If you don’t want to board your dog at a kennel while you’re away on vacation or you don’t have a friend/family member to watch them, then it’s a good idea to look into hiring a pet sitter.
Here’s what to know before hiring a pet sitter:
Providing your info
There are lots of different pet sitting platforms out there. Some of the well known ones are Rover, Petsitter, Fetch, and even Care.com. Whichever service you choose, the website will ask for your zip code, the type of service you’re looking for, the dates the service is needed, how many pets you have, and/or the size of your dog.
Schedule a meet & greet and care info
After you provide that information, potential sitters will pop up in your area. From there you can read through each of their profiles and reviews, pick someone you like, and then schedule a meet & greet.
If the meet & greet goes well, you can then get into the specifics. How your dog will be fed, how to give them their meds, how much TLC time they should receive, and/or how often they should be walked.
You can decide whether you would like the pet sitter to come on a schedule, or drop your pet off at the sitter’s home. The sitter can spend the night at your home and take care of certain things around the house as well. Spending the night with additional house care, however, may cost more.
Cost
Depending on the service you choose, the cost will vary. Weekly dog walking can cost $15-$50 per walk. Drop-in visits and doggy day care services are similar to walking prices. House sitting/boarding can range from $30-$100 per night. Every transaction is done safely and securely through the website, so there’s nothing to worry about there. The prices above are based on sitter’s in my area from Rover’s website.
Concerns
Of the platforms mentioned above, all sitters have to go through a background check. They also need to provide personal information in order to be employed. Also, your sitter will take pictures of your dog and send them to you to show that everything is going great.