Pet Sitting Guide

Before Pet Sitting Services

Fast paced lifestyles and city living do not provide the same level of extended family and community that you would find in a village or small town.

And even if you do benefit from neighbouring families and a great community spirit you may not want to impose on your friends and family’s limited free time to care for your pets while you are away.

Whilst having pets is a most beautiful and very rewarding and wonderful experience, you have a responsibility to your pets which means you want the best loving care for them whilst you are away.... so what do you do?

Until recently, there really weren’t many options for your pet sitting requirements other than dog and cat kennels.

Dog boarding kennels, for most dogs, are a very stressful experience whereby they are often surrounded by other very stressed dogs, in unfamiliar surroundings. They bark continuously,  they have limited time out of the kennel, and have to urinate and defecate in the place where they eat and sleep, this is a very unnatural experience!

Dog Boarding kennels are predominantly outside and as we know most domestic pets these days live in our home with us as part of our family. There is also always a risk of your dog contracting an illness such as kennel cough or worse.

The only alternative to this was, if you were lucky enough to have a friend or family member who could take care of your pets for you.

Then came the Pet Sitting service.

Pet Sitters could either live in your home and provide “house sitting” and “pet sitting” services for you, or have your dog board in their home as part of their family; this is  known as “home dog boarding” or “dog sitting”. Your Pet Sitter could also provide a cat visiting service where they could visit your cats, providing cat feeding, changing litter and administering medication. Your Pet Sitter or Pet Sitting Company could also offer dog walking services for when you are at work to break up an otherwise long day.

This is brilliant but how do I know who to trust?

To locate a reliable and trustworthy pet sitting  company one could:

  1. Ask their vet to recommend a company or,
  2. Search online and contact all companies but be sure to ask the following questions:
  • Can I meet with my pet sitter in advance?
  • Are the pet sitting staff insured?
  • If something should happen to them is there back-up?
  • Has the pet sitting staff owned their own pets?
  • How much experience do the pet sitting staff have?
  • Will the pet sitting staff be caring for other pets at the same time as mine?
  • Are there any hidden extra charges?

 

Once you have sourced a reliable Pet Sitting Company, it is a good idea to have a fairly detailed conversation about what they should do in a variety of situations.

It is also very important to leave any care information (diet, cleaning, handling, etc) in writing, and make it detailed so nothing gets forgotten or overlooked.  Guardian Angels Pet Sitting services include the use of a very comprehensive booklet called “Briefing your Angel” which covers all aspects of care for your home and care for your pets. Dog Sitter or Cat Sitter will know who to contact in the case of an emergency, including vet details. Your pet sitter will also know what to do or who to contact if anything happens to your home i.e. plumber required, where the fuse box etc.

Remember that what normal pet care to you will be totally new to your pet sitter, so carefully go through your daily routine with your pet and write down what you do so that your instructions are clear.

Try to always remember to advise your vet that you are going away and pre-authorise emergency treatment if needed. Leave a telephone number where you can be contacted with your vet too. Make certain that your pet sitter is clear about what you expect to be done if an emergency arises.