Personally, I love spending time with the dogs I have the pleasure of visiting every day. If I'm not on a run with them, we're playing outside and I am in the grass interacting with them the entire time. I bring a backpack with me on my runs just to carry my phone so that when my 20 minute timer on my watch goes off I remember to take some pictures. I understand that this situation is not the same for all pet sitters, everyone has their own way of doing things. My way happens to be very involved and I keep my phone and all other distractions aside from the animal I am taking care of out of my mind. I don't want that to sound too dramatic, it's mostly because I don't want to get my phone sweaty and smudged.. At the end of my drop-in visit, walk, or morning/evening updates for house-sitting clients I always attach the pictures I have taken with a message summarizing how everything went. That often includes whether or not they did #1 & #2, got a lot of exercise, were fed, had treats, were well-behaved, etc. I would like to emphasize that I do all of this AFTER I am done with the visit, not during. This kind of does the same job, if not more than, the report card is meant to provide without the pretty formatting. Is there any chance the report cards can be made not mandatory? I'd really prefer to spend my time taking care of the animals whose owners invited me to do so instead of being attached to my phone.

I try to keep it simple with just a dufflebag of clothes, toiletries, and a backpack with books/laptop/food. I would also recommend being proactive and keeping the home very clean (vacuum, clean dishes, etc) - it's not something many people would expect, but will be very happy to see when they arrive home after a long trip.

I was just contacted by someone who said they needed a dog sitter at the last minute and I immediately responding, letting them know I was available. She had two dogs, but submitted the booking with only 1 and asked me what my rate was for both dogs. I told her, have not heard back but the dot next to her Rover number is now red instead of green. I have only noticed this happen once or twice in the past when the owner never responded back, or their plans changed. Does anyone know what this red dot signifies?