My husband says it almost on a daily basis how he wishes we could all go on a REAL family vacation. We haven’t gone on a real vacation in about 10 years. We would love to go away as a family again, especially now that the kids are in high school and will soon be on their own. One of the major reasons why we don’t go anywhere is due to lack of $$$$. Another reason is our pets. We have five cats, a dog and fish. We need someone who is able to clean out the litter box several times per day, take the dog out for a walk 3-4 times per day and make sure they have fresh food and water.
We don’t have anyone local to us that could do all of this. If we lived upstate (where we’re looking to buy a house) my father would be near by. However he’s not really a cat person and he can’t fathom the idea of cleaning out the litter box.
Another issue is our youngest cat Bella. She requires a lot of medication on a daily basis. Since she won’t eat or drink anything that has pills in it I have to give them her myself. That requires being able to hold her, get her mouth open, drop the pill in the back of her throat and make sure she swallows (she’s been known to hide pills under her gum and then spit them out when I’m not looking). Not too many people can “pill” a cat. Even my husband told me that I can never leave home again because he’s not up for the challenge. LOL!
What we would need is a professional pet sitter. Someone who has experience with dogs, cats and fish. Also someone who can pill our cat and do so in a loving, caring way (otherwise that person would risk being torn to shreds).
Professional Pet Sitters Week is coming up (March 3 – March 9, 2013). I thought now would be a great time to share some tips on how to find the best pet sitter for your family. These come to you courtesy of the folks at DogVacay. As the most trusted community for dog boarding, DogVacay knows that if you choose to hire professional pet sitter, it’s crucial to find one that you feel truly comfortable with so that both you and your pet can enjoy your time away.
Here are a few tips to make the process of finding reliable pet care a little bit easier:
Interview your potential pet-sitter, and have your pet interview them too. Not only should the pet-sitter meet your expectations upon your meet and greet but they should also get the stamp of approval from Fido. The sitter’s interaction with your pet is incredibly important. Watch to see if he or she pets your dog, offers your dog water or a treat and seems warm and loving. These first reactions can be a vital sign to you as to how they will treat your pet while you are away.
Ask for References. Possibly the most important piece of the pet-sitting puzzle is calling other pet owners and getting their feedback. Do your due diligence, and you’ll feel better with whatever decision you make knowing that you spoke with fellow pet owners who’ve been in your position.
Cover the basics. No matter how trivial you think your questions are, you deserve to know the level of expertise and enthusiasm of your pet-sitter. For example: how many pets have you cared for? What will your typical day look like when you’re caring for my pet? How many times will my dog be taken out for walks?
Don’t be afraid to tell them too much. In order for your pet-sitter, your dog and you to have the best experience it’s crucial that you tell them anything and everything about your pup. Maybe it’s that he doesn’t like the mailman, or needs to take medication. Anything related to your pet’s health, dietary restrictions, personality and mannerisms are things you should tell your potential pet-sitter before leaving your dog in their care.
Check in with Fido. After your dog is back in your care, is your pet happy? Agitated? Angry? Relaxed? Scared? These are all things that play into your pet’s experience with the pet-sitter and will give you a peek into what their day was like. If they’re not acting themselves, it may be time to look for another pet-sitting option.
Sometimes a reliable and trustworthy sitter is right under your nose. In fact, through DogVacay pet owners are finding local pet lovers to care for their pets, and along with that they get insurance, 24-hour support and other services that makes dog sitting hassle-free and worry-free.
Have you ever used a pet sitter before? How was your experience? Do you have any additional tips you would like to share on picking the best pet sitter for your and your pet/pets? Feel free to leave a comment.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the benefit of my site readers. Any opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted.
Those are some great tips! I’m lucky that the people that were fostering our dog before, takes him while we go on vacation. It’s nice that he has a place he has been before and people he knows already taking care of him. 🙂
These are excellent tips. It is always so hard to leave our “babies” in the care of someone else.
i have only left my dogs once, stayed at the house, w/ my mother’s aide, when i was in the hospital for 4 days for surgery. other than that, i dont like to leave my dogs, i know i would miss them as well as they would miss me….there is a new thing, dog vacay, where people keep the dogs at their house. they are animal owners and take in 1 or 2 dogs while you are away….they have a website….i think it can be just as traumatic for the dogs as the owners to leave their dogs in most instances….for me it would be more traumatic…since my 3 little girls are my best friends