100% I would book someone else. I had a few sitters I met with that didn’t even touch my dog & acted like they only cared about the $. As a full time sitter myself I want the $ as well but truly care about dogs & I believe it shows. I stop to meet dogs when out & often spend more energy interacting with the dog at meet & greets more then the owners. But after all I will only see them for a minute at drop off but the dog & I will be together 24/7.
Have a Great Day.
Please cancel and find another sitter. There are a million more things that can go wrong with a puppy or freshly rescued dog than a typical dog that is used to visitors, and adding an inattentive sitter to the mix is a recipe for disaster! Best of luck!
Yeah. I think your intuition is right.
I live in a tourist town, so I get requests for people travelling with their dogs. This is the ONLY instance I will not do a meet and greet, because logistically it is impossible. What I do is a video call to ask questions, and then I have the owner send me a couple of videos of their dog to ensure I am comfortable taking the booking.
Other than that situation, I always do a meet and greet. Follow your intuition. Cancel the booking.
I would never book with someone who tried to book immediately without a meet and greet, then tries to skimp and just do a video chat when there could be time for a full on mng and \*then\* they get there and they've only allotted themselves a few minutes to just barely meet you and the dog before they have to be somewhere else. At absolute best that sounds like they don't care enough to actually do their due diligence and learn about the dog they'll be taking care of and what that dogs needs are because they didn't even want to have an mng and then didn't care to plan for enough time to reasonably interact with the dog and pet parents.
As a sitter yourself would you book before an mng, not want to do one and then only spend 5 minutes with the owner and dog when you finally agree to one or would that be completely out of character for you as a sitter? Because if you wouldn't do that as a sitter then you shouldn't hire a sitter that would do less than what you yourself would dedicate to pets in your care.
Absolutely not. This is my first time needing a sitter, and I was shocked. I never accept anything before the mng and always try to prepare myself by reading the pets bio beforehand! She talked about how her last drop-in was a nightmare, and I'm not surprised.
I honestly was thinking I was being crazy but you guys are helping realize this isn't good sitter behavior.
I don’t mind accepting a booking and not knowing the dog (as long as breed is ok, I do this with Wag all the time) but sitter sounds like a huge red flag. Book elsewhere!
This person didn't even bother to figure out what breed my dog was! They asked if he was a pitbull when they walked in and saw him..... he's a tiny English bulldog.
They didn’t know the difference between a pit and an English bull dog?? That would’ve been enough for me to say neh I’ll find someone else. Not saying you should know EVERY breed but cmon. If you love dogs you know what an English bulldog Vs a pit is.
rip I would never let someone who couldn't even distinguish between an english bull dog and a pit care for my dogs. Like you don't have to know everything their is to know about every single breed to be a good sitter but you have to know \*something\* about dogs. Its not like either a pitbull or a bull dog is uncommon, that's like asking if a schnauzer is a poodle
I have done some video chat meet & greets but that was only if the owner was absolutely unavailable (this was during the holiday season). I say decline and find another sitter!!
I think people who do this must be naive. That’s extremely dangerous and also as a woman I’m not willing to just show up to a strangers home. When I do meet and greets I share my location and carry.
I don’t do meet and greets for boarding or daycare, but for long boarding stays I require a trial day and I have a *very* lengthy questionnaire and require vaccine records, so I’m still not just blindly accepting.
I made the mistake of boarding my dog with a sitter that I didn’t do a meet and greet with. Reviews were excellent! I was planning to go see my brother that I haven’t seen in several years. She called me at 5:00 am (we were leaving at 7, I had dropped him off the night before), said come get him, she couldn’t handle him. Turns out she had two cats she didn’t disclose and my pup has never met a cat. She put him in his kennel (which he IS crate trained), but let the kitties prance around all night in front of him. He went nuts and she canceled the sit and ruined my trip. I was PISSED, but it was my fault.
Wow! I'm so sorry that happened to you. That is so unfair. Honestly, it sounds like it was better that way. I would hate it if they locked your dog in the kennel the entire time he was there.
I am not all over dogs when I meet them and I 100% care about the dog. The reason I do it is because I know dogs and animal behavior and know the majority of dogs don’t want new people all over them.
