As a pet owner, it’s gotten bad 2/5
By andyent70
Three years ago I found Rover to be a great help and work very well. Over the last 18 months is gotten quite terrible. It’s to the point now where sometimes I have to message six people to hopefully get one sitter. I no longer use the app and I am starting to rely on the Nextdoor app to find people locally that can do it. I’m having better luck with it.
March 2023 update, still to this day I have found that about 30% of sitters will either not respond back to you or will cancel a booking. One sitter canceled three days before a one week trip where she was booked three weeks out in advance. I think your best bet is to use Rover to find a local sitter then go off from Rover's services and stay with one particular pet sitter. Of course that's only helps for local sourcing and not traveling.
Rover should really put 50 to 100 users of the app or pet owners and go through a session of improvements. There's so much to be desired on this app, and they fail too much of the time for it to be a reliable source.
I was an early adopter of their platform, but it has significantly gone downhill in the last four years. So many times I have found issues with sitters that are looking for money and do not necessarily know about pets or animals. If you read the reviews, you'll see this time and time and time again. I had an occasion about four years ago where the pet sitter had rat poison underneath the sink and both my dogs got into it. Luckily, I found out fast and reacted fast and there was an emergency hospital about one hour away, but $2600 later and four days of extreme stress the dogs recovered.
If you use Rover long enough I feel you're gonna have a situation, quite possibly a bad situation, happened to you.
With all of that being said, I have found over these multiple years of using the app 4 extremely good sitters. So I'm thankful for that.
Lisa 5/5
By Liz bryer
I have never been so happy with someone watching my scout . She is fantastic. I would highly recommend her . Thank you rover for introducing Lisa to us!!!
Dependable and very detailed 5/5
By Kristi Groomer
I am a sitter on the River app and their support team has always helped me. I’ve met some awesome people and pets, the app is detailed and easy payments. I am glad I joined and with common sense, you can meet some great sitters!
Good app 5/5
By yogee dad
Good app and friendly people. Should work on message delivery function as messages often come out of order making it difficult to use the messenger function
Great 5/5
By Lou2297
I really like it !
Taking 20% is so high. 4/5
By DiannaDimambro
If you make over $600 in a year, the state takes 15% then having it on Rover an additional 20% is basically half of your earnings gone.
It’s good if maybe they are near you and for starting your clientele, but definitely not to earn a living or a decent side hustle.
Stay at home mom 5/5
By SymphonyKelly
I love this because I’m a stay at home mom and for a long time I’ve been trying to find the perfect job for me and this is definitely it.
Life saver 5/5
By Mara Testa
Rover has been a life saver for me. I adore my cats, and I worry sick whenever I have to be out of town for more than 2 days. I’ve been out of San Diego 3 times for many days within the last year and Rover has always been my go to. Amazing sitters, I get an update daily and pictures of my babies.
Awful experience 1/5
By nikkisamavacadi
This app has been a total scam signing up
Great service but the app could be more user friendly 4/5
By Melissa_bayman
I love using Rover but I often have to google how to do things, like finding old messages or modifying bookings. I’d love it if all bookings requests and messages were kept in centralized locations instead of having to go searching. Also, the payment stuff could be more clear. When I have pending incoming payments that includes the rover fee, which is not my actual payment.
Love Love 5/5
By coolthing177
Rover has been an amazing experience for me. All the dogs, cats, and extra critters I’ve come across have been super fun and well behaved.
I’ve been doing this for 7 years and counting and since I’ve opened my availability up, it’s been blessing ever since.
Love y’all !
Sitter on Rover 5/5
By Addie0727.
Been using this app for almost three years and I love it! Great way to personalize you rates, experience and profile. Easy chatting and sharing of pictures with clients through bookings. The apps make is super easy to modify rates, days, or dates for the owner if things change. Love this app! Everything in one place for a sitter.
Won’t open 1/5
By joshuaellingson
Glitchy I just get the loading paw print over and over
A++ got paid to be around animals 5/5
By Brandon Staley
I can’t see what I’m typing because of a visual bug
Good service, okay app 3/5
By LizAntonelli
The app has come a really long way but I can’t say I’m in love with the latest update. I really wish we could leave notes for ourselves in our calendar when we “mark as unavailable”. I get inquiries from my neighbors and family members that know of what I do but they don’t use Rover…just marking the day unavailable instead of being able to input my own booking details makes it really annoying to keep track of everything. We should be able to customize colors, etc. The updates seem nice at first but it’s all flash and no substance.
Cannot modify bookings 2/5
By Ela215
I wanted to change the date of the booking I paid for for a dog walk. It took rover 7 hours to manually change the booking - it’s absolutely unreasonable for a tech company to not allow actual users be able to modify bookings themselves.
