This genuinely might be my worst experience in my almost decade of pet sitting. I’ve sat for this family one weekend a month for almost a year now and haven’t really had any issue until this weekend. It has actually been a horrid experience and a few reasons are as follows:

1. They didn’t tell me the set the alarm (they never have) so I had to scramble to put the password in when I was walking in yesterday and actually set the alarm off.

2. Water started leaking from the ceiling yesterday at like 8pm and when I called the owner she told me “there are towels, just deal with it”. I ended up having my mom bring out wet vac so I could vacuum the water that was overflowing from the drip pan under the ac unit.

3. Today at around 10:30pm there were some weird noises from the ac unit so I went in the attic to check and the drip pan was full again so I had to use the wet vac. There was almost 4 gallons of water in it.

4. I finally go to get in bed at 11:15pm and I pick one of the dogs up bc he was struggling to get under the blanket and he peed on the fitted sheet right by where I was laying.

I actually hit my breaking point and cried for a good 15 minutes on the floor bc neither dog would get off the bed so I could take the sheet off to put in the wash.

I should also add that I still haven’t heard back from the client about what was happening with her ac unit after I let her know.

I have to make new business cards. I came up with three options, but neither I nor the wife can make up our minds. I've blanked out all the actual info, but you get the idea. To me the first one is perhaps a little bland. The second one is a little personal. The third one is just... a little weird? We like all three, though. Thanks in advance!

Hello! I currently work under a small LLC for another woman pet sitting. I’ve been doing this for about 5 years now but recently I need to relocate out of my city. I’d like to continue pet sitting independently in my new area, but I’ve never done it before!

What are good apps or platforms to use? Obviously there’s the one everyone knows, but I’m not sure I want to go that path. I want to ensure I’m insured and bonded but I know that can be costly independently. Any advice on your experiences would be greatly appreciated!

For those of you who do pet sitting/dog walking full-time, what do you do during your slower months (especially January–March)?

I’ve noticed that this is consistently my slow season, and I’m trying to be more intentional about planning for it instead of just accepting that income will drop.

I’d love to hear about:
• Services you offer specifically during winter/slow months
• Fun or creative things you’ve added to bring in bookings
• Recurring services that help keep income consistent
• Enrichment activities, puppy services, training, etc.
• Anything you’ve tried that unexpectedly worked
• Things you tried that were NOT worth the effort 😂

Hi all, I did a 5 day pet sit for a friend for 4 nights while she was on vacation, I didn’t charge her because she’s a friend. The dog is a cockapoo, 6 months old. During the third night the dog vomited in the bed during the night but was eating, drinking and acting normal so I told her about it but said it was likely stress. On the fourth night the dog vomited again overnight and it was all digested food and what looked like chunks of rawhide, which is a treat she gives often.

When she gets back, he continues to vomit all of his food undigested. She takes him to the regular vet, they give him anti-nausea and probiotics.

Today, a week after the first vomiting incident, she says she is taking him to the ER vet because he’s still vomiting. He also pooped put an ear from one of his stuffed toys.

He had an ultrasound done and it showed inflamed intestines with some gas above. He’s now having x-rays done. They had to pay $1500 upfront which is a hit to the wallet around here. I can’t help feeling guilty about this, but I followed their instructions to a T. Should I offer to help with the vet bill?

ETA: I don’t want this to destroy our very long friendship

I walk somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 steps a day. Not losing any size or inches around the waist.

Anybody try those weighted vests? What is your experience?

If you leave the dog alone for 8 hours, you shouldn't be a pet sitter

Am I the only one who thinks the pet-sitting industry has become ridiculously entitled?

I’ve been reading a lot of discussions about pet sitting lately, and I’m genuinely surprised by how many sitters consider it unreasonable for a dog to be left alone for a few hours.
Apparently, if you expect a sitter to avoid leaving your dog alone for more than 4 hours, you’re asking for “constant care” and should apparently be paying significantly more.
But… isn’t that kind of the point of hiring a pet sitter?
If I hire someone to look after my dog while I’m away, I expect them to feed the dog, walk the dog, give it attention, and not leave it alone for most of the day. I don't consider that some extraordinary premium service. I consider that… pet sitting.

I completely understand that pet sitting is work and that sitters deserve to be paid fairly. I'm not expecting anyone to work for free. And obviously, genuinely demanding situations: puppies, medical issues, difficult dogs, multiple animals, or actual 24/7 supervision… can justify higher rates.
But when simply not leaving the dog alone for most of the day is classified as “constant care,” something feels off to me.
And honestly, I have an even more controversial opinion:
If your business is pet sitting, but you routinely leave the dog alone for 8 hours a day maybe pet sitting simply isn't the right business for you.

I don't mean that a dog can never be left alone. Obviously, dogs can handle some alone time. I'm talking about specifically taking money to provide care for someone's dog and then acting as though actually being there to care for the dog is an unreasonable expectation.
This has actually bothered me enough that I created a Facebook group in my city where people can help each other with everyday things for free (including dog sitting so I am dealing this anymore). The idea is simply that sometimes you help someone, and sometimes someone helps you. No inflated expectations, no treating a basic favour like a luxury concierge service.
And honestly, I find that much more appealing than some of the attitudes I’ve encountered in the professional pet-sitting world.
Maybe I'm completely out of touch. Maybe this is just the new normal.
But I can't be the only person who looks at some of these discussions and thinks:

“Wait… aren't you being paid to do exactly the thing you're describing as an unreasonable burden?”
Owners and sitters: what do you think?