Dogs
by Carrie Boyko, CEB
Whether you live in the city, a suburb, or even a rural area, you are likely to find a number of dog walkers or pet sitters in your area. The trick is locating them, as they are often not listed in the yellow pages.
Checking with friends who own pets and enjoy travel may net you some suggestions, but keep in mind that you want someone reliable. Ask about this as well, as friends can often give you input on their experiences and comfort level with each individual.
Your second source for recommendations is local veterinarian offices. It is not unusual to find that a vet's office will have a tech that moonlights as a pet sitter or dog walker. The services they offer can vary from merely dropping by for a potty break and feeding, to a long walk or even an overnight stay. Their home or yours? Sometimes you'll have a choice.
The overnight stay may be a particular perk if your dog is not comfortable with a crate or kennel at the vet's office or boarding facility. What could be better than a stay at his own home?
In addition to this, having a vet tech or vet nurse care for your buddy at home could give you an extra sense of well-being if he has health conditions that you may worry about. Your Fido may be in good hands with this arrangement, without the confining conditions of a vet clinic kennel.
There's another angle to explore here. If you are planning a longer trip--more than a short weekend--a little legwork may help you find a vet nurse who can care for your pup in her own home.
This option worked well for me once while traveling with Oliver to another state. A plan to visit a local destination nearly was abandoned because we found no doggy daycares in this rural area. However, we did locate a vet nurse who was able to care for Oliver on her day off, and lucky Oliver had the enjoyment of playing with her puppy. The two were close in age and size--a perfectly fun day for both.
One caveat to consider. A pet sitter can only do their job well when communication is thorough and not forgotten. You may find it most successful to write all instructions out and leave them with your contact information. I suggest using the Planet Dog Pet Sitter Instruction Pad, which will assure you leave nothing uncovered. Learn more at my Thursday post about this helpful product by scrolling down to it, or locating the link in my archives at the middle sidebar. The title is "Salvaging Your Pet Sitter Experience with Clear Instructions".
Thanks for joining us for another edition of the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop. I hope you will enjoy bouncing around the blogs listed below, finding all sorts of fun ways to enjoy pets and their owners. The rules for participation by linking up are displayed below, as copied from Life with Dogs, one of the hosts. The hop is also co-hosted by Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.
- Doggie Housing Decisions: Selecting Your New Home With Fido In Mind
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © courtesy 12th St. David via Flickr.com What Do You Suppose this Fella's Family Picked for Him? Depending on how you look at our economic situation right now, you may say that times are tough. Considering the historically...
- My Senior Dog: Life Lessons Learned From A Furry Mentor
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © Carrie Boyko Xena's Wisdom Lives On As the one year anniversary of our loss of Xena just passed, I found myself thinking of her more and more frequently. I called her "First Alert Xena" because she was a better weather predicter...
- Pups Will Play While Mom Is Away; Otherwise Known As Dad Is Pupsitting
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © Carrie Boyko Throw It Already!© Carrie Boyko Oliver's Turn to SwimI'm on the road, learning more at Barkworld to help me bring you an even better experience here. Of course, anytime mom is away, someone has to take...
- Pet Birthdays: Celebrating Our Best Friends
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © Carrie Boyko Tanner's 4th Birthday CelebrationTanner had a 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago and I found myself in a conundrum of ambiguous thoughts about our celebrations of our pets birthdays. When we stopped by our local...
- Jobs For Oliver And Packing For Blogpaws
by Carrie Boyko, CEB Oliver and I have been very excited about all the new goodies we have to use on our upcoming conference trips. The Snoozer for travel on wheels, the Petmate Luxury Curvations Carrier and Retreat, Oliver's own travel organizer...
Dogs
Dog Care While You're Away: Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
by Carrie Boyko, CEB
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| © courtesy Susanvg via Flickr Dog Walkers Assure Fido is Properly Exercised When You are Away |
Checking with friends who own pets and enjoy travel may net you some suggestions, but keep in mind that you want someone reliable. Ask about this as well, as friends can often give you input on their experiences and comfort level with each individual.
Your second source for recommendations is local veterinarian offices. It is not unusual to find that a vet's office will have a tech that moonlights as a pet sitter or dog walker. The services they offer can vary from merely dropping by for a potty break and feeding, to a long walk or even an overnight stay. Their home or yours? Sometimes you'll have a choice.
The overnight stay may be a particular perk if your dog is not comfortable with a crate or kennel at the vet's office or boarding facility. What could be better than a stay at his own home?
In addition to this, having a vet tech or vet nurse care for your buddy at home could give you an extra sense of well-being if he has health conditions that you may worry about. Your Fido may be in good hands with this arrangement, without the confining conditions of a vet clinic kennel.
There's another angle to explore here. If you are planning a longer trip--more than a short weekend--a little legwork may help you find a vet nurse who can care for your pup in her own home.
This option worked well for me once while traveling with Oliver to another state. A plan to visit a local destination nearly was abandoned because we found no doggy daycares in this rural area. However, we did locate a vet nurse who was able to care for Oliver on her day off, and lucky Oliver had the enjoyment of playing with her puppy. The two were close in age and size--a perfectly fun day for both.
One caveat to consider. A pet sitter can only do their job well when communication is thorough and not forgotten. You may find it most successful to write all instructions out and leave them with your contact information. I suggest using the Planet Dog Pet Sitter Instruction Pad, which will assure you leave nothing uncovered. Learn more at my Thursday post about this helpful product by scrolling down to it, or locating the link in my archives at the middle sidebar. The title is "Salvaging Your Pet Sitter Experience with Clear Instructions".
Thanks for joining us for another edition of the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop. I hope you will enjoy bouncing around the blogs listed below, finding all sorts of fun ways to enjoy pets and their owners. The rules for participation by linking up are displayed below, as copied from Life with Dogs, one of the hosts. The hop is also co-hosted by Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.
- Link up your pet blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. You only need to add your link once to be seen on all the Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop Linky Tools for that week. Note that if your blog is not pet related your link will be removed. Also note that only one post per blog is acceptable, and links promoting giveaways that are unrelated to the pet blogger hop will be removed. This is a community building exercise and not a promotional vehicle – please treat it as such.
- Grab the “Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop” button on the right hand side of this site and include it in your Saturday Blog hop post so that your readers will know what is going on. *Note – posting is optional. Feel free to just link and follow.
- Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool.
- Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you’d like.
- Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you’re from the blog hop.
- Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop.
- Make friends and grow. ♥
- Doggie Housing Decisions: Selecting Your New Home With Fido In Mind
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © courtesy 12th St. David via Flickr.com What Do You Suppose this Fella's Family Picked for Him? Depending on how you look at our economic situation right now, you may say that times are tough. Considering the historically...
- My Senior Dog: Life Lessons Learned From A Furry Mentor
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © Carrie Boyko Xena's Wisdom Lives On As the one year anniversary of our loss of Xena just passed, I found myself thinking of her more and more frequently. I called her "First Alert Xena" because she was a better weather predicter...
- Pups Will Play While Mom Is Away; Otherwise Known As Dad Is Pupsitting
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © Carrie Boyko Throw It Already!© Carrie Boyko Oliver's Turn to SwimI'm on the road, learning more at Barkworld to help me bring you an even better experience here. Of course, anytime mom is away, someone has to take...
- Pet Birthdays: Celebrating Our Best Friends
by Carrie Boyko, CEB © Carrie Boyko Tanner's 4th Birthday CelebrationTanner had a 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago and I found myself in a conundrum of ambiguous thoughts about our celebrations of our pets birthdays. When we stopped by our local...
- Jobs For Oliver And Packing For Blogpaws
by Carrie Boyko, CEB Oliver and I have been very excited about all the new goodies we have to use on our upcoming conference trips. The Snoozer for travel on wheels, the Petmate Luxury Curvations Carrier and Retreat, Oliver's own travel organizer...