Nov 1-8, 17-19 & Dec 27-Jan17: Lovely Labradoodle needs a sitter in Glasgow south side!

About this assignment

We have a lovely just-turned-one-year-old black Labradoodle named Callie (who might have a bit of collie or terrier in her). We have three trips coming up during which we would like to find someone to stay with Callie in our 3-bed tenement flat in the south side of Glasgow.

-Nov 1-8 we will be in Portugal and are very open to UK or international sitters
-Nov 17-19 we will both be on short work trips, so someone more local to the UK might make more sense
-Dec 27-Jan 17 we will be visiting my family in the states for the holidays, so again we're very open to UK or international sitters

Callie is crate trained and fully potty trained (as long as she is taken out at least to the shared back garden - on a lead as it is not a private garden unfortunately - at least every 4-6 hours). We typically do 3-4 potty walks per day between ~8am to ~11pm. Because we tend to go to bed on the late side (~11pm-12am), Callie is happy to sleep in/stay in her crate until ~9am, and as long as she is out for a last pee late, she won't scratch first thing to go out in the morning, even if we don't get outside until ~10. We are open to couples, would discuss the possibility of visitors staying with you at the flat, and we have a car we could discuss use of while we’re away, if that were of interest and you were willing to get insurance. We're also open to someone arriving one day before we leave and leaving one day after we arrive back if that ends up being logistically preferable.

What responsibilities are required of the house sitter

Taking care of Callie every day (feeding, walking & generally making sure she gets enough exercise), and if a longer sit, we also have maybe 20 plants around the house I’d like watered- most really only need one drink per week, except those on windowsills which could use a few times per week.

What are the good features of the property and location

Our flat is on the first floor (one up from the ground floor) of an old, classic, Glasgow tenement building (stone walls, high ceilings). There are 3 bedrooms- two with proper beds, and two with full working set-ups (as we both often work remotely from home). We have 2 bathrooms, a big kitchen, living room and entry hall. We have a big tv & dining table in the living room, a smaller tv in one of the offices, dishwasher, washer, dryer (rare for the UK! Also a pulley to hang dry clothing indoors), fridge & freezer. The back garden is shady and shared :)

We live on a residential street in an urban and very accessible by public transport part of town with lots of cafes, restaurants, parks, etc. Our flat is just off a busy high street in the south side of Glasgow just between Queen’s park and Pollock Country park (with highland cows!). It’s a 90-second walk to the nearest train station which takes you into Glasgow Central in ~12 minutes, and a ~45 second walk to the bus station that brings you into the centre of town in ~20 minutes, or up to the trendy neighbourhoods of Strathbungo & Govanhill in less than 10. The west coast of Scotland has much to explore both north and south of Glasgow - it’s only about an hour to the banks of Loch Lomond and any number of hikes in the scenic countryside. Also only an hour drive or train ride to Edinburgh. We’re very happy to share a Google maps list of great restaurants in Glasgow & our favourite hikes!

What does the house sitter need to consider before applying for this assignment

We want to make sure whoever comes to stay with her will work on keeping Callie calm when she either 1. gets scared in the dark at fox/cat scents/unexpected things she think she sees on walks at night (at which she will growl & try to investigate), 2. gets too excited and tries to playfully pounce when she sees & gets too close to other dogs/birds/squirrels while out on walks, and 3. if possible, when our doorbell goes off/she hears noises outside our flat door in the hallway and barks. We have strategies for all of these things, and Callie is such a cuddly (once she gets to know you), playful and happy girl that we enjoy so much, but we all have flaws and want to be transparent about hers so that anyone who stays with her is prepared to manage these things without it causing any trauma for either of you!

Can I bring my own pets?

No, sorry.

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