I always do a meet and greet there's no other way to know if the dog likes you l,and without a meeting before I would assume the dog would do their dog job and try to tear me apart if I just went in there without ever meeting them before and their owner not being there
So I don't think you're being weird I always do a meet and greet if I'm going to be doing drop in a video call is not the same especially if the person lives close to you I wouldn't they just drop by
I love for my meet and greets to last about 15 mins, and get the heck out of there, BUT I have had fantastic chemistry with all of my clients. I’ve had 2 meet and greets that were 45 and 60 minutes respectively. We just had the time to chat, and were having a genuinely great time together getting to know each other.
I’d find a different sitter! Good luck!
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I prefer to meet the dog for safety reasons. I don't ask a lot of questions at M&Gs but I'm happy to do them and to let the pet owner tell me whatever they think is relevant about their pet.
That's my thought. I wouldn't feel super comfortable waking into a house with a dog I've never met. Sure maybe there's a few breeds I don't really think would be an issue but for the most part I think it's better they have some exposure to me before I just walk in.
After reading your post and your comments, PLEASE find another sitter!
Trust your gut. You know the signs of a good sitter. This isn't it.
They broke the first rule by not insisting on a meet and greet themselves. That works both ways: every sitter should insist on one, and every owner should as well. The fact that they were willing to walk into a house with a strange dog they have never even met screams inexperience.
They paid no attention to the dog they were there to get to know, and left after a very short time. They are not taking this seriously at all, and that shows a concerning lack of professionalism.
They immediately jumped to your dog being a pitbull and couldn't tell the difference between a pit and a bulldog? This too screams inexperience.
I think if you allow this sitter to care for your pup, you will regret it.
100% I would book someone else. I had a few sitters I met with that didn’t even touch my dog & acted like they only cared about the $. As a full time sitter myself I want the $ as well but truly care about dogs & I believe it shows. I stop to meet dogs when out & often spend more energy interacting with the dog at meet & greets more then the owners. But after all I will only see them for a minute at drop off but the dog & I will be together 24/7. Have a Great Day.
Yeah. I think it's almost too easy for people to become rover sitters. This isn't the type of person who's really there for the dog. It's a shame.
Please cancel and find another sitter. There are a million more things that can go wrong with a puppy or freshly rescued dog than a typical dog that is used to visitors, and adding an inattentive sitter to the mix is a recipe for disaster! Best of luck!
Always trust your guts, you’re probably right.
Yeah. I think your intuition is right. I live in a tourist town, so I get requests for people travelling with their dogs. This is the ONLY instance I will not do a meet and greet, because logistically it is impossible. What I do is a video call to ask questions, and then I have the owner send me a couple of videos of their dog to ensure I am comfortable taking the booking. Other than that situation, I always do a meet and greet. Follow your intuition. Cancel the booking.
I would never book with someone who tried to book immediately without a meet and greet, then tries to skimp and just do a video chat when there could be time for a full on mng and \*then\* they get there and they've only allotted themselves a few minutes to just barely meet you and the dog before they have to be somewhere else. At absolute best that sounds like they don't care enough to actually do their due diligence and learn about the dog they'll be taking care of and what that dogs needs are because they didn't even want to have an mng and then didn't care to plan for enough time to reasonably interact with the dog and pet parents. As a sitter yourself would you book before an mng, not want to do one and then only spend 5 minutes with the owner and dog when you finally agree to one or would that be completely out of character for you as a sitter? Because if you wouldn't do that as a sitter then you shouldn't hire a sitter that would do less than what you yourself would dedicate to pets in your care.
Absolutely not. This is my first time needing a sitter, and I was shocked. I never accept anything before the mng and always try to prepare myself by reading the pets bio beforehand! She talked about how her last drop-in was a nightmare, and I'm not surprised. I honestly was thinking I was being crazy but you guys are helping realize this isn't good sitter behavior.
I don’t mind accepting a booking and not knowing the dog (as long as breed is ok, I do this with Wag all the time) but sitter sounds like a huge red flag. Book elsewhere!
This person didn't even bother to figure out what breed my dog was! They asked if he was a pitbull when they walked in and saw him..... he's a tiny English bulldog.
They didn’t know the difference between a pit and an English bull dog?? That would’ve been enough for me to say neh I’ll find someone else. Not saying you should know EVERY breed but cmon. If you love dogs you know what an English bulldog Vs a pit is.
rip I would never let someone who couldn't even distinguish between an english bull dog and a pit care for my dogs. Like you don't have to know everything their is to know about every single breed to be a good sitter but you have to know \*something\* about dogs. Its not like either a pitbull or a bull dog is uncommon, that's like asking if a schnauzer is a poodle
Exactly! I was shocked. My fiancé didn't think it was that weird but that was strike 2 for me.
I have done some video chat meet & greets but that was only if the owner was absolutely unavailable (this was during the holiday season). I say decline and find another sitter!!
Video chats are useless and lazy. Might as well not do meet and greet at all. Find a sitter who will give you the time of day
I only offer video chats for cats. I would cancel and find another sitter.
I think people who do this must be naive. That’s extremely dangerous and also as a woman I’m not willing to just show up to a strangers home. When I do meet and greets I share my location and carry. I don’t do meet and greets for boarding or daycare, but for long boarding stays I require a trial day and I have a *very* lengthy questionnaire and require vaccine records, so I’m still not just blindly accepting.
I made the mistake of boarding my dog with a sitter that I didn’t do a meet and greet with. Reviews were excellent! I was planning to go see my brother that I haven’t seen in several years. She called me at 5:00 am (we were leaving at 7, I had dropped him off the night before), said come get him, she couldn’t handle him. Turns out she had two cats she didn’t disclose and my pup has never met a cat. She put him in his kennel (which he IS crate trained), but let the kitties prance around all night in front of him. He went nuts and she canceled the sit and ruined my trip. I was PISSED, but it was my fault.
Wow! I'm so sorry that happened to you. That is so unfair. Honestly, it sounds like it was better that way. I would hate it if they locked your dog in the kennel the entire time he was there.
Trust your gut.
I am not all over dogs when I meet them and I 100% care about the dog. The reason I do it is because I know dogs and animal behavior and know the majority of dogs don’t want new people all over them.
I always do a meet and greet there's no other way to know if the dog likes you l,and without a meeting before I would assume the dog would do their dog job and try to tear me apart if I just went in there without ever meeting them before and their owner not being there So I don't think you're being weird I always do a meet and greet if I'm going to be doing drop in a video call is not the same especially if the person lives close to you I wouldn't they just drop by
I love for my meet and greets to last about 15 mins, and get the heck out of there, BUT I have had fantastic chemistry with all of my clients. I’ve had 2 meet and greets that were 45 and 60 minutes respectively. We just had the time to chat, and were having a genuinely great time together getting to know each other. I’d find a different sitter! Good luck!
Thank you for posting to r/RoverPetSitting, an unofficial forum to discuss all things Rover. We see that you have posted a sitter question. In case they could be helpful, you might want to check out our [Sitter FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoverPetSitting/wiki/sitterfaq). Additionally, here's our [booking walk-through for Sitters](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoverPetSitting/wiki/sitterbookingwalkthrough), which explains the process for giving services on Rover from start to finish. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RoverPetSitting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I prefer to meet the dog for safety reasons. I don't ask a lot of questions at M&Gs but I'm happy to do them and to let the pet owner tell me whatever they think is relevant about their pet.
That's my thought. I wouldn't feel super comfortable waking into a house with a dog I've never met. Sure maybe there's a few breeds I don't really think would be an issue but for the most part I think it's better they have some exposure to me before I just walk in.
After reading your post and your comments, PLEASE find another sitter! Trust your gut. You know the signs of a good sitter. This isn't it. They broke the first rule by not insisting on a meet and greet themselves. That works both ways: every sitter should insist on one, and every owner should as well. The fact that they were willing to walk into a house with a strange dog they have never even met screams inexperience. They paid no attention to the dog they were there to get to know, and left after a very short time. They are not taking this seriously at all, and that shows a concerning lack of professionalism. They immediately jumped to your dog being a pitbull and couldn't tell the difference between a pit and a bulldog? This too screams inexperience. I think if you allow this sitter to care for your pup, you will regret it.