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[gesualdo]

...My dogs stay in a (good!) kennel where I trust the staff to know what to do in emergencies.  (In fact, I found this kennel through my vet.)  And, because it's a good place (big indoor/outdoor runs, the ability to put dogs from a single family together if you want, excellent care with lots of individual attention), my dogs actually seem to like going there.  With three dogs, I'd be lost without this place.

House issues aside as well, I think I'd prefer to leave my dogs in a kennel as well.  They're more supervised, so if anything goes wrong, there's someone right there to handle it.  And since my kennel IS my veterinarian's office, I have no fear of someone not knowing what to do if something happens.  Not to mention it costs exactly the same as a pet sitter.

[goldenapple]

Here's an interesting dog tale:

My friend Rory agreed to take care of her advisor's dog, Snappy. Snappy was a gigantic dog that the advisor and spouse, the Blissfuls, had rescued from a shelter. Dr. Blissful had mentioned that the dog could be a little agressive, but that Snappy was a sweet, harmless baby. So, Rory takes Snappy out for his walk every day, and discovers that he barks ferociously (snarling and baring his teeth) at black people. Rory is white, so now she thinks she's walking Evil Klan Dog, but what can she do? We her friends, tell Rory that we are terrified of the dog and don't want to be around it, either.

Upon further questioning, Dr. Blissful admits that the dog has occasionally been overly agressive, but insists that Snappy is harmless. So, once again, the Blissfuls leave town and give her the task of watching the house and walking the dog. She tries to back out, but the Blissfuls explain that the other grad student sitter is busy, so Rory agrees. One day, she takes the dog for a walk and it lunges at and bites a (you guessed it) black boy. His bite actually draws blood. The boy takes off running before Rory can find out who he is or where he lives (after all, he's running from a terrifying dog, and Rory can't actually control the animal at this point). So, what does Rory do? Tell the advisor? Tell Animal Control? Tell the police?

I won't say how it ends. I'll just say: put your dog in the care of professionals with insurance. And if you do leave your house and dog in the care of a student or a neighbor, understand that half the blame for any ensuing disaster belongs to you.

[newbie]

I am not worried if my studnet(s) would be nosy in my place.
I am concerned if the studnets(s) would promise to visit my dogs
but eventually fail to do so.

That would be horrible! If you don't feel comfortable with your students coming to your house to take care of your dogs, then who cares about whether or not your advisor trusted you and if you should trust your students? Taking care of your dogs is a big deal.

Would you specify an amount of time you wanted your student to spend with your dogs each day?

Quite frankly, I second those who prefer a kennel to hiring a student to do home visits.

[torch10]

I actually created my own house sitting dog sitting business in grad school.  I advertised in my department and many of the professors hired me.  I never sat for a prof if I was currently enrolled in a course with  her/him.  Most of those folks didn't ask me to sit for them until I became ABD.  The only person I turned down was my diss director.  I felt too vulnerable to get into  non-school contact with her.  I made good money and I had access to some of their books and things which I realized down the line was the true perk of the job.  I couldn't afford to buy those books, and the profs would let me borrow all I needed.

[gloxinia]

I wouldnt leave a dog with anyone that I wouldnt leave children with. Similarly, I would expect them to be able to deal with any medical emergencies and behavior issues that might arrise. I would also leave a complete list of emergency contacts, including a kennel in the case of anything unforseen or traumatic.

I read the post about the awful agressive dog and the poor student left to deal with that mess. I would never leave a dog like that with someone else to deal with, but that is just me. And if I had, I would completely understand if I returned home to find the dog at the kennel and having that bill to pay in addition to the one that I owed the student for their time.

I never, ever accept a job like this without going over to meet the animals on at least two occasions (one of these visits includes all of the things I will be responsible for: if I need to walk the dog then I walk with the dog and the owner) before the job begins.

As for nosiness - you just have to pick the right people. Good luck, I hope everything works out!

[bunny]

I did this once as a graduate student, i.e. watched dogs. It was a horrible experience. The dog had not been taught to use a leash. I had been told it was perfectly fine to walk it off-leash as that is what they did all the time. It ran away the first day. It did manage to come back a few days later. Needless to say I kept in the backyard for the two weeks. I played with it but would not take it out. It destroyed the backyard.
Moral of story: Do not ask students to take care of something you hold dear. It is not fair to them since they will agonize over the matter  if something major goes wrong. Or do this only if you are able to sincerely tell them that if a disaster occurs with the dogs you will not hold it against them.

[prytania3]

Remember the lost beagle...

I did have a student take care of my cat when I went out of town. Same student each time. It worked out fine.

[iomhaigh]

These are horrifying (and saddening) stories.  But, a number of these issues have nothing to do with the students and everything to do with poorly trained animals and clueless owners. 

I had great experiences petsitting while in college and grad school, but then, my profs trained their animals and made sure that the animals & I got along well before leaving me with them.  Now, I won't let anyone housesit my dog until they have met at least five times and hung out together, at least twice without me around. 

It can be done.  But you have to be a responsible and self-aware pet owner. 

[assochumanitiesprof]

These are horrifying (and saddening) stories.  But, a number of these issues have nothing to do with the students and everything to do with poorly trained animals and clueless owners. 

I had great experiences petsitting while in college and grad school, but then, my profs trained their animals and made sure that the animals & I got along well before leaving me with them.  Now, I won't let anyone housesit my dog until they have met at least five times and hung out together, at least twice without me around. 

It can be done.  But you have to be a responsible and self-aware pet owner. 

We have always had grad students stay in our house and take care of our home and dog when we are away. We have only ever had minor problems (stains here and there, etc.). Our dog is 10 years old and has never been in a kennel, and we feel it would be too stressful for her to start now.

That some of you find it hard to trust others (and let's recall, this is dog sitting, not heart surgery) does not mean others are not worthy of your trust. And you will never know anyway until you bestow it.

[happyhistory]

Based upon a personal experience, please just be careful on who you select...for the sake of your animal companions.  Several of years ago one of our professorial friends had several students come into his home to check on his pets while his wife and he were out of town.  Normally, we pet sit for each other--as we both are big animal lovers and have many animal companions--and live a short distance from each other.  He decided to go the student route as my wife and I were out of town part of the time that they would be gone.  Anyhow, the students selected were all reputedly honors students and this professor even had a schedule printed out when each student would visit and what each student would do on which day.  Well, I forget the exact red flag, but when my wife and I returned from our trip, we noticed something that suggested no-one was stopping by their place.  Well, well, we keyed into the house to check on things...and lo and behold, several of the students hadn't even bothered to show up--apparently several days in a row.  Thankfully, we stopped in the house before things got tragically out of hand with the animals.  I walked out afterwards with my wife commenting that I would never, ever, try the same thing.  When my friend came home, he vowed the same to me.  Just a cautionary tale.     

[illuminata]

Of course, you have to use common sense when selecting a person, student or no, to pet sit. I am overseas for about 2 months most summers and have always had an undergrad former student (different ones) to house/cat sit for me. It has always worked out well. Cats do not generally do well in kennels. Mine are much happier to stay in their house when I'm gone, and the students enjoy getting to live in a nice place rent free.
I do have a friend make unannounced daytime checks once or twice early on just to be sure everything is ok. Always is.

[infopri]

I can see that, illuminata.  Cats worry me much less than dogs.  Cats need less attention and they are less prone (at least in my household) to get into potentially dangerous mischief than cats are. 

And I agree, you have to choose the person carefully, student or no.