We’ve all heard of babysitters before – they come over, take care of your baby, and give you time off to do the other things you’ve got to do. You also probably know that the concept of ‘sitting’ extends beyond just human babies, and is now common in the pet world too. When pet parents are caught up in the motions of life and can’t tend to the needs of their pets, they start looking for pet sitting services.
You guessed it! Pet sitting is basically the same as babysitting, but instead of caring for human babies, it involves providing the necessary care for your pet babies.
Just like taking care of babies, caring for pets is nothing short of a full-time responsibility as well. Pets need to be fed, played with, cleaned, and put to sleep. Whether you’re a proud parent of dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, fish, or other lovable animals, you’ll know that they all need a constant flow of love and care.
While you may be able to get away with leaving your pet alone for just a few hours here and there (although this is unlikely to be the case if your pet has special requirements or is still a baby), you may need to find a solid solution when you’re away for longer durations of time – like professional pet sitting services!
It’s also a common practice for pet parents to have family, friends, or neighbours come over to look after their pets. The drawback with this is that they aren’t professionals, nor will they be able to give your pet full-time attention. Pet sitters from reliable pet sitting companies are increasingly becoming everyone’s first choice.
If you’re someone eager to find out more about what pet sitting is, and what pet sitters will take care of, then read on to find out more.
What exactly is pet sitting?
Signing up for pet sitting services from a trusted pet sitting company is one of the best ways to relax and take care of your daily schedule. Pet sitting services are provided by professional and trained pet sitters that have years of experience handling pets. They’ll come to your house and stay with your pet for the time that you’re busy. Sometimes, you don’t even have to be busy! Pet parents can even have a pet sitter come over when they just want a little ‘me time’ as well. At the end of the day, everyone could use an extra hand sometimes!
Apart from pet sitting services, pet boarding facilities are another commonly sought after solution. Regardless of their popularity, pet boarding facilities house many pets together. This can stress your pet out. In fact, leaving your pet at one of these increases their chance of catching contagious illnesses.
It is for this very reason that pet sitting services and their variations like in-home pet boarding come across as a much safer option to pet parents. With a pet sitter, your pet can bask in the benefits of one-on-one specialised attention and care. They won’t have to worry about the overpowering sensory stimulations that are otherwise common in boarding facilities.
Sometimes, pet owners may not be okay with activity inside their house when they’re away. So, if pet boarding facilities and pet sitting are not an option – then in-home pet boarding is the way to go. This puts a spin on the usual pet sitting service, and will have pet sitters take care of pets from their own residence. Your pet will still get specialised care and attention from the pet sitter’s house instead of yours! Either way, pet’s will get a comfortable and homely environment.
What are common responsibilities of pet sitters during pet sitting services?
Pet sitters literally take care of it all! Here’s a brief look at some of their responsibilities:
Maintaining regular routine
- Pet sitters are primarily preferred over pet boarding facilities because they take a focused and specialised approach to care for pets. This means that your pet’s routine in terms of eating, playing, sleeping, exercise, walking, and more will be maintained just as it would be under your care. After you’ve provided detailed instructions on caring for your pet, as well as their daily routine, pet sitters will follow each point.
- Maintaining your pet’s regular routine is vital for ensuring the stress and anxiety they experience from your absence is minimised as much as possible.
Feeding on time and topping up food/water
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner, treats, and snacks in between. All of this will be taken care of on time by pet sitters. A part of maintaining your pet’s regular routine has to do with feeding them on time throughout the day. They’ll also have your pet’s food and water bowls cleaned out regularly to prevent the growth of potentially harmful bacteria.
Providing adequate playtime, exercise, and walks
- Trained pet sitters know how important it is for your pet to get some physical activity in their day. They’ll ensure their daily physical activity goals are met in the form of play, exercise, or walks!
- If going outdoors is not an option, they’ll all know how to keep your pets engaged inside your house. If your pet is not trained outside their cage or crate, pet sitters will supervise them when they’re roaming outside it.
Cleaning and sanitising pet’s area
- Having pets in an unclean and unhygienic environment can significantly impact their overall health! Chewed up toys, litter box/bedding material, fur, feathers, and spilled food/water are all a common occurrence when owning a pet. Pet sitters focus on ensuring standards of cleanliness are upheld throughout the service. They know that pets need to be cleaned up after, and that a clean environment is vital to their health and happiness. Regularly wiping down a pet’s area and surroundings reduces the spread of bacteria, which in turn prevents the development of illnesses.
Administering medications
- If your pet has medical conditions that require the regular administration of medications, pet sitters will take care of it! When you sign up for pet sitting services, check with the pet sitter on the types of medication administrations they are familiar with. It’s always better to go with professional pet sitters because they are trained in administering medications, as well as handling basic medical interventions.
Taking pet to vet if required
- Professional and safe pet sitters can guarantee that they take proper care of animals under their care. Regardless of how safe they keep your pet, there are always chances that emergency situations may arise. In such cases, the pet sitter will take your pet to the vet and get them the right attention they need. They will contact you, and if you aren’t available, they’ll get in touch with your emergency contact to determine what to do next. If the emergency is too serious, then pet sitters will find a solution themselves and do the necessary to keep your pet safe.
Cleaning pet’s potty
- All pets poop. When your pet goes to the bathroom, it’s important to clean up after them. This may involve picking up their potty or cleaning out litter boxes. Doing so ensures your pet, as well as your pet sitter can stay in a hygienic setting. Pet sitters will be on top of this responsibility to make sure pets have a clean and safe environment to play and thrive in.
