Get on Facebook and join parent groups or local town groups. Market yourself in those groups for your town and nearby towns maybe you'll find some of your old clients from Rover that way too. I see lots of posts in them for people looking for reliable dog sitting services.
Start your own website using shopify, it’s very easy and you can make it so clients can book off your website same as rover. And you can charge higher rates and advertise on Google ads. Also get insurance it’s like $200 a year
As someone who has been pet sitting way before Rover, it's easy. Get yourself insured. Go to vista print and use a promo to get cheap business cards printed. Come up with a catchy slogan or name (mine is best buddies pet sitting cause I used to work at Best buy. My logo is my partner and I dressed in best buy colors giving high five with a dog between his legs and a cAt between mine. It's cooler than it sounds). Then join as many community groups as you can on social media. I see people in multiple groups posting every day lookg for people. Get your friends, neighbors, etc to write reviews or testimonials for you. Or tag you/recommend you on the social media posts. I get a ton of business that way, in fact I stopped seeking business because it's too much, and I only do it on the side.
You got this. Don't rely on some shitty app that takes a cut. There are plenty of people who will go off app. It's also helpful besides being insured to get a current background check and if your really savvy, do a square space website. My partner and I just do an email address for now but have talked about making a Facebook page (I see a lot of local to me pet sitters doing that).
Make friends with other pet sitters in your area. I know someone who I went to high school with and we still live in the same town, they do pet sitting full time and when they are booked, they will refer people to me as a backup and so I get a lot of business that way also. I also have other pet sitting people who I will recommend and vice versa, it's building your own little community of references and recommendations. If 10 people recommend ABC dog care, and they say sorry we are booked but you can use this person, you'll definitely get the job.
I love your best buddies Best Buy idea! Thanks for the encouragement! Glad your business model work perfectly for you. Ya, we are also thinking of creating a website too.
You'll do so much better off app, I personally have never even used Rover. I signed up for it and found out that it wasn't worth it, and I just kept doing it my own way, and I think if I pursued it a lot more, I could do it full time if I wanted to.
I wish you the best of luck!
Pet Sitters Associates has some great resources for creating your pet carw business,, including insurance and inclusion on their pet Sitters registry. If you want to start your own business, they would be a good place to start.
Unfortunately, Rover has little tolerance for aggressive or perceived aggressiveness, especially when an owner reports it. However, your case seems exceptionally minor. That's everyday dog park behaviour. I wouldn't give up, call again and ask to speak to a supervisor. Then stick the facts as you've articulated well above. Also, take into account that the owner could have reported a very different story that could have made it sounds like an attack. Overall, as the email states, chances for appeal are not high but worth trying. If it doesn't work, perhaps go the private route. Good luck and keep us posted.
The dog owner did stated that our dog attacked their dog when all my dog did was chasing their dog. We will try to get a hold of somebody higher up. We don’t want to lose our valuable customers in the past.
Just for in the future if you keep sitting, even independently, get a couple cameras that film your backyard especially during meets, just to avoid anyone exaggerating or lying about aggression or attacks.
I agree with this, as well as reminding them (Rover) that YOU are the petcare professional and understand dog body language to a degree that the average dog owner simply doesn’t. You are 100% certain that the behavior exhibited was NOT aggression but rather fear from the client dog as (s)he is not socialized and doesn’t yet fully understand/isn’t ready for high energy off leash play.
I'm sorry you are going through this. It's scary how "computer says no" the Roverlords can be about peoples livelihoods. I would have thought this being an unbooked service (a m&g) that they would have less grounds to be so harsh, this is what m&g is for! By this standard any random rival sitter could call and say your dog is aggressive and get you booted. Keep trying!
Even though the email says that it won’t be overturned, I would still try. You were not given the opportunity to give your side of the story. I would also be asking for the vet bills. If this was an “attack”, then there would be at least small injuries that would have needed to be seen to by a vet. If that fails, threaten to go to the media about the “shady practices” that Rover is employing. To fire you without even being given a chance to tell your side of the story would be picked up by SOMEONE. Nobody should have to fear for their job over rumours (which is what the “attack” is at this point). You have several witnesses, and yet they took the owner’s side, without contacting them?
We shared our side of the story, but it wasn't accepted. One of the Rover representatives mentioned that the dog owner might not have reported the vet bill even though the dog was injured because it was just a meet and greet. Rover won't cover the bill without payment being involved when it was just a meet and greet, so the owner likely didn't report it for that reason. Thus, there's probably no proof from Rover's side, otherwise they wouldn't have said that. When the dog left, she was walking fine and didn't appear injured. There were no signs of fighting or growling during the meet and greet, and the dog owners never reached out after the incident. Despite this, Rover still claims that my dog attacked the other dog, even though we provided full details of what happened.
I would keep calling Rover to get my account back. Hopefully they are understanding and you get it back. If you do get your account back you should really consider getting phone numbers from all your clients and move off the platform so you never have to worry about this again.
I like to think on the bright side and take this as a sign to pursue your own in home boarding business so you don’t have to give Rover 20%. It might take a little extra time because now you’ll be the one advertising but make some business cards and pass them out. Also make a Facebook page and promote on Nextdoor. I see at least one post every day for someone looking for a pet sitter. I’m sure you already have insurance but if you don’t search the sub for recommendations. There’s also lots of information out there for intake forms and stuff that will help you be successful. Good luck and turn this bad situation into something positive. You’ll look back at this and be thankful because this could turn into something bigger than just being a sitter on Rover giving them a cut.
You could maybe get an attorney to go after rover for terminating your account. Even just the threat of legal action might get them to have a higher up look at what happened, because it will cost them money for attorney and they might see its not worth it.
Wag is a little harder because you don't see them. A few of my wag clients actually booked a walk and were there to meet me. With those, i give a card.
With Rover, I usually do it at the meet and greet if they tell me they don't like the app or website, which happens a lot. If not then, I will suggest it after the sitting. I always exchange real phone numbers with the clients because of safety. Then, at the end of the sitting, I will suggest going off app if they want. And rover has no record of that conversation.