Also any picture I share via chat with my dog walker get automatically uploaded to my dog’s profile. I can’t delete them. For example I shared a photo of a weather report. That was now associated with my dog’s photo reel.
Since 2017 5/5
By Kwonsuvious
I haven’t used the other.apps but I must say Rover is great! They make it seamless and easy for you to complete what you need
ROVER rocks 5/5
By ChelseaSkog
I am a dog sitter and I love using Rover. I meet so many unique animals and people. Wonderful app!
Falty reviews 5/5
By RoverGirl2023
This woman wrote a false review on my account. In Rover refused to remove it… This affects my income, and I was victimized by a bad review. That was a fake review. The fake review could not be removed from my account, I'm a victim of a fake review. Rover is great, but the one thing I wish they would fix. Is there a case by case review on possible fake reviews… You need to take better care of your employees. Other than that I love rover.
Connection to pets 5/5
By Sitter in DC
Having pets of my own is not feasible and so being a dog sitter occasionally allows me to pour all the care and pampering into my guests when need arises.
Rover review 5/5
By Bonnie Ambrose
I’m a professor dog sitter and have worked w Rover since 2017. It’s a great avenue for dog sitting. They do take a nominal amount from each sit. That’s okay w me because they pay for the site help to generate leads for me and keep me busy.
Signed, Aunt Bonnie
Messaging Could Be Better 3/5
By malpal1233556
I dislike how many times you have to click on “view unread message”. You click on it, then it brings you to the same page AGAIN, and you have to click it again to get to the message thread. Could be more streamlined.
No Confidence in this Company 1/5
By Jim Ohio1
Good luck finding someone actually available.
Problems? No phone number for Rover.
Want to block or review a no show sitter? You can’t.
Tax nightmare 2/5
By ieatants420
A decent way to make money, however, if you don’t make enough to receive a 1099-k form (under $600) filing it into your taxes becomes an absolute nightmare. Honestly wouldn’t recommend
Good app 4/5
By Anna Tefs
Great app! Wish there was a background check for both sides not just one.
My pet was put in danger 1/5
By haileyw801
Rover support team offered little to no help or a refund after my sitter abandoned my pet for multiple days. So disappointed and will never use Rover again. I chose to ignore the horror stories thinking Rover did thorough background checks. My sitter stole my keys and lied about her time with my pet. 0 stars
Good protections for sitter 4/5
By Jagerqueen2000
We get paid two days after job and if the client cancels last minute we get paid as well. I’m fairly easy goi g and would probably waive the fees but it’s nice to know I can count on a certain income amount for booked jobs. I didn’t give 5 stars because clients are often confused by Rover. They think the fee is for 24hrs instead of just overnight. Rover has a box to check if you want care during the day as well but it is not clear to the clients. I would also love it if Rover would put a half-day option for owners with anxious animals.
App allows to post a review for services with happy ending only 1/5
By Hunter5437
I had worst experience with Rover. I scheduled my dog to be at sitter’s place for few days while i be on my vacation. The day we dropped my dog sitter called complained about my dog bit his son and etc… (My dog has never bitten anyone, plays with my kids all day, never had a problem with other kids, had no problems with previous boarding services). I asked the sitter how her son is and she said it is ok but requested take our dog back). Immediately i found someone who can take care of our dog (we we were traveling outside of country) and my dog was picked up. I waited for sitter to cancel the service but it didn’t happen, so i did. Next day i noticed i was being charged more and i was not happy being in the situation while i was travelling. So i wanted to leave my review for that sitter but couldn’t find a way to post a review for her (which app does not allow to post reviews if services’ not completed as scheduled and being cancelled?????). I raised an incident not to get a refund to share my experience because i am sure there are others in similar situation. Rover should get these sort of surveys and find better ways to resolve these sort of conflicts to make both parties happy, right? That was not the case in my situation they just closed my account. I am the one who raised the incident and got my account closed which seemed not right way to resolve the case. So that is why i am sharing my experience here might help Rover to improve it’s app functionality to handle different cases and etc….
For you information, I don’t believe my dog bite sitter’s dog. No prove was provided and it was a lie.
