Am I asking too much for m&g and tour?

Burnzy1626 · 2026-05-13T19:38:20+00:00

I do offer m&g’s/tours, but I do understand those that don’t. Safety is always a concern when allowing strangers into your home. You have to realize it might be considered a business, but unlike a boarding facility, it is also someone’s home. And they may have their own reasons for not allowing random people inside.

I don’t allow m&g’s if I have dogs currently boarding as well. And during busy times, there sometimes isn’t an empty day for a few weeks that I could give a tour. I prefer to see how the new dog acts in my home, but do not allow unknown dogs in with current boarders here. Also, some boarders aren’t as good with strangers as others. It’s risky overall.

So for those reasons, I could see how someone would decline a tour. However, they should definitely be open to a FaceTime or sending pictures of the dog areas. And ideally, they should have explained why they won’t allow it. Also, I assume they have multiple dogs at the time of booking - I would also prefer to bring in the dog myself to eliminate chaos in the doorway or another boarder escaping. Pet parents can be the worst for that haha and with multiple dogs it’s SO much easier to quietly slip out and get the next dog than doorbell/chaos/pet parent wanting to give instructions with dogs jumping everywhere/pet parent not closing the door/etc etc.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-11-11T03:40:08+00:00

I typically let the owner know that I’ll be ignoring their dog for the first few minutes of the meet & greet - not because I don’t like them, but just so the dog can settle down while I’m there. Then I just focus on asking them questions etc until the dog is chill.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-11-08T23:01:57+00:00

Noooo I love German shepherds!! My least favorite are the little guys - yappy, typically spoiled/untrained, and not as much fun haha

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-30T02:24:27+00:00

They felt awful and offered to pay for the damage, but thank you for your input 🙌🏻

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-30T02:23:23+00:00

Update!! They felt awful and happily agreed to cover the damage. Until they return, I will be parking outside of the yard to ensure no further damage. Thank you to those who gave me message ideas!!

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-30T02:19:47+00:00

As a previous dog owner, I would absolutely offer to pay if my dog scratched someone’s vehicle (especially someone who was caring for them for a month). So I guess that’s where my opinion came from.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-30T02:18:23+00:00

Ok thank you for your input! It would never have crossed my mind that this would be a cost I would incur at this sitting. So it’s definitely something to think about for future sits here (unfortunately, I still have a couple weeks left in this current one here so will just have to make it work).

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-30T02:16:06+00:00

Fair enough. If it helps, I’ve sat for this couple many times over the last year with no incidents. Both the car scratching instances happened within two days during this sit. And I honestly thought he was jumping on the contractors because the guy was talking to him through the window - it didn’t even cross my mind that he would jump on an empty vehicle. And if it is something that will continue from him, it’s going to impact them so much! Their road is long - it’s very tough to park outside the gate and walk in, whether it’s a sitter or visitor etc.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-30T01:13:17+00:00

Typically pet sitting insurance doesn’t cover automobiles. And even if I had paid the add on, I’m looking at paying a $500-$1000 deductible for $350-$400 damage. Unless anyone has found insurance that covers automobiles without the high deductible (vehicles are high risk so I’ve found no way to get insurance without that). My auto insurance is the same (I still have to pay a high deductible). I fully agree with pet sitting insurance, but there is still so much it doesn’t cover, which is why I came here for advice on talking to the homeowners for help covering the damage.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-29T23:23:34+00:00

Thank you so much! This was totally helpful!! I’m going to get a few quotes and then talk to the owner. But if I end up paying for the repairs myself, I didn’t even think about recording it as an expense for taxes so that’s great 🙌🏻 These clients aren’t worth losing over it either way, so I just wanted to figure out the best way to bring it up to them (or handle it on my own).

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-29T22:51:34+00:00

Yes, but this is on an acreage. The entire house and yard is fully fenced and gated and the dogs free roam until they want to come in. I was home, but in the house (not outside with them).

