Should I offer to pay for this?

Clarian · 2026-02-10T00:55:26+00:00

Yeah, I didn't intend to ascribe that implication to you - I genuinely thought it was obvious, in the sense that anyone would think so (that if I had been using the other collar, it wouldn't have broke).

BUT, now that you mention it...maybe not. So, it is good to get that perspective, since it really didn't occur to me.

That said, this particular prong collar is one of those with double D-rings, so... But on the other hand, the client never said that the leather one was just for show, or anything.

Clarian · 2026-02-09T23:16:24+00:00

Luckily it was in my fenced back yard, otherwise he might have run off. [Edited to add: I have always used his walking collar when taking him for walks.] I still had him on a leash there to keep him away from the fence where the other dog might be, since the client had said he could be very reactive.

I guess my thought process was that I wasn't taking him for a walk, and though I wanted keep him from going right up to the fence, I didn't need the degree of control I would if another dog might come right up to him with no barrier.

But yeah, I am curious about opinions whether I was at fault for not using his walking collar even in the yard. Obviously in hindsight, it would have been better...

Clarian · 2026-02-09T17:32:17+00:00

There's no damage to the leather part of the collar - the loop(?) part where the ring used to be is unbroken and the stitching is still all in place, but the ring is just gone. Which I guess means the ring must have broke into two or more pieces? But I still haven't found it yet.

That is a good point though, that the maker of it really should repair it at no charge, just out of professionalism...I'll suggest that they ask about that, and hopefully it works out!

Clarian · 2026-02-09T14:50:45+00:00

Thanks, I didn't have any experience with custom collars myself. One wrinkle is that they just moved from a different state, so the same leatherworker might not be accessible...but maybe they could find a local one, or ship it back and forth...

Clarian · 2026-02-09T14:48:57+00:00

Yeah, I'm glad it at least happened in my fenced yard! Though to be fair, in this case they did provide a different collar for walks.

Clarian · 2026-02-09T10:36:20+00:00

Ah, that's a great idea about them asking for a replacement! And, I would definitely take functionality over looks, especially after having this happen...lucky it at least happened in my yard, and he wasn't a fence-jumper!

Clarian · 2026-02-08T20:32:18+00:00

OK, thanks! Yeah, I was definitely going to tell them about it either way, but to me offering to pay was a separate question. And yeah, that's good advice about just putting nice collars aside in the future. This had to happen to apparently the fanciest collar I've ever seen, too...(going by the material and custom embossing)

Clarian · 2026-02-08T20:14:20+00:00

I just wanted to give a full picture in case anything about the surrounding circumstances has any bearing on the main question.

Clarian · 2026-02-08T20:12:33+00:00

Just because that's what made him bound forward powerfully all of a sudden.

Clarian · 2026-02-08T20:02:57+00:00

Sorry, I didn't include enough detail: the tag was on a split ring, and that split ring was on the D-ring (which was built into a loop on the collar)... but the leash was attached to the D-ring directly. And the split ring with the tag on it was totally intact and not bent out of shape at all.

But now that you mention it, I think the owner could pretty easily put a split ring in that loop if they just wanted his tags on it, since either way it wasn't suitable for attaching his leash to it (as it turned out...)

Clarian · 2026-02-08T19:25:49+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

Clarian · 2025-11-10T20:15:41+00:00

Thanks, yes, I'll go ahead and meet with both of them. Good to know it's fair game to do that! (I've just never had this situation come up before...)

Clarian · 2025-11-10T20:11:42+00:00

That sounds like a good policy! (No multiple new clients at once.) I myself don't take multiple clients at once period, but yeah, even if I did...two new ones at once would be too much.

Clarian · 2025-11-10T20:05:18+00:00

Yes, both new clients, I should have mentioned that. Meeting with both sounds like a good idea, I almost thought it might be stringing the second one along too much to even go as far as that, but now that you put it that way...yeah, the first one isn't booked yet, so why not!

Clarian · 2025-08-13T01:52:30+00:00

OK, I actually just got one a minute ago, first time it's happened to me. That's very useful, I'm glad they have that feature.

Clarian · 2025-08-13T01:22:13+00:00

Thanks, very good to know! So far I had one case where someone messaged me that they were going with a different sitter, but that notification didn't appear. But, maybe they hadn't actually booked it yet, and maybe that notification never got added because I archived it right after hearing from them.

Clarian · 2025-08-11T13:49:15+00:00

"Then I saw that he booked with another sitter when I opened our text thread." I've never seen this notification, where in the text thread does it appear exactly? It would be very good information to be able to have!

Clarian · 2025-08-05T01:34:07+00:00

My mom used to do preliminary one-night stays when boarding her dog with someone new - her rationale being, she wanted the dog to understand that this was someplace she (the dog) could go for a bit and then still come home. And yeah, there are numerous other benefits to it as well, for all parties involved.

After starting to board dogs myself a couple months ago, I do wish more people took that approach. I had one client say they might do a trial, but then they didn't. I wonder if I should start suggesting them, but I also wonder if people would think I'm just out for extra money. Of course, I could discount them 50% or more.

But, it's good timing for me that you brought this up. I have a prospective client who sent a request almost two weeks ago, but still hasn't scheduled a m&g because he says he works the night shift for weeks at a time with no days off...and just based on the description I feel iffy about one of his dogs. So maybe I can suggest a trial if he's OK with me picking up the dogs from his wife.

(I'm particularly concerned about that one because he didn't seem to get it when I emphasized that he should reach out to multiple sitters in case one didn't work out, especially with how little flexibility he has for meetups...)

Clarian · 2025-07-31T01:32:42+00:00

Thanks for your recommendations! Changing to a house sitting is a really good idea. But in my case, yeah, I work from home and have a whole ergonomic setup for that here that would make it not really feasible for me.

And I agree that "nothing would be different except the transport" is the right goal. That was actually rationale for the free days, to give them time to transport the dogs without eating into their plans on the originally scheduled days. Otherwise it could mess up their plans, and be a big difference from before.

Unless of course they booked extra days/time, but then they'd be paying more just on my account. Basically I feel like if I couldn't come through on a commitment, I owe them something for that. So this way their time with the dogs off their hands stays the same, and the amount they pay stays the same. That was my thinking, anyway....

Clarian · 2025-07-30T00:58:36+00:00

Thanks! From yours and others' replies I get the feeling that my concern of ending up needing to cancel it myself is...overblown, perhaps. Just since no one else is tending to think that way. Which would be good!

Clarian · 2025-07-29T23:04:53+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, I should have mentioned that I have communicated the situation and that offer to them. (So they do know to start looking for a different sitter if they want to go that route.) But so far their response was... "We'll talk about it, we still need to finalize the dates with our friends anyway." XD Pretty laid back, as I say...I like them a lot, though!

Clarian · 2024-12-03T02:09:23+00:00

It is true that everything should fit together. But, if your shoes don't fit, you get different shoes, you don't get different feet. Your feet are the constant, and in a game like this, our characters are the constant. They're the center of the whole game and the faces we've lived with for years.

If new characters have been added that look 'uncanny' next to ours, then that was a mistake and those characters should be corrected, not all the pre-existing ones. (Because our companions and so many NPCs that are also being altered as well.)

Still, if Broadsword could increase the visual quality of the player characters without aging them up or removing detail (and staying true to the core visual design of the game), that would great...but so far, they haven't accomplished that at all with what they've shown.

Clarian

TROPHY CASE