Yeah, that's what I'm thinking I will have to do. I'm just hoping to find one person that can take on all of them so my clients don't have to worry about a bunch of different people showing up.

Right, it will be blocked off for new clients, but 90% of my clients I work with Mon- Fri, every single week so I'm trying to come up with solutions to help them find someone reliable for the week because they are used to not having to worry about who will work with their dog everyday.

Luckily now, I have so much walking business that I have been able to cut down on the boarding to one client a month if that, which has really reduced the stress.

Yeah, like I said, I don't necessarily feel like people are really lying, I just think they may be used to some behaviors, or not see them as a problem. However those "small" vices get compounded by the fact that they are staying in a new place and I have two dogs myself, plus an occasional daycare.

Small dogs and dogs with flat faces often have breathing issues. My chihuahua frequently does the "reverse sneeze". Basically what happens in that case is his trachea collapses and it becomes difficult to breathe momentarily. Flat faced dogs have similar issues because of the shape of their snout. My vet told me to just keep him calm until the episode ends, to be mindful of how tight his collar is around his throat, and to stick to a harness when out walking to avoid the collar yanking at his neck.

Over the last year I have accumulated quite a few regular clients that I handle on a day-to-day or at least weekly basis. This is great and I really enjoy what I do, but now I'm in a bit of a bind and am looking for advice.

I just bought a house and next month I will need a week to go about moving, collecting some of my things from out-of-state and moving into the new house. I haven't had to deal with any days off thus far, and am wondering how full timers handle "vacations" without causing excess stress or burden to their clients. I don't really want to just say "Hey, I'm leaving for a week so good luck" so I am trying to come up with solutions to offer them while I am gone.

Advice?

there have been some that tell me afterwards when I tell them how things went, "Oh, yeah, he does that sometimes," or something to that effect. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I feel like I don't always get the full story, and am often left dealing with things I'm not ready for.

I feel like I've really gone above and beyond to try to make things go smoothly. I also have a basket with a variety of different types of toys to help entertain them. I spend lots of time with them out in the backyard, go on long walks, dog parks, etc. I do believe some clients don't know, but

It can be difficult to say since it's determined by a variety of factors. The biggest one is really how much of a demand there is for dog sitters in your area. I live in LA and since the city is so dense and I live in a dog friendly neighborhood, I got overloaded almost immediately, but I have friends in other states and smaller cities that rarely see much activity.

Networking definitely helps. Once you get one or two clients in, make sure you're giving out business cards or even just your Rover URL so they can spread the word to friends!

I've been boarding dogs for the last several months and am considering taking this service off of my site because I feel like I'm hitting a really terrible streak of clients that are not being honest with me about their dogs. I have had quite a few clients that tell me their dog has never chewed anything and I end up with ruined shoes, furniture, etc. Clients have told me their dog doesn't have separation anxiety, but then I can't leave the house for a week. Worst situation is when they insist their dog is wonderful in every way and then I end up with a bit of a monster that terrorizes my entire household. My house has gone through some things at this point, I've been unable to leave my home for a week at a time, and I'm at my wits end. I really enjoy having a good majority of the dogs in my home and don't want to take this service away, but this awful streak is wearing me down.

I feel like I'm asking all the right questions, I really try to judge the dog's behavior at meet and greets, but I'm at a loss. How do you guys handle meet and greets to really determine whether the dog will be a good fit? Because I clearly am missing something.

This literally just happened to me today. Left for half an hour to walk down the street to grab a prescription, and when I came back my blinds were in shreds. I had baby gates up to sequester him to one area of the house and he didn't seem able to get over them when I set him in there initially, but he sure managed once I left.

I was checking here to see what should be done about it.

Hope everything worked out! Sometimes puppy care is a struggle.

I like this, it shows that your focus is on the dogs and also makes it clear that you are running a business that does not revolve around them. I'll have to give that a try.

Really you can advertise anywhere. If you haven't seen in the Rover store, they have business cards and other promotion tools. I've left my cards at the pet store down the street from my house and left them with clients to give to friends. I've also used Twitter to advertise.

When my boyfriend got a greyhound, I was like "What are you doing? We live in a 600 square foot studio!" But she's been the greatest apartment dog. She hardly ever makes noise and she sleeps 90% of the time!

I previously worked for a dog trainer and his advice for dealing with play bites was to let out a short yelp. The dogs generally aren't trying to hurt you and may not realize that they did, so by yelping, you're speaking their language to let them know that they've hurt you. It's worked great with my dogs and they generally stop immediately and start licking. It feels a little silly, but whatever works.

So, dog owners not showing up at agreed upon times has been an overly common problem with me. It seems like every single booking I have is not showing up when they tell me they will be here and it's to the point of causing problems for me. This evening, my client was an hour and a half late to drop off. While it wasn't a huge deal this time, if I had dogs check-ins to do this evening, I would have been in trouble. This constant lack of promptness is making it difficult for me to plan out my days/bookings.

How do you deal with owners that do not show up at agreed upon times to pick up or drop-off their dog?