughly (background checks, testimonials / reviews, badges, etc.) but as far as I can tell, pet owners aren't vetted at all, and def should be.

I also am bothered by this and feel that clients not disclosing hidden cameras to sitters ahead of time is a huge violation of privacy. In fact, I wrote to Rover suggesting that pet owners be required to disclose to their sitters the presence of any cameras in the home, but I haven't heard back.

If a client requests that you bathe his/her dog while you're house/pet sitting overnight, do you guys charge extra for the bath(s)? If so, how much do you charge? There is an option, for those of you who don't know, when you're filling out your sitter services and rates, to add your rate for bathing and grooming or to check a box to offer these services for free.

For those of you who don't charge extra, what's your reasoning? Thanks!