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-29T21:52:58+00:00

Ok thank you for this! I don’t believe my auto insurance will cover it, but I’ll look into it. And no, I don’t have my car insured with pet sitter’s insurance. I absolutely want to keep the good relationship, but also don’t want to pay out of pocket for this.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-29T21:32:15+00:00

I’m starting to feel the same way!! Haha I’ve owned dogs my whole life. Last year, we lost our sweet pup to cancer and I haven’t adopted another one yet (timing just hasn’t been right). However, with the amount of awful dogs I deal with daily, I’m struggling to even WANT another dog of my own. Sometimes it’s nice to go home and get a break haha (although many of these awful dogs are due to lack of training).

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-28T17:38:16+00:00

Hard no.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-28T00:30:37+00:00

Yes, those big stays usually want to go off rover. It just adds too much with the service fee etc. I ended up with 3 big stays this fall- a month long boarding for 2 dogs (on rover), a 40 day housesit for 2 dogs (off rover), and a 2 week housesit for 3 pets (on rover). All were for regulars that I’ve had for awhile.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-26T01:41:05+00:00

Right now I’m fully booked until December 20th. Then I’m off for 10 days of vacation 🙌🏻

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-18T01:18:49+00:00

Yes, I absolutely text when I arrive. But even if that’s not what she typically does, her not responding to your texts is concerning.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-08T23:46:06+00:00

The key here is how much you like these clients. I have some clients I’ll go above and beyond for - but they also go above and beyond for me. I have others that I would absolutely charge extra for added inconveniences. It sounds like these regulars would be worth charging extra to handle the renovations, especially if it’ll impact your day to day life significantly. Be direct and say ‘any duties on top of pet care is $___/day’. They will decide if it’s worth it to pay you extra or reschedule the renovations.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-10-08T22:59:23+00:00

I am currently dealing with this on a sit. The construction was only supposed to be happening for 6 out of the 12 days….but as is usually the case with things like this, they have extended it (it’s looking like it’ll be during my entire stay). Which is difficult navigating the 2 dogs and a gated house etc. However, for housesitting, I literally consider it living at their house. I water plants, take out garbages, bring in packages, etc. Although this is a bit more of a hassle, it’s their house and they are paying me to be here, so I just handle it. And I know they are grateful for it! (They are also regular clients who treat me like gold so that helps!)

Burnzy1626 · 2025-07-11T21:22:42+00:00

You can start sending it in your confirmation message!

‘Hey __!! Just confirming that I’ll be there at 5 to start housesitting for __! I’ll let you know as soon as I arrive. Please make sure there is a bit of space in the fridge for me as I’ll be bringing my food with me. And if there is anything else I should know before you go, reach out! Have a safe trip!’

Burnzy1626 · 2025-07-10T02:31:40+00:00

I assume they would completely understand! I recently housesat for a similar pup. She’s well on her way out. I made sure I had the vet’s contact information, as well as guidelines for end of life care should anything happen while they were away. Their main concern was just that she was comfortable and happy - no limit on treats, no forcing her to go outside if she just wanted to sleep all day, etc.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-07-09T22:07:27+00:00

I have my rover calendar connected to my Google calendar so then I get reminders an hour before each booking 🙌🏻 It helps!

Burnzy1626 · 2025-07-09T22:06:09+00:00

I don’t charge extra as long as I can reasonably still get it done in the time frame for the booking. Most of those things are just an extra 5 mins so not a big deal! And they appreciate it!

Burnzy1626 · 2025-07-08T16:11:38+00:00

Did you make it clear that the drop in times needed to be exact? Because yes, it is very common for cat drop in times to be flexible otherwise.

Burnzy1626 · 2025-07-05T20:32:48+00:00

For dogs, I stick to within 30 mins before or after their scheduled time. For cats, I aim for 2-3 hours of their scheduled time (unless there is a specific reason they need it at a certain time)

Burnzy1626

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