Dog owners often focus on the negatives when they consider leaving their pets in the care of either a pet sitter or a boarding kennel. This is understandable as most know their pets better than anyone, and are aware of their personalities and what they require to stay healthy and happy.
That said, a holiday can often be a good result for both parties, particularly if your pets are left in the care of responsible pet sitters who love animals. The key is finding the right person who will treat your pets with love and respect.
I am a big believer in the power of social proof. That is; authentic testimonials, reliable verbal references, and demonstrated results and experience.
When it comes to the care of your pets you need to make sure that the person who is offering a pet sitter service to you is the real deal. It is one thing to talk up or espouse your own experience and your results, its an entirely different thing when other people do that for you who have experienced the results of your work – it is much more powerful and reliable.
So what do you look for when you are seeking someone to look after your pets? First up you need to acknowledge exactly where you want your pet/s to stay. For example, do you send them to a boarding kennel, to someone elses place for a pet sit stay, or do you keep them at home in familiar surroundings?
There are good reasons to entertain all of the above depending of course on the person, the service, and the circumstances. Naturally for many people, cost is often one of the key considerations with pet care – it can get very expensive indeed. Most pet owners however are more concerned with the welfare and health of their pets when all is said and done.
So if you can find a proven local pet sitter to look after your pet/s in your own home, you effectively get a very good result, as both your home and your loved ones are left in good hands.
One of the benefits of house sitting I find, is spending time looking after and being around other peoples pets. In fact it is the next best thing to having my own. Just like home owners often become good friends doing this line of work, so too do pets become friends as well. For me that is a wonderful result.
The key is to find the right fit and right person for the house sit and the pet sit assignment. If you regularly go away on holiday or for work, when you find the right person/s to look after your property and pets, ensure you keep them – as much for continuity as for the peace of mind in knowing you have found someone you can trust…and someone your pet/s can trust too.
Do you know somebody who may require the services of a proven and experienced house sitter or pet sitter? If so, please share my details with them. It also helps me immensely when people share and like my website, so please share it with your friends and family and help me get my message out there. Thankyou!
*Craig Hedge is a Professional house sitter and pet sitter based in Hobart (nipaluna), Tasmania, Australia.
He is also a Professional Life Coach and author of the Instinctive Living self help ebook and audiobook series available on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.
https://www.audible.com/author/Craig-W-Hedge/B0767ZFK1Z