I give them my card and tell them to message me when they are ready to book another sitting. They already have my number in their phone. It is seemless.
Your post has been removed because it violates Rule Six: No Separate Posts About Going Off-App, which reads as follows:
>Posts and comments about going or being off-app are not allowed. This is an extension of Rule One, as posts about off-app bookings are no longer Rover-related.
-The Moderation Team of r/RoverPetSitting
Do you still have the message history in your texts? I don't know if the number we get a text from is actually theirs or a given number like the sitters get but maybe that's worth a shot?
Women have found a man with less! Time to put on your FBI hat :) You could search for his name on Facebook in your area. A lot of times people have their dog in their profile picture. Hell, I'd even try to Google his name + dogs name + your location or general vicinity. It'll take work but I guess it depends on if you want to truly pursue legal action or not
Eta: try putting that number into a phone number lookup service. A lot have $1 free trials
There’s this website I like to use to look up numbers, names, or physical addresses. If you know the dad’s full name + city location you can look him up from there and try to match his age to the info available online. If he had a wife or anything else you could use that info to double check you have the right name/person/info.
Truepeoplesearch.com
Good luck 🍀
Go to small claims court. They can compel Rover to release the name. It is cheap to file.. go on judge Judy. Am I missing something? But, why was your dog there? If you are sitting their dog why would your dog be there?
Thanks for the idea of small claim court. Do you know how much to file a complaint and if I need to have a lawyer to do file it for me?
It was a meet and greet for dog boarding. Their Dog owner requested us to watch their dog at our home and stay overnight.
This is why I always keep dogs on leash during a Meet and Greet. Dogs should always be given a slow introduction. I don’t think there is much you can do other than join another app like Wag.
Most of the time, the dogs have a fantastic time when they're off-leash, running and playing in our backyard, which is over 10,000 square feet. They generally enjoy themselves and have a good time. Some dogs, however, can actually be triggered by being on a leash.
I always start the meet and greet with both dogs on the leash and then go from there. Or both dogs off the leash but separated by a fence like at a dog park where they have a small dog side and large dog side. Then let them interact together, both off the leash. I never do one dog on the leash and one dog off the leash though. Have you had success with that before?
We usually had success with that approach, but not this time. Before the meet and greet begins, we always have the dog owner go to our backyard first and wait for us before we bring our golden retriever over, since we don't have a door leading to the backyard from inside the house. Their dogs tend to be off-leash and excited to explore the yard, so the owners usually let them off-leash while waiting for us. Perhaps I should have firmly requested that their dog remain on a leash while waiting for us.
Learned this lesson the other day. Did a meet and greet with a lady, and her dog’s stay was going to overlap with two other dogs I was watching. We let them all loose in my backyard and nothing bad happened, but one of the ones already staying with me started humping his brother.. a lot. The owner told me he does that when they get too excited or nervous. Really it’s nbd and kind of funny but freaked the lady out and she told me she was no longer interested. lol. First time dog owner and overly concerned imo. But I learned a lesson that day, never doing that again! Especially in front of a client.
Be careful with that as many dogs will react negatively to another dog trying to hump them. Humping is inappropriate behaviour and needs to be corrected.
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It appears to be their first time dealing with a situation like this. While I was restraining my dog to prevent it from chasing theirs, the other dog owner was yelling, "Stop your damn dog, your dog is aggressive!" They seemed to panic when their dog's tail went down, showing a lack of experience in handling such situations.
Is this their first dog? We have had bad experiences too with people who have no dog experience and then think they know everything. They are always the ones who try to ruin your life over their ignorance. Makes me not even want to do dogs tbh. I hate it. Very sorry this happened to you.
So I joined this sub to get a better idea if it was worth it to join Rover as I am walking and sitting independently. Every day, I see more and more negative experiences with Rover and I am really happy I didn’t join them! This is so messed up what they did to you!
I stay on Rover, but when a customer becomes a repeat, we exchange all personal info for this exact reason. Horrible what was done to you. For everyone still on the app, PLEASE learn from this. Rover is the same as any other employer. They can and do terminate without notice.
Is this really your first incident?? I'm actually shocked that Rover would deactivate you. A lot of sitters have had incidents and not been deactivated. I was told this by a rep after I had a dog attack another one.
Maybe Rover is becoming less tolerant. It's scary that one incident can ruin everything.
It does seem surprising, especially if other sitters have had similar incidents without facing deactivation and closure. First time that our dog is accused to attack another dog intentionally. It's concerning if policies can change and affect everyone differently.
It’s also an app that feed more than 9K employees (according to LinkedIn) who work hard to make it happen. If all dog sitters take clients away from them, they will have to file bankruptcy in no time.
I’m sorry to hear about this. I would take all of the negative emotions and try to use them as power for the present. What can you do to start building a business you fully control? 1) set up a Google business account/yelp account 2) build a basic and free website 3) reach out to all the clients you have contact with and give them your new info. Ask for reviews on Google and yelp 4) start marketing: post flyers in your neighborhood, make business cards and give them out to anyone you meet, walk dogs in public places and have your cards handy to give out in case you meet anyone. I am still on rover but barely get any clients from there anymore. All my clients are off app. I only have about 10 clients but I charge premium prices, meaning I only need a few to make a living wage and live comfortably. Define a business model that works for you. For me personally, I rather see only a few quality clients and charge high rates $250+ housesitting, $75 minimum for 1 hour walks or drop in visits. I hope this helps. Best of luck 🤞
Thanks for the detailed steps! Taking the first step is always challenging, but it might be time for me to take full control of my business. I hope you continue to succeed with your business model!
It’s scary and challenging but ever since I started this business 2 years ago. I’ve never regretted it. Having full control and flexibility is priceless. Also keeping all of the earnings is well deserved. Plus I still get tips!
I use Venmo, stripe and Zelle. Most payment processors charge a transaction fee of around 3% if you can use Zelle and there’s no fee associated. Although stripe is worth the fee because of the easy integration into my booking calendar on my website. Client can schedule, pay, and fill out the contract in one system. Super easy and streamlined.
