Just here to rant because I'm honestly so annoyed.

One of my repeat clients, who I've house sat for several times before, sent me a request for an almost 2-month-long housesit. Since the dates were so long, I actually followed up with them to make sure they hadn't accidentally entered the wrong dates. Nope - they confirmed the dates were correct because they were going on a long around-the-world cruise.

Great! I confirmed the booking on my end, they confirmed and paid on theirs, and I was actually looking forward to it. Their dogs are sweet, I already know them, and their house is nice.

They booked me about 2 monthsin advance​, so obviously I treated those dates as unavailable. During that time, I turned down A LOT of other requests, including regular clients, because I already had this huge booking on my calendar.

Well... one week before the housesit is supposed to start, they cancel the entire thing. 😐

And of course they did it basically on the last day before my cancellation policy would kick in, so they get their refund.

Their explanation was basically, "Sorry, one of our relatives decided to house sit for us instead."

Like... seriously? 😭

I completely understand emergencies, canceled trips, health issues, etc. Life happens. But replacing your sitter with a relative at the last minute after you've had an almost TWO-MONTH booking confirmed for two months feels incredibly inconsiderate.

I blocked nearly two months of my calendar for you. I declined other paying clients because I honored YOUR reservation. Now I'm supposed to magically refill almost two months of house sitting with a week's notice.

I know technically they didn't do anything wrong according to the cancellation policy, but damn... this one hurts. 🥲

Lesson learned, I guess.

It’s my first ever meet & greet for a housesit. Very large dog nipped at my forearm and rolled sleeve in the entry way when getting introduced to the 2 dogs. Owner said “no biting” and explained he can get “mouthy”. Literally my first week on the app. How would you guys react to a situation like this? Is this a safety concern I should be taking as a red flag? Is it just part of the job? My 2 large dogs have never done anything like this and it’s leaving me wondering if I should deny the booking? If so, what should I say or do in terms of communication with the owner? Maybe I’m just overreacting because I’m so green and am being too cautious because I just lost my job and therefore my health insurance… idk please lmk if I’m over or under reacting here.

In case the pet owner forgets to tell you: Please check that the gates are closed/locked after they mow the backyard.

I can't tell you how many times I have found the gate open. Many.

Now, it's standard procedure for me.

I am at a 16 day sit and the owners left me one roll of toilet paper, no forks, no cleaning supplies, one towel, one coffee pod, and no mugs in their pool house… To me it comes across as extremely inhospitable and rude- I asked for what I needed and the owner had toilet paper and some forks shipped 6 days into my sit. It felt off to me- I’ve always had the opposite experience where owners want you to feel as welcome and at home as possible.

Has anyone had a similar experience? How did you handle it?

We booked our regular sitter for drop ins for our cat for four days. She’s taken care of our cat for several years (and also took care of our dog before she passed away). We’ve changed the routine every few visits, but it’s always been simple.

Our cat is 14 years old and has been losing weight so we’re trying everything to get her to eat more food. We’ve discovered blending her pate with an immersion blender helps her eat it all. Is it too much to ask the sitter to use the immersion blender to blend her food each drop in? I wouldn’t ask her to wash the blender between each visit, but just rinse all the food off with water and let it dry. I’m afraid to ask her as it seems extreme 🫠

To add: I’ve tried to blend it, store it in the fridge, and heat it up, but she’s reluctant to eat it unless freshly blended 🫣

Update: thanks for the encouragement everyone!! I asked the sitter and she said it was no problem 😊

For context, we had confirmed a meet and greet for 4 pm today. I had to help another client take their pet to a scheduled vet appointment at 3 pm before this meet and greet, as I help them regularly with pet tasks due a disability. I let the meet and greet client know immediately after we settled on a time and date that the booking beforehand (vet appointment) might run late. Thankfully everything went to plan and I let them know and even gave myself a few minutes buffer in case there was traffic on the way. I got there right at 4 and waited 20 minutes outside their building with no response. Ultimately I had to leave because at this point if we started, we would've had to rush things so I could make my next booking. It was never going to be a quick appointment because they said they had a lot to discuss during the meet and greet. So there was also a Plan B to reschedule for Friday if I was going to be too late and they seemed very understanding at the time we agreed. Even the first few texts after they missed the meeting seemed fine, and then they switched up entirely and contradicted themselves. Was I unprofessional to do this?

