Pet sitting is a temporary way of managing the care of your pets when you are not available to do so. Pet sitting services facilitate the provision of a petsitting service. Some call it pet minding or pet care. Some people spend a long time searching for their ideal petsitter.
Pet sitting services
There are many options available for pet owners today. Some options you pay for like home pet sitters, doggy day care or professional pet minders. Moreover, some are free based on a model of collaborative consumption. This is where you work with pet lovers, cat lovers and dog lovers who are happy to do pet sitting for you in exchange for free accommodation.
What is pet sitting?
If you have pets at home who live as part of your family, or if you have a number of pets either rescued animals or as part of your small holding you will need to care for them on a daily basis, and for extended periods by people other than your self when you are away on holiday or for work projects – this is pet sitting.
For this you will need to find a pet carer or pet minder to step in> they can look after your pet animals while you are absent.
If you are planning to go away on holiday or for work trips you need a plan. You may find yourself presented with a number of challenges, not least how finding pet care for your animals.
Do I need a licence for petsitting?
Pets are a responsibility that we must consider carefully when looking around among the pet sitting services offered. Each animal and breed needs different levels of involvement, engagement, feeding and support.
This may require pet boarding or live in pet sitters. If you register with an agency or a housesitting website like Housesitmatch there will be a protocol for joining as a petsitter. If you follow the protocols then you do not need a licence for petsitting.
In home pet sitting is an increasingly popular way of managing the care of your pets. It can minimise the stress and anxiety some pets experience with a change of routine and environment.
Websites like HouseSitMatch.com offer a safe and secure environment for home and petsitting. Within the confines of the secure website you can meet live in house and pet sitters who are essentially animal lovers who collaborate to support you with your pet sitting requirements.
Sometimes you can find a house sitter or housekeeper who love pets.
Your online search may lead you to a reference website like Moneypantry.com where they offer various links and recommendations.
Keeping pets is a responsibility
Petsitting services
Finding good petsitting services can be a challenge for various reasons. The term petsitting services itself can represent an array of options today from which one must choose.
Whether you need a cat minder who pops in briefly to feed your cat on a daily basis, or a short stop dog walker do some research. Weekend pet sitters and long term house sitters who care for your pets need even more research and preparation.
Find the perfect pet sitter
Do the due diligence to find your perfect solution. As a result you will have peace of mind and your sitters will better understand what you need.
If you are looking for a long term pet sitter because of a work commitment then you will need to consider a more affordable consideration. Experienced housesitters are usually happy to look after a pet with the property.
Informal neighbourly pet sitting
We are all familiar with the reciprocal neighbourly pet sitting services traditionally offered by friends in the neighbourhood or in nextdoor’s apartment, popping in to collect the post and feed the cat.
Informal arrangements between friends and neighbours go back a long way. Pet sitting like a friend is high on the list of neighbourly pet sitting top tips. And it is easy to arrange.
Although as many transient jobs shift, moving people around it gets tougher to connect with neighbours. As a result building the strong bonds we once had between neighbours gets harder. And if our need for pet minding extends to several animals, then the petsitting services need structure.
It is essential to give careful consideration to their pet feeding routines and exercise, and also their stimulation.
Pet minding in the owner’s extended absence creates different demands. This is where pet minders depend on the pet owner’s brief.
This will depend on the animals and breed, and certainly the health of the pet. And in home pet sitting is one alternative to kennels. The advantage of a live in house and pet sitter is you can brief them in the pet’s own home.
Professional petsitting services
If determined to find and pay for professional pet minding services you’ll also commit to paying large fees. You may like long holidays and live in an expensive capital city like London. In such places fees get even higher. If you are looking to board a dog overnight how much will it cost you might ask.
It is likely you will discover a wide choice of professional pet care options and prices. These will range from independent pet minders, dog sitters, dog walkers, cat minders, cat sitters. Many will offer professional pet sitting in London or wherever you are.
Capital cities are expensive for petsitting
How much do most dog sitters charge?
Pet sitting in London currently costs an average of £50 – £ 100 ($67 – $ 130 US) per day (sometimes per pet). Of course the price for a live in petsitter depends entirely on the pets you are caring for, the size of the pets and the petsitting care required.