Caters to owners with little protection for sitters 2/5
By K M-H HR
I love this company overall but it’s really kind of outlandish that sitters must pay for their own background check, but the owners don’t have to do so. Owners can request an overnight stay without filling out any information about their pet(s). Rover does not have a way for sitters to communicate about their experiences when sitting for someone. So if an owner is rude or lies about their pet, or if an animal is aggressive or destructive, the sitter has to figure that out on their own and deal with it, when another sitter may have already had the same experience. If owners can rate sitters (which has an impact on bookings), sitter should absolutely be able to rate owners and their pets. One of the meet and greets I did recently was alarming. The owner ended up telling me all these terrible stories about sitters in my area and why they didn’t work out. Two of the sitters they listed were sitters I’ve used for my own pets and they’ve been exceptional! That owner continues to contact me about upcoming dates when I am already sitting other pets through rover. Why does the app show them that I’m available when I’m not? I also think owners should have to disclose if they smoke, if they’re asking someone to come into their home. I’m happy giving them their 20% cut if I felt protected in any way, but I don’t.
John Carollo 5/5
By Missoula couple
John did an excellent job caring for both our Mastiff Lily and our home. He was courteous and professional.
Mike and Jo Jakupcak
Missoula, Montana
Ease of use! 5/5
By BeLaud
I love the ability to communicate and interact with our sitter. The app is easy to use and works well!
Review 4/5
By King_shadebaby
It’s a good side hustle ,gives you a lot of chances to meet wonderful pets .My only issue as a sitter is the service fees and certain pet owners not leaving or giving instructions about their pets …other than that everything is fine
Consistent UX Experience and Functionality 5/5
By Just3cents
I have never had an issue with the app. It’s a seamless UX and consistently performs as designed. Beyond I couldn’t be happier with the “human element” - every Rover that I have booked as been an unexaggerated 5-star service.
Thank you, Team Rover!
Resubmit several times 1/5
By KanjanaK
Trying to apply the app but it keeps showing me to resubmit several times without telling things to fix. I have to press it everyday until now.
Great resource! 5/5
By Joyful Jill
I find people I never would meet!
Thankful for the quality of the people I find too!
DO NOT BE A WALKER OR SITTER DANGEROUS 1/5
By Zumbapple
You are warned. Rover does NOT I repeat NOT IN ANY WAY takes any responsibility or liability if anything happens to you! If you agree to walk or watch a dog and it attacks you, you are on your own! It’s in their rules and agreement. It is NOT WORTH THE RISK for the money you make!!! You are warned!!!! I had to learn the hard way.
Good network idea, but they rip off users on both ends 1/5
By TakenAlreadyAreNicknamesAll
Update Feb 2023: I’ve tried to correct my name (typo during initial sign up), and even though my legal ID used for background check has the correct spelling, I have not been able to correct my name. I’ve tried their email support forms but it consistently fails to go through, and this doesn’t seem like an appropriate use for the emergency hotline which appears to be the only way to get ahold of someone. Update 2021: took another star off because rover had been lying about the distance that clients are from my location. In my settings, my “maximum distance you’ll travel to a client’s home” is 5 miles. They have been pretending that clients are less than 5 miles away, but when I open the map, they’re 15 miles away. Rover does not flag these as outside my service radius. This is misleading and deceptive to clients and sitters alike, and awkward to deal with. They take 20% of what sitters “charge” and also charge a fee to pet parents upon booking (not sure how the latter is calculated, as I am a sitter and rover doesn’t disclose this to sitters, but some individuals who have booked me have mentioned it). I wish I was techy, but for now I’m just crossing my fingers that a more reasonable platform will come along that we can shift to. App itself is very glitchy. Sometimes I don’t get text/notifications, can’t rearrange photos on my profile, etc. Update in response to developer comment: I wasn’t trying to say that the idea of any fee whatsoever is ridiculous, but I am saying the relative amount that this app takes from users on both ends during every transaction is not proportional to what the average user receives. This is based on my experience communicating with sitters and pet owners, and my experience with rover services. There aren’t options to opt-in, opt-out, or to downgrade. I and a majority of my repeat clients would prefer to opt-out, especially after the first stay. There is explicitly no insurance available. And common accidents, like “damage involving automobiles or other vehicles” and “uncontrollable events” are excluded from the Rover Guarantee. I’ll draw a parallel here to a standard employer for the sake of clarifying the idea, not the details: If my employer is keeping more than 20% of my income for the single splotchy health insurance plan that they offer, I’d be happy to take a job with a similar employer whose benefits match my needs if the opportunity were available.
Platform of unity 5/5
By MonikaSigns
There's no other better platform of unity for the world of furbabies!
Amazing! 5/5
By Rickyyy_
We needed a last minute solution for sitter for our cat. We were able to find someone quick, responsible and with knowledge to administer his insulin. This app is great! You can keep in contact with your sitter the whole time.
Rover Sitter for 4+ Years 5/5
By AlyNickAri
I started pet sitting with Rover over 4 years ago and I’ve loved. I’ve met so many great pets and owners over the years and made some money on the side as a bonus. I would definitely recommend it to both owners and sitters as it’s very safe and convenient!
