the Cost of Pet Sitting

When my family originally planned our Memorial Day weekend trip back this winter, we had 2 grown dogs that my friend's son was going to take care of. Since then we got a Boxer puppy and didn't want to leave him as he still has a LOT of training "issues" and is so young. My aunt recommended her pet sitter and we decided to arrange an informal "meeting" between our puppy and the sitter. It was a perfect fit! I think our puppy now likes the sitter better than us. For the sitter to drop in 3 times a day for 3 days was $55. We couldn't have boarded him for that price!

The sitter was great! She used positive reinforcement and crating to increase our puppy's housetraining. She also took her for long walks and bathed her when she got off the leash and got muddy from the neighbor's pond. The only problem is that now our puppy ALWAYS wants to go for a walk and doesn't want to spend any outside time in the pen without someone there.

Ask people you know and trust for suggestions. Arrange an in-home visit with your pet and the prospective sitter to see how they interact. Your pet has instincts and usually they are reliable as far as people go. If your pet is too nervous or upset around the prospective sitter, find someone else!