- Check on Google the local pet sitting rates, and depending on the pet sitting rate how much you should pay.
- Consider the alternatives for pet sitting services. Some might consider Rover pet sitting options or searching the internet for pet sitting near me, pet sitting dog walking over night.
- Check your local noticeboards for a list of suitable pet sitting services.
- Plus there are cheaper pet minding services available like HousesitMatch – and petsitters will often search the internet for pet sitting near me. The posts on HousesitMatch will then appear, they register to apply and you find sitters that way.
We are all familiar with the reciprocal neighbourly pet sitting services traditionally offered by friends in the neighbourhood or in next door’s apartment, popping in to collect the post and feed the cat.
Pet sitting like a friend – a house sitter arrangement
Who can I trust to watch my dog? Well might you ask. Other resources available for pet care will vary depending on the length of absence and duration of the petsit or housesit. It will also depend on where you and your pets are located, and the type of animals you have.
A growing trend is for animal lovers to pet sit like a friend through semi formal arrangements enabled through the internet and facilitated by house sitting platforms like HouseSitMatch.com.
Duration of petsitting services
• Daily petsitting services
If you need a professional pet sitter to help manage a pet’s well-being while you are out at work perhaps, most likely you will need a dog walker paid to collect your pet for a walk around the park with other canines for socialisation and exercise.
Alternatively you may choose to use a doggy day care service. This paid service guarantees that your dog has company in the day.
People are finding support when they need petsitting services by tapping into online networks like HousesitMatch.com or Nextdoor.com. In such networks all participants are registered members of either an online or local neighbourhood and have some vested interest in collaboration for mutual benefit.
They will look for pet sitting jobs and contact you when you post your care pet sitting assignments.
• Longer term pet sitting services
Looking for longer term petsitting services to care for your animals? Then consider these various options – both paid for and free.
– Kennels – Most local kennels equip to take cats, dogs and smaller pets for periods of up to one month. Vets generally advise against extended periods away from home. Many pets do better with cat and dog sitters at their home to care for them. For dogs especially consider dog sitting alternatives.
– Professional petsitters – There are professional petsitting services that offer a range of experience, qualifications and prices ranges for services included; some sitters offer dog handling certificates, pet reiki and pet first aid which can be reassuring with older pets.
– Live-in pet sitters for free – A growing trend and perhaps the most flexible and affordable solution is offered by the online petsitting communities like HouseSitMatch that enable you to collaborate with pet lovers who will also care for your home and garden in exchange for free accommodation.
The live in pet sitting is for free with genuine pet lovers caring for your pets in the pets’ own home. It is also a great alternative to kennels. What is more it is known to minimise pet anxiety when owners go away. Moreover, this arrangement is considerably lighter on the bank account.
House and pet sitting services
Inviting checked live-in house sitters to care for your pets at home can help you in several ways, not simply as an affordable pet sitting solution.
If you are looking for a trusted house sitting and pet sitting services network is a resource that is flexible, affordable and fun there are housesitting and petsitting membership networks online try HouseSitMatch.com.
This pet sitting services that allow you to meet and collaborate with pet lovers who will also care for your home, garden and family pets, all in exchange for free accommodation and a good sitter review at the end of the assignment.
The pet sitting services are for free with genuine pet lovers caring for your pets in their own home.
Moreover, the house and petsitter will maintain your home as you request in your absence. Keeping your garden maintained in your absence also creates a stronger impression that the house is occupied. This creates a natural protection from opportunist burglars looking for neglected property.
Animal pet sitting services
Review all the animal sitting options before you commit. It is worth considering that most vets agree that care for pets at home maintaining regular routines, minimises stress and anxiety. Changing their familiar environment may cause more stress.
The change they experience when their owner/s leave the home can be significant. This is especially true in the case of young or mature animals, and in particular with rescued animals. So having a live in house and pet sitter can be a huge advantage.
FURTHER READING ON PET SITTING SERVICES
With an expanding online service like HousesitMatch.com offering access to a wide variety of animal sitters you can find care for all kinds of animals and domestic pets. Here are some reference pages you might find useful regarding your own particular pets when looking for a live in petsitter: