The main thing I liked about DV was the faster/automatic payout, I wouldn't mind Rover taking that from DV haha

I am a sitter on both and I find that I like certain things about both apps (But Rover is overall way better) and I think this is awesome. I actually put myself as unavailable on Dogvacay because I just wasn't getting enough bookings and I was getting overloaded with bookings from Rover. And the few inquiries I have gotten lately from dogvacay, the clients would become very unresponsive. So I am super happy they are joining forces because I think it will provide a larger client base, and from what I saw it seemed that there were not very many sitters on Dogvacay in my area anyways, so it won't add too much competition. I'm pretty excited to see how this will turn out.

I charge about 7/8$ less than my normal rate. i have seen some sitters that charge only 5 or 10$ for additional dogs, but those dogs are taking up space from a full time dog, so I don't want to make it too low, while at the same time I understand that it can get really expensive to find a place for your dogs to stay when you have more than one. So I feel like that amount is enough of a discount.

I always wonder this too! But I always ask ahead of time and usually tell owners that I send lots of pictures (sometimes up to like 10 in a day), it kind of just depends on how cute the dog is and I just absolutely love to take pictures of dogs. I have only had 1 client that seemed kind of off put by the amount of pictures I sent which I found odd since he had a puppy and most puppy owners seem to be very attached to their dogs. But I try to make sure the pics are too similar or too generic when I send a lot. For one of my regulars she still likes to receive a couple of daily pictures even though I watch her dog almost a couple weeks per month. I definitely feel like most owners would be okay with less updates, but sometimes they are just missing out on the cutest moments haha

Well it is a 4 month old puppy, it's probably still learning at it's own home and has no idea how to act in your home. You essentially have to potty train it for your home (which should be pretty easy, since she is most likely potty trained in her own home). I had the pleasure of watching two 3 month old puppies this past weekend. One of them is very well trained for it's age the other, not so much. But I just took her outside as soon as she tried going in the house and gave her a treat for going outside. Also she won't go poo if I just take her in the backyard, she rather go in the house, so Instead I take her for very shorts walks shortly after meals. Honestly I kind of expected the worst because a puppy is just like a baby except with much sharper teeth and no diaper. There is a reason people charge more for puppies and why many people don't accept them at all. I myself want to get a puppy soon, so this is great practice for me haha. But I suggest that if you are worried about damage to your things/ carpet then don't accept puppies. I know what a pain puppies can be, that's why I allow them in my home and I have pretty much learned to expect a few accidents here and there.

Chihuahuas, or other small breeds known for being possessive. I mostly sit smaller dogs, and chihuahuas have been my biggest problem, almost to the point where I don't want to accept that breed anymore. The only other dog I had issues with was a Jack Russell, which I found out their breed is known for being jealous/possessive. I used to adore chihuahuas until I started sitting for rover, and I have gotten so many requests from chihuahua owners it is ridiculous. I wish my apartment was bigger (OR THAT THERE WAS AN OPTION TO CHARGE MORE FOR LARGER BREEDS BECAUSE I TOTALLY SECOND THAT IDEA) because I have never had aggression problems with the larger dogs I have watched.

That's good to know, even though I raised my prices I am still getting bookings like crazy haha, I will probably see how the meet and greets go and watch all them since it will be a weekend. I will definitely have to get a baby gate tho haha

So my capacity is 3 dogs at a time, although, one time I allowed 4 dogs because a family that lived near by needed a sitter for a few hours while they moved (they had 2 dogs). But here is my problem right now: I have 2 stays booked for a weekend in April, one of them is only 2 nights (2 dogs from the same family) and the other is 3 nights (only one dog). But I have 2 meet and greets this week with 2 clients who need a sitter for much longer stays, that happen to coincide with that weekend. So if the meet and greets go well then I will have 5 dogs in my house for 2 nights. My husband will be home those 2 days so I will have a helping hand, but would you take the 5 dogs or would you cancel one of the meet and greets? Also it is a weekend so there will be 24/7 supervision the days that I have the 5 dogs. I might just cancel with the most recent inquiry since we haven't even scheduled the m and g yet, But I was just curious as to how many dogs above your capacity you would be willing to care for if it was just a couple of days?

It is really up to you, I am very lenient with my pick up/drop off times. My husband has to get up at 4:30am for work every morning, so I allow drop offs that early (although I have only had one person drop off that early due to her odd work schedule a couple days a week). As for pick ups I used to allow as late as they want, but now I charge 10$ for pick ups after 10pm which I tell clients when we discuss what times they will be able to pick up.

While it may be separation anxiety, I seem to think that it has something to do with pack mentality and who the dog views as the alpha I suppose. Every dog that I watch has always followed me everywhere, but if my husband goes somewhere they don't seem to care. This is probably because I am the primary caretaker when they are in my home (the one who feeds them, takes them out, etc.). Like I can not go anywhere without a flock of dogs at my ankles, but I don't really mind it, it just makes me wish I had my own dog to follow me around lol

I have had two clients tell me they tried to book on a weekend and it said that I am not usually available on weekends even though on my calendar it shows green. Luckily one of them was referred to me by another of my clients so she said she would ask about my availability anyways and the other follows me on instagram so he still decided to ask me anyways. Is anyone else having this issue? I tried updating my calendar, but it says I am available for three spots everyday. Also I don't get those texts to see if I am available this weekend (as you sometimes see highlighted on a sitter's profile)I just went on my profile online and there was an option to highlight my availability for next weekend, and I click available so hopefully this helps. Anyways if anyone else could help me out on how to fix this, I would greatly appreciate it.

