It’s great to travel with your pet, but not all the time. Don’t worry! Don’t worry! You don’t need to cancel your plans just because you can’t bring your pet with you. Overnight pet sitting can be a good alternative for both pets and their owners.
Finding Professional Pet Sitters
Pet sitters can be a good option for pets that cannot travel. They provide pet care in the home, which is much cheaper than animal boarding. Pet travel and boarding are not options for us as we have several pets. We always hire pet sitters. In-home pet care is the best option because you won’t need to worry about your pet being taken out of its comfort zone.
What factors will determine the type of pet sitting service you need?
- Is your pet suffering from separation anxiety? Certain pets will refuse to eat or withhold waste when their owners are away.
- Do you trust the sitter? Only family or friends have ever pet sat for us. If you are unable to find someone who you know, you may hire a stranger (either a person or a business) but do your homework.
- How much pet sitting are you looking for? Will you require overnight pet care? You can ask a family member or friend to visit your pet every few hours, or even once per day. Do you prefer that your pet be taken care of by your sitter at their home? Would you rather have house and pets sitters come to your home?
What to Look for When Choosing a Professional Pet Sitter
You’ve made the decision to hire a dog sitter. My family asks either my cousin to stay or our neighbor to drop in every now and then. We can rely on our family and friends to look after our pets, and we know they will.
You can hire a professional pet-sitter if you do not have family or friends to watch over your pet.
Experts in the field of pet care recommend these tips to find a pet-sitter:
- Learn as much as you can about the qualifications of a potential pet sitter. Are they insured? What kind of training did they receive? Can you contact references? etc.)
- What services are included? Do they walk your dog or groom it? Will they groom your pet? etc.
- If your pet sitter becomes ill or has car problems, they should have a plan B.
- Will the pet sitter always be in your home (or at theirs if your pet is being watched at their home) or will there be times when they’re out?
- Ask the potential sitter if they are willing to care for your pet for less time before hiring them for a longer trip. This can help your pet get to know the sitter and also allow you to decide if they are right for you.
The Humane Society suggests that you make sure the pet sitter has “written proof of commercial liability insurance” (to cover accidents or negligence) as well as a bond (to protect from theft by pet sitters or their employees).
The Humane Society also recommends the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters or Pet Sitters International to find a pet sitter that is trained, qualified and insured.
The pet sitting rate will depend on the factors above. Overnight dog sitting is generally more expensive than doggie daycare where the dog sitter visits a few time each day. You can keep pet sitting costs down by having a cat sitter visit you daily. Bottom line: the more you expect from your pet care provider, the higher you will pay.
Pet Sitting Services: How to Prepare Your Pet
You’ve finally found the right dog sitter. How can you prepare your dog for pet-sitting services? Your sitter will either stay in your home or at the pet’s house. It also depends on how long your sitter plans to stay (are they going to be a live-in or just stop by sitter? ).
Prepare Your Dog Sitter with These Tips:
- Make sure your pet has been socialized so that they will let your sitter handle them. If your pet will be staying at the home of the pet sitter, they should have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with it. It is therefore important to do a test run.
- If your pet suffers from separation anxiety, give the dogsitter all the tools they need to help ease their stress.
- Pay the sitter to spend time with your pet so that it can get to know them.
- Keep the TV on – play a show that has a lot of talk or soft music like Mozart.
- If your pet’s anxiety is extreme, you should take them to the vet. Your vet may be able to offer some help.
- All pets should be vaccinated and have an ID tag on their collar.
- Show your pet-sitter important features in your home such as your circuit breaker. If you have a security system, show your pet sitter the controls. You can also show your pet-sitter how to use your appliances and TV if you are willing to allow them to do so.
- If your pet sitter will be doing more than just being a dog sitter, make sure they know exactly what their duties are. If you want them to be more of a house and petsitter, make sure they know what tasks are required.
- Tell a neighbor you trust that you will be out of town, and you have hired a professional to take care of your pets (or your pet is going to a pet-sitter’s home). If you are comfortable with the neighbor, then give them a key for emergencies.
How to make your dog sitter or cat sitter comfortable
When we leave our pets at home, we tend to focus on them. It’s also important to prepare your pet sitter.
- Let your pet know you are comfortable with the person who will be caring for your pet. Your pet will follow your lead.
- Make sure that your home (and yard), is pet-proof to avoid putting the sitter in a bad situation.
- Give your pet sitter emergency contact information, including your veterinarian, but also include a family member or friend. They should have a list of emergency contacts, but also give them yours, which includes how to reach you.
- Stock up on your pet’s necessities (food, treats, prescriptions, etc.). ).
- All your pet’s belongings should be in one place that is easily accessible to the pet sitter (not the pet!) ).
- Tell your sitter if your dog is a rogue. Prepare your sitter for the worst!
- Provide a detailed pet sitter checklist.
- Provide your pet sitter with a refrigerator to store their food. Make them welcome.