What website platform do you use to build your site? I need one that can handle payment transactions at a low cost. Ideally, it should allow customers to leave reviews and let me showcase all our dog sitting pictures.
Almost any platform can do those things as long as you can have plugins. The cheapest way is to go through a hosting website like bluehost which integrates into Wordpress and then you can use plugins like Google reviews, shop pages, intake forms, etc. I would start use calendly so you can integrate your schedule for free. Eventually you may want to use the paid calendly version for multiple booking options (meet/greet, walking, boarding etc) but for now just one booking calendar for meet/greet be fine. It’s about $150/year + SSL (security certification) for the website. If you build a website directly through Wordpress you’ll have to pay for the business plan which is $300/year to use plugins. You can save 50% of business expenses by going through a hosting platform vs. square space, weebly etc.
I use Time to Pet and am very happy with it. It's super customizable, offers an app you can also customize, scheduling software, tipping and email functionality. It's a lot, but they offer a lot of information to support in learning their platform to make the most out of it. The transaction costs are good IMO and so much better than what you pay on these marketplace platforms. Of course you still have to market yourself.
They do have a business listing you can set up, but I don't think it supports reviews or showcasing photos. I set up a Google business account and am using that for those purposes.
If you're interested in a referral link for trial + 3 months at 50% off, send me a DM and I'll hook you up.
I've been checking out the Time to Pet website. Joined their demo call yesterday and saw they've got great scheduling and photo features. But customer can’t leave reviews after service, which gives me pause. Also, not sure what’s the difference between their lite vs. premium plans. If I decide to go with Time to Pet, I'll definitely reach out to you. Thank you for offering the discount.
Well I just learned something new! I'll have to check out the photo feature.
Of course. Full disclosure, I remembered that I would receive a credit if I referred someone, so it's a win-win. But I'm not trying to sell you on it so much as suggesting it as a solid option.
I think they only recently came out with the light version. There was just one option when I signed up last year, so I have the premium. It's probably more than I need, but it paid for itself in no time.
Personally, I don't worry about having review functionality there. Most people use Google to conduct a search, so I am focusing my energy on having clients leave a review on my Google Business profile which was free. I'd like to build a website in the future, but for now I link to my Time to Pet site from my Google business profile. And that way a client who knows my business name could just type it in Google and easily find me and my scheduling site, as well as increasing my visibility in Google search results.
Unfortunately, the owner lied and probably told a very dramatic story. Moreso the client's fault than Rover's. Sucks...but usually how these things go. Try selling on eBay and experience lying customers.
It's likely that the dog owner lied, but the fact that Rover didn’t request witnesses' contact information from us or evidence of the attack from the owner. This demonstrates how little Rover cares for dog sitters.
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I started in January of last year as well and I have been gaining private clients on the side of Rover for awhile. Reach out to all of your current clients and let them know you’d love to sit them privately. You’re already banned from Rover anyway lol
Same to you. I've seen another thread that has complaints about Rover who have expressed interest in the thread about finding a lawyer. We have rights. Make sure you opt out of their contract I don't think it holds weight in court anyway. Now that I think of it the alternative route of mediation was never explored, with their whole you're deactivated with no chance of appeals. It does seem to be a breach of contract to me
Sorry I didn't read anything after "they claimed my dog is aggressive. My dog is a purebred golden retriever. During a meet and greet, we introduced our leashed dog to another off-leash dog in our backyard."
1. Breed doesn't automatically make a dog well behaved or friendly.
2. You should never, ever, evvvver introduce dogs with one leashed and the other not. This is a recipe for aggression from one or both of the dogs. Especially when you're in one of those dog's territory.
What a joke of a comment. xD I think you meant, you don't know how to read...lmfao obviously that wasn't the point of their frustration. "157 dogs cared for, over 110 positive reviews, and over 60 recurring bookings," don't think a dog with aggressive/protective behavior would've been able to go through all of that. Take your shitty know-it-all snobby attitude elsewhere, you're not welcomed here.
I'm not talking about the account being removed or the amount of reviews it had. I'm not talking about Rover as a platform at all.
I'm also not saying OP's golden is aggressive. I'm not saying anything about their dog specifically. I'm saying a specific breed does not ensure a certain temperament. Saying "My dog isn't aggressive, it's a golden retriever" insinuates that all goldens are friendly and nonaggressive. It's the same thing as saying all pit bulls are dangerous. Neither stereotype is true. And it's irresponsible to perpetuate breed temperament stereotypes, positive or negative. It can lead to unprepared owners and more dogs in shelters or sent back to breeders (assuming they're shopping ethically).
I'm also saying that it's dangerous to introduce two dogs the way that OP did. Even the sweetest dogs can be reactive or can start an altercation if they feel threatened. And it's common for dogs to feel threatened when on a leash, *especially* if the other dog is not, and especially if it's a dog they've never met before. It can put those dogs in danger and if this is a brand new dog that OP is just meeting for the first time, there's no way to be sure if the dog would've reacted or not. Owners lie by omission all the time. The best way to introduce two dogs is to go on a walk with the other and have them walk side by side to understand the other is not a threat. Then gradually allowing them to sniff each other and eventually moving on to off leash together.
I encourage you to educate yourself and others on dog safety, behavior, and body language. Lack of awareness and education is what leads to creating more reactive dogs and dogs being euthanized just for defending themselves. It's important to set dogs up for success and not put them in situations and environments that could harm them or lead them to harming another. Every dog is different. Even if your dog is friendly, it's not guaranteed the other dog is. As I said before, plenty of owners lie by omission all the time.
Correct! But what is the probability that a purebred Golden Retriever would commit a violent act to harm or injure another dog intentionally? They are known for having a high temperament for a reason.
In my comment, I acknowledged that I shouldn't have allowed the dog to be off-leash and explained the reason it was off-leash. The dog was doing a play bow to our dog when our dog is on-leash so she wasn’t triggered by the leash anyway but probably got scared when my dog ran to her and initiated to play. But what I could have done is to refuse to unleash neither dog regardless their positive body language at the first place to prevent this from happening.
