Please talk to me about dog sitting?

[GoneScones]

I'm in a bit of a tailspin. Got a holiday booked for August, and a family member was going to have our family dog as always. Family member now can't do it (due to something very tricky and unavoidable). So we have two months to sort something or cancel the (non-refundable) holiday.

The thing is, our dog is nervous, not good with other dogs, and takes quite a while to get used to people. We have only ever left her with family members before. She sleeps on the bed with us (or the relevant family member). She's very sweet, and loves people once she knows them, but she's not "easy". She's very clean, portable, and impeccably toilet trained, and she's not risky round kids, but I feel like these requirements mean it's going to be impossible to find somewhere for her to stay - or someone to come here, at such short notice. I've looked online, but how on earth do you know who to trust? Argh. Are we doomed? Do we have enough time? Any experiences?

Trusted house sitters website?
Kennels?
Local teen / relative wanting to earn money?

I understand your pain OP- my dog is 'not easy' either. You could try a local dog Facebook group- the one for the city I live in has a lot of registered dog sitters/boarders as members. You could post your rough location (e.g NW1) and dates to see if someone is available. This would also allow time for you and your dog to meet this person.

There's also 'Barking Mad'- the boarders are vetted but these do tend to book up very quickly. You need to join up so might be tight for time with this option.

Also, do you have friends, family or colleagues with dogs who might have recommendations? We found a couple of great sitters this way. Plus it's reassuring to have genuine references from people you know.

Get a dog sitter with good references. Check the references. Make it clear what the dogs issues are. Get them to visit as much as possible in the lead up (you will obviously need to pay for this).

If you're in London I can recommend someone.

Thank you all.

I feel like crying when I think about leaving her with a stranger, but someone kind who will meet her beforehand could work.

Thank you for the website suggestions.

It's August so I'm guessing anyone recommended by friends etc (haven't asked yet) may be completely booked up anyway....
Local teenager/student could work.

Thanks again for the tip and understanding the dilemma.

@NuffSaidSam not London, sadly. Birmingham.

Rover.com or next door?
Expect to pay £35-50 a day (north England) for solo care
Mine is a rescue- found someone on Next Door who after 3 stays he adores.

We found a fantastic sitter through Rover.com. Our dog is also nervous but we were very reassured and confident with the people on their website.

A friend of mine used to look after dogs (and cats and chickens) via Trusted House Sitters. She usually (always?) met the dogs beforehand.

I'd give them a try.

Please, please don't leave your dog with a random teenager - you want an adult who is insured and experienced, and who can give you proper references.

Rover is okay as a resource but again, do your research. Anyone can advertise on there so you need to ask to see proof of insurance - don't rely on the Rover Guarantee as it's not worth the paper it's written on.

Another thing is - how long can your dog be left alone during the day as this will influence who can look after them and what the cost is going to be.

I have used rover and also done boarding for friends/friends of friends through rover. They tend to only take one dog at a time and always arrange a meet and greet beforehand which is reassuring. Definitely worth a look!

I have two very spoilt dogs that could only cope with home boarding and I found the most amazing sitters through Rover before. It takes a bit of time to go through the list- I prefer using people that are a bit older as there will be some students etc but one of my dogs has more complex needs so better suited to an older person.

We finally found someone on rover but we visited a few first. The only one we liked(and our dog too) asked us to stay for over an hour so our dog could get to explore and become comfortable. We then did a test stay of a day. The only issue is they get booked up very far in advance

Have you tried asking at the vets? Some of our vet nurses do pet sitting (one will even come and stay at the house)

I wouldn't automatically rule out kennels - a high end one at that. The one ours stay at has underfloor heading, radio/tv on, can't see any other dogs, you can hire rooms with little "people beds" etc

You pay a lot more for a place like that the big standard kennels but they settle there and it's cheaper and easier to secure a booking than a dog sitter. (Also we used a dog sitter with dog1 and she didn't follow our instructions and had our greyhound on an extendable lead😬😬 Never went back!)

I'm friendly with a few home boarders and just for future info, they often get booked up a year or more in advance. Rover may be a possibility but there are a lot of students on there, however we have a vet nurse on it in my area. Again they become popular very quickly with people who have used them so may well be booked up well in advance. I have worked as a Rehoming coordinator for a large UK charity and backup was always something I wanted to check when rehoming a dog as everyone without exception, will need it at some point. I would always advise to adopters without families, to find and pay for a dog walker once a week so the dog is familiar with somebody else in case of emergencies. Personally in your situation now, I'd cancel the holiday as I would want my nervous dog to build up a trusty relationship with someone before leaving. Holiday insurance sometimes covers cancellation. It's a hard lesson but I hope you get sorted.

