House-sitting abroad sounds like a fair trade: someone gets a dependable pair of hands, and you get a kitchen, a cat and a street you'd never have found on your own. Most sits go well. The ones that go badly usually unravel over something small — a dog that won't eat, a boiler that has cut out, a neighbour who has been trying to get your attention for two days. None of it is dramatic, and nearly all of it is avoidable before you set off.

Mistake one: assuming the animal will fit around you

Owners write notes the way they live: "fed twice a day", "loves a walk". That is not enough to run a week. Ask for times, portions, the exact route, and what the animal does when it is left alone. A dog that sleeps peacefully at home may howl for two hours in a flat. A cat that greets visitors on the video call may hide under the bed until Wednesday, which is normal. Don't force it out.

The details worth pinning down before you agree

• Medication: what, when, how, and what to do if the animal refuses it
• The vet's details, including out-of-hours arrangements, and whether the owner has an account there
• Known fears: fireworks, thunderstorms, other dogs, the postman, the hoover
• Escape routes: gates that don't latch, balcony doors, windows that never quite close
• What "a walk" actually means — twenty minutes round the block, or two hours on the hills

Get this in writing, and ask during a video call where you can see the animal in its own space. If anything about its health or behaviour worries you, speak to the owner and, where it matters, to a vet rather than deciding on your own. Guessing is how a manageable week becomes a difficult one.

Mistake two: leaving the house admin to the handover

Handovers often happen in the last twenty minutes before a taxi arrives. In that window you will be shown the bins, the alarm and a drawer of manuals, and you will remember none of it. Ask for the essentials in advance, in a message you can search later.

1. Where the stopcock, fuse box and boiler live, and how to reset the boiler
2. Alarm codes, key safe numbers, and where the spare key is kept
3. Wi-fi name and password, plus what to do when the router sulks
4. Bin and recycling days, and what goes where — some places are strict, and getting it wrong can mean a fine
5. Which cleaners, gardeners or tradespeople have keys, and when they are expected
6. What happens if something breaks: who you ring, who pays, and how quickly the owner wants to know

That last point deserves a proper conversation. Don't authorise a repair or pay a bill without checking first, and keep any agreement in writing. If money or liability is involved, ask how the owner's insurance handles it. If you are unsure what a policy covers, ask the insurer directly rather than assuming.

Mistake three: assuming your manners travel

Small habits do not cross borders intact. In some countries you greet the shopkeeper before you ask a question; in others, the queue looks like no queue at all. In an apartment block, quiet hours are real, and a late-night washing machine can turn a friendly neighbour into a complainant.

Learn six phrases before you arrive — hello, please, thank you, sorry, yes, and "do you speak English?" — and copy the greeting you hear rather than the one in the phrasebook. Sort the rubbish the way the owner does; the rules vary from street to street, let alone country to country. Ask them what the local norm is instead of trusting a guidebook's summary of national character.

Dogs come with their own etiquette. Ask where they are allowed: leads in parks, buses, beaches with seasonal bans, restaurant terraces. Carry cash for small shops, and water for the dog on warm days. In hot climates, walk early or late, because pavements get hot enough to hurt paws by mid-morning.

Mistake four: saving the emergency contacts for an emergency

An emergency is the worst possible moment to start asking who to ring. Build the list before the owners leave, and keep a copy that does not depend on your phone's battery or the flat's wi-fi.

• The owner, plus a second way to reach them — and remember the time difference if they are flying long-haul
• The vet, and the out-of-hours vet if that is a different practice
• A neighbour or friend with a spare key who knows the house
• A plumber, electrician or building manager the owner already uses
• Your own emergency contact at home, and your insurer's helpline

Write it on paper and leave it by the front door. Check that your travel insurance covers what you think it covers — pet care, cancellations, medical costs — and ask the insurer before you travel if anything is unclear. For anything involving money, liability or your legal position, take proper advice rather than relying on a forum thread.

Mistake five: building the trip around a free bed

House-sitting is not a holiday with chores bolted on. Book three day trips into your first week and you will either let the animal down or exhaust yourself. Ask how long the animal can be left, and treat the answer as a limit rather than a target.

Tell the owner before you accept any overnight guests or overnight absences. Many say no; some are happy if they are asked in advance. Plan the sit first, then the travel around it. If you want to see the region, choose sits near a train line or the coast. If you want long days out, look for a cat.

Owners remember two things: whether the animal was happy, and whether the house was as they left it. Everything else is detail.

A calmer first sit

The sits that work share one habit: everything important is agreed in writing before the keys change hands. Ask the awkward questions early — about the dog's digestion, the alarm, the neighbour's feelings about noise — and you will find most owners are relieved to be asked. Keep the routine exactly as written for the first forty-eight hours, leave the house as you found it, and send a photo or two each week.

Then you hand back a settled animal, a tidy kitchen and a bin day that was actually handled. That is what turns one good sit into references, and references into better sits in better places.

Photo: Jakub Zerdzicki / Pexels