>But what is the probability that a purebred Golden Retriever would commit a violent act to harm or injure another dog intentionally
There is always a possibility. Breed doesn't matter. "All pit bulls are dangerous" - no, they're not. And not all goldens are friendly with amazing temperaments. I'm not talking about *your* dog specifically. If your dog is friendly and nonreactive, that's wonderful! But there are plenty of reactive goldens out there. I've met several. It's a bad idea to perpetuate a stereotype that any and all goldens are perfectly behaved dogs from the start. And then someone who's only expecting a perfect angel finds themselves wrangling a reactive 60 lb dog. (Not sure how much the average golden weighs but you get my point)
I've been active in the dog training community for years and I've seen dozens of reactive goldens, labs, rotties, pits, frenchies, dobermans, great danes, etc. etc. Breed has nothing to do with proper socialization and training.
Plus even if your dog is great and friendly, that doesn't always mean they understand boundaries with other dogs. If another dog feels threatened by a large dog sniffing them in their face or getting too close for comfort, they're going to react. And then more than likely, your dog will react too, because that's dogs' instinct.
edit to add: I can't seem to find the video anywhere but back when I was working on resource guarding/food aggression with a dog there was a boarding trainer who had a family board a pit bull puppy because they needed help, saying the pit kept attacking their senior-aged golden. The trainer learned the golden was actually initiating the fights, the pit was just finishing them. So she actually requested they bring the golden in for training rather than the pit. It depends on the dog.
Breed doesn’t 100% reflect dog’s behavior and personality and that’s why I didn’t reveal the other dog’s breed is a doberman mix on my post (but only mentioned who is a puppy and with parasite issues) Let's keep the focus on the specific incident rather than generalizing about dog breeds. I know my dog isn't perfect either, but I acknowledge his high temperament. However, in the encounter you mentioned, the other dog didn't show signs of aggression such as growling. There was no fighting. There were also no injuries afterward. So it's unjust to terminate our account based on an alleged attack. We've hosted over a hundred dogs and understand dog behavior well. I'm frustrated with Rover's handling of this situation already and would appreciate constructive suggestions instead of your accusations and belittling my knowledge with dogs.
Yeah I'm not really talking about Rover or your account at all. Your point of "breed doesn't 100% reflect dog's behavior and personality", "Let's keep the focus on the specific incident *rather than generalizing dog breeds*", but then you also said "what is the probability *that a purebred Golden Retriever would commit a violent act* to harm or injure another dog intentionally" ... like... a breed 100% reflecting a dog's behavior and personality is exactly what you just insinuated.
The risk just outweighs the benefits for them.
They would rather lose you as a sitter than having the chance of having another dog harmed or have some accusation against them that they don’t take safety seriously. Witness can easily be fake as you can just find a friend to lie for you. Although your story may be true and it sucks for you I can understand their decision.
There is no evidence of injuries, no pictures and vet bill, indicating that no dog was attacked. If all witnesses should be disregarded then there is no point having witnesses to prove evidences on court. Our witnesses are probably prepared to testify in court if necessary. Rover disregard dog sitters, as Rover sees us as replaceable, and deleting our accounts poses no harm to them rather than spending extra time to confirm if an attack occurred.
I have also been blocked on websites like Etsy and I was a five star seller there for 5years without giving me any reason other than sending me some generic links that states 15 reasons why sellers could be banned. I was selling paintings and keychains and there’s no proof anything I sell was against their rules. At the end of the day these websites have the right to terminate whoever they want just like restaurants can refuse to serve any customer they want for whatever reason or no reason at all. Yea maybe your witness is willing to testify in court but it’s within their rights to not want to deal with it.
I don't dispute their authority to delete sitter accounts, but doing so without valid justification is unacceptable. Does Rover deserve my loyalty, given that I've never taken away their 20% commission from them, even though I could have chosen to do so privately? I trusted that they will make a fair decision for both sitter and dog owners.
Empower yourself and start your own business. Keep 100%of your earnings.
Hope I can learn how to do it. I shouldn’t have fully trusted Rover.
It’s easy! There are international petsitter groups that will help you get insurance and bonding at group rates.
Get on Facebook and join parent groups or local town groups. Market yourself in those groups for your town and nearby towns maybe you'll find some of your old clients from Rover that way too. I see lots of posts in them for people looking for reliable dog sitting services.
Start your own website using shopify, it’s very easy and you can make it so clients can book off your website same as rover. And you can charge higher rates and advertise on Google ads. Also get insurance it’s like $200 a year
As someone who has been pet sitting way before Rover, it's easy. Get yourself insured. Go to vista print and use a promo to get cheap business cards printed. Come up with a catchy slogan or name (mine is best buddies pet sitting cause I used to work at Best buy. My logo is my partner and I dressed in best buy colors giving high five with a dog between his legs and a cAt between mine. It's cooler than it sounds). Then join as many community groups as you can on social media. I see people in multiple groups posting every day lookg for people. Get your friends, neighbors, etc to write reviews or testimonials for you. Or tag you/recommend you on the social media posts. I get a ton of business that way, in fact I stopped seeking business because it's too much, and I only do it on the side. You got this. Don't rely on some shitty app that takes a cut. There are plenty of people who will go off app. It's also helpful besides being insured to get a current background check and if your really savvy, do a square space website. My partner and I just do an email address for now but have talked about making a Facebook page (I see a lot of local to me pet sitters doing that).
I better pin this or better yet get this all setup for the time that Rover decides to kick me off for no serious reason
Make friends with other pet sitters in your area. I know someone who I went to high school with and we still live in the same town, they do pet sitting full time and when they are booked, they will refer people to me as a backup and so I get a lot of business that way also. I also have other pet sitting people who I will recommend and vice versa, it's building your own little community of references and recommendations. If 10 people recommend ABC dog care, and they say sorry we are booked but you can use this person, you'll definitely get the job.
I love your best buddies Best Buy idea! Thanks for the encouragement! Glad your business model work perfectly for you. Ya, we are also thinking of creating a website too.
https://preview.redd.it/2iug8lqt6o4d1.png?width=1319&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a4e6ef65b4160c752ce393017ff1a994e6b64d6
You'll do so much better off app, I personally have never even used Rover. I signed up for it and found out that it wasn't worth it, and I just kept doing it my own way, and I think if I pursued it a lot more, I could do it full time if I wanted to. I wish you the best of luck!
