How do I find a reliable dog sitter?
Finding a reliable dog sitter is paramount for pet owners seeking trustworthy care for their furry friends. To locate a dependable dog sitter, start by conducting thorough research online. Explore reputable dog sitting platforms such as Rover.com and websites that offer vetted professionals with reviews and ratings from satisfied clients. Additionally, consider seeking recommendations from friends, family, or local pet communities for personal referrals. In evaluating dog sitter, here are the main things I would evaluate: 1) their experience with dogs 2) their overall availability and 3) overall compatibility between you and them and them and your dog.
Dog Sitter Experience
A lot of dog sitters will list their experience as growing up with a household dogs. This is fine but it is very different growing up with dogs and sitting a high volume of other people’s dogs. You need to make sure they’re experienced with sitting a variety of dogs over a long period of time. I would generally say 1 year of dog sitting experience with multiple dogs at a time or 2 years with fewer dogs. This is enough time that they’ve seen most scenarios and are still dog sitting.
Availability
You want to avoid people who only sit one dog at a time or have significant time blocked on their calendar. These are indications that this isn’t a big side hustle for them – they sit when they feel like it but probably don’t have a lot of recurring clients. You generally want to avoid people who are not going to be available most of the time unless it’s an emergency and you can’t find anyone else.
Compatibility
Compatibility is a big deal between the sitter and client and in particular in relation to communication style. I would generally expect one message a day or every other day with a picture or a couple quick comments that their dog is doing well. It definitely doesn’t feel right if the sitter says nothing during the entire stay, especially for a sitter who is new to you. It’s also important to just evaluate your overall level of comfort with them. Does your dog seem comfortable with them? They don’t need to love your dog as much as you do but be cautious of whether your dog seems hesitant about going back to them. In fairness, some dogs are just nervous so obviously that’s not always a good indicator but if your otherwise non anxious dog gets nervous going back to the sitter, it’s worth considering why that might be.
Concluding Thoughts
Besides your kids, if you have any, your dogs are probably one of the most important things to you and your family and so investing the time to vet a sitter thoroughly can be worth it. Many websites and apps claim to do so but it’s ultimately up to you to decide if they’re trustworthy enough with your pet. The standards are very low to become a sitter or be listed on a dog sitting website so that is just a starting point for the vetting process.