Experienced pet sitters Jacqueline and Glenn have cared for dogs all over the world by pet sitting. They started travelling with a single holiday dog sit. Now, they travel year-round enjoying pet care while they enjoy their extended holiday.

Holiday dog sit – Top Tips for Managing the Dogs

By Jacqueline Lamb

Glenn and I have been house and pet sitting around the world since 2015. We have completed more than 100 sits, many of which included caring for one or more dogs.

To better understand the dog, we ask the dog owner a lot of questions during the pre-sit interview about the dog’s history and routine.

It doesn’t matter if the pet sit is for a few days or for a longer period — our approach is the same.

Check-List: Questions to Ask

We ask:

• What times do the dogs wake up and go to bed?
• Where do they sleep? Do they sleep through the night?
• What are the dogs’ exercise requirements — how long and how often are their walks?
• What is the feeding routine — what they eat, when they eat? Can they be fed people food?
• Are they on medication? How are medications administered?
• If the dogs are inside pets, are they house-trained?
• Are the dogs spayed and neutered? If not, will the females be coming into heat during the house sit?
• Are there any triggers when walking the dogs (e.g., birds or squirrels, children on bikes, certain other dog breeds)?
• What are your dogs’ bad habits — and how do you deal with them?
• Finally, how long can the dogs be left alone?

(For us, this last question is a ‘deal breaker’. If the dogs cannot be left at home unattended for at least 4 hours (so we can do some local exploring during our holiday), we decline the sit.

These might sound like a lot of questions, but it’s really important to understand the dog’s routine in order to make a house sit an enjoyable experience.

Our Experience on a Holiday Dog Sit

For example, we cared for a beautiful Labradoodle called Molly who came into heat during our sit. She wore ‘special’ pants/diapers for the bleeding, which just needed changing a couple of times during the day. I was concerned that whilst walking Molly we would attract unwanted attention from other male dogs, but it was a non-issue. It was helpful and important that we had discussed all this with the homeowner before we agreed to the sitting assignment.

Additionally, we follow normal exercise routines to keep the dog from becoming bored. Bored dogs often release their pent-up energy by excessively barking or engaging in destructive behaviour (e.g., chewing furniture).

A side note about medication: We have administered medicine to many dogs and haven’t met one yet that hasn’t eagerly taken their medication. They see it as more food (LOL!).

Another tip is to schedule a video chat with the owners and dogs before you accept the assignment. This will help you clarify these questions and see the owners’ interactions with their dogs.

Written Pet Care Check-List

By now, we already have an understanding of the dogs’ routines and requirements, but to make everything easier, we send the home owners our Pet Care Check-List.  We ask them to complete this prior to our arrival. It includes many questions on the following categories:

• Day-to-Day Care
• Diet & Feeding Instructions
• Exercise & Play
• Pet’s Health & Vet Details
• Grooming

It’s much easier to refer back to written or printed instructions — especially in an emergency or if the internet goes down!

Meeting the Dogs

Whenever possible, we arrive at our dog sitting assignment before the homeowners leave, often the day before.

This helps us bond better with the dogs and understand how the pet parents interact with their dog and vice versa. We will feed the dogs and take them for a walk with the owner present.

Walking the dogs with the owners is extremely informative. We see how well trained (or not!) the dogs are, whether they pull on their leads and — most importantly — how they react when walking past other dogs and people. We ask many questions when walking with the owners to fully understand the dog’s behaviour patterns. When the homeowners leave, the dogs are already comfortable with us.

Building a Successful Relationship with the Dogs

When meeting dogs for the first time, we always allow the dogs to come to us. Most dogs love people and we are often greeted with kisses and waggy tails as soon as we enter the front door.

However, a few dogs have reacted differently. If the dogs jump, we turn our backs to them. This body language tells the dog jumping is not acceptable. We give timid or nervous dogs time and space to come to us. Doing the opposite could make the situation worse.

We look for these behaviours to gauge nervousness or fearfulness:

• Eyes that appear rounder than normal or show more white around the outside
• Lowering of head or body
• Lips curling or wrinkle on the brow and a growling sound. This is a clear warning not to approach them!
• Tail tucked between their rear legs

These can exhibit traits of a fearful, but not aggressive, dog.

To help manage these behaviours and gain trust from the dog, we:

• Sit down on the floor close to the dog, but pay no attention to it.
• Avoid eye contact and keep our body language quiet and calm.
• Scatter treats on the floor near us, so that the dog can self-reward without any pressure from us.
• Allow the dog to approach us at their own speed.

During our 6 years of dog sitting, we’ve only had a few timid or anxious dogs. The vast majority have been easy to care for and this is why we love our pet sitting lifestyle!

JOIN HOUSESIT MATCH

Join Housesitmatch.com a professional service that offers access to help you find free checked live in petsitters and housesitters, for a moderate annual fee. These petsitters will help you keep pets at home safely and happy in their daily routine.

FURTHER READING ON PETS AND PET SITTER SERVICES

What are pet sitting services?

What is in home pet sitting and how much will it cost?

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money