Care to Your Dog!

Some people embark on purchasing a pet with out really thinking about the consequences. If you are in full time work and want to own a pet such as a dog, have you considered how much it will need to be walked? And who will do this when you are at work.
Pet sitting is a professional pet sitting service that is rapidly growing. Pet sitters provide extraordinary care and will lessen the stress to you while providing your dog with freedom.
Advantages of using pet sitters
Less stress to your pet as the animal will be cared for in their own home and own surroundings.
Being kept in the same area and around your home your pet will be less likely to pick up any strange illnesses or parasites.
A pet sitter will travel to your home to care for your pet this means there will be no travel trauma as he/she will not need to be transported anywhere.
Most kennels will require specific vaccinations to allow any animal to board there, pet sitters are less restrictive in this area.
Your animal will have a set routine and will not be required to adapt to a new environment.
Many pet sitting services will provide additional personalized touches which will leave you worry free, having someone come in and pick up your post and turn a light on so that you do not come home to darkness is just some of the added bonuses a pet sitter can provide. Some people say they double as a house sitter.
For you to be completely happy you need to be able to trust the person you choose to care for you animal, pet sitters will care for your pet as you do giving them time for play, exercise and will also be aware of any medical conditions.
Tips On Choosing A Pet Sitter
I would recommend that you ask friends and family if they can make any recommendations so you know the pet sitter has a good reputation.
Arrange a meeting with in your home with each pet sitter. Watch how they interact with your pet and see if you can sense that your pet actually likes this person.
Make the pet sitter aware of any health problems your pet has and let them know what your pet enjoys, a reliable pet sitter will take notes as you provide them with this information.
Make sure you ask for a copy of their contract this will provide you with exactly what you can expect from this person as well as their rates of pay.
Prepare detailed instructions. Include all your contact phone numbers including one of a friend in case you are unreachable in an emergency.
Being armed with the right questions will help you choose the perfect match for you pet leaving you stress free and you pet happy.

Type in the phrase “pet sitter” in any search engine box and you will find over one million websites! Quite overwhelming when you are trying to find a pet sitter before you go out of town. And to make matters worse, 99% of those pet sitters are probably not in your area.

There is an alternative to finding a pet sitter, however. That’s by using an online pet sitter directory. They are easy to navigate and nearly all are free to use when you are searching for a pet sitter.

One free, and easy-to-use directory is called Find Me A Pet Sitter (http://www.findmeapetsitter.com). On the home page one simply types in either their zip code or city/state and the results will display pet sitters in their area. The pet sitter’s listing can then be clicked on to display more information, such as: a brief description of their services, their contact information, cities and towns they serve, and what sort of services they provide.

Most pet sitter directories are free, but a few may require you to register with their site first before you can search for pet sitters. And, some charge a fee for their referral service.

Keep in mind, not all areas have pet sitters listed. You may need to contact the administrator of the website and ask them if they can help you locate a pet sitter in your area.

Finally, any pet sitter you hire should be reputable within their community, have liability insurance, and in some cases, may be required to carry a bond or be licensed.

Pet Sitter Directories:

http://www.findmeapetsitter.com

http://www.petsit.coM

http://www.petsitters.org

If you have pets, you know that leaving them behind while you go on vacation can be stressful. You can minimize that anxiety by hiring a good pet sitter. This article has some advice to make the process easier.

Start by asking your vet if they recommend anyone. Pet-owning friends may also have names for you. There may be people who do it occasionally, like I do, just not as a business. Some pet sitters will advertise in the yellow pages or newspapers. Most will leave flyers or business cards with veterinarians.

There are professional Pet Sitter organizations that have websites. Some of them offer a search feature, but remember that only their members will be listed. Some smaller towns may not have local professional pet sitters.

Keep your expectations realistic. Normally, a pet sitter will feed the animals, let them out or walk them, change litter boxes and do whatever else is needed to care for the animal. They will spend an average of thirty minutes for each visit. They might even pick up your mail and water your plants.

There is usually an extra charge for additional visits during the day. Some sitters may be willing to spend the night – something you may desire if you have older or sick animals.

Make sure the pet sitter will come and meet the animals before you hire her. It is important that both the animal and the sitter be comfortable with each other.

Be sure to plan well in advance, as pet sitters are usually in heavy demand. You should ask for the pet sitter’s fees and policies in writing, so you know exactly what to expect. I would suggest getting references; a trustworthy businessperson will have these readily available.

Ask what other kinds of animal experience the person has. Someone with veterinary experience, such as a technician, is a good choice for special needs pets. A dog trainer, or someone who has trained a few animals will know how to handle dogs with behavioral issues. A pet groomer will have experience handling both dogs and cats in stressful situations.

Pet sitters are not required to have any special licensing, but those who have gone to the trouble of acquiring accreditation from one of the pet sitter organizations show a high degree of professionalism in my opinion. They will have been required to take a course that usually includes business management, animal care and animal health instruction. Accredited pet sitters will therefore likely have more diverse knowledge and experience than someone who has not been through the course. Once you have found the right sitter for you, be sure to give and get all the information you both will need.

You will want to leave phone numbers for where you can be reached, as well as a friend or neighbor who might be able to answer questions or help out in emergencies. Provide the sitter with the name, address and phone number of your veterinarian, and leave a signed letter giving permission for necessary medical procedures to be preformed. Additionally, make sure you have a way to reach the sitter at all times, in case something comes up.

Be sure to tell the pet sitter of any special behavioral problems or quirks. If your dog is afraid of people in hats, say, the sitter will not make the mistake of wearing her rain hat indoors! Point out where all the supplies are; food, dishes, toys, beds, etc. Tell the pet sitter your rules on treats, how much you feed, how often and when. If you can put everything the pet sitter may need in one central location, so much the better.

If your pet needs to be fed at certain times, or takes medicine on a schedule, you will want to be sure that the pet sitter can accommodate your needs.

Be sure your pet sitter is bonded and insured. Don’t forget, she will have the keys to your home. Also, make arrangements for payment and the return of your keys.

It is a good idea to have a contingency plan in place in the event that your return is delayed. Arrange for the sitter to call, or for you to call her at a specific time on the date of your return.

The pet sitter should also have a backup plan in case he or she is unable to attend to your pets for some reason. If not, you had better make a backup plan of your own.

Leaving the pets behind can add unnecessary stress to your trip. Knowing that you have hired an experienced pet sitter, and that you have provided her with everything she needs to do the job right can help ease that stress.

In order to be a pet sitter, you really need to have a good understanding of what types of situations you can handle regarding the care of someone else’s pet, and those that you cannot.

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.