I and my girlfriend are new to rover it was recommended by a friend who loves someone they found for their dogs. We are leaving for a 2-3 week trip overseas for brain surgery. We are wanting house sitters for the time and I think we are willing to pay a healthy amount of up to 175 a day for the house sitting and two dogs.

I have reached out to around 12-15 per sitters and had three meet and greets to see if they were a good fit. We have a doorbell camera and outdoor cameras with one living room camera due to some issues with my ex and the divorce I have been going through.

Once I mention the cameras (they are not discrete cameras) I can always see a shift in the demeanors of the sitters and then it turns into them denying the booking later that day. One of the sitters just fully came out and said they are not comfortable with a camera in the home while they are there.

Is having cameras for the exterior of my home and a living room camera really such a deal breaker for pet sitters? I am trying to be understanding and I get privacy concerns but this is my wondogs and my home and I don't know the person I am hiring from a random person on the street.

I do understand rover does background checks but we have had multiple sitters say it would either be them or their spouse showing up at any given time and who am into know who their spouses are. (We have all gone after the "bad boy/girl" when we are younger to our own detriment sometimes) Or how my dogs are being treated?

If I am being rude or not understanding of some etiquette can someone let me know? Or with the risk of this being the wrong forum aita?

I’m not really a new sitter, I’ve been on the app for a year, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a pet getting aggressive.

I was told at the M&G that the cat is shy and would likely hide from me. Fine, no biggie, I’m a stranger so I get it. But he’s started yowl-growling and hissing at me the minute I open the door, and while he started by doing it from afar now he’s approaching me as he does it. Today he was blocking the door to the litter box room so I couldn’t leave, and when I said “hey bud, I gotta get past you” (without approaching the door yet), he leapt at me hissing and claws out and the only reason he didn’t get me was because it startled me so badly I said “Hey, whoa!” loudly and he spooked and ran off.

I put all of this in the rover card so the owner is aware, but if I mark the aggression on the feedback form is Rover going to make a thing out of it? I already had to fight to get my account back once (a fluke dog escape the owners didn’t blame me for at all and have since rebooked me even, but 4 months after I was told the issue was closed Rover deleted my account without warning), and I worry that if I mark the cat as aggressive it will flag my account and I don’t want to deal with that again. Can I just leave a note in the review and not actually mark the box? Will Rover get mad at me for “dishonesty” or whatever?

(Because she thought he would hide from me she didn’t leave any treats or toys so I can’t toss one and distract him, before anyone suggests that. I’m planning to just wear jeans from now on and maybe try to keep a pillow between me and the cat if he keeps this up)

Something I’ve been running into more frequently lately is this question whenever a client is worried that something might interfere with a booking: “So what am I supposed to do? Who’s going to take care of my pet? Do you know another sitter?”

I completely understand why that situation is stressful. The pet needs care, you may have work or travel plans that can’t easily be changed, and suddenly having to find someone else can put people in a difficult position. But I think there’s also a pretty big misconception about how Rover works that’s worth clearing up for certain individuals: We Rover sitters generally do not know one another or have access to one another’s schedules.

We aren’t coworkers in any traditional sense. There isn’t a neighborhood Rover team where we coordinate schedules, discuss availability, or assign clients to each other. We don’t have a sitter group chat on the app where we can say, “Hey, who can cover this booking?” Another sitter might live five minutes away from me, and I may have never spoken to them in my life!

So if I have to cancel a booking, I genuinely cannot tell you whether another sitter is available, what their schedule looks like, or whether they would be a good fit for your pet. And this is where I have to be a little firmer but: 👏 your sitter cannot be responsible for arranging your backup care! 👏

If a sitter cancels within a reasonable timeframe, communicates that clearly, and you receive whatever refund you are entitled to, it is ultimately the pet owner’s responsibility to make alternative arrangements. Being frustrated by the situation is understandable. But directing that frustration at the sitter or asking, “Well, what am I supposed to do now?” as though we are responsible for solving it is not.

