I think it depends on the area and its culture. In Utah I was almost never tipped. I've just moved to Pennsylvania, and ...

I think it depends on the area and its culture. In Utah I was almost never tipped, but people usually reviewed my servic...

Absolutely! I require meet-and-greets for all of my new clients, regardless of the service they need, so we can chat abo...

Where is the line between basic dog walking and professional training services? I have a very nice regular client whose ...

I think it depends on the area and its culture. In Utah I was almost never tipped, but people usually reviewed my servic...

I think it depends on the area and its culture. In Utah I was almost never tipped, but people usually reviewed my servic...

I think it depends on the area and its culture. In Utah I was almost never tipped, but people usually reviewed my sesrvi...

Is picking up the key something most sitters charge for? I've been assuming that was just part of the service, but it's ...

Is picking up the key something most sitters charge for? I've been assuming that was just part of the service, but it's ...

Is picking up the key something most sitters charge for? I've been assuming that was just part of the service, but it's ...

This seems a bit strange, right? Does somebody who's already busy (hence the need for a sitter) really need three or four dings just for a single text message? Maybe I'll submit some feedback to Rover about this. Thanks, Tim.

I actually send several at once (in a single message), but I'm not convinced that means they go through as a single message. In contrast, in texting, groups of pictures can all go through at once. But as Tim said, in Rover's app, they show up separately as if I'd sent them separately.

Hello. I really enjoy taking pictures of my clients' dogs and often get a lot of great ones that I save up for a single update once a day. But I had a client recently tell me how annoying another sitter's update was because she had sent him tons of pictures and he'd had to turn his phone off from all the notifications during his meetings. Do clients who get notifications through the app hear a separate ding for every single picture we send them? If so, I may need to be a little more selective of which pictures I send, or ask if I can do two updates a day instead of one, so I'm not interrupting people too much. As for my own sitters, I usually get just one fairly weak picture per update anyway, so I still don't really know what happens when several are sent. Thanks for any answers!

What's the link for this page? I'd love to try it.

Once you have a little more experience and feel like you know what to watch for at the meet-and-greet and what questions to ask, you may feel comfortable trying phone calls as an alternative to in-person meet-and-greets. But I'd only do this if there really isn't any way to get that person to visit your home ahead of time AND everything seems like a good fit from your messaging. I recently tried this with a client who was coming in from out of state, and it was a really helpful way for me to gauge both her and her dog. She had given me a lot of great info about her pup in her initial message, which is rare, the stay was for just one night, and her dog did sound like a perfect fit, so the call ended up being a good way for me to get more-detailed answers to my specific questions and to see how I felt about working with that owner. For instance, she was able to tell me in detail how her dog does when meeting new pups. Normally I do still require meet-and-greets, but if you do feel comfortable accepting a phone call instead for a particular request, make sure you call the owner through Rover so you don't have to swap private numbers.

Since drop-in visits include playing with and exercising the dog, I'm comfortable walking dogs during drop-ins. If I'm doing three drop-ins for the dog in one day, I'll probably play with the dog (or cuddle--whatever it prefers) for the morning and nighttime visits and then walk it if it needs the exercise during the midday visit. I also check the water bowls and do all the other things the drop-in booking entails. Conversely, when I book walks, I still check the dogs' bowls, give them treats, cuddle, play, etc. Basically, for either booking, I do whatever is needed to make sure the dog is cared for and happy when I leave. For me, the difference is that drop-ins are booked as needed (like when the owners go on vacation here and there) and walks are booked regularly (like several times a week on a set schedule). So I give a slight discount for walks because it's continued business I can count on. But that's just me! Other sitters do it differently.

Dog boarding and doggy daycare both include the option of setting rates for pick-up and drop-off services. If I say $15, for instance, is that $15 for both picking up and dropping off for a single booking, $15 for picking up at the beginning of the stay and another $15 for dropping off at the end, or $15 each time I go there and $15 each time I come back (totalling $60)? Thank you!