We all love our dogs dearly, but from time to time they can be a real pain.
There’s the classic chewed slipper and rummaged-through kitchen garbage can, of course, but dogs can also inconvenience our lives in other ways.
For instance, what happens when Friday evening rolls around and you’d like to leave directly from work, head to dinner reservations, and then hit the town for a night out with friends?
Oh, but wait a minute.
Little Sparky is waiting at home to be let outside and taken for a walk.
This sense of spontaneity was lost when you welcomed your little furry buddy into your family.
So what happens when you aren’t able to make it home for the night or even want to take a vacation every once in a while?
Who’s going to watch your pet, give it attention, and take care of all its needs?
Well, you could start calling around for the available friends and family to ask a pet sitting favor, or you can give Rover a try.
Rover is a service for pet owners to find accessible and affordable pet care solutions.
Sometimes owning your pup can feel like a full-time job.
Rover aims to make your life easier by taking a few things off your plate, like taking your dog for walks or letting it outside when you’re unable to make it home.
We want to help you decide if Rover is right for you and show you how much it costs and how you can get started.
What Is Rover?
Rover is a pet care service that connects pet owners with a nation-wide network of people who will walk, board, watch, and take care of their pets.
Rover calls itself “The nation’s largest network of 5-star pet sitters and dog walkers.”
Not only can you find dog sitters and dog walkers, but you can also use Rover to find someone to care for your cat, hamster, turtle, and whatever other pet may be part of your family.
By using Rover, you’re gaining access to a large network of responsible pet carers that are readily available to watch your pet, even if it’s at the very last minute.
Rover also makes finding a pet sitter a safe and convenient process by vetting, interviewing, and performing background checks on the workers of its platform.
Which Services Does Rover Offer?
Rover is more than just a dog walking and pet sitting service.
You can also find Rover sitters to board your pets overnight, pet sit at your home, stop in to let the dog outside, or provide daytime care while you’re at work.
You have access to a range of flexible pet care options that should fit your every need.
Sometimes you need to leave town for a vacation or on business and you need someone to watch your pet overnight.
Other times you just need someone to check in on your pet and let it outside to go to the bathroom.
Rover understands that there are specific scenarios that don’t allow for one-size-fits-all solutions.
That’s why it provides the following range of options for its users:
- Dog Boarding: Overnight pet care at the sitter’s home
- House Sitting: Overnight pet care or house sitting at your home
- Dog Walking: Dog walking whenever you need it
- Doggy Day Care: Drop your dog off daily at the sitter’s home
- Drop-In Visits: Quick stops at your home to visit and care for your pet
- RoverGO: Last-minute pet care service for those unpredictable scenarios
Every pet requires a different level of attention and Rover also takes that into consideration.
Its service provides dog owners with qualified sitters who can care for a range of pets with different needs.
This covers puppies to senior dogs, dogs that are disabled or have special needs like separation anxiety, and dogs that require medication.
Again, remember that the service isn’t limited to only dogs. Pretty much any animal you can think of can be cared for using Rover.
So how does the Rover platform work?
How Does Rover Work?
Dog lovers can use the Rover platform to search and browse for pet carers, compare by reading reviews, and ultimately decide on someone to take care of their pet’s needs.
To start the process, you’ll need to sign up for Rover.
Head to Rover.com and tap the “Sign Up” link in the top right corner.
From there you’ll be prompted to sign up using your email or Facebook login.
You’ll be required to provide your name, zip code, email, and a password to create your Rover account.
From there you’re able to start browsing sitters and dog walkers in your area.
During your search for the perfect pet carer, you can filter for candidates using criteria like dates, rates per night, and the service type they offer.
In order to see if applicants are capable of watching your pet(s), you’ll also provide the breed of your dog or cat, the size of your dog, and the number of dogs you’ll need to be watched.
By clicking on a prospective applicant, you can dig deeper into pet watching details.
This is where you can learn the ins and outs of the pet sitter and their home.
You can find out things like their size preference of the dog, dog sitting skills and tasks they’re capable of performing, and a description of their home if you’re interested in having them board your dog.
For instance, some dog sitters may only have room for small dogs in their home and aren’t able to accommodate large dogs.
You can also read through reviews of past pet sits and get real feedback from former clients.
These reviews are extremely helpful when deciding who you want to trust with your pet.
You can even check out how many repeat clients the sitter deals with, so you can get an idea of how great they really are.
This will help you filter through new sitters and experienced sitters to find your perfect match.
Next, you can look at your candidate’s pay rates depending on the service you’re seeking out.
Judging by the screenshot below, you’ll see that the most expensive options are generally boarding your pet at someone’s home.
You’ll also notice that you may have to pay extra money if you have a puppy or are looking for help during a holiday period.
After you’ve browsed through the rates and decided that the sitter is the right fit, you’ll proceed to contact the candidate.