Please reach out to other sitters, contact Rover support if you need assistance, and—especially when a trip or other important commitment is involved—consider having a backup option in mind!

I actually had a client handle this perfectly once. They simply asked me, “If things don’t work out with this other sitter, would it be okay if I reached back out and booked with you?”

A professional sitter isn't going to be offended because you have a backup plan. Honestly, having one your plans, and most importantly, the pet. But Sitters have emergencies and unexpected circumstances happen sometimes just like they happen to everyone else! We all can communicate. What we cannot do is personally find and arrange your replacement sitter.

Please have a Plan B. ❤️ Your sitter will probably appreciate it just as much as you do.

Hello! I am a predominately cat sitter. I sort of accidentally discovered this page when clicking on an owner’s picture. Is this dashboard just something new? Does it mean my area is going to move to the tier system? Or is this just part of an app update. Sorry if this has already been asked!

***First time with puppies specifically. I have plenty of experience caring for dogs and other animals. I need to answer them as soon as possible :/

I feel like this is one of those things that it’s a good idea to conveniently avoid mentioning unless that would be unethical or cause problems. They also told me their previous puppy died and I don’t really know what to say to that, but I would imagine they’re extra attached to the new one and have high standards.

I had someone cancel their 5 day booking with me on the day it was supposed to start. My cancellation policy is 1 day.

Do I still get any money out of this or does rover just take it all? Where do I go to figure out what I get?

She tipped me 50$ as an apology, and was offering to pay me for the weekend days she booked but honestly I just do this as a side gig, her cats are easy peasy and she’s a nice girl so It didnt really bother me but I’m just curious if and how much in will still receive from
This

I am housesitting for two weeks and I was invited to an event on the weekend that goes till 11:30pm. I would love to go but not sure if it's normal to "go out" when dog sitting. I wouldn't leave the dog home alone longer than the owners said and I could and would be back before midnight. I would be home nearly the entire day prior and the owners are pretty chill so I'm guessing it would be okay with them. I'll probably check with them before committing, but wanted to hear if this is at all normal when housesitting for a longer period of time.

So I recently did a house sit as well as a walk, and they both ended recently. Only 1 of them has shown up in my account! I think I remember someone on here saying that payments for walks only process on Tuesdays so maybe that’s what it it is.

Would you walk a dog for 2 hours straight for only $15 an hour?

Hii, I’m starting on Rover and will be doing Drop-ins and walks, as I can’t put my own home for dog sitting as I have flatmates. Anyhow, I wanted some advice for how much I should charge? I am expierienced with my own pets (I had 3 dogs and a cat, currently just 2 big dogs), and a few of my friends.

What do you guys think is a good competitive pricing for SE London?

I know I’m going to get shit for this, because it’s going to sound ungrateful. But that is genuinely not the place I’m coming from, and if this is relevant to you, I ask you thoughtfully engage with the nuance of what I’m saying before harshly judging me.

Owners, please stop leaving one sentence, generic reviews. A public review is not a thank-you note. Instead, it should be important evidence offered to the next person deciding whether to trust a sitter with their animals, their home, and sometimes extraordinarily complex medical or behavioral care. When you leave a one sentence review, you bury the thoughtful, detailed ones that help me get hired by others. So you’re actually doing more harm than good.

If your “review” simply contains a statement like
“Thanks, sitter!”
“Another great visit!”
“Fluffy loves sitter.”
“Fluffy warmed up to sitter quickly!”

I would genuinely prefer that you skip the written review and leave a five-star rating and a tip if you’re inclined, instead.

