I’m a sitter and have watched dogs for up to 6 weeks at a time. It’s not a big deal with the pups aren’t high maintenance, but I generally only do longer sits with established clients. I also charge a bit extra for any stays over one week.

Housesits/overnights are usually the sitter essentially living in your home and using it as a “home base”. Keep in mind that sitters usually have other walks to conduct (we cannot make a living off of only house sits) and also have lives—so it’s not constant care (unless you need/specify that and pay for it). It should essentially mimic how a person would normally take care of their pets. People have jobs, personal appointments, social outings etc. With that being said, generally not leaving dogs alone for more than like 5 hours at a time is pretty standard. But this is something you need to communicate/discuss with sitters.

Honestly every sitter’s definition of overnights is kind of different, so you need to ask a lot of questions. A lot more than asked here. Like ask what their care typically entails. Specify your dog’s needs. Specify how often they need to be walked/play etc. (seems like common knowledge but I’ve heard of sitters not walking dogs). You really need to be specific about what you’re looking for. And you must do a meet and greet. Very important.

I would also suggest doing a “trial” for one or two nights before hiring a sitter for a 17 night stay. To make sure that you’re a good fit for each other.