This is where you’ll confirm all of your job details like service type, date and time, and your contact details.
Don’t worry, your phone number will never be shared until you make a final confirmation with a worker.
Then you’ll describe your pet by providing its name, sex, breed, weight, and age.
This will help the caretaker decide if they’re capable of watching your pet and if it’s a good fit for them and their home.
Lastly, you’ll send a personalized message that describes yourself, your pet, and any additional job details you’d like to include.
You can also use this opportunity to talk about your pet’s needs with the candidate.
After you send over the booking request, you’ll receive a response from the candidate through Rover messaging.
At this point, you can set up and meet and greet to get to know the candidate.
You’ll be able to introduce your pet to the candidate and make sure that everyone gets along.
Pending a successful meet and greet, you can officially book the candidate through Rover’s messaging inbox.
Once you’re at the Rover.com homepage, you can click the messaging inbox in the top right corner.
Look for the conversation between you and the sitter and tap “Book Now.”
After you read over your sitting details, you’ll be prompted to provide your payment information.
After you make the final confirmation, you’re all set!
Now it’s just a matter of sitting back and relaxing while someone helps you out with your pet owner duties.
Now that you understand how it works, let’s give you an idea of how much you’ll be spending on your next pet job.
What Are the Rover Rates?
The Rover rates depend on the size of your dog, the type of service you’re interested in, and the rates of each individual pet carer.
Rates vary quite a bit depending on each job and the amount of care that’s needed.
If you’re a pet owner looking for a pet sitter, signing up is absolutely free.
After signing up, you can browse through potential pet sitters where you’ll be shown each of their rates.
Each sitter will set their own rates and will vary depending on the type of service.
To give you an idea, the going rate for boarding your dog at someone’s home seems to be the most expensive option Rover offers.
On the other side of the spectrum, quick 30-minute drop-in visits at your home to check on your dog seem to be the cheapest option.
It really just depends on how much effort or commitment the pet sitter needs to put forth.
Extra care for puppies and holiday sits also come in at a higher price tag.
More experienced sitters will often charge high prices compared to new sitters.
When you go to complete your payment, you’ll be charged a service fee that’s around 5 to 7 percent of the booking total.
This service fee will go directly to Rover to pay for platform upkeep, background checks of sitters, and other operational costs.
It will also contribute to Rover’s ability to provide a sense of security and protection that its Rover Guarantee provides.
What Is the Rover Guarantee?
The Rover Guarantee is protection for pet owners and sitters if anything were to ever go wrong.
The Rover Guarantee helps cover injuries or damages that occurred during the time of service.
Nobody ever wants anything bad to happen, but sometimes emergencies arise.
The Rover Guarantee will help cover injuries and damages to pets and pet sitters’ property.
This is a fantastic perk of Rover and allows both pet owners and sitters feel more comfortable when using the service.
So what does the Rover Guarantee cover and in which circumstances does it not provide protection?
What’s Covered by the Rover Guarantee?
Let’s take a look at everything that’s covered by the Rover Guarantee:
- Veterinary care for injuries of a Rover dog — the pet owner’s dog — that occurred in the care of a pet sitter or walker
- Veterinary care for injuries of a sitter’s pet that resulted from the Rover dog
- Physical damage to a pet owner’s home caused by the pet sitter or their pets
- Liability of any third party that was injured or damaged by the Rover dog
The coverage that the Rover Guarantee provides is quite comprehensive, but there are definitely areas that aren’t covered.
What’s Not Covered by the Rover Guarantee?
There are plenty of things that aren’t covered by the Rover Guarantee.
Here are just a few things that it does not protect against:
- Injuries or damage that occurs during a meet and greet or any other time outside of the booking time frame
- Long-term veterinary care that exceeds 30 days
- Treatment for preventative care of pre-existing conditions
- Preventable issues like ticks, fleas, or parasites
- Damage to the pet owner’s home caused by their own pet, or damage to the pet sitter’s home by the Rover dog
- Injury to the pet owner or pet care provider (or other residing residents) caused by any pet
What’s the Level of Coverage?
The limit of veterinary care coverage for each incident is up to $25,000.
The reimbursement for property damage or any third-party related incident covers up to $1 million for each incident.
Also, it’s important to note that all reimbursements are subject to a $250 contribution to the person who filed the complaint.
This means that Rover will only reimburse situations that result in a damage or injury that is greater than $250.
Pet Care Is Right Around the Corner
So what do you say?
Does Rover sound like it could help make your life easier?
Whether you want to get away for a long weekend or are just unable to make it home in time after work, Rover has a solution for all different types of scenarios.
Give Rover a try and you may be delightfully surprised on how happy you and your dog are with the results.
Good luck on finding your first sitter.
We know your dog will love you for it!
