who baby sits your pets, when you go on vacation?...

[AsscherGirl]

Date: 3/2/2006 7:12:05 PM
Author: CareBear

Date: 3/2/2006 6:50:44 PM
Author: kaleigh
I have a pet sitter that comes to my house 3 times a day to let my dogs out and feed my bird. It costs $15 a day, and she gets my mail and newspapers too.

Kaleigh, how do you find a reputable pet sitter? I assume you have to give the person your keys and access to your house when you are not home.

Carebear,
My fi''s mom is a pet sitter and most of her business is now through referrals. If someone you know uses a pet-sitter & they recommend them, most likely they are reputable.

Also, I think it''s in your best interest to find someone who is insured & bonded. My fi''s mom also meets all of her clients before-hand in order to acclimate herself with the pet (& the owner). It''s an interesting business - she certainly has some funny stories!

Kaleigh - your sitter is sooooo cheap! But if you''ve been using her for 10 years, that makes sense!

 

[FireGoddess]

I leave the kitty at home. I get a friend to come in and give her some food, put some catnip on her toys, etc. She''s fraidy anyway and would hate being boarded - at least at home she can frolic in her own domain. She''s pissed at me when I get back for lack of company, but she''s the one who doesn''t come out and play so....what can ya do?

 

[msdarlinjoy]

When we go away we have my parents come over, they live close enough that it isn't a burden.

We have also had my neighbor's teenage daughter come over (When parents are away) to take care of the 2 doggies, 1 kitty, 2 rabbits ... water the flower boxes in the front, all for $100.00/week. She is very responsible, so the age wasn't a problem there for us. There are some wonderfully responsible young adults out there, just have to weed thru them, and I feel that if I have faith in them to watch my young children, they should be able to take care of my animals too.

 

[upgrading mama]

my in-laws usually watch our dog bc we live on the same property, in 2 houses. It''s very convenient. They jsut have to feed her and let her in at night.

If they are away, we take her with us to my parents, which is usually where we would be heading.. (going from Canada to upstate NY).

 

[gailrmv]

I hope I am not a bad dog mom. We have no relatives in the area, and my two dogs are a tad rambunