If your planning a trip away from home and you’re reading this, than odds are you are wrestling with a little bit of anxiety over what is the best choice for having your pets looked after. Trust me, I’ve been there and I know how you feel. In fact, my own experiences in dealing with this for my dog is exactly what inpired me to start Pet Sitter Patrol.
Prior to starting my own pet sitting business, I used to struggle with deciding on what’s the best care options for my dog, Manna, and my cats every time I needed to go out of town or wasn’t able to make it home from an event as scheduled. I tried so many different solutions and various pet lodges (including the most fancy and expensive ones), but in the end I found that using a pet sitter was a better choice that not only made me happier, but made my dog, Manna, a far happier and healthier best friend.
Typically your options include:
- Pet kenneling (the better marketers call themselves pet lodges or pet hotels) – this didn’t work for me because it tended to be a bit of a hassle, it got really expensive and most importantly upon retrieving my animals, they always looked like they were stressed out and hadn’t been eating – it just wasn’t part of their norm and they couldn’t get used to it.
- Friends/Family – begging your, often less-than-interested, friends and family to look after your pets for you tends to feel like an imposition. Additionally, my friends and family just never seemed as well trained as my pets on what to do. LOL…. well you know what I mean.
- Hiring a pet sitting professional – Pet sitters tend to be trained animal lovers who provide a much more personalized and flexible offering of services. See my post on Know How To Spot A Great Pet Sitter.
There are many reasons why hiring a pet professional sitter could be a better choice. Here’s just a few points you should to take into consideration:
Reason #1 Less Anxiety – Not just for you, but for you’re pets! Just like anyone, pets are comfortable and familiar with their home. Taking them to a kennel could stress them out. Hearing other dogs barking all day and being in an unfamiliar environment can really exhaust a dog or cat. A great pet sitter eliminates this anxiety by providing personalized service in your home or in their own, real home setting.
Reason #2 Dog Walks - An exercised dog is a happy dog. Most kennels charge extra for this service. A good pet sitter will not only give your pets that one-on-one attention that they deserve, but also in a neighborhood environment – your neighborhood most often. We take them for a walk every visit. We don’t mind cleaning up after them either.
Reason #3 More affordable - Pet/dog kennels tend to be expensive, especially when your putting up more than one pet. If you have just a few animals, you’ll quickly find out that your pets’ “hotel” bill sometimes exceeded your own. Not only that, depending on when you arrive home from your trip you might not be able make the trip to pick up your dog or cat until the next day during business hours – incurring extra costs. Its always more enjoyable to come home to your happy smiling pet.
Reason #4 Less germs – Pets exposure to illnesses is minimized. Pet kennels are facilities housing a large number of other animals (and people working with animals) coming and going. Which is a reason they make you jump through a lot of hoops and extra expense for vet costs to board your pet there. Even so, those precautions are not failsafe. Taking your dog or cat to a kennel can bring them into contact with many diseasses and illnesses.
Really, when it comes down to it, it’s tough to beat the option of having a trained and insured, animal loving, professional pet sitter available on-call day or night to look after your pets in a home environment. Your pets are happier and healthier.
Now all you need to know is How To Spot A Great Pet Sitter . But then again… haven’t you already spotted one? 
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