You should probably make sure he is getting adequate exercise for his breed/age. And if you are giving enough exercise you can give him some chamomile tea (let it cool to room temp before serving it). I don't how effective it really is, but it is supposed to have a calming/relaxing effect if you can get your dog to drink it in the first place.

I do get barkbox actually, but thank you for the offer!

Yes, you do, ask to set up a meet and greet prior to the dates you want them to watch your dog. I usually invite clients to my home for meet and greets when it is for boarding or daycare so they can see the environment their dog will be staying. Or I go to my clients home for walking/house sitting since their dog will not be in my home. If it makes you more comfortable, ask for the meet and greet to be somewhere neutral, like a nearby park. Just make sure to ask or click on the schedule a meet and greet button (not sure if this is just on the sitter's end or if the client has this option tho.

You should open her mouth to see if anything is dislodged in her throat and get it out. If you think there is something in her throat but too far down try and give her a treat, if she doesn't take the treat there is probably something in her throat. If her lips are turning blue and she is drooling heavily, then hold her head facing down and give 5 sharp blows between her shoulder blades. If you don't feel comfortable you need to take her to a vet ASAP. Also it could just be that she is getting sick (like kennel cough or something).

It just depends on what you want to charge. I charge 16$/30min walk and 22$/60 min walk, so I would probably charge 20$/45min walk because that's what I want to charge. It's all up to you! you could just add half your price for a 30min walk (1.5 times) or charge 2 times. I only provide walking services for those in my neighborhood, so I don't have to worry much about travel time to and from which is why I am not too concerned about offering longer walks :)

I would just set 1 walk per day and manually adjust the price, but that is because I offer a lower rate for 1 hour walks (ex. 15$/30min, 25$/60min). It would probably also be easier so you don't have to fill out two rover cards for one long walk :)

Yeah I like them, and wish there was an option for boarding. I think they would be better if they updated the owner in real time tho.

Awesome! It's definitely helpful for someone like me who doesn't always have a lot of pockets haha

Thanks, I guess I should start adding notes at the end tho. I wish it would just update the client in real time. I don't do doggy daycare or walking much (mostly just boarding) so I'm pretty new to the Rover card, so thanks for the help :)

I only use the business cards and I bought a rover dog bandanna. I have only put it on a dog once when I took them out and didn't really run into anybody. But I took a pic and added it to the pics on my profile and plan on posting it to instagram as well. Also I was going to get the Rover poop bag holder, but instead I got a fanny pack like thing from amazon that can hold treats, poop bags, your phone, and some small toys. I plan on keeping some business cards in it as well. I feel like it makes me look professional and it definitely keeps me prepared when I have multiple dogs I need to walk during the day. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...auidetailpageo05s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If rover offered something like this with the brand name on it, I would be all over that!!! But I am not too into the shirts and stuff.

I would just like to say that today this definitely paid off because one of my clients that I met on instagram not only tagged me in a post of a pic I took of her dog, but she told all her friends at the dog parks about me. (her dog has like 5k followers on IG). I just booked for one of her friends!

Has he been coughing or hacking at all? If he has then it could be Kennel Cough, sometimes dogs will cough so much they start to gag and the vomit can be white and foamy. Otherwise I would just do a google search and probably go see your vet soon if you can't find anything helpful on google!

I created a separate Instagram account and I post pictures every few days of my client's dogs having fun with me in my home. I look up hashtags for dogs in my city (like #dogsofcityname or #citynamedogs) or even look up places like local dog parks and I like all the pictures and follow everyone who has a dog. I haven't got a ton of clients from this, but it has definitely helped me gain a few more clients and it also helps with potential future clients as many of them have followed me back (which I hope is because they plan on using my services sometimes in the future!) If you want to check out some of the stuff I post you can view my Instagram page @kelsie_dogsitter . I also just bought the business cards offered from the Rover site and I plan on dropping some off at the pet friendly stores/cafes near me!

I offer last minute bookings, so I understand there will not be a whole lot of time for meet and greets in those situations. I do believe that there is a place which you can indicate how many days in advance a booking can be made so that could help you. It's usually 50/50 on how good the dog is, but the worst one was an owner who contacted me at 11pm for next day drop off, that was the absolute worst experience I have had with a dog, but I think my low rates at the time also had something to do with that. But since then I will require at least noon the day before for bookings and be sure in those cases to ask as many questions as possible, if the owner is responsible they will understand that you are only try to make sure that you and the dog are a good fit.

After doggy day care I send the rover card and it shows how many pees, poos, meals, water breaks etc. But does can the owners see the times these things happened and the times/duration of the walks. Some owners may not care, but it seems most owners have specific feeding/walking times so I want to make sure that they are getting more info than I am when they see the Rover card because the info I see is very vague and I can't click on anything :(

I'm sorry, but boarding is all inclusive (someone probably already said this, but it never hurts to reiterate). A dog's basic needs should be met in the dog boarding that includes: feeding, exercise, play time, potty breaks and walks. Boarding is the main work I get through Rover and I take care of their dog like I would my own and the only thing I charge extra for is bathing, which I charge 5$ extra for.

I only accept small to medium dogs in my 1 bedroom apartment, but it is a dog friendly apartment and a lot of my neighbors actually own larger dogs. I just rather take care of 2-3 smaller dogs rather than 1 or 2 larger dogs due to the amount of space. Also I let clients know that I do not have a yard for their dog to roam around in since larger dogs usually require more exercise. I only take larger dogs if I have done a meet and greet and it isn't too hyper.

I currently have my rates set to 30$/night and 22$/night for additional dogs from the same household. Is this too much? or too little? Obviously I don't want it too low because that takes up a dog slot and I could make more if I had two dogs from separate households. Just curious as to what other sitter's rates are for additional dogs!