Choosing The Best Kind of Pet Care Service
In today's booming pet business world, the options are endless as you try to find someone to take care of your pets when you travel. Not every choice is right for everyone. To order to find the correct service, along with the differences in the most common types of care, we have compiled a list of questions you should ask yourself.
Does my dog have anxiety?
If you answered yes, your best choice is housesitting. Your dog should stay at home and stick to their routine while the pet sitter stays there with them.
Is my dog good with other dogs?
If you answered yes, a free-range boarding option could suit the needs of your dog either in the home of a petsitter or through a commercial facility. They get a structured safe way of doing doggy playtime while you're gone.
Does my dog have medical issues?
If you answered yes, the way to go is either to board your vet or to opt for housesitting with a pet professional who is familiar with medical problems.
Now, what's the difference between petsitting options? Well, let's go over that:
Housesitting: Caring for all pets in your own home. This helps the sitter to comply as best as possible to the pet routine. This is extremely suitable for anxious dogs, reactive dogs, health issues, and elderly dogs. Just know that the sitters still have to tend to other animals and some have another job so dogs should be expected to go every 4-8 hours for potty breaks unless stated otherwise. You can also opt to have a camera in your own home to keep an eye on your pets but make sure that is disclosed to the sitter prior.
In-home boarding: This is when you bring your dog to the sitter's home where they either board one dog/family at one time or several dogs from different households. For dogs that are comfortable in other settings or get along with other dogs, this is more suitable. During the time they are at the sitter's home, owners should expect their dogs to be around 1-8 other pets. If that doesn't sound like something that your dog can handle, they might be better off with another alternative.
Photo Credit: Coastal Paws San Diego™
Commercial boarding: Commercial boarding facilities are where numerous dogs board either in a free-range facility or in individual kennels at a single location. This is not always ideal, as many dogs can come out of these places with even more anxiety than going in because their schedule has been extremely interrupted. If your dog needs more constant supervision, the way to go is probably with dog hotels and boarding.
Photo CrediT: freeDOGm
In the grand scheme of things, you should go with your gut when trying to figure out where to take your fur baby. They are family after all and deserve only the best!
