How do you find a petsitter?

[Anonymous]

My dog would not do good being boarded (doesn't like other dogs, doesn't like being alone) and right now a friend and I swap dogsitting with each other but I would like to have another option and not a friend (I would rather pay someone so I can schedule and not have to hope my friends are available when I need them). I struggle, though, with trusting a stranger in my home. How do you find and vet someone so that they aren't stealing your identity or some such?

[Anonymous]

I don’t know. I have never had someone steal but we have had some bad experiences. We’ve gotten recommendations on Nextdoor and from friends but they’re all unreliable. The last one asked for our wifi password because she was working from our home to spend extra time with our cats. I was not happy about that for security reasons but felt odd saying no. I gave it to her and then switched it as soon as we got home. I think the only option we have left is to use a large service. I had avoided that because I wanted to know exactly who was coming in. We solved our dog issue by sending him to a coworkers home who likes having him over but we have not come up with a good solution for our cats. For our upcoming trip we are restoring to a neighborhood teen this round.

[Anonymous]

I have used Rover for years, with 99% good experiences. I always take my dog to the sitter. You can screen for the conditions that work best for your dog (for mine it is takes one client at a time, no more than one other pet in the home), in addition to geography and price.

[Anonymous]

I dog sit. People find me through word of mouth. Lately I watch a very cute dog a few times a year. Her parents have a daughter whose nanny was friends with my niece's nanny years ago when they were babies. The nannies met at the park, the families became friends, and one day the parents mentioned to my SIL and brother they needed a dog sitter. They suggested me.

[Anonymous]

We use a company that allows dogs to stay in the sitter’s home.

[Anonymous]

I dog sit and also generally do word of mouth referrals. I dont need to advertise as I am already super busy!

Suggestions - ask your neighbors. If you have a community facebook page, ask there. You can try Rover, ask for a meet and greet with your dog and them.

Are you open to having someone take the dog in their home? You can likely find someone who WFH or is hybrid (I only go into the office a few hours 2x a week) so pup isnt alone for too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know. I have never had someone steal but we have had some bad experiences. We’ve gotten recommendations on Nextdoor and from friends but they’re all unreliable. The last one asked for our wifi password because she was working from our home to spend extra time with our cats. I was not happy about that for security reasons but felt odd saying no. I gave it to her and then switched it as soon as we got home. I think the only option we have left is to use a large service. I had avoided that because I wanted to know exactly who was coming in. We solved our dog issue by sending him to a coworkers home who likes having him over but we have not come up with a good solution for our cats. For our upcoming trip we are restoring to a neighborhood teen this round.

On our wifi we can set up multiple log ins. We have one just for guests e.g Brown Family Guest. You could try that.