Rover: dog sitting with rover, is it worth it?
what’s up guys welcome back to my
channel thank you so much for tuning in
I am here to talk to you guys about
Rover so if you came to this video I’m
sure that you’re wanting to get some
awesome tips and tricks and advice on
being a sitter for Rover I’m here to
tell you that I feel like I’m kind of an
expert now with being a dog sitter for
over I have been doing it since November
I have been a dog sitter since like the
end of October or the beginning of
November and I loved it I loved it so
much I watched so many different dogs
from all different types of people and I
just have completely fallen in love with
it and Ellie loves it as well
and so does Mike so it’s kind of a
win-win for us so wanted to come onto
this video give you guys some advice
tips and tricks my different experiences
and kind of what to expect from being a
Rover sitter and then at the end you can
see if it’s something that you would
like to so basically I signed up to do
Rover because I work from home for like
full time so I was home by myself all
day full time and I didn’t have a lot of
interaction with people so I talk to
people online and on the computer
through my phone and stuff but it was
just something different about getting
outside and being active and I’m just I
don’t even know being outside of my
house more often but at the time I
really didn’t want to go back to work
but I wanted to try to get creative and
do something different and also include
my dog Ellie because she was kind of
cooped up with me too and I felt really
bad so I was scrolling through online
looking up different ideas and I came
across this um I don’t even know it was
like an ad that said be a sitter for
Rover and I was like what did that seem
so cool and I didn’t heard about it
before my friend amber actually is a
sitter for Rover and said she was doing
something like that I just never
pictured myself doing it because I live
in a townhouse so I was like there’s no
way people would want to book with me I
live in a townhouse they probably
wouldn’t want to do it which I don’t
know why I thought that way but I waited
for like two months before I decided to
sign
up so whenever I saw that ad I was like
okay it’s a sign I just need to sign up
and try it I’ll babysit one dog and if I
don’t like it I can just delete it to
leave my profile and not do it again so
that’s definitely something to think
about for you guys don’t hesitate to do
it if it’s something you’ve been
thinking about just try it one time if
it doesn’t fit you you don’t have to do
it again and at least you’ll get paid so
I went online and I got onto the rover
website and I fill out an application it
is just like a job so you’re going to go
online you’re going to fill out an
application they have a questionnaire as
well you know they want to know what
kind of house you live in where you live
at why you feel like you would be a good
fit for sitting for Rover and you also
have to pass a background check at the
end they want to see where you live as
well because if you do not live in a
bigger city where Rovers offered they
might not let you do it or you just
might not have a lot of left with people
booking with you and sitting I live in
Orlando so I live like in the tourist
capital of the world and I have tons of
people that message me that want to book
with me whether they’re coming down here
on vacation and they bring their family
pets to stay with me while they’re in
Disney or they just live here and they
want to book with me there’s just a lot
of different people but if you come from
a smaller town which I am from a small
town in Pennsylvania I don’t know how it
would work there but I can definitely
find out and let you guys know I just
know that in major cities is a thing in
the suburbs as well too so anyway once
you pass your background check it takes
two to three days so don’t get super
excited and think like once you sign up
you can do it ASAP it does take a couple
days you have to pass a background check
and you know they want to make sure that
you’re a good person and a good fit to
be a sitter for these peoples dogs it’s
a big deal it’s definitely I’m a safety
issue for that because they are leaving
their animal their baby with you and
it’s high risk you know they they don’t
know who you are you’re stranger to them
more than likely so they want to make
sure that you’re a good person you don’t
have any past history with crime any
issues with animals in the past or
whatever it might be they just want to
make sure that you’re a good fit so once
you pass your
background check and they feel that your
questionnaire was an A+ then they will
send you an email with a confirmation
saying that you can be a rover sitter
and you can start immediately
so they’ll prompt you with a link and
you can go ahead and set up your profile
my best advice is to have a really good
headshot photo so even if this is
something like where I’m standing with a
plain background and a nice like
lighting and a picture of your face
maybe you have a good selfie or whatever
it might be just make sure that whenever
people come to your profile they can see
your faces they’re more inclined to
click your profile because they’re quite
literally going to be scrolling through
finding somebody to sit their dog or
dogs so you want to stand out so once
they pick your profile they’re going to
read your about me you want to make sure
that your about me is really catchy
exciting they want to know why they
should pick you for them to drop their
dog off like why should these people
want to pick you so that their dog can
stay with you so just explain who you
are give a little background story of
your history with animals and why you
feel like you would be a fantastic fit I
was honest in mine you know I said I
work from home full-time I have a
beautiful golden retriever named Ellie
who would love to have a friend I’m very
active I love fitness so your dog would
have plenty of walks with me I live in a
wonderful neighborhood you know just
whatever it might be just really talk it
up so they’re more inclined to want to
book with you but don’t lie like please
don’t lie on it because they’re going to
find out when they drop their dog off
they’re going to say this is not
accurate so yeah make sure your profile
is awesome and then set your rate my
advice is is see what the rates are