You may be at the point where you can't be fussy. I own a top end kennels, I am booked up until November.
Decent Home Boarders will definitely be booked up too....but if you go down that route please make sure they are licensed, it should be on display. There are so many back yard home boarders the council can't catch them all.

For future, I would find a kennels that may be a good fit for your dog and do some settling days with her. If one of us is ill, the other will keep the place running, a home boarder/pet sitter/family member are a single point of failure.
I can't tell you how many calls I get from owners being let down by X,Y,Z....people cry they are that desperate to get their dog in.

Personally, I wouldn't go. If I was going as a family, they could go without me and I would happily stay at home with the dog.

Ask around friends and local dog walkers for recommendations. We used to leave our dog with a woman who looked after dogs in her own home and he enjoyed going there - after the first stay his tail would wag when we parked outside her house. However, he was social with other dogs so liked that she had her own dog and there would be other dog visitors.

She did a trial visit before accepting him as a boarder where he stayed with her a few hours and she walked him.

I'm sorry that you are in this tricky situation OP.

I'm primarily a dog walker, but also do some sitting so have some experience from "the other side".

It sounds like posters have had good experiences from agencies like Rover and Trusted Housesitters. I think, like almost things in life it really depends on the individual that you get. It's worth bearing in mind that they are agencies so it's really important that you know exactly who you are getting etc..

I rarely do sitting over periods of more than one or two days. Mainly because I need to manage the logistics of my own family, pets and dog walking clients alongside caring for someone else's dog in their home.

Every sitting client that I take on I visit first. Depending on the dog I'll also do a trial and for a sit of the length of time you need I'd also do an overnight trial. It might take some time for a nervous or reactive dog to feel comfortable with me, and it is important that this isn't rushed so I may need to visit a number of times, and work with the owner to build up trust with the dog and learn how best to manage their challenges. I would need to be paid if this goes beyond the initial visit and shorter trial.

I think a good and reliable sitter will not over-promise eg until they have met your dog and done trial(s) they will not confirm a booking. They will know their limits and they will ask plenty of questions to ascertain whether a particular dog can be cared for with their own skill set.

A good sitter will discuss exactly how long your dog can be left alone and will have a plan for achieving that. They must be able to achieve that whilst meeting other commitments (so in my case feeding my teenagers, caring for my dog, working for my dog walking clients etc..).

They will also discuss contingencies for things like crazily hot weather, emergencies, vet visits etc..

I do try as much as I can to work with whatever the dog is used to at home (with the caveat that I work in a force free, reward based way so no aversive equipment, punishment etc).. The only time this tends to be tricky is having the dog sleep on my bed at night. I can do this, I love a cuddle and snoring dog- but it does depend on the dog, how well we bond etc.

Behaviour wise I know my limits. I'm fine with over enthusiasm, low to medium challenges like separation anxiety, barking, resource guarding etc.. I'm cautious with reactive dogs, unpredictable dogs and very fearful dogs because in my experience the most worrying behaviour comes from fear and working on this takes a great deal of time and flexibility which os tricky is you're in a situation of being in sole charge of a dog for a fixed extended period.

Hope that helps.

I'd suggest that key elements of care are put in writing: dates, agreement about alone time, important elements of care etc. to avoid misunderstandings.

Hope this helps a bit.

Housesitters.co.uk

I use them for every holiday. Just be honest in your description of the dog and what's needed.

Having reread my post it sounds a bit like I take sitting client's dog to my own home- that's not the case, we stay at owners home.

Thanks all. My kids will be so gutted if we cancel this holiday (and as it's non-refundable, we won't be able to afford another). So I'm going to have to try, but I'd obviously rather not go than find anything we're not completely happy with for the dog. I'm going to look into all your recommendations ASAP.

Don’t blame you at all not wanting to cancel the holiday and I wouldn’t either. You have 2 months to find a solution and I’m sure you will find the dog walking community very helpful with suggestions & also your local vet may know of people who can help.

As pp suggested, don’t discount a good kennel if there is one with availability.

My dog could not settle with house sitters, nor home boarding, but the routine and care in a modern well run kennel suited him fine. I would not say he loved it, but he loved the woman who ran it, and he was less stressed than when we left him elsewhere.

Trusted housesitters as PPs have recommended! You pay a one off fee, upload pics of your home and pets, brief description and then vetted sitters apply. I just gave keys to a couple yesterday who will be looking after my four pets this summer, and got someone with just a month notice over Christmas. The key is in the name: you have to trust them. If they dont do a good job no one will use them again.

Just to reassure you there is no WAY I'd leave her with a random teenager!! I meant a fully vetted student with references, etc., who the dog and I had met and liked. I know when I was a student, I'd have liked to do this and would have been very trustworthy with the house and dog, and I imagine there are many who would....