Our dog has been with us 24/7, now a 5 day trip away - (solution, stop)

[trlhiker]

Put a doggie door in and you will not have to worry about your dog having an accident in the house.

[cleosmom]

I work for a boarding hotel for pets. If you decide to have an in home pet sitter, make certain you leave written permission to have your dog treated at a vet should the need arise. We're finding more and more veterinary clinics won't touch a pet unless there is proof you own the pet or have permission to seek care

[runswithscissors]

I'm a pet sitter. Pretty much ALL professional pet sitters do things the same way. A pet sitter will work with you to suggest the best thing for your dog's experience and personality with your input. We also do a security check on the house, bring in mail, rotate lights, water plants and other misc things including in the visits.

TONS of vacation clients only have two visits per day, 12 hours apart. Some dogs only go out that often anyway. The schedule is very individual. But three times a day is the norm. OTOH, I've had dailies when the people are at work who ask for two visits.

First, after speaking with you on the phone, we come for a Meet & Greet to get to know each other and your pets and your requirements. When I come in your house I ask you to NOT touch or talk to your dog so I can observe him and quickly get to know him. You'd be surprised how many people have trouble following this request.

I can usually see if he's very attached to you or whatever. Or vice versa. - by his behavior towards YOU and me when I first come in and sit down. I don't pay alot of physical attention to him either until AFTER we do our meeting. This allows me to observe how friendly he is (or not) or if he hides, or goes to YOU and not me, or whatever his personality is. THEN I pretty much know how he'll be when I come. Remember, most dogs act different when the owner is there directing the dog than when the dog is all alone so this I've found to be important. It doesn't really MATTER how they are, but it helps us understand him better in advance. Like if the dog is stand offish, we'll allow extra time our first visit to put him at ease. If I suspect the dog is going to be uncomfortable with me showing up one day, I'll do a walk during the M&G or even come once before you leave so he knows me in advance.

You'll show us the house and your routine. We also go out in the yard and observe the safety issues. We make notes or some sitters email YOU forms to fill out. Like brand of food, how many bowel movements per day, medical issues, meds, restrictions etc. I make those notes myself during our meeting.

We also ask if ANYONE else will have access to your home during the service period. KEY QUESTION. Other people coming and going can really be a problem. So if so, we ask WHO and NORMALLY, we won't job share with , say, a neighbor you have coming in for "dinner" or whatever. LOTS of problems have happened with that set up and it's not recommended.

We ask if you'll be available to contact should we need to. This allows for your input in case there's something that happens like he reacts strongly to being left or whatever. We get your vet information and ask if you have emergency contacts. We review a weather or emergency contingency like here in Florida, for hurricanes. If I know my client doesn't have an emergency backup and its just ME, I won't take several like that in hurricane season. But it's not usually a problem. But I can't evacuate the beach with 6 peoples' dogs going to a shelter so I always ask LOL.

We do some paperwork - have you sign a vet release for emergency care - you get to put a limit on what we spend if you want, key release that you gave us a key to enter, and sign to acknowledge our policies. Like what our limits of liability are, the fees, and cancellation policies. We will handle any household emergency but you are advised that we don't assume the limits of liability for that, only for our negligence or misconduct - that's what OUR insurance and bonding covers.

For example if your plumbing leaks, we'll contact whoever you give us as an emergency contact or call Roto Rooter or whoever but we're not legally responsible for the leak damage. Sounds silly but you wouldn't believe....LOL.

Then you give us a key and make the schedule.

We do overnight which includes bedtime and morning walks and you can add a third mid day if you want. That is the most popular - three visits a day. For ME, overnights times vary. Some sitters do 12 hours. Not me. I only do that long if I have no other jobs, because it prevents me from doing am and bedtime walks for anyone else. I QUOTE my overnight as 10 PM to 6 AM but I often arrive early and leave later. When I don't have other jobs. If you REQUEST I do something else like 9 PM to 7 AM I'll do it IF I don't have a conflict and your vacation is soon.

We also do live ins. Different than overnights. LIve in means we basically operate out of your home and although we go to our normal scheduled jobs with other people, your dog won't be left alone for a LONG period of time. Those, of course need to be booked fairly in advance and cost more.

Some sitters don't differentiate overnight from live in but I do.