going for in your area and drop it down
like $5 below so it’s competitive
pricing especially if you’re new
for people that are seasoned vets on
there they charge a little more because
their ratings Rock but is a brand new
person I would not go in there guns
blazing and charge like 50 dollars a
night to like overnight a dog with you
my best advice is to charge like maybe
$30 for an overnight stay
$20 for doggy daycare maybe $15 you can
charge $15 to walk people’s dogs and you
can charge like 25 to 30
to go to their house to watch their
house with their dog there there’s a lot
of different options but I definitely
suggest going through different profiles
on there and just check out what the
rates are going for in the area of what
people are charging and then kind of
make yours competitive so people will
want to book with you if you have any
photos of yourself and animals maybe you
have some like dogs of your own or
captive your own I suggest uploading
photos of you with animals you don’t
have to but it’s definitely a good idea
it’ll make them more inclined to want to
book with you so I had a ton of pictures
and stuff on there of Ellie and I so
they knew what Ellie looked like
pictures of my boyfriend Mike because he
lives here as well so they weren’t only
going to be you know leaving their dog
with me they’re going to be leaving my
dog with him too
so I just wanted to be as transparent as
possible in my profile you know who all
lives here what they all look like and
what they can expect so then you wait
and then you have to open up your
calendar so if you aren’t open on the
weekdays and you have to mark that on
your calendar that you’re not or people
are going to want to book with you
you’re not going to be available and
then they’re going to get kind of upset
that they took the time to read your
profile and it wasn’t accurate so just
make sure that your calendar is synched
up and matched with your outside life
schedule so for me I work during the
daytime like obviously I work full time
but I have evenings open and the
weekends open and the daytime is open
for Mike so Mike will babysit during the
daytime because he works from home and
then works in the evening for a
pyrotechnics company so we’re kind of
all over the place so just make sure
your calendar is accurate so that when
they book with you they know when you
are available make sure that you when
you’re in your calendar that you say how
many dogs you’re willing to take a day
you’re allowed to pick I suggest with
your just starting out to only take one
to two dogs at maximum especially if you
already have a dog of your own that can
add up really quick and I do have a
story about that in a little while in my
video about when I booked too many dogs
and I got super overwhelmed so once they
booked with you you can read through
what their dog is like so you know what
does their job look like do you think
you can handle them
do they have aggressive issues so it’s
something I always look at whenever
somebody’s booking with me I always make
sure their dog does have any past
aggressive issues because I just don’t
want Elly to get her or myself to get
hurt if they got into a fight you know
is it a puppy I don’t honestly take
people puppies in because I don’t really
want to have my health destroyed chewing
and stuff I don’t take puppies on that
you can totally do that this is just my
preference and how I filled out my
profile what else yeah just make sure
that you’re open about what you want so
that people that look with you know like
okay is my dog is good fit for this
person or are they not and then you can
confirm the booking it will tell you how
much it is
Rover does take 20% so please be aware I
just watched a dog her name was Lila and
it was for six nights so six nights $30
a night is 180 dollars but then you know
you take 20% of that 180 dollars and
that cuts it down by like thirty six to
forty dollars Rover does take a cut but
it’s kind of helpful for tax season so
just kind of think about it like that
you don’t have to really worry about it
as much later yeah
and once you book with the dog I
definitely suggest a meet and greet if
you have a dog of your own I wouldn’t
just bring a dog right into your house I
would definitely schedule a meet and
greet maybe at a local park they could
come to your house and your dogs can
kind of sniff one another outside I
always both a meet and greet unless if
it’s somebody coming in on vacation that
way they can come to my house see what
it looks like and you know see if their
dog like Elias their dog likes me if
they like where I live that way they are
getting their money’s worth if it’s a
daytime drop-off I don’t really do a
meet-and-greet but if they are having an
extended stay like five to seven days
then I try to get them here to see where
their dog is going to stay so they can
see where their dog is tagged to make
sure that they’re safe and they’re
comfortable leaving their dog here for
that long next once you have the dog
here make sure you dog proof your house
definitely have lots of cleaning supply
in case if they maybe accidentally go
be on the floor extra treats for the dog
to make it nice and fun but for me it
was honestly super easy because I
already have a dog of my own le my
golden retriever and they would play all
day like I barely had to do anything
because honestly they just went crazy
all day they just would play and play
and play and this was pretty much every
dog that I brought um into my home le
was super playful with them and cuddly
and they just had so much fun and they
honestly cut themselves occupied and I
didn’t really have to worry about it so
much I would definitely say like you
know I suggested before don’t take in
more than one to two dogs or more that
you can handle I did take in a huge
group of dogs over Christmas and I was
extremely overwhelmed we made amazing
money from it which was awesome because
it was right during Christmas time so
you make even more money during holidays
and people booked with you over the
holidays which is awesome but I took in
oh my gosh I don’t even know four dogs
three or four dogs and then I had my own
dog and the one dog that I had was
extremely aggressive and I didn’t
realize it he was a giant white husky
and he was very dominant and I just
didn’t realize how crazy it was going to
be like babysitting him and we had a lot
of issues with him like biting at Ellie
