When it comes to your pets, whether they’re dogs and cats, or less common “alternative pets” such as reptiles, birds, or pygmy goats, you need to know that you’re leaving them in the care of someone you can trust. These aren’t just pieces of property after all – they’re members of the family.
So, here are some qualities to look for before deciding on a pet sitter.
Trustworthiness
A pet sitter is either going to be visiting and staying over at your place while you’re away, or having your pet stay with them at a facility or at their own place. Either way, you need to know your pet is in the care of someone responsible, friendly, and respectful of your pet and your property.
There are a number of ways you can establish a pet sitter’s level of trustworthiness, including:
- Checking their references
- Checking their background
- Making sure they are licensed, bonded, and insured
Good pet sitters will have no problem with you doing this.
Reliability
A good pet sitter will guarantee to keep in touch with you while you’re away, whether your trip is half a day or two weeks. This can be done with consistent, scheduled phone calls (maybe just once a day), or even a quick text message. Your pet sitter can also send you a picture of them with your pet (playing or going on a walk) as a status update. This picture may also indicate that they are keeping everything clean and that your pet is happy and secure. Emails usually work too.
Experience
This doesn’t necessarily have to mean professional experience, but in the end you want a pet sitter who knows what they’re doing through more than just training and instructions alone. Your pet sitter could have experience through taking care of many different kinds of pets in their own lives, or taking care of their friend’s pets, their neighborhood pets, or simply be a long-time employee of a professional pet sitting company.
You want a pet sitter who can take care of your little dog and three cat just as well as they can take care of a big dog and two pygmy goats. You want a pet sitter who can handle almost any problem that might arise.
You can establish their level of experience by:
- Asking how many years they’ve been pet sitting
- Asking how many pets they have, or have taken care of in their lives
- Asking them about their most challenging or unusual pet sitting experience
Things along those lines…
Connects Well With Animals
Good pet sitters can read your pet’s body language and respond accordingly. If you own a dog who’s extremely friendly and immediately wants to play and be petted, they will do so in a way that doesn’t overly amp them up and make them neurotic. Conversely, if you own a dog who is very shy and takes time to warm up to new people, they will give them plenty of space and allow the dog to approach them.
Calmness
This isn’t to say your pet sitter can’t be energetic. It simply means your pet sitter should exude a sense of confidence around animals, establishing themselves as an authority figure in the relationship. This is also a matter of being able to respond to problems appropriately, without being cruel or harsh with your animals.
Reinforces Your Animal’s Training
Good pet sitters know that you’ve spent a lot of time training your dogs and cats to behave a certain way in the house. If your dog isn’t allowed up on the furniture, they won’t let them break that rule. If your cat isn’t to be jumping up on the table or scratching at the furniture, they’ll inforce that training as well.
Establish what the rules and boundaries are with your pet sitter before you leave.
Genuinely Loves Animals
You can ask your potential pet sitter about their favorite animals, their best experiences with their pets, or their most interesting pet sitting experiences. Their love for and interest in animals should show when they tell their stories.
Versatile in How They Care for Your Pet
Good pet sitting businesses will offer a wide variety of services, including:
- Pet sitting
- Pet boarding
- Dog walking
- Trips to the dog park
What’s more, good pet sitters will know how to provide a combination of these services appropriately while you’re gone. If your dog is used to a certain walk schedule, they will be able to remain consistent with that schedule while you’re gone.
This is beneficial because frequent dog walks will:
- Keep your dog happy while you’re gone
- Give them an outlet for their pent up energy and anxiety
- Keep them calm and relaxed
- Help them sleep better and be less neurotic while you’re away
Good pet sitters understand that dogs get many of the same benefits that humans get from regular exercise, both mentally and physically.
Why Hire a Local Pet Sitter?
Local pet sitters are a better choice than national pet sitters because they tend to have a far lower employee turnover rate. Rather than seeing a wide variety of people signing on for some quick cash only to take off shortly after, local pet sitting companies often have long-term employees who see plenty of regular clients. Here’s why this is a better choice:
- You can develop a friendly, long-term relationship with your pet sitter, giving you more peace of mind when you leave our home and animals in their care.
- Your animals will develop a familiar relationship with your pet sitter. Compare this to using a national pet sitting company, with a different pet sitter watching your pet every time you leave town.
- Local pet sitting companies are more personal. National companies tend to have less to lose, whereas a local pet sitting company has an incentive to develop a good reputation with their local community.
Queen City Petsitting
When you hire Queen City Petsitting, you can have peace of mind knowing that your pets are in the care of people who love animals and love what they do. Their services are licensed, bonded, and insured, and they’ve developed a relationship with many regular clients, who have seen fit to utilize their services time and time again. Not only do their customers love their services, their pets do as well!
Their pet sitters are used to caring for dogs of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. They are also happy to care for cats, no matter how many you might have. They’ll also be there to care for a variety of “alternative pets”, including lizards, parrots, and rabbits.