Training
- Pet sitters are pet care professionals that have the expertise required to take care of and train pets. Just specify the trick or discipline you want them to learn, and pet sitters will take care of it. This responsibility may be provided by companies as an add-on service. Check with the company beforehand, and ensure that your pet has the right amount of time with the pet sitter to ensure they are thoroughly trained.
Grooming
- Regular grooming procedures are important for the overall well-being of your pet(s). Pet sitters will take care of basic grooming procedures. Depending on the pet sitting company, you may have to avail other grooming procedures as an add-on service. Or, the pet sitting company may refer you to a Pet Salon or Spa that specifically takes care of grooming your pet.
Pick up and drop from daycare
- If your pet goes to a specific daycare during the day and you’ve availed overnight pet sitting services, pet sitters will take responsibility of bringing your pet to and from the daycare to either your home or theirs (depending on the service you’ve availed). Once at home, they’ll take care of your pet overnight and drop them off at the daycare again.
Basic household chores
- Some pet sitting services will also have pet sitters perform basic household chores. This may include watering plants, sweeping, bringing in mail and the newspaper etc.
Pet sitters from professional pet sitting companies will hold the fort down well when you’re away. It’s always best to check what services pet sitters offer beforehand to ensure everyone’s on the same page.
You can avail these services whenever you want. Be it a vacation, business trip, sudden family emergency, or a planned weekend getaway, pet owners can reach out to professional pet sitting companies.
It is also common to look for pet sitting services when you just need a bit of alone time, or are busy even when you’re at home. In such cases, the pet sitter will take care of your pet while you take care of the rest!
If you’re looking for highly flexible pet sitting services in the UAE, then look no further! Pawland has a trusted network of more than 300+ pet sitters that know how to care for your pet. They’re all trained experts, and know just how to love your pet and give them personalised attention and care. Contact us today for more information.
You can choose any pet sitting service for as long as you’d like or need. You just need to specify the duration you need a pet sitter for when booking the service. The duration can be as short as just an hour, to as long as weeks or even months.
For more on pet sitting, check out some of our blogs below:
- How to Choose the Best Pet Sitter for Your Pet
- A Guide on How to Choose the Purrfect Cat Sitter
- Choosing Between Pet Sitting and In-Home Pet Boarding For Your Pet
- What’s best for your dog – dog sitting or in-home dog boarding?
- The Basics of Choosing the Right Dog Sitter!
- 7 Reasons to Hire a Cat Sitter in Dubai
- 6 Reasons to Choose Cat Sitting Over Cat Boarding Facilities
- Top 8 Reasons Why Cat Sitting Is Better Than Cat Boarding
- Things to consider before choosing a pet sitter
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, one of the reasons that makes pet sitting a commonly availed service is the safety factor. Pet sitting services from a reputed pet sitting company are very safe and have reliable pet sitters. While there are many freelance pet sitters, it’s always a safer option to choose pet sitting services from a professional company due to the additional layer of security that you and your pet(s) get.
Professional pet sitting companies have Protection Policies for customers, and community guidelines that their staff have to adhere to. Together, this works to offer a high degree of safety and quality in services.
Most pet sitting services from reputed pet sitting companies are affordable. You can customise the service you request to make it cost-effective. It is important to note that the cost of pet sitting services varies based on the following:
- Number of pets you want to leave with the pet sitter
- Duration of the pet sitting service
- Your location
- Pet sitter availability
- Time of the year
- Service you avail (Live-in pet sitting, drop-in visits, in-home pet boarding, etc)
Pet sitting is now becoming an umbrella term used for many other variations. The following are some common pet sitting services:
- Live-in pet sitting
- Drop-in pet visits
- In-home pet boarding
- Overnight pet sitting
- Daytime pet sitting
Of course! Trained pet sitters will know how to handle any kind of pet with any condition. Whether it be behavioural, cognitive, physiological, or biological conditions, pet sitters will provide the necessary care. They will also be able to administer medications that are required for management/treatment of these conditions.
If your pet experiences an emergency in your absence, pet sitters will have a set protocol in place to handle it smoothly. Generally, most will reach out to you and consult with you on the course of action to take. If you are not reachable, they will reach out to your emergency contact.
They will then act on the information provided. If both you and your emergency contact are not reachable, pet sitters are inclined to determine what’s best and act on it. Also, they will bear the expenses for the duration of the service and then raise an invoice for it at the end.
Other companies may take money for it beforehand and then deduct it in the sum of money you pay upfront. Any action taken will be done in the best interest of your pet at all times.
To prepare your house for a pet sitter, just make sure you make the things the pet sitter will need more accessible. For instance, toys, pet food, treats, cleaning products, and more can be kept in a location that pet sitters can easily access.
You can also provide them with a detailed description of care requirements for your pet.
Research. Go online and check the reviews of different pet sitting companies. You can then contact them to find out more about the services they offer, as well as how they charge. For more on how to find a good pet sitter from a reputed pet sitting company, check out our blogs below:
It’s always a good idea to give pet sitting companies a good amount of time to find you the right pet sitter. This means booking as soon as you can. Different pet sitting companies will have different conditions on how far in advance services have to be booked. This may range from months, weeks, days, or even just hours in advance.