Love Rover! 4/5
By Whxhapzbqpxnw
I’ve been using Rover for over 6 months now. As a student in grad school, it’s a great job to have that offers flexibility and time to spend with cute pets! I just have one big issue where I live in 2+ locations out of the year and frequently travel between the two for things like winter and spring break. This makes it difficult to schedule clients because I can only set my location to one place. I really hope there will be an option soon maybe on the calendar where you put your availability where you can put one location on some dates and another location for other dates. I would give five stars if this could happen because it can be quite a big inconvenience!
Service Fees? 3/5
By Anon27492
I loved the idea of this app so much. As a young adult providing for myself in California who works full time and goes to school, I needed some extra funds so I figured I’d give it a shot.
I’m giving Rover three stars because while I love the idea of it, there are some aspects I’m not a huge fan of. First of all, you are unable to make a booking unless the pet owners put their address on the site. While I understand that it helps run more smoothly, I also know multiple people-myself included who wouldn’t be comfortable sharing information like that on apps/sites like this. With the messages enabled I don’t see why the address would be a requirement to book the service. Without the booking you are unable to be paid directly through the app, the family needs an alternate method of payment.
Another thing is the 20% “service fee” not being included in the payment seen until the booking is completed. The first time I housesat with this I was expecting $315 for a weekend but was only paid $255. The payment you see when the booking is offered is significantly larger than the payment actually received. I understand some fee due to service but 20% of the payment is a bit excessive. Unless a portion is going directly into taxes and Rover is sending a W-2 the following year, Rover taking that much from both the homeowners and the home-watchers is a bit ridiculous. With that being said, it is nice that you can set your own fixed rates but when you set them, a percentage from each category is collected so the listing price is higher than the actual payment given to the people doing the work. This makes it seem so much more expensive than the actual prices you choose which changes who decides to hire you, even if your actual listing price would be a good price to the homeowners. Another thing is it would be nice to see what help is needed and being able to apply to job listings rather than having to wait for people to reach out to you.
I do love the idea of this app. It gives the home and pet owners the opportunity to reach out and find care from people with cleared background checks but the service fees make it to where you’re not as willing to take the jobs when you agree to a job that is shown to be paying you $50+ than you’re actually receiving. With jobs like this unless you’re in an urban area, you don’t get much business unless you’re willing to travel 30+ miles to the homes and back again if working in your home town during the weekdays as I do. If you’re getting tons of jobs left and right then I’m sure the service fee wouldn’t seem as significant but as someone who gets them occasionally but needs the money too much to pass them up, it’s a big hit on the payment at the end, especially if not taking the fees into consideration when booking a job.
Sitter didn’t even show up 1/5
By LenzyME
Super expensive just for our scheduled sitter to no call no show. Unprofessional. We had already paid $600 for drop in visits, only for our sitter to not even show up for the meet and greet and didn’t even bother to answer our calls or call us back.
How am I supposed to do anything with no keyboard 1/5
By loxy6
Every single field I click in where I’m supposed to type something it never shows me my keyboard
App is difficult to navigate 3/5
By karen Neumann
love mypet doy sitter but app is a little difficult for someone who is not tech savy
okay app, rover fees are too high 3/5
By trinsos
The app is over all good, not buggy and I like the cards. However I do not believe it’s fair to take $12 out of a $60 visit. Or $8 out of a $40 visit. Especially with the lack of support rover provides, it would be nice to see where that is going to. As a business there must be other ways to profit, not off of those who work for you. If I raised my prices, my clients would have to pay more and I’d still be at a loss. Rover needs more transparency.
From a dog sitter to other dog sitters. 2/5
By af6599
The app itself is ok. It does what it says it does, connects you with bookings.
To take $20 a day just to connect sitters and clients is nuts.. This means that for some bookings you really are making next to nothing. If it’s a dog that requires more attention this becomes a problem.
Past simply providing a platform, the service does absolutely nothing. No meaningful support and they have some just.. well weird rules. So start on rover, but definitely don’t stay on rover. It’s not worth there fees.
Idea to fix irritating app function 4/5
By no_hate_just_ideas
Love the concept love the app just need them to fix some kinks in setting up a profile. Vast improvement if everything automatically saved or you can press save when a section is not complete and just not be able to submit your profile so you have to go back and complete it. Had all my information get deleted three different times. Multiple finalized paragraphs down the drain.
Great app but some updates needed 4/5
By Sarendipty
Rover has a great setup but a few updates are needed for max user experience. For example, the app needs an option to decline a request immediately in the message window- I had to search the web to find the selection sequence I needed to make to decline the booking.
