Preparing for a Pet Sitter

Leaving your pet with a sitter can be a stressful time for both you and your pets.  One thing that can make this time away easier is ensuring that your home, pets and sitter are all prepared.

Preparing your pets:

-Make sure that your pets are up to date on all their veterinary care and that they have a microchip with current info

– Have a visible ID on them with a phone number where someone can be reached.  It’s good to add an extra tag with your pet sitter and veterinarians contact info when you are out of town and might not be reachable

– Leave veterinarians contact information including name, address, and phone number.  Let your pet sitter know what you expect in terms of veterinary care and your budget for care in case there is an emergency or need for veterinary care and they can’t reach you

– Ensure that your pets are comfortable with the pet sitter.  Some pets can become stressed when you are away from them, and having someone they are familiar can help to ease some of the stress

-Prepare food for while you are away.  You can pre-portion out meals or leave detailed instructions for how much food/supplements/medication your pets get and at what times. Probiotics such as Caniotic and Feliotic can help to keep your pets tummy from becoming unsettled due to stress of having you gone

-Provide clear instructions for pets care including how often litter boxes should be cleaned, how often dogs should be let outside or walked for potty breaks, and how long dogs are used to walking and what gear (collar, harness etc) they use for walks

Preparing your house:

– Leave a note with important home information:

•                -Home address
•                -Wifi password
•                -Phone numbers of neighbors
•                -Instructions for the TV remote, HVAC unit, washer/dryer, security system and anything else needed
•                -Location of electrical breaker and water shut off in case of emergency

-Remove all potential toxins from pets reach.  Here are some of our tips to keep your pets safe from toxins

-Check all fencing and gates to ensure that your pets can’t get out of the yard if they go outside off leash

-Provide a room for the sitter to stay and ensure that there are clean sheets and towels for them to use

-Ensure that you have enough supplies for your pets such as food, medications, cat litter to last through the visit and a few extra days incase there are travel delays

Preparing your pet sitter:

-Ensure that you properly vet all new pet sitters.  You will want to get multiple references, make sure that they are qualified to handle any medical or behavioral issues your pets have, and that you can trust them to do the care provided

-Make sure that your pet sitter has been to your house and is comfortable with all of your animals as well as the home

-Let your pet sitter know what foods in the house they are allowed to eat.  Many people will ask their pet sitters what foods they like to eat and have some of those on hand to make it easier for the sitter

Once you have your pets, sitter and home ready it’s time to pack your bags and enjoy your trip knowing that your animals will be well taken care of while you are away.