If you are going away for a while, it is imperative that your dog is taken care of. Dog day care is something you should look into as well as a dog kennel. Boarding your dog is a great idea because the caretakers will treat your dog well, as they are educated and have the best products and cares for your pet. If you decide to gat a pet sitter, there are a few things that you will want to do in order to ensure that everything goes according to plan.
One of the first things that you can do is to prepare detailed instructions for your pet sitter. Include your phone numbers of where you can be reached in the event of an emergency. You will also need to give your pet sitter the name and phone number of your vet. Make sure that you also ask for other client references. These will help you get a clearer idea of what to expect if you hire this person.
It is also important to get pet insurance just so that you will not have to deal with any repercussions of carelessness. Bonding and insurance protects you in the case of damage or theft of your property. However, it does not ensure that the pet sitter is reliable, caring or trustworthy. These traits can often be determined from their former employers.
In addition, it is a good idea to set up a meeting in your home with each potential pet sitter. Watch how the sitter relates or interacts with your dog. Are they actively involved with the dog or are they distant or restrained around them? Does your dog want the pet sitter's attention? If your dog and the person interviewed do not seem to click, keep interviewing until you find a good match.
A reliable and dedicated sitter will take notes for the details of your unique dog routines. They should ask you questions, and be concerned of trying to maintain the same routine as the dog has been use to. If they do not ask questions or take notes from you, keep interviewing.You can also ask trusted friends or family members if they can recommend a pet sitter they have used. A professional pet sitter should belong to an organization such as PSI (Pet Sitters International) or NAPPS (National Association of Professional Pet Sitters). However, remember these national organizations do not know these individuals or their reputation. Instead, ask for local affiliations and follow-up.
When dealing with a pet sitter, make sure that you ask them for a copy of their contract. Then you will have to carefully review the details. A contract will protect you and your dog. It will also spell out exactly what you can and cannot expect from the pet sitter. It should also list the appropriate rates for all services offered. Do not hesitate to ask questions. Next, you should arrange for the pet sitter to spend some alone time with your dog. A walk is a great idea. Monitor your dog's reaction. Is he happy and comfortable with the pet sitter? Or does he seem eager to get away from them? This also gives the pet sitter a chance to see if they can appropriately handle your dog (particularly if the dog is a large-breed, strong or very energetic).
There are a variety of ways that pet sitters will care for someone else's pet. Sometimes they will visit a few times a day, staying about 30 minutes while they care for the pets basic needs. Other pet sitters will stay overnight.
Regardless of how the pets are cared for, it's important to be aware that pet sitting does not always go as well as planned.
Most people may think it's easy to be a pet sitter. After all, the only thing you have to do is make sure the dog or cat or other pets have fresh water and receive their daily food allotment and if needed take them outside to relieve themselves a few times during the day.
Yes, it's true, the life of the pet sitter does seem rather easy. Yet, there are situations that a pet sitter needs to be aware of that could actually become very dangerous.
Sometimes having to care for dogs, especially outside dogs, can become very dangerous because outside dogs can be very territorial. Most owners know their dogs well enough to know whether there is any danger for the person who may need to come into their home to take care of their pets when there away.
This is not where the problem is. The real problem comes in when the pet sitter is required to take care of the dogs by entering their yard to provide them with food and water. This is where the pet sitter needs to have extra caution. Before accepting a job where you must deal with outside dogs, you need to make sure they are well behaved and well socialized.
If there is more than one dog, and you enter their yard, the situation could become very dangerous. If you become fearful and the dogs sense that you don't belong there, they could see you as a threat and even decide to attack.
Trying to cope with a nervous dog, or worse, several nervous dogs can become a pretty scary situation.
Always stress to the owners that it is important for them to be honest with you and tell you how well socialized their dogs are. You may want to ask if any of their dogs have any tendency to be aggressive. Do they jump up on people? Do they get nervous when someone enters the yard? Do they have any problem with strangers coming into their territory?
With some of the larger breeds, you may want to have a test run when the owner is hidden away from the house, yet close enough to help out if needed. You can test to see how the dogs will react when you enter their territory while they think the owner is away.
Before you enter the yard, you need to take note of how the dogs behave. Do they seem nervous or anxious? Or are they thrilled to have a visitor? If your gut tells you it's not safe, you should not to accept that job.
It's better to be safe than sorry. Pet sitters really need to understand that it's not always a good idea to take every job. Before taking on any pet sitting job, make sure you meet with both the pets and the owners. Ask questions about how well the dogs behave, what types of problems the owner may have or have had in the past.
This is not only the time for the pet owners to interview you, it's your time to interview them as well. Never accept a pet sitting job if you do not feel comfortable with the pets or the owners.
Most times pet sitting is truly a great job to have. Just remember that all jobs are not for all pet sitters. Sometimes it's best to say no.
Both Groshan Fabiola & Ian Williamson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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