Questions specific to the animal you keep
Start with what she has actually done, not what she is willing to try. If your household has a dog, ask whether she has walked one before, on or off a leash, and what she did if it pulled or reacted to another dog on the street. If it's a cat, ask whether she has handled litter cleaning and how she reacted to being scratched. For a bird, ask whether she has cleaned a cage and handled feed and water changes near it. The specific answer tells you far more than a general "yes, I like animals."
Follow up by asking what surprised or unsettled her the most in a previous household with a pet. A candidate with real experience usually has a concrete small story, a dog that jumped on guests, a cat that hid for a week, and how she handled it. A vague or rehearsed answer is worth probing further before you rely on it.
- Ask what she has done with this specific type of animal before, not pets in general.
- Ask for one concrete moment that tested her comfort with the animal.
- Ask how she'd handle a routine task, walking, feeding, litter or cage cleaning, step by step.
Feeding and walking routines, asked concretely
If daily walks or feeding will fall to her, describe your actual routine and ask her to talk through how she'd handle it: the time of day, the route if it's a walk, what she'd do if the pet refused food or resisted going out. A candidate who can picture the routine and raise a sensible question of her own, what if it rains, what if the dog won't come back inside, is showing you she has thought about it practically rather than agreeing on the spot.
If the routine involves anything with a safety element, a dog that reacts to other dogs, a bird that bites when startled, name that upfront rather than letting her discover it later. Asking her to react to the specific scenario, not just confirm she's fine with animals in general, is what separates a useful interview question from a formality.
Disclosing fear or allergy without discouraging honesty
Ask the fear and allergy questions directly and early, and make clear that an honest answer works in her favour, not against her. Someone who says she's nervous around dogs but willing to build comfort over time is giving you something to plan around; someone who says yes to everything because she thinks that's the expected answer is giving you nothing useful, and the mismatch tends to surface only after she has started.
A mild allergy or a manageable level of caution doesn't automatically rule someone out. What matters is knowing about it before the household is committed, so you can decide together whether the arrangement is workable, whether that means more distance from the animal, a different division of pet-related tasks, or deciding it isn't the right fit.