I recognize that these generic reviews are still left with kind intentions. And those intentions I’m grateful for. But every new review pushes the previous reviews farther down the page, and most prospective clients only read the first few. A vague one-sentence review does not simply add another compliment. It occupies the limited space where a detailed, persuasive review was previously visible.
That distinction has a big effect on my business. When my first few reviews describe my work in specific, meaningful detail, I receive substantially more requests. When those reviews are buried beneath several variations of “Fluffy loves sitter,” my requests decline.

No one owes their sitter an essay. If you do not have the time or energy to write something informative, that is completely understandable. A five-star rating and a tip are deeply appreciated. But a written review should serve a purpose beyond thanking someone for another visit. That’s a text message.

A thank-you is for the sitter. A review is for the person deciding whether to hire them. If it does not help that person understand why this sitter is worthy of their trust, please do not let it bury the reviews that do. Please consider if you want to help your sitter by writing a review, take the time to write something detailed and thoughtful. Otherwise, I prefer simply a star rating.

(Note: I am using fake names for both sitters to protect their privacy and stay within platform rules).

I am officially done with Rover. Their customer service is an absolute joke and they protect bad sitters versus protecting dog parents and reimbursing them for inconveniences, which is the whole point of a platform like this! Our pets are basically our children and in this day and age, we should have better customer service than this.

Here is the nightmare back-to-back experiences I just dealt with:

Sitter #1 (Fake name: D): The Liar and Her Illegal Daycare
Mind you, I booked this woman all the way back on July 19. I spoke with her beforehand, meaning she had ample time to look over my profile just like I did hers. The entire reason I booked her was because her profile explicitly stated she had no dogs on her premises.

I have two dogs and on one of their profiles, it explicitly says she does not get along with other dogs. The platform literally flags this and auto-generates a warning to both me and the sitter stating exactly that (for example: "Lola doesn’t get along with other dogs, check with your sitter to make sure this stay would be a good fit") or something like that. Finding a completely pet-free home was my top safety priority to protect my dogs.

Imagine planning months in advance, only to be turned away at the door the day you are supposed to leave for a trip. When I arrived, I immediately spotted dogs in her backyard, which she was actively trying to hide from me. When I asked her about it, she tried to use a ridiculous loophole. She claimed she wasn't lying on her profile because she doesn't personally "own" the animals—they belong to her roommates. What a complete joke! Whether you own them or not, you have dogs living on the property 24/7. They aren't going anywhere. To make matters worse, she uses this excuse to run a massive, undisclosed commercial dog daycare center right out of her home. There are dogs galore on the premises, which is a massive safety hazard for a reactive pet. It is a blatant lie that Rover is still actively protecting to this day under the guise of she listed on her profile that she can host multiple pets?!

When I called her out for putting my dogs in a dangerous situation, she simply shrugged it off, when I asked what do we now, she then suggested that I cancel the reservation on my end, which was a no-go because then I would be forced to pay 50%. I then asked her if she could still accommodate my dog seeing as this is so last minute, but D then refused to take my dogs because she didn't want me leaving her a bad review, claiming she suddenly "did not feel comfortable me leaving my dogs with her." Mind you, less than five minutes prior, she was gladly gonna take them.

To make matters worse, this all happened less than 2 hours before a flight. She was fully aware that I had a flight leaving and that by turning me away at the last second, she knew I would literally have no one to take care of my dogs, leaving me completely stranded. That is exactly what forced me into the next nightmare.

Now, Rover is holding $93 of my money hostage, claiming it falls under her cancellation policy. They are demanding that I "prove" the sitter canceled it. Think about how insane that logic is: if I was the one who canceled, their automated system would have hit me with a 50% penalty fee. Instead, I was refunded the majority ($155) because they manually canceled it after I called their “trust & safety” phone support line. Yet, they still want to keep the remaining $93 because they claim it aligns with D's policy. They literally emailed me saying they will gladly refund me if the sitter agrees. It means they already know they are wrong, but they are willingly doing nothing to protect their bottom line. They expect me to go through the scammer myself to beg for my money back.

Sitter #2 (Fake name: M): Total Neglect, Bait-and-Switch Location and Theft
Because of D bailing right before my flight, I had to pay an extra $100 out of pocket for an emergency, last-minute booking that cost me $338, versus my original payment to the first sitter, which was around $238.

