What to know about a dog before sitting for travels

If you are house sitting for the purposes of travelling, you want to make sure that your holiday adventures are not ruined by terrible house sitting experiences.

Whilst you are getting free accommodation by house sitting, it is still unfair to you if your trip turns into a disaster because you were not fully aware of everything before you agreed to the arrangement.

These are the things you should know about a dog before sitting:

How old is the dog?

Knowing how old the dog is will give you a good incite into the kinds of potential problems you may encounter. You may want to ask the homeowner certain questions that will help you work out if you will experience issues and whether the dog will cause problems for your travels.

If the dog is old it may suffer health problems such as incontinence. Whilst it is not a problem if the dog is old and usually this means that they are more relaxed, easy going and maybe require less attention, you may have other responsibilities involved. For example, older animals may need to take medication which means that you may be required to take them to the vet or give them medication at certain times.

This may mean that you cannot stick to a strict time schedule when travelling or that you may need to get back to the house at a specific time to fulfil your obligations. 

How long can the dog be left alone?

Some older dogs need to be taken outside more frequently which may also mean that you cannot leave the house for too long. Similarly, if the dog is young it may need more attention and might not like being left alone. Some young dogs can get nervous when they are left on their own and can then start destroying things, chewing on things or making a general mess around the home.

You do not want to get home to a messy house after a full day out. 

What will your responsibilities be as a house sitter?

An important thing to know is what your responsibilities will be as a house sitter. If you plan to do a lot of travelling such as day trips and sightseeing, then you need to understand if your responsibility as a house sitter will involve staying at the home throughout the day as this may not be possible for you.

Sometimes homeowners may ask you to stay in for parcel deliveries or open the door to gardeners or cleaners for instance which may not be possible if you have plans. It is therefore important that you make them aware of your plans and be transparent with them.    

Is the dog able to come sightseeing with you?

If the dog is fit and healthy and depending on the activities you want to do, it may be that you are able to bring the dog along so that you are not leaving it alone for hours on end.

This may be a happy medium, especially if you are visiting parks or exploring cities as the dog has some company and you are still able to do the travel you wanted. 

What are the previous reviews like?

One very important way of checking whether a dog is going to be a handful or easy to manage before doing a house sit, is to look at previous reviews. If you used a platform such as TrustedHousesitters, then it is customary to give the homeowner and the house sitter a review. 

This is a great way to help others understand what is good or bad about a sit and this includes whether the pets are well-behaved or not.

If reviews have not been provided, then it may be a good idea to ask if the homeowner has had a house sitter before. If they have, then you may question whether the sitter had a good experience or not if they have not provided the review.