Rover: The Uber-esque Alternative to Kenneling Dogs

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November 9, 2016

Ever since I got my puppy, one of the first questions I get asked is how I’ll handle having a dog with all the frequent travel I do.

One of my plans is to take Moxie along on a lot of my trips.  (More on the many logistics of that later).

But there are some trips I can’t take Moxie on.  Additionally, I don’t want to leave her alone in the house too much, so if I have a big event like a wedding, I want someone to take care of her.

I’m also not a big fan of kennels, especially given how tiny Moxie is, even for a puppy.

So I wanted an alternative to that and found this website called Rover.

Rover matches up people interested in dog sitting with people who want dog sitters.  The people on the website range from couples interested in getting a dog in the future, stay at home parents, and retired folks.  Some people have dogs of their own, some don’t.  And each person has a set of credentials and verified reviews from other people who have booked them.

You can book people for day-sitting, overnights in their homes, overnights in your own home, and dog walking.  Rover recommends a meet up with the dog sitter ahead of time.  They also set up a text messaging line that allows you to text and call each other without knowing each other’s phone number.  (Once you book them, you’ll of course, want to exchange numbers).

The people watching your pet are also encouraged to text pictures of the pet throughout the stay.

Since I have a puppy, I prefer someone with experience in raising a dog (rather than couples eager to have a puppy some day), especially given the usually puppy-related challenges.

Like waking you up at 4am on a regular basis.

Rover Dog Sitting

I found a woman on Rover who is retired with a small dog of her own.  She had a lot of positive reviews.  I took Moxie over to meet her and her puppy.

Moxie and the puppy immediately got along and ran around the backyard.  She showed me the set up she has for the dogs she boards and talked through her routine with them.  I was really pleased with everything so booked her immediately for a wedding I need to attend.

I’m going to use her again for an international trip.

I also found someone to take care of her during a trip I’m taking her on.  I need to attend an event for a while and need a day sitter to take care of her.

All in all, I’m very pleased with Rover so far.  I haven’t used it for just dog walking at all, but I’m sure at some point I will.  I will keep updating my experiences as I use them more and more.

If you want to try Rover out, you can use my link for $20 off your first purchase.  Depending on who you book, this can make it almost free!

Has anyone else used Rover dog sitting before?

Edit:  P.S. I forgot to mention.  When you use Rover dog sitting, there is included insurance.  My initial concern was about liability, but all stays booked through their service qualify for their insurance at no extra costs.