The length of time per normal pet sitting visit varies but 30 minutes is standard and some people who charge more do 1 hour as standard. The way I do it is - if I have extra time in between clients and know your dog is "needy" I'll stay longer with your pre-approval. Some people don't want that, they want you in and out but I have a relationship with MY clients and they all appreciate the extra time. Right now I have a daily with a young Pit Bull and after her walk I stay longer because the owner has the TV on and I watch what Rachael Ray is making from 11:45 to 12:00 with the dog LOL. She looks so pathetic in her little crate when I leave so I kill a little extra time with her because she's my last daily until almost 1:00. I think laying on my lap on the sofa is her favorite part of the visit!

If I know the dog hates storms I'll prioritize them and also go over to check things out or go earlier or whatever even if it's not on the schedule. It helps the pets AND me to know everything is ok and I'm not going to show up to a house full of diarrhea, say, in a couple of them who need to be in their crates during a storm (or with a human there).

You will pay anywhere from I'd say 16.00 to 30.00 per visit depending on your area, the sitter's business and how long the visits are. Average charge anywhere from 50-100 per day for overnights/live-ins.

Some dogs do "better" in boarding and others definitely not. The noise, the other dogs, the whole thing is too much. Some dogs do fine then you notice one time they come back messed up in some way and switch to an in home sitter. That's happened to a couple of my clients. I worked for people daily and during vacation we BOTH thought the dog would do better not being alone all day and they LOVED the boarding place, even saw some start swimming in pools and playing with other dogs. Then abruptly they came back weird. So those people had me do live ins. Or overnights. It is a very individual thing.

IMO NO good sitter is going to let your dog suffer just because you [both] agreed on ONE particular schedule then it turns out he needed more or whatever. They're going to call you (but not bother you with constant calls). And if you're not available they're going to do what is best for HIM, even if it means they're going to eat the fees for a couple extra visits or whatever. But of course if we think something is being requested that is not good, we're going to say so.

I hope you find a good sitter that you can establish a relationship with. Feel free to interview a couple if you have to. I had one several years ago that was like part of my family and when my dog was suffering a terminal illness she had her entire family coming every day about 5 times a day after I had to go back to work, using up all my vacation. She was a very special person and my role model for why I even wanted to start my business at all.

OH, and yes it's a good idea to wean her into being alone if you can! She's a beautiful dog BTW. At least you'd have SOME idea of what she's going to be like without you there. If you've been with her 24/7 for YEARS it may be a challenge.

I would also be advising you that IF she has a problem that a back up plan would be to board her with your permission. And by problem I mean severe anxiety. Not that it would go away in boarding but she'd be safe. Very few sitters have 24 hours clear to spend exclusively at your home and never leaving (if any) so that's the problem with that.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

I would also be advising you that IF she has a problem that a back up plan would be to board her with your permission. And by problem I mean severe anxiety. Not that it would go away in boarding but she'd be safe. Very few sitters have 24 hours clear to spend exclusively at your home and never leaving (if any) so that's the problem with that.

That being said, you might also wish to get in contact with a boarding facility to be come acquainted with their requirements in advance. Nothing worse then being caught not meeting requirements at the 11th hour!

If she has severe anxiety issues, boarding at a veterinary clinic might be the best decision overall in the safety of your pet.

I think runswithscissors would agree, that although we're both involved in a "business", main concern is the pet's safety!!

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by cleosmom

That being said, you might also wish to get in contact with a boarding facility to be come acquainted with their requirements in advance. Nothing worse then being caught not meeting requirements at the 11th hour!

If she has severe anxiety issues, boarding at a veterinary clinic might be the best decision overall in the safety of your pet.

I think runswithscissors would agree, that although we're both involved in a "business", main concern is the pet's safety!!

Absolutely!

And nobody has a crystal ball so we both consider all the possible scenarios. I always tell new people "don't freak out with all these possibilities, my job is to plan for the worst so it doesn't actually happen!".

This is the last bullet point I have on my paperwork, it's never happened but I like to have both of us in agreement and also how important it is to communicate before something happens:

13. Pet Sitter/Company reserves the right to terminate this agreement at any time before or during its term if Pet Sitter/Company, in its sole discretion, determines that a danger exists to the health or safety of pet or Pet Sitter. If concerns prohibit Pet Sitter from caring for pet, Client authorizes pet to be placed in custody of emergency contacts provided or boarding kennel, with all charges there from to be charged to client. Pet Sitter’s first choice of kennel will be at a veterinarian’s clinic.