and being aggressive towards the other
dogs and it was just a little crazy and
his like diet was only neat he only ate
hamburger and it was a pretty intense
and really like high maintenance so
going into it next time I’ll be a little
more prepared because not only did I
have to worry about him and the safety
of the other dogs but I had the other
dogs too running around all over my
house at a king is it a king spaniel I
had a visual ax dog her name is Sophie
she comes here all the time she’s a
regular and yeah it was just nuts
I had dogs all over my house and I it
was just way too much for me and I won’t
be doing that again in a townhouse if
you live in a like a larger house of the
backyard then by all means taken a
couple dogs I don’t see it being a
problem but
for me it was definitely not going to
work out so trial and error on that I
will not be taking in that many dogs at
once I have one time again but yeah I
just actually had one of my dogs leave
today her name is Lila and she stayed
with us for six days she stayed with us
for six days and we loved having her
here I actually cried when she left
because I grew extremely attached to her
Beamer Rover sitter has been so
therapeutic for me I don’t know I just
love dogs so much and having those dogs
here and giving all my love and energy
to them I’m seeing how happy Elly is
playing with them it gets Mike and I
outside we don’t want tons of walks with
the dogs and it brings extra income into
our house too I just don’t really see
anything wrong with being a Rover sitter
just make sure that you’re open about
what you want with being a Rover sitter
and the types of dogs that you’re
willing to babysit and not willing to
babysit like if you don’t think you can
handle a big dog you need to mark that
on your profile like 50 pounds and under
or if you think you can handle a big dog
like I had that giant white husky he was
like a hundred pounds if you think you
can handle that then market so just
really take your time on your profile so
that the best dogs are coming to your
house for you to watch so I would say
all in all Rover was the best decision
that I have ever made I I don’t regret
it I don’t regret it at all we’ve met
amazing people it’s made Ellie a better
dog she’s just so great with like other
dogs and playing and then it’s just only
made her better by doing Rover it’s
brought extra income into our house
which is amazing and honestly it’s not
that much work for me at least because I
just I find it to be so fun it’s a hobby
for us it’s just something fun to do
having the dogs here has been such a joy
you will find that it’s not always
peaches and roses you might have a dog
that’s like potties a lot on the floor
just make sure you’re prepared with like
I don’t know dirty towels whatever might
be towels you know the urine Soaker
spray
a lots of treats and stuff and just make
sure that you’re well prepped and
prepared to be watching somebody’s dog
my best tip to kind of wrap it up take
lots of photos for the owner I have
found by taking a ton of photos for the
owner and sending it to them because
you’re on like a rover number text base
it’s like Rover sets up a number for
them you can text back and forth on it I
have found by like sending them photos
and videos of their dog
it made my rating skyrocket know one and
number two it puts them at ease because
you know obviously if you love your dog
you do kind of feel an easier like oh
I’m leaving my dog this strange place
but the experience that their dog is
going to get is so amazing it is
hands-down worth the money to them when
they see how happy your dog is and how
much fun they’re having it’s way better
than boarding out a kennel I feel also
speaking up because a lot of people are
labeled with a kennel like there there’s
a lot like more safety behind that
luckily with Rover there is a Rover
hotline if something bad happens with
the dog you get locked out of your house
the dog gets sick there’s a 24-hour
seven-day-a-week Rover hotline that you
can access and number two there is
insurance that comes with it as well so
if you run into any issues with the dog
if something terrible happen you are
protected they have it all figured out
and you are very well taken care of by
Rover I know you guys are probably like
income like could I make this full-time
you can absolutely make this a full-time
job I actually read a statistic online
that there’s some people that can make
close to like three thousand dollars a
month from doing Rover but you have to
take in a lot of dogs you have like
factored the math out on that for us
that’s pretty much cut in half because
we both are working we have other things
going on we do not have the time or the
space to take in more than one to shoot
dogs so that it doesn’t add up to that
but for you you can take in a lot of
dogs like yeah you probably could make
it a full-time job which is absolutely
amazing so if you can’t go to work maybe
you want to be at home full-time
like me my favorite thing to do you just
not aren’t sure what you want to do get
up on Rover and if it’s not in your area
yet this hang tight and I know these
things are kind of a slow release it’s
the same with uber and lyft and Amazon
II so you know everything is a slow
release in smaller towns in smaller
areas but eventually everybody’s going
to want to be a part of Rover
I feel whether you’re from a small town
or from a city um people are going to
want their dogs to be washed when I
lived in Pennsylvania I I had to board
my dog when I were on vacation so that I
don’t feel there’s any difference so
it’s not in your area yet just stay
patient it probably will be coming soon
the app is fairly new I only think it’s
like a year or two old honestly but we
are going to continue to do it we love
it and we’re going to be bringing in
more dogs so hands down ten out of ten I
suggest babysitting Ruth’s Rover and if
you’ve been thinking about it for a long
time go do it don’t forget if you don’t
like it it’s okay you can just close out
your app and cancel your account but you
never know until you try and what’s not
to love about cuddling dogs right so I
love you guys thank you so much for
tuning in I hope you found this video
helpful make sure you subscribe and like
this video if you loved all the tips
that you got ask any questions below
maybe I forgot to talk about something
and we will talk soon bye Oh