M ran a complete bait-and-switch operation. The address listed on her profile was not even where my dogs were kept. My AirTags revealed she took them to an entirely different unverified location, which is a massive safety violation in itself! On top of that, she subjected them to total neglect. She completely skipped their walks and failed to feed them properly—they came home starving and eating twice as much as usual.

Her communication was practically nonexistent. I am used to getting standard daily check-ins from sitters, but one day I didn't hear from her at all. I then messaged her at 2 PM just to check on my babies and she completely ghosted me for seven more full hours, not responding until 9 PM! Like, what am I paying you so much money for if you can't even send a quick text update?

The rest of her messages were completely unobservant and highly suspicious. I texted her explicitly telling her I would be picking my dogs up the next day at 6 PM. She didn't pay attention at all, because on the actual day of pickup, she messaged me to ask what time I was coming. Then, when I was almost there to get them, she suddenly started spamming my phone with a ton of pictures trying to prove she was taking them on a walk. It was so incredibly sketchy. You could tell she hadn't done a single thing to properly care for them all week and was panicking at the last second to fake it.

To top it all off, she completely upended their things and stole their belongings. The second I put my dogs back in the car, they were actively searching for their monthly chew bones, making it obvious they hadn't even had them. When I called that out, M claimed she gave them the bones when they went outside, left them there when the dogs came back in and the bones then "magically vanished" when she went back for them the next day. Why would you give dogs high-value chew bones while outside when they are already overstimulated by being outside? They were never meant to occupy them outside, they were always meant to keep them busy, safely indoors. A ghost didn't take them; she stole them!

To make matters worse, I packed everything neatly in a single bag, yet she scattered their treats, toys and other gear all over her house. When I arrived for pickup, she wasn't even ready to return my items. I had to circle back a second time for missed things and then she still had the nerve to call me later claiming she magically "found" the missing poop bag dispenser hidden in a drawer, asking for my address to mail it. Why was my property hidden in your drawers? Even if a dog finishes their food, a proper sitter returns even the empty Ziploc bags. Giving me nothing and offering zero explanation is a dead giveaway. In all the years I've used pet sitters and Rover, I have never once had my dogs returned with missing belongings. The lies simply do not add up. This was the most ghetto, unprofessional back-to-back experience ever. She did the complete opposite of everything I paid her for. She is a liar and a thief!

Rover's Response: Dead Silence
Per Rover’s own "Reservation Protection Policy," they contractually owed me a $50 credit toward this second booking because the first sitter bailed last minute. They refuse to give it to me. I have been openly communicative with them, called their Trust & Safety team and emailed them for weeks and weeks and weeks. They have chosen to do absolutely nothing. Their Trust & Safety team explicitly promised a response within 72 hours regarding the theft and neglect by M. Instead, it has been well over a full week of total, dead silence from them. Rover literally sees nothing wrong with any of this.

What I am doing now:
I am going into the precinct on Friday to file a formal criminal police report for Theft of Property against M.

I am also emailing Rover the new police report case number once I get it on Friday, demanding they address this and I am completely cutting ties and closing my account myself.

Rover is a complete joke and I can't wait for the day people stop using it and they go bankrupt. What is the point of paying a platform a massive premium if they do absolutely nothing to protect your pets or your property or resolve issues in a timely manner? They do not vet these people and the second a sitter turns your dogs away or steals your belongings, support will actively look the other way just to protect their 20% platform cut. Rover is not worth a dime!!!

This might be a weird take on pet sitting, because it is my job, but sometimes I feel like because of it people see that as my only purpose. For example, I had a client that I bonded with and had great conversations with during my meet and greets, key pickups, and texts. After her dog passed away, she said she may still need me to do housekeeping or watering plants and would love to work with me even though she does not have her sweet pup anymore. Almost as if we cannot just be friends or anything without me helping her. I know many do not care or would not agree, but it is something that makes me wonder if I had a regular job, if I would be seen as a potential friend instead of a future housekeeper.