How to ask owner to wash dog? How would you go about asking an owner to groom their dog before you sit them? We have on...

Yeah, the threatened fine for us is $500 per offense, per day. Going to be calling zoning office as soon as I can with those laws. Luckily we have until September 23rd to either comply or get this figured out.

Hi Ashley, Another resident of the Ocean State here! We just got notice from Pawtucket saying we were breaking zoning rules by running a dog sitting business out of our home. I'll respond with those new passed laws you found (really great info!) but hope that zoning laws don't overwrite them.

Good point, but its def not a fear thing. She just seems like a lonely old lady, and sometimes her bookings seem like a chance for her to talk more than anything else (like a 4-5 hour sitting). But you're right that we just need to be straightforward and reject future requests.

We don't have a lot of repeat clients, but one of them, we'd just rather not sit for anymore. Her dog is super old, will come inside from a long walk/break outside, and immediately dump on carpet (bye bye, rug). He roams constantly, and if something is in his way, he'll just walk through it, pulling down cables, computers, etc. If you try to encourage him to nap by putting in crate, he'll relentlessly scratch the bottom of it (he broke the plastic liner of one of our crates, which I didn't even know was possible, and then tore up the carpet underneath that). He's, without a doubt, the #1 worst dog we sit.

He is, however, not a bad dog. He isn't aggressive or anything, at this point we just don't like him.

On top of that, the owner is a major lingerer. Whenever she picks up her pooch, she gets comfy on couch without invitation and chats. I work remotely, so sometimes I need to get back to work. Last time our couch was covered in dining room chairs (was mopping) and she still managed to find a little patch to perch herself on!

I'd feel really awful saying we didn't want to see her dog anymore. We've thought about telling her we're taking a break from sitting, but are worried she see new reviews going up. We just sort of want to disappear from her potential sitters.

Suggestions? Should we just suck it up and tolerate?

Oh yeah? How do I do that? Can I only offer discounts after they book?

Hey Rover Folks, I'm contemplating how to best maintain contact with previous clients, and I know that in the past I was very impressed with a walker who sent gifts after taking care of our dog.

But since she walked our dog, she has the advantage of knowing exactly where I live. In the case of people who bring their dog to me for boarding, what's a nice/not-creepy way of asking for their address to send a thank-you card & gift?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks, -Nick

I have a suggestion for pricing that I think would be helpful: Being able to adjust what prices you charge based on the weight category of the dog. We did a meet & greet with a real giant of a dog and while we'd be glad to have the big fella over, it seems odd that the dog with potential to walk through my walls if he wanted pays the same as a pug.

I appreciate that we have the ability to tweak prices for puppies, considering they require a lot of extra time and attention, but by that same token a dog that could put on a helmet and join the NFL is also going to require a lot of extra oomph from me.

A trick that helped Ripley when we were doing it consistently was using click training and plenty of treats. As soon as I saw she noticed a dog, I'd click, and give her a treat. As she continued to focus on me, she'd continue to get clicks and treats. Even if she looks at the other dog, as long as she's being quiet, boom, click+treats. She'd get to point where she'd see another dog, and then immediately look to me. I stopped maintaining this practice, and she's unfortunately starting to regress to barking at strange dogs, so we'll need to kick the habit back up.