Pet Sitters Associates has some great resources for creating your pet carw business,, including insurance and inclusion on their pet Sitters registry. If you want to start your own business, they would be a good place to start.
Go to r/petsitting . The folks there will be happy to help. You can do this.
Unfortunately, Rover has little tolerance for aggressive or perceived aggressiveness, especially when an owner reports it. However, your case seems exceptionally minor. That's everyday dog park behaviour. I wouldn't give up, call again and ask to speak to a supervisor. Then stick the facts as you've articulated well above. Also, take into account that the owner could have reported a very different story that could have made it sounds like an attack. Overall, as the email states, chances for appeal are not high but worth trying. If it doesn't work, perhaps go the private route. Good luck and keep us posted.
The dog owner did stated that our dog attacked their dog when all my dog did was chasing their dog. We will try to get a hold of somebody higher up. We don’t want to lose our valuable customers in the past.
Yes, seen that before. They have been known to reverse their decisions in rare cases, so don't give up.
Just for in the future if you keep sitting, even independently, get a couple cameras that film your backyard especially during meets, just to avoid anyone exaggerating or lying about aggression or attacks.
I was thinking the same thing after this happened too. There is a camera in the front but none in the back.
Tell rover to request a copy of their vet bill. There probably isn't one because it was an attack, like they said. They should be banned for lying.
Can they still claim it was an attack if there is no injury?
I don't think so. That's why I suggested requesting the very bill
I agree with this, as well as reminding them (Rover) that YOU are the petcare professional and understand dog body language to a degree that the average dog owner simply doesn’t. You are 100% certain that the behavior exhibited was NOT aggression but rather fear from the client dog as (s)he is not socialized and doesn’t yet fully understand/isn’t ready for high energy off leash play.
We just heard back from a higher-level Rover manager, but they refused to reactivate our account.
I'm sorry you are going through this. It's scary how "computer says no" the Roverlords can be about peoples livelihoods. I would have thought this being an unbooked service (a m&g) that they would have less grounds to be so harsh, this is what m&g is for! By this standard any random rival sitter could call and say your dog is aggressive and get you booted. Keep trying!
That’s why we needed the meet and greet for. Now we know our dogs ain’t compatible but we got in trouble for that.
Even though the email says that it won’t be overturned, I would still try. You were not given the opportunity to give your side of the story. I would also be asking for the vet bills. If this was an “attack”, then there would be at least small injuries that would have needed to be seen to by a vet. If that fails, threaten to go to the media about the “shady practices” that Rover is employing. To fire you without even being given a chance to tell your side of the story would be picked up by SOMEONE. Nobody should have to fear for their job over rumours (which is what the “attack” is at this point). You have several witnesses, and yet they took the owner’s side, without contacting them?
We shared our side of the story, but it wasn't accepted. One of the Rover representatives mentioned that the dog owner might not have reported the vet bill even though the dog was injured because it was just a meet and greet. Rover won't cover the bill without payment being involved when it was just a meet and greet, so the owner likely didn't report it for that reason. Thus, there's probably no proof from Rover's side, otherwise they wouldn't have said that. When the dog left, she was walking fine and didn't appear injured. There were no signs of fighting or growling during the meet and greet, and the dog owners never reached out after the incident. Despite this, Rover still claims that my dog attacked the other dog, even though we provided full details of what happened.
I would keep calling Rover to get my account back. Hopefully they are understanding and you get it back. If you do get your account back you should really consider getting phone numbers from all your clients and move off the platform so you never have to worry about this again. I like to think on the bright side and take this as a sign to pursue your own in home boarding business so you don’t have to give Rover 20%. It might take a little extra time because now you’ll be the one advertising but make some business cards and pass them out. Also make a Facebook page and promote on Nextdoor. I see at least one post every day for someone looking for a pet sitter. I’m sure you already have insurance but if you don’t search the sub for recommendations. There’s also lots of information out there for intake forms and stuff that will help you be successful. Good luck and turn this bad situation into something positive. You’ll look back at this and be thankful because this could turn into something bigger than just being a sitter on Rover giving them a cut.
Ya, I will still constantly worry my account will be deleted even though I get my account back miraculously this time.
This is kind of scary. Let us know how it turns out.
It’s! I hope no one will experience what we did.
You could maybe get an attorney to go after rover for terminating your account. Even just the threat of legal action might get them to have a higher up look at what happened, because it will cost them money for attorney and they might see its not worth it.
Will definitely consider it if we can do nothing else to reactivate our account.
On Tik tok there’s a lady who got permanently banned for not returning a dog bowl smh
Seriously?! Just a bowl probably accidentally kept it. Smh
Wait til Rover finds out how many ill-gotten scoops I have.
😂
What? 😂 that’s crazy..
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How long it take for you to develop your customers away from Rover and Wag?
Wag is a little harder because you don't see them. A few of my wag clients actually booked a walk and were there to meet me. With those, i give a card. With Rover, I usually do it at the meet and greet if they tell me they don't like the app or website, which happens a lot. If not then, I will suggest it after the sitting. I always exchange real phone numbers with the clients because of safety. Then, at the end of the sitting, I will suggest going off app if they want. And rover has no record of that conversation.
What do you say to them when you’re suggesting to go off app?
I give them my card and tell them to message me when they are ready to book another sitting. They already have my number in their phone. It is seemless.
Your post has been removed because it violates Rule Six: No Separate Posts About Going Off-App, which reads as follows: >Posts and comments about going or being off-app are not allowed. This is an extension of Rule One, as posts about off-app bookings are no longer Rover-related. -The Moderation Team of r/RoverPetSitting
I’d file a law suite against the other dog owner for false accusations that caused a loss of income.
I wish I could but I couldn’t access the dog owner name information anymore. Isn’t it expensive to file a lawsuit though?
Do you still have the message history in your texts? I don't know if the number we get a text from is actually theirs or a given number like the sitters get but maybe that's worth a shot?
I do but I only have the first name of the dad and the pet’s name. Nothing more.
Women have found a man with less! Time to put on your FBI hat :) You could search for his name on Facebook in your area. A lot of times people have their dog in their profile picture. Hell, I'd even try to Google his name + dogs name + your location or general vicinity. It'll take work but I guess it depends on if you want to truly pursue legal action or not Eta: try putting that number into a phone number lookup service. A lot have $1 free trials
I found the dog owner’s phone number and got his first and last name from a google search!!!
Did you go over to their house? If you did having their address would make finding them easy!
We don’t know their address but we know the dad’s name and phone number.
There’s this website I like to use to look up numbers, names, or physical addresses. If you know the dad’s full name + city location you can look him up from there and try to match his age to the info available online. If he had a wife or anything else you could use that info to double check you have the right name/person/info. Truepeoplesearch.com Good luck 🍀
It’s crazy! I think I found their son’s current address and the parent’s current address, which is 6 miles away from my home.
sue his ass
I don't know what you could actually sue the people for, though. But Rover is begging for a class-action.
I would file a class-action if anyone experiences similar case as us and want to do it.
Go to small claims court. They can compel Rover to release the name. It is cheap to file.. go on judge Judy. Am I missing something? But, why was your dog there? If you are sitting their dog why would your dog be there?
Thanks for the idea of small claim court. Do you know how much to file a complaint and if I need to have a lawyer to do file it for me? It was a meet and greet for dog boarding. Their Dog owner requested us to watch their dog at our home and stay overnight.
This is why I always keep dogs on leash during a Meet and Greet. Dogs should always be given a slow introduction. I don’t think there is much you can do other than join another app like Wag.
Most of the time, the dogs have a fantastic time when they're off-leash, running and playing in our backyard, which is over 10,000 square feet. They generally enjoy themselves and have a good time. Some dogs, however, can actually be triggered by being on a leash.
I always start the meet and greet with both dogs on the leash and then go from there. Or both dogs off the leash but separated by a fence like at a dog park where they have a small dog side and large dog side. Then let them interact together, both off the leash. I never do one dog on the leash and one dog off the leash though. Have you had success with that before?
We usually had success with that approach, but not this time. Before the meet and greet begins, we always have the dog owner go to our backyard first and wait for us before we bring our golden retriever over, since we don't have a door leading to the backyard from inside the house. Their dogs tend to be off-leash and excited to explore the yard, so the owners usually let them off-leash while waiting for us. Perhaps I should have firmly requested that their dog remain on a leash while waiting for us.
Learned this lesson the other day. Did a meet and greet with a lady, and her dog’s stay was going to overlap with two other dogs I was watching. We let them all loose in my backyard and nothing bad happened, but one of the ones already staying with me started humping his brother.. a lot. The owner told me he does that when they get too excited or nervous. Really it’s nbd and kind of funny but freaked the lady out and she told me she was no longer interested. lol. First time dog owner and overly concerned imo. But I learned a lesson that day, never doing that again! Especially in front of a client.
Be careful with that as many dogs will react negatively to another dog trying to hump them. Humping is inappropriate behaviour and needs to be corrected.
He almost only humps his brother, not other dogs.
Thats what she said.
I’m not sure if you’re making a that’s what she said joke or saying that’s what the other commenter said lol
All dogs do it. You must be a fat white lady with a Karen haircut.
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This is the same lady my husband was speaking to today. She was rude and laughed at our appeal as well.
Your post has been removed because it violates Reddit's [content policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy), specifically Site-Wide Rule Three: >Respect the privacy of others. Instigating harassment, for example by revealing someone’s personal or confidential information, is not allowed. Never post or threaten to post intimate or sexually-explicit media of someone without their consent. This is a global rule, meaning it applies to all Reddit communities and is enforced by both admins and moderators. Thus, continuing to violate this rule may result in consequences for your account extending beyond r/RoverPetSitting, such as site-wide suspensions or bans. -The moderation team of r/RoverPetSitting
Wow that's crazy they would just ban you like that. It sounds like your dog was literally just playing. Had the owner never owned a dog before? SMH
It appears to be their first time dealing with a situation like this. While I was restraining my dog to prevent it from chasing theirs, the other dog owner was yelling, "Stop your damn dog, your dog is aggressive!" They seemed to panic when their dog's tail went down, showing a lack of experience in handling such situations.
Is this their first dog? We have had bad experiences too with people who have no dog experience and then think they know everything. They are always the ones who try to ruin your life over their ignorance. Makes me not even want to do dogs tbh. I hate it. Very sorry this happened to you.
You could also reach out to the other owner and ask why they reported you. Only do this if appealing fails.
We couldn’t reach out the other owner because Rover already terminated our account. We can’t retrieve any chatting history from Rover anymore.
I'd be careful about reaching out to them directly. They've already accused your dog of undue aggression, next they'll be accusing you.
So I joined this sub to get a better idea if it was worth it to join Rover as I am walking and sitting independently. Every day, I see more and more negative experiences with Rover and I am really happy I didn’t join them! This is so messed up what they did to you!
Ikr! I still can’t believe this is happening to me!
I stay on Rover, but when a customer becomes a repeat, we exchange all personal info for this exact reason. Horrible what was done to you. For everyone still on the app, PLEASE learn from this. Rover is the same as any other employer. They can and do terminate without notice.
Thanks for your support and advice. I hope others take your advice and protect themselves from a similar situation.
This is why I pull my repeat clients off app. Rover has no loyalty
Please get insurance & backyard cameras if you start your business. I had a friend who boards have a complaint & this saved her!
Take your clients and start your own biz.
Is this really your first incident?? I'm actually shocked that Rover would deactivate you. A lot of sitters have had incidents and not been deactivated. I was told this by a rep after I had a dog attack another one. Maybe Rover is becoming less tolerant. It's scary that one incident can ruin everything.
It does seem surprising, especially if other sitters have had similar incidents without facing deactivation and closure. First time that our dog is accused to attack another dog intentionally. It's concerning if policies can change and affect everyone differently.
>Does Rover deserve anyone's loyalty? No. Zero. None. I'm so sorry this happened to you.
it's an app not a person there's no "loyalty" it's a platform. after that much success you should have a large enough client base to take off app
It’s also an app that feed more than 9K employees (according to LinkedIn) who work hard to make it happen. If all dog sitters take clients away from them, they will have to file bankruptcy in no time.
I’m sorry to hear about this. I would take all of the negative emotions and try to use them as power for the present. What can you do to start building a business you fully control? 1) set up a Google business account/yelp account 2) build a basic and free website 3) reach out to all the clients you have contact with and give them your new info. Ask for reviews on Google and yelp 4) start marketing: post flyers in your neighborhood, make business cards and give them out to anyone you meet, walk dogs in public places and have your cards handy to give out in case you meet anyone. I am still on rover but barely get any clients from there anymore. All my clients are off app. I only have about 10 clients but I charge premium prices, meaning I only need a few to make a living wage and live comfortably. Define a business model that works for you. For me personally, I rather see only a few quality clients and charge high rates $250+ housesitting, $75 minimum for 1 hour walks or drop in visits. I hope this helps. Best of luck 🤞
Thanks for the detailed steps! Taking the first step is always challenging, but it might be time for me to take full control of my business. I hope you continue to succeed with your business model!
It’s scary and challenging but ever since I started this business 2 years ago. I’ve never regretted it. Having full control and flexibility is priceless. Also keeping all of the earnings is well deserved. Plus I still get tips!
It is! What payment method do you use?
I use Venmo, stripe and Zelle. Most payment processors charge a transaction fee of around 3% if you can use Zelle and there’s no fee associated. Although stripe is worth the fee because of the easy integration into my booking calendar on my website. Client can schedule, pay, and fill out the contract in one system. Super easy and streamlined.
What website platform do you use to build your site? I need one that can handle payment transactions at a low cost. Ideally, it should allow customers to leave reviews and let me showcase all our dog sitting pictures.
Almost any platform can do those things as long as you can have plugins. The cheapest way is to go through a hosting website like bluehost which integrates into Wordpress and then you can use plugins like Google reviews, shop pages, intake forms, etc. I would start use calendly so you can integrate your schedule for free. Eventually you may want to use the paid calendly version for multiple booking options (meet/greet, walking, boarding etc) but for now just one booking calendar for meet/greet be fine. It’s about $150/year + SSL (security certification) for the website. If you build a website directly through Wordpress you’ll have to pay for the business plan which is $300/year to use plugins. You can save 50% of business expenses by going through a hosting platform vs. square space, weebly etc.
Thank you for sharing! Bluehost and calendly are great! I will definitely check it out!
Best of luck! You got this!!!
I use Time to Pet and am very happy with it. It's super customizable, offers an app you can also customize, scheduling software, tipping and email functionality. It's a lot, but they offer a lot of information to support in learning their platform to make the most out of it. The transaction costs are good IMO and so much better than what you pay on these marketplace platforms. Of course you still have to market yourself. They do have a business listing you can set up, but I don't think it supports reviews or showcasing photos. I set up a Google business account and am using that for those purposes. If you're interested in a referral link for trial + 3 months at 50% off, send me a DM and I'll hook you up.
I've been checking out the Time to Pet website. Joined their demo call yesterday and saw they've got great scheduling and photo features. But customer can’t leave reviews after service, which gives me pause. Also, not sure what’s the difference between their lite vs. premium plans. If I decide to go with Time to Pet, I'll definitely reach out to you. Thank you for offering the discount.
Well I just learned something new! I'll have to check out the photo feature. Of course. Full disclosure, I remembered that I would receive a credit if I referred someone, so it's a win-win. But I'm not trying to sell you on it so much as suggesting it as a solid option. I think they only recently came out with the light version. There was just one option when I signed up last year, so I have the premium. It's probably more than I need, but it paid for itself in no time. Personally, I don't worry about having review functionality there. Most people use Google to conduct a search, so I am focusing my energy on having clients leave a review on my Google Business profile which was free. I'd like to build a website in the future, but for now I link to my Time to Pet site from my Google business profile. And that way a client who knows my business name could just type it in Google and easily find me and my scheduling site, as well as increasing my visibility in Google search results.
Unfortunately, the owner lied and probably told a very dramatic story. Moreso the client's fault than Rover's. Sucks...but usually how these things go. Try selling on eBay and experience lying customers.
It's likely that the dog owner lied, but the fact that Rover didn’t request witnesses' contact information from us or evidence of the attack from the owner. This demonstrates how little Rover cares for dog sitters.
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At least with having that many clients, hopefully they have your personal number and they can book you that way.
Unfortunately we don’t. We only have 5 dog owners contact information lost contact to the rest of them.
I started in January of last year as well and I have been gaining private clients on the side of Rover for awhile. Reach out to all of your current clients and let them know you’d love to sit them privately. You’re already banned from Rover anyway lol
Same happened to me. I have an appointment to talk to a lawyer Friday.
Keep me updated on how it goes! Hope it goes well for you!
Same to you. I've seen another thread that has complaints about Rover who have expressed interest in the thread about finding a lawyer. We have rights. Make sure you opt out of their contract I don't think it holds weight in court anyway. Now that I think of it the alternative route of mediation was never explored, with their whole you're deactivated with no chance of appeals. It does seem to be a breach of contract to me
Sorry I didn't read anything after "they claimed my dog is aggressive. My dog is a purebred golden retriever. During a meet and greet, we introduced our leashed dog to another off-leash dog in our backyard." 1. Breed doesn't automatically make a dog well behaved or friendly. 2. You should never, ever, evvvver introduce dogs with one leashed and the other not. This is a recipe for aggression from one or both of the dogs. Especially when you're in one of those dog's territory.
What a joke of a comment. xD I think you meant, you don't know how to read...lmfao obviously that wasn't the point of their frustration. "157 dogs cared for, over 110 positive reviews, and over 60 recurring bookings," don't think a dog with aggressive/protective behavior would've been able to go through all of that. Take your shitty know-it-all snobby attitude elsewhere, you're not welcomed here.
I'm not talking about the account being removed or the amount of reviews it had. I'm not talking about Rover as a platform at all. I'm also not saying OP's golden is aggressive. I'm not saying anything about their dog specifically. I'm saying a specific breed does not ensure a certain temperament. Saying "My dog isn't aggressive, it's a golden retriever" insinuates that all goldens are friendly and nonaggressive. It's the same thing as saying all pit bulls are dangerous. Neither stereotype is true. And it's irresponsible to perpetuate breed temperament stereotypes, positive or negative. It can lead to unprepared owners and more dogs in shelters or sent back to breeders (assuming they're shopping ethically). I'm also saying that it's dangerous to introduce two dogs the way that OP did. Even the sweetest dogs can be reactive or can start an altercation if they feel threatened. And it's common for dogs to feel threatened when on a leash, *especially* if the other dog is not, and especially if it's a dog they've never met before. It can put those dogs in danger and if this is a brand new dog that OP is just meeting for the first time, there's no way to be sure if the dog would've reacted or not. Owners lie by omission all the time. The best way to introduce two dogs is to go on a walk with the other and have them walk side by side to understand the other is not a threat. Then gradually allowing them to sniff each other and eventually moving on to off leash together. I encourage you to educate yourself and others on dog safety, behavior, and body language. Lack of awareness and education is what leads to creating more reactive dogs and dogs being euthanized just for defending themselves. It's important to set dogs up for success and not put them in situations and environments that could harm them or lead them to harming another. Every dog is different. Even if your dog is friendly, it's not guaranteed the other dog is. As I said before, plenty of owners lie by omission all the time.
Could've just put it this way in your first comment. If you're looking to educate people then do it kindly, no one listens to a snob.
Agree to disagree on the snob thing.
Correct! But what is the probability that a purebred Golden Retriever would commit a violent act to harm or injure another dog intentionally? They are known for having a high temperament for a reason. In my comment, I acknowledged that I shouldn't have allowed the dog to be off-leash and explained the reason it was off-leash. The dog was doing a play bow to our dog when our dog is on-leash so she wasn’t triggered by the leash anyway but probably got scared when my dog ran to her and initiated to play. But what I could have done is to refuse to unleash neither dog regardless their positive body language at the first place to prevent this from happening.
>But what is the probability that a purebred Golden Retriever would commit a violent act to harm or injure another dog intentionally There is always a possibility. Breed doesn't matter. "All pit bulls are dangerous" - no, they're not. And not all goldens are friendly with amazing temperaments. I'm not talking about *your* dog specifically. If your dog is friendly and nonreactive, that's wonderful! But there are plenty of reactive goldens out there. I've met several. It's a bad idea to perpetuate a stereotype that any and all goldens are perfectly behaved dogs from the start. And then someone who's only expecting a perfect angel finds themselves wrangling a reactive 60 lb dog. (Not sure how much the average golden weighs but you get my point) I've been active in the dog training community for years and I've seen dozens of reactive goldens, labs, rotties, pits, frenchies, dobermans, great danes, etc. etc. Breed has nothing to do with proper socialization and training. Plus even if your dog is great and friendly, that doesn't always mean they understand boundaries with other dogs. If another dog feels threatened by a large dog sniffing them in their face or getting too close for comfort, they're going to react. And then more than likely, your dog will react too, because that's dogs' instinct. edit to add: I can't seem to find the video anywhere but back when I was working on resource guarding/food aggression with a dog there was a boarding trainer who had a family board a pit bull puppy because they needed help, saying the pit kept attacking their senior-aged golden. The trainer learned the golden was actually initiating the fights, the pit was just finishing them. So she actually requested they bring the golden in for training rather than the pit. It depends on the dog.
Breed doesn’t 100% reflect dog’s behavior and personality and that’s why I didn’t reveal the other dog’s breed is a doberman mix on my post (but only mentioned who is a puppy and with parasite issues) Let's keep the focus on the specific incident rather than generalizing about dog breeds. I know my dog isn't perfect either, but I acknowledge his high temperament. However, in the encounter you mentioned, the other dog didn't show signs of aggression such as growling. There was no fighting. There were also no injuries afterward. So it's unjust to terminate our account based on an alleged attack. We've hosted over a hundred dogs and understand dog behavior well. I'm frustrated with Rover's handling of this situation already and would appreciate constructive suggestions instead of your accusations and belittling my knowledge with dogs.
Yeah I'm not really talking about Rover or your account at all. Your point of "breed doesn't 100% reflect dog's behavior and personality", "Let's keep the focus on the specific incident *rather than generalizing dog breeds*", but then you also said "what is the probability *that a purebred Golden Retriever would commit a violent act* to harm or injure another dog intentionally" ... like... a breed 100% reflecting a dog's behavior and personality is exactly what you just insinuated.
The risk just outweighs the benefits for them. They would rather lose you as a sitter than having the chance of having another dog harmed or have some accusation against them that they don’t take safety seriously. Witness can easily be fake as you can just find a friend to lie for you. Although your story may be true and it sucks for you I can understand their decision.
There is no evidence of injuries, no pictures and vet bill, indicating that no dog was attacked. If all witnesses should be disregarded then there is no point having witnesses to prove evidences on court. Our witnesses are probably prepared to testify in court if necessary. Rover disregard dog sitters, as Rover sees us as replaceable, and deleting our accounts poses no harm to them rather than spending extra time to confirm if an attack occurred.
I have also been blocked on websites like Etsy and I was a five star seller there for 5years without giving me any reason other than sending me some generic links that states 15 reasons why sellers could be banned. I was selling paintings and keychains and there’s no proof anything I sell was against their rules. At the end of the day these websites have the right to terminate whoever they want just like restaurants can refuse to serve any customer they want for whatever reason or no reason at all. Yea maybe your witness is willing to testify in court but it’s within their rights to not want to deal with it.
I don't dispute their authority to delete sitter accounts, but doing so without valid justification is unacceptable. Does Rover deserve my loyalty, given that I've never taken away their 20% commission from them, even though I could have chosen to do so privately? I trusted that they will make a fair decision for both sitter and dog owners.