Overnight Pet Sitting in the Pet Parent’s Own Home

Love pets as much as you love babies

I’m going to say something that’ll raise some people’s eyebrows, but pet parents will understand exactly what I mean. We all know that pet sitters take on a huge responsibility when taking on any pet care related job.  Not only do they have to be up to the task but more importantly, they must understand that taking care of someone else’s cat or dog is just as important as taking care of their own human baby. Yes. Pet sitting and baby sitting require the same level of attention, care and love.

For pet sitters: As an animal lover, your probably are already apt at reading body languages and all the hidden signals a pet frequently broadcasts. Just like for humans, there are times when a pet sitter is meeting a pet for the first time and immediately feels that there is a potential for a long term relationship based on trust and mutual respects.  Other times, that affinity does not reveal itself as clearly and when that happens, you should ask yourself if, in good conscience, you are the best person for the job.

For pet owners: Parents usually have a sixth sense when it comes to potential challenges a particular situation might cause.  Use that ability to try and asses how your pet is reacting to the sitter you’re interviewing. And vice versa. There is a lot of hidden information both parties give at that time and you can use that information to assess if both your pet and the sitter have the potential to get on.

Overnight Stay Pet sitting planning

Whether a pet sitter makes daily visits to attend to an owner’s pet, feed him, take her for a walk etc, or is planning to stay overnight while the parent is out of town, he or she will have to plan his scheduled visit and time spent with the pet(s) ahead of time.

Here are some issues, both the sitter and the parent will have to address:

• The time of daily visits.  If a sitter makes home calls to take care of a pet but due to unforeseen circumstance his daily visit might be delayed for an hour or two, can the pet handle that extra time on his own?
• Are they guests, workers, visitors expected during a visit? A pet sitter we know had to deal with carpet installers who took down all the carpets in the house and put new ones in.  The carpets were gorgeous but the pet had different ideas and became overly stressed out,
• Does the pet need special care.  Neither the pet, nor the parent and the sitter want to find out when it’s practically too late that little Lady Lovely requires an insulin shot which can be found in the bathroom’s commode, behind the curtain.

Pet Proofing a Home

There is no miracle pills that will, all of a sudden, remove all risks from any situation.  After all, even when it’s the owner who’s looking after his or own pet, things sometimes happen.

So for both pet sitter or pet parents, make sure the  home is pet-proof so that the risks for potential mischiefs from the pets themselves don’t happen. (I am looking at you Sparky who decided to measure 8 rolls of toilet paper all by himself and found it hilarious that I was trying to “help” him).

You might look at a home and find all so gorgeously laid out, curtains, furnitures and the aura of it all, but pets have their own evaluations of what appealing really is.

LIke that chair, left un-tucked under the table, inviting and waiting for Sir Rothschild, the little terrier who has been watching his mom painstakingly working on that Manhattan Landscape puzzle for the past 3 nights, hoping and praying that he might just be able to jump up and add his own artistry to the burgeoning piece of art.

Or that half eaten bag of chips, nine year old Jamier left on the floor of his bedroom, sending Billy the cat an invitation he can hardly refuse.

Make sure drawers are closed, closet doors are not open, toilet lids are down and for heaven’s sake watch those pants.