When I worked exclusively in high rises and IF the people had a sense of humor I'd say "It's ok if you don't have emergency contacts who can take over custody of your dog but if we have a building evacuation, you'll be putting us up in the hotel next door!" LOL

That actually DID happen to me when our building had a huge flood but we dodged a bullet and they didn't evacuate us! OMG I was doing 1500 steps up and down to walk the one out of town dog job I had since the elevator was out of service. Luckily they came home the next day anyway as per their schedule and went to a hotel themselves. In the case their trip was longer, I would have taken them to MY unit in the building which was only on the 6th floor compared to theirs on the 15th! Two Mini Schnauzers running up and down 15 flights of steps announcing to the world the were there was hilarious (kinda).

[proveick]

Originally Posted by cleosmom

I work for a boarding hotel for pets. If you decide to have an in home pet sitter, make certain you leave written permission to have your dog treated at a vet should the need arise. We're finding more and more veterinary clinics won't touch a pet unless there is proof you own the pet or have permission to seek care

Thanks, good information. My, how things have changed over the years.
If it's not documented it doesn't exist. Almost need a notary public these days.

[Gilah G.]

What kind of dog is she?
Gorgeous

[proveick]

Husky, Chow, Malamute and Golden Retriever. Thanks

[mic111]

We've done the pet sitter, twice a day visits, with dog door for up to a month. Maybe get a dog door and try leaving her at home for short periods to see is she is reliable in the house alone.

Chows are usually pretty independent but the Husky in her could cause her to want to escape the yard and roam. Best to find out all about her alone time personality before you try to go away.

Another alternative is to board her in a pet sitter's home. Many people advertise to do this in the Craig's list pet services section. Best to pick someone that is home all day because she might try to escape if she thinks you have left her. Board in their own home pet sitters often have dogs for yours to play with if she gets along with other dogs.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by proveick

Thanks, good information. My, how things have changed over the years.
If it's not documented it doesn't exist. Almost need a notary public these days.

Well they want to make sure the person presenting the pet is the legal owner or a proxy. Yes it's a litigious society now. We also ask if the pet is up to date on shots or have waivers. I don't personally care if they are or not but I HAVE to care in a business. Most of my clients leave their vet records on the counter in case they're needed. We also spend a good amount of time on that subject during the M&G so we understand each other and are on the same wavelength.I don't want people to think I'm going to go and have a bunch of stuff done unless it's IMPORTANT. OR that worst case scenario I'll have the pet stabilized until I can reach them and they can speak to their vet if they are going to be around and available. PLENTY of people don't even return our calls or texts on vacation LOL. We HAVE TO be prepared. A cat suffering with a UTI is an awful thing and lots of people don't notice symptoms before they go away.

But the form isn't just for the vet. It's for US, too.

You might be surprised to know how many people don't want to approve emergency care. Like if they don't think about it nothing will happen. So it's for the dog AND sitter's peace of mind. OTOH, some people say "spare no expense" type of thing.

Once I took over a "job share" from a mother in law of my long term client - two dogs. She stayed in their home for 10 days then I was to take over. Long wedding and honeymoon thing.

I walked in and found the poor Doxie shaking and cringing in the corner in pain under his blanket, not walking on one foot, not eating, crying etc. And a short note "Fido ripped his toenail but I've been soaking it in Epsom salts for 3 days."



I rushed him to our vet (client's vet too) and he needed surgery for a fracture up to the bone. As a courtesy, I called the Mother who was hearing from the clients daily in Europe who gave me a hard time about getting the work done!! "Oh he's fine".

My reply was "Ok thanks for your input" hung up and scheduled the surgery. I had PERMISSION of the owners. I had two teeth yanked out while he was under, he had rotten molars for MONTHS that the clients kept "forgetting" to address. The next day he was like a different dog and eating like he never had been able to do before. My vet said OMG I'd never leave those two worst teeth in there, it would be like walking over a person in trauma on the sidewalk.

Now, granted we were close and I even slept there off and on, and they traveled ALOT -paid me about $8000 that one year in fees. So they were grateful that everything went ok. But they also were a little miffed that the mother in law was causing a fight with THEM about letting "that sitter call the shots".

Another example of a job share gone bad. I didn't need the paperwork but was happy I had it. We usually attract the type of clients and sitters that match our personalities. Not every sitter is a good match for every home but eventually you work through it based on shared values, philosophies and personalities.