What should I ask a dog sitter?

When entrusting your furry friend to a dog sitter, asking the right questions is essential for ensuring their safety and well-being. Begin by inquiring about the sitter’s experience and qualifications, including any certifications or training in pet care. Clarify their availability and schedule to ensure compatibility with your needs. Discuss the sitter’s approach to handling emergencies or unexpected situations, such as illness or behavioral issues, and inquire about their familiarity with administering medications if needed. Additionally, communicate your dog’s specific needs, preferences, and routines to ensure a seamless transition and comfortable stay. Don’t hesitate to ask about the sitter’s policies regarding exercise, feeding, and communication while you’re away. By asking these crucial questions upfront, you can confidently select a dog sitter who will provide attentive and personalized care for your beloved companion.

Qualifications

Let’s be frank, this is dog sitting and so qualifications do not need to be extensive. You may ask them about how they do feeding times (dogs should always be fed separately) and how they would handle an emergency situation but in general you should just be gauging whether this is a normal person who is going to respond reasonably to various dog sitting situations that may arise. It is certainly a plus to know canine CPR but not really a requirement for a good sitter.

Availability

It’s certainly fine to double check availability if you’re talking to them in person but that is something that should already have been confirmed via message. You’ll want to make sure they’re aware of potential changes that may occur to push the pickup time back since they may not be available if your dates change during the stay which can be a frustrating situation to end up in.

Your Preferences

It’s important to make sure they are aware of any special care instructions for your dog. I would make a clear delineation between required care (medicine or similar) and what you would just prefer (a certain amount of exercise). It’s not fair to expect a random sitter to commit to walking your dog for an hour a day but certainly feel free to encourage them to do something physical to ensure your dog is getting some exercise whether that’s playing fetch, walking, jogging, or whatever fits the sitter’ lifestyle. I generally do not walk all dogs everyday as a sitter especially if they don’t get along with each other but doing something to get them moving each day is important.

Conclusion

As with most things in relation to finding a dog sitter, the most important thing is your comfort level with the potential dog sitter’s competence. Your gut is generally not going to be wrong on these things. Also, don’t go for someone just because they have a bubbly personality. That’s just a coping mechanism that a lot of people have for being incompetent.