Skip to main content

Do these 6 things to make it easy on your pet sitter when you travel

When you’re going on vacation or have to take a business trip, leaving your fur babies alone is difficult as a pet parent. However, if you have a good pet sitter, you’ll be much less concerned for your pets while you’re away. You can find a great pet sitter through word-of-mouth referrals from your veterinarian, groomer, friends, and neighbors. Whether you’re using a sitter you’ve worked with before or trying someone new, there are a few steps you can take to make the process much easier for your pets and your pet sitter. Here are some of our favorite pet sitter tips. 

An orange tabby cat in a chair.
Hier und jetzt endet leider meine Reise auf Pixabay aber/Pixabay

Make sure there’s a proper introduction

If your pet is nervous around strangers, the most important step is introducing him to his sitter before you leave home. Allow your pet to spend time with the sitter while you’re there to keep him calm. When your pet sees you interacting with the sitter and treating them like they belong there, he’ll be much more likely to warm up to them. That doesn’t mean every pet will warm up to every single sitter. In addition to your pet’s comfort and safety, you can’t ask a pet sitter to risk their health on the job. If your pet suddenly becomes aggressive when you open the door to the sitter and never settles down, it’s not going to be a good fit. 

Make sure your sitter has notes

While many sitters do this automatically, it’s important to either have your sitter take notes on your pet’s habits, likes, dislikes, and medications or provide them yourself. This is especially important if you have any pets with special needs or allergies. After all, you don’t want your sitter bringing a treat from home if your fur baby has a food intolerance or allergy.

If your pet is on medication or supplements, your sitter will need to know when to administer them. This could require multiple visits in a day, or you may want to ask if your sitter is willing to stay in your home while you’re away. We suggest that you make sure your sitter is insured and bonded, especially if they’ll be staying in your home. Choosing an insured, bonded sitter offers you protection in the event of accidents, negligence, damages, and theft. Lastly, contact information is a must. If your pet falls ill, your sitter needs to know how to reach you, and they’ll need to know how to get in touch with your veterinarian. 

A brown and white dog watching a sunset beside a red haired woman.
Sven Lachmann/Pixabay

Stick to a routine

Pets do well when they know what to expect day to day, especially dogs. Having a set routine also makes things much easier for your sitter. Just like you, pet sitters lead busy lives, and they could be juggling multiple clients in a day. It’s much easier for them to know they need to walk the dogs at set times than to wonder when they should drop by. Your pets will be much happier if they’re fed and walked at the same time as usual than they will be if they have to adjust to a new routine in addition to the absence of their favorite human. 

Make sure you have plenty of supplies

Sometimes out-of-town meetings run longer than expected, flights get delayed due to inclement weather, or you get caught in traffic. Be sure you have enough of your pet’s food, treats, and medications to last for longer than you plan to be away from home just in case an emergency arises.  

Consider calming aids

If your pet has a favorite toy or scratching post, make sure he’ll have access to it while you’re gone. You may want to invest in pheromone diffusers, which can help relieve stress. Some pets enjoy music, so leaving the radio or television on while you’re away — especially if you leave it on for them while you’re at work — can help them feel more settled. Having music or the television on also gives the impression that your home is currently occupied, making the risk of break-ins lower. Many nervous pets also do well with compression garments, which anecdotal evidence suggests may calm anxiety. Try out different methods of calming your pet before you leave town to make sure they work. The day before your big trip isn’t the best time to try out something new.

A small brown dog being held by someone wearing a plaid jacket.
Moshe Harosh/Pixabay

Don’t be afraid to stay in touch

It’s your pet sitter’s job to keep your fur baby safe and happy while you’re away, so don’t feel like you’re a nuisance if you call for a check-in. You can ask your sitter for photo updates or possibly chat with them — and your pet — on a video call. Leaving your pet behind is never fun, but with a trusted pet sitter on hand, you’ll feel much better knowing your pet is in the comfort of his own home with a trusted professional watching over him. 

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mary Johnson
Contributor
Mary Johnson is a writer and photographer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her work has been published in PawTracks and…
Pet-safe pest control: This genius technique will get rid of pesky ants
Home remedies for pest control that are safe for the fur babies
Ants crawling across wild mushroom caps.

The warm weather, the long days, the fresh blooms decorating trees and bushes -- all things that call to creepy crawlies… 

Wait, what?

Read more
When do kittens’ eyes change colors? The answer is so cool – here’s what to know
What color will your kittens' eyes be? The answer and timeline vary
White cat with blue eyes on a couch

Cats are unique, but they all have at least one trait in common. Kittens are born with their eyes shut. They start opening them at different times, usually from 2 to 10 days after birth. By 2 weeks old, a kitten’s eyes should be completely open.
When kittens open their eyes, they can start paring visual information with all the sounds, touches, and smells they’ve been experiencing. When you bring your young kitten home at around 8 or 9 weeks, they'll be ready to explore and stare deep into your eyes. Kittens' vision will still develop over the next couple of months, as will something else: eye color.
As you gaze back at your kitten, you might notice changes. When do kittens’ eyes change color, and is there ever a cause for concern? Here’s what vets have to say.

How long do kittens have blue eyes? What are the most common eye colors, and when will I see the changes?
Kittens are born with blue eyes, which is apparent when they open them. They may still be blue when you bring them home at 8 weeks old, but chances are they’ve already begun to transform into their adult color. A kitten’s eyes start to change between 3 and 8 weeks old. Common colors you may spot in your kitty’s eyes include:

Read more
A simple guide to what to feed tadpoles in your aquarium
A list of everything you should and shouldn't give baby frogs
Small child looks into a jar of tadpoles

Whether you’re taking in rescue tadpoles or planning to keep frogs as pets, you’ll have to adapt continually to their changing bodies. These amphibians undergo a metamorphosis and live as tadpoles for up to 14 weeks, though the last stage of the transition happens in just 24 hours.

You’ll put them to bed as a kid and come back to a teenager. Also, tadpoles are vegetarians, but frogs are carnivorous, so you should prepare for their diet to evolve as they do over the course of a few months. Here's what to feed tadpoles.

Read more