Dog sitter: what to expect (rant alert!)

horselessb said:
My mum has a dog walking/boarding business,
7:30am all dogs (our 2 + any that have stayed the night) go over the road (to the field) for toilet and stretch legs- normally about 5/10 mins
10:30 collect dogs that we are walking that day- always our 2 + another 2 or 3 depending on day and if we have any staying, if more than that we separate them out
They all get 1 hour- 1hour30min walk..
All go into garden and get hosed off and dried
our 2 + any staying get put into kitchen for biscuit/sleep
Take all others back home
our 2 + ones staying go out again for 30/40 mins at about 5:30, try not to get muddy so no hosing off again :rolleyes: the dinner and bed :)

one of ours though doesn't like dogs he doesn't know so generally we don't take on new dogs, if we do we have at least 2 walks together with other dog so they get used to each other.

To be honest I'm not sure why you take your dog there if it isn't getting walked?
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This sounds like doggy heaven :)

It never occurred to me before today that it was strange she wasn't being walked... She seems happy enough with the playing! I might speak to my dog sitter about the walking regime and see if mine can go for the walks as well. Might solve the issue of being left unattended as well as meaning she has an extra walk (which I am sure she wouldn't mind!)
 
How does asking the clearly very lax ( and to my mind greedy) dog sitter to add in a walk mean that it would now be acceptable? She isn't there when you arrive so where is she? If she is out walking other dogs, then she seems happy to leave others unattended in her home. This will still happen even if your dog gets walked- yours will get left as before with dogs which could get into a fight. The sitter is definitely taking on more than is sensible, and probably insurable. All so she can get more dosh I suspect.
 
This dog sitter doesn`t sound very professional, leaving dogs unattended loose is just asking for trouble.

I am a dog sitter and I have day boarding and boarding dogs, for the day dogs I wait for them to be dropped off and then walk them with mine. Come home and get ready for my walking dogs the day dog/boarders come with me on walks, if the groups are to big then they stay at home separate in rooms.

I pop home to make sure all ok, if I can`t then a very trusted experienced friend will come in and make sure all ok.

Depending on how long they stay they will have at least 2 hours walking, I do have a young and old dog which don`t require as much exercise so they stay at home for a short period of time. Forgot to say the puppy when very young came with me on walks but I carried her in my training bag!!!


Is this dog sitter licenced by the local council as for all home boarding they MUST be licenced, e.g number of dogs allowed, time allowed left, safety of dogs etc etc.

I am allowed 4 dogs Maximum with my licence conditions.

Sounds like your not getting the service your dog deserves, and to leave the house open ....anyone can get in!!!!!!
 
When I started to read your post, I thought maybe the sitter was walking dogs, so her car was missing. Having read through your postings, it is obvious this person is not running a professional dog sitting service. I do, and wouldn't dream of letting customers simply leave their dogs in my home if I wasn't there. All dogs visiting for the day or holidays get a walk every morning and in the afternoon, they are never left unattended. Dogs are very precious to their owners and I consider myself fortunate that I am trusted to care for them. Personally, there are only a few people I would leave my dogs with.
Why is it some people jump on the bandwagon and think it's an easy way of making money by caring for other peoples dogs? As in all walks of life, their are a few people who give this service a bad name...
 
As you are walking your dog anyway,I can understand why the non-walking by the dog sitter seemed ok-you wanted your dog in a home,in a family environment,with other doggie company,during the day when you couldn't give him/her that-I understand that:)
However,it doesn't sound like your dog is getting that,as the sitter is always out plus,her set-up is unprofessional and (potentially dangerously) lax.
You could try getting a new *walker*,make up a couple of frozen kongs/similar and leave your dog with one in the am (and radio on and access to a window to see out and have something to look at?) and a big antler bone (they are like concrete and safe to leave them with as bits don't break off) ,walker gives big lunchtime walk and when returns dog,leaves him with another kong and radio on etc.
Could see how your dog copes with that? (Regardless of what you do,I'd ditch who you have now:( She does sound like she's either not bothered about dogs in her care or has over stretched herself and the welfare of her doggy clients is suffering.)
Good luck:)
 
How much are you paying?
If it's very cheap compared to other dog sitters in the area, maybe you're getting what you pay for. You're paying for the dog to be supervised and have company rather than be left alone all day - top question on the list must be to ask her direct. Was no-one in the house at all when you dropped your dog off? Yet door unlocked? We dogsit on a very small scale, and our regular day dog always seems to arrive just as you've gone upstairs to nip to the toilet :p but she wouldn't dream of coming in to drop dog off like that. She knows we're around and will be there for hand-over any second if we're not within sight. It also means she can tell us if there are any issues/ anything to be aware of.

Afaik not every council requires dogsitters/home boarders to be licensed. Ours does, but a neighbouring authority doesn't. Our licence conditions are that dogs are not to be left for more than 3 hours at a time. We rarely leave them at all, and the day dog gets a decent walk - but that's included in the charge. Around here a walk would normally be part of the deal for a private sitter.

You could check out a few other places in the area. Where we are people tend to stop doing this after a while (doesn't pay as well as people think) and just as many new people start up. You' d also get an idea of current pricing if you don't already.

I do think it's right for you to ask some questions: if your gut feeling tells you things are not quite right, you need to listen to it. Their answers might be fine, or not. Then you can take it from there.
 
Just wanted to say that for years I worked 9 to 5 and always popped home for lunch to let my dog out (at that time i only had one) I was constantly worried that I was being a bad owner although Emily seemed happy enough. she was walked morning and evening. When I lost Em I bought 2 ESS pups, took some leave until they settled in, then went back to work full time, with my lunchtime visit and a visit mid afternoon by my parents, who were still well enough to wander over and sit with them for an hour or so at this stage. As the pups got older and my parents became ill we just had the lunchtime visit plus 2 good walks a day. I am now lucky enough to work mornings only, have 3 dogs at home, 11, 3 and 2 and when Im at home with them they are all asleep on the sofa for a good 90% of the time. I now look back at the years I spent worrying about my dogs being neglected with some amusement, Em was a staffie, all my others have been spaniels and all have had plenty of attention and exercise and quiet time (for quiet time read sleeping on the sofa listening to Radio 2). I have never had any incidence of destruction or messing in the house, even as pups. The point of this waffle is to say, dont worry, you sound like a very caring owner, if I were you I would leave your dog at home, carry on popping in at lunchtime and if you know an elderly neighbour or someone else close enough who may appreciate being needed, ask them to pop in at some point to sit with pooch, let it out for a wee and give him/her a cuddle, assuming you dont have a monster of a dog that will attack on sight!!! :)
Just another way of looking at it.
 
I thought about a dog sitter for my little man. Couldn't find one that REALLY suited my needs and wants (only the best for my man!) so in the end, my mum came to the rescue.

Wibble gets a morning walk at about 6am before I go to work. My mum comes over around lunchtime, plays with him, takes him for another walk. I get home between 5-6, feed him, goes for another walk, or every other day, a 5k run!

This dog sitter really doesn't sound au fait, and I'd take my dog out straight away. You'd be surprised how "OK" dogs are with being left alone... don't worry about it too much! I did to start with, but Wibble really doesn't give a ****! lol!
Leave your dog at home and pop in at lunch, he/she will be fine :)
 
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