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House/dog Sitters

zilloot

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Does anybody have any experience with 'house sitters' through agencies etc..?

Would you/do you have strangers come in and look after your house and dogs?

I presume they come with references and reccomendations etc.
 
im sure there is a thread on now with dog sitters and walkers on here today? a couple of k9`rs are or were dog walkers? :thumbsup:
 
zilloot said:
Does anybody have any experience with 'house sitters' through agencies etc..?
Would you/do you have strangers come in and look after your house and dogs?

I presume they come with references and reccomendations etc.

Not through agencies, but contacted from my local vets board :thumbsup:

Absolutely Fabulous (w00t)

We spent about two hours here chatting and getting to know Ollie. We talked and talked and talked (w00t) Julie came armed with a folder full of letters of recommendation, thank you cards, pictures etc, and asked me to write down some names and numbers randomly to ring people for references.

He was a young pup, so for quite a few weeks Julie was just coming in for an hour to play with him, wee stops etc. He absolutely ADORED her :wub: Once he was ready for walking, I went out with her the first few times. It was great to see her interaction with the other dogs, and how they responded to her.

When Jacob came along, she fell in love (w00t) and only charged me half price for the second dog :thumbsup:

I never had any qualms about giving her my key, and trust her implicitly with the dogs. I think a lot of it was gut feeling really, but I was reassured by the fact that she had certificates of insurance, a van with cages, and only ever takes out four dogs (plus one of her own) on each walk.

Only touble is, she keeps asking me when I'm getting another puppy :- "
 
I have used Animal Aunts in the past but they got horrendously expensive for my hordes but the 'Aunts' were always excellent. I have found another company called Guardian Angels that I might give a go with if I know I am going to be out all day at a show mid-week or something like that.
 
There is a girl in our area that comes to stay when you go on holiday.She has notices up in the local shops. obviously too far away ffrom you but there is bound to be someone local.

I also pet sit for people on holiday, but its mainly cats and rabbits and birds that I look after, but in the past have done dogs prior to Oscar and Kobi.

I will go to their houses and feed cats etc once of twice a day and also change litter trays or clean out hutches. Ive done this since 2001, when the farm had foot and mouth - I was unindated with people asking about dogs and actually wanting me to sleep at their houses - but having family and animal committments myself couldnt possible do this - but there is a definite need for it.

ive usually gone to the house beforehand and had a chat with the family and met the animals beforehand and made sure the family are happy letting me have a key to the house etc. I had two houses over the Christmas period. :)

Theres only one problem, Ive never found anyone to come and live here to look after 2 whippets, 3 cats and 7 rabbits, fish and a hamster yet :blink:
 
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I am going to dog/house sit for my brother when they go on holiday to Africa for 17 days later this year. They have a border collie who they would not consider kennelling.

I haven't ever done this before so it will be an interesting experience. :)
 
My friends get someone in from an agency to dog sit their two Great Danes when they go on holiday. They are not cheap, but they always get complete peace of mind. I believe these agencies do police checks etc and the sitters should come with references. I only have good reports from my friends' experience.
 
I am looking for a sitter so I looked at Guardian Angels, website looks good but guess what, they don't cover yorkshire :angry:
 
I'm glad you have had good experiences. Last year I read a report in a US publication (NYTimes? New Yorker mag?) about people who had bad experiences with dog walkers. For instance one didn't actually walk the dog who was locked up in the house all day, and another liked to spend time indoors trying on her employer's clothing (or was it his employer's clothing?)
 
I have a Pet Angel from www.guardianangelservices.co.uk who comes in and walks my whippet. Excellant service.

Its a shame they don't over the whole country.

Wendy
 
Jesswhippet said:
I have a Pet Angel from www.guardianangelservices.co.uk who comes in and walks my whippet.  Excellant service.
Its a shame they don't over the whole country.

Wendy

Just got an email back from them saying that they don't do pet visiting (the thing I really wanted) but they do do home sitting for when I go on holiday so thats good to know. He sid the only reason they don't do pet visits is because they don't have a pet visiting 'angel' in this area :(
 
I have a young couple who house sit for us when we go away. As we have 7 dogs, ferrets and chickens, i would never use a visiting service, i insist they live in the house. I wouldnt be happy for the dogs to be alone at night.
 

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