Great as always and really sweet.

While I as a Rover sitter realize that puppies are still learning and can be more time consuming than most older, more seasoned dogs (hence the upcharge from most Rover sitters when sitting a puppy), I felt as though Kristen did not understand the concept of extra time and effort throughout my puppy's stay. A few situations occurred that I have outlined below. Charlee has always been and still is very stubborn when going into her crate when she knows humans are leaving. I work from home as a graphic designer, so she is used to having someone at home and is seldom in her crate. However, I do use the crate when I am gone for longer than 2 hours for my Charlee's safety (I.e. Keeping her from eating things she shouldn't, chewing on things, etc.) I instructed Kristen to do the same. Kristen contacted me the first day regarding having trouble getting her in her crate, and I apologetically gave her a tip to just push her little butt in. (Not a problem! Happy to provide tips! As a fellow sitter, I ask for them as well). The second day she contacted me asking for other tips because Charlee had made her "late to work for 2 days now" because she would just put her head above the crate when trying to put her in. I told her that she could gently push her head down and then push her butt in, or she could use a treat with peanut butter. Rather than taking the time to actively work on this with Charlee as I am, she decided to just leave her out of the crate while she was gone and only told me afterward. While nothing was damaged and there were no accidents, this only reinforced poor behavior and was not keeping up with the training I am providing to Charlee. It also was not in compliance with what I asked her to do for extended periods of time away from home. As a fellow Rover sitter, when I have a dog that requires more time and attention with certain situations, I make sure to plan ahead and allocate more time to things they may not easily respond to, rather than to act bothered and blame the dog for a situation (i.e. saying that THE DOG was the one who MADE ME late to work, when I full well can control how I allocate my time in the morning. If I am still late or rushed, then that is my fault, and I need to allocate more time). This expressed blame on Charlee was not appreciated by me as the owner, and it made me very uneasy to have left my puppy there with a seemingly bothered sitter. I also warned Kristen before I left that Charlee pulls on her leash, and we are working on that. Kristen contacted me saying that "Charlee pulled so hard on her leash that she made her fall down on the pavement." While I apologetically gave her tips on how I work with my dogs who pull, I didn't think I would need to. As an experienced dog sitter who has sat puppies who are still working on leash pulling, especially those for which I receive advanced notice about, it is in my experience that leashes are to be kept pulled taut to keep the control when having trouble. It made me feel as though Kristen did not listen to what I had to say about Charlee's weaknesses, and she did not adjust her sitting behavior appropriately to them. While I realize dogs can be strong, it made me very apprehensive that an adult female could not control my golden retriever puppy on leash. And again, another example of how a DOG made HER do something, rather than adjusting sitting behavior appropriately. It is worth noting that I have used Rover before. I reached out to one of my sitters (who unfortunately was unavailable for my time away) who had sat Charlee for 7 nights. I reached out to her before writing this review to ask her about her last time with Charlee and if she felt it was something that warranted this much frustration - I wanted to fact-check myself before blindly saying that sitting my puppy is doable.... She said that, "While Charlee is puppy that requires a bit more time and attention because of her age and energy level, it was nothing that an experienced sitter could not handle with a puppy who was still learning. She was a pleasure to have, and I would be more than happy to sit her again." She had adjusted her sitting style appropriately without alleged hassle or complaint. I will caveat this entire review by saying: I realize that it is absolutely not the responsibility of the sitter to train my puppy (for crate comfort, leash pulling, etc.) as this is something I as the owner currently actively do. However, it IS the responsibility of the sitter to adjust their sitting style appropriately to each dog they sit, as all dogs, particularly puppies, have different needs and struggles. Because of the negative communications that I received regarding my pup throughout time away, I waited until after the stay to express these concerns in a review rather than in person. This was out of fear there would be more displeasure on Kristen's end and possibly more frustration laden communications, which could affect my Charlee's stay. Overall, I felt as though Kristen could have dealt with the situations much more professionally, rather than expressing all her frustrations in the form of blame on my puppy. It left me extremely nervous throughout my time away, as it felt more like a slew of complaints rather than being genuinely curious about how to best respond to different situations. As a fellow Rover sitter, I have had easy sitting experiences and more difficult ones. Even in my more difficult sitting situations, I NEVER place blame on the dog. I only adjust my sitting behavior appropriately. It is worth noting that my idea of adjusting sitter behavior appropriately does NOT include going against the owner's original instructions. I would recommend that she ask an owner if she can deviate from original instructions communicated (re: going against my instructions that Charlee not being left alone out of the crate for long periods of time alone), rather than just doing so and thinking it is okay because nothing happened. Lastly, I would encourage her to be more holistic in her communications, reporting out equally on the fun times they are having rather than just areas of opportunity. I only received one neutral picture/update unprompted in the 4 days and 3 nights she was there, and the other unprompted communications were negative. I had to be the one to reach out to ask for updates other than things she was frustrated with. I did not hear about one walk, one playful activity, any positive care, etc. I choose to use Rover rather than board my puppy so that she can have that positive, personal attention, which I am unsure occurred due to lack of holistic communication. I was so anxious about returning home to pick my puppy up that I arrived very early at the airport and spent 4 hours trying to get on standby for an earlier flight, which I was unable to do, rather than being able to relax. My worst fears were confirmed when I was walking up the stairs to pick Charlee up. I heard Charlee barking to alert, and I heard Kristen yell at Charlee very forcefully with much frustration. Her voice abruptly changed to a much sweeter tone in her corrections toward Charlee once she heard me knock on the door and knew I was present outside. This may seem like reading into things, and Kristen may have unconsciously did this and was startled by the barking. But after all of the negative, seemingly bothered, frustration-laden communications, it was very apparent my anxiety was not for nothing. It is worth noting that Kristen was very flexible with her drop off and pickup times. I had an extremely early flight out the day I dropped my puppy off, and my plane was delayed late into the night when I picked her up. I very much appreciated that. However, I gladly would have paid for an extra night or two in exchange for better care and communication. I truly had high hopes for this experience, but it saddens me to say that I unfortunately will not be booking again. It upsets me when I have to write reviews like this, but I always try to do so in the most professional and constructive tone. While very painful for me, I hope that other pet sitters understand my intentions in solely trying to be transparent and doing the right thing, rather than pretending everything was great so I don't have to deal with conflict. I also hope that Kristen can learn from this experience and apply this feedback in a positive way. I am not a perfect sitter and do not expect anyone else to be, but this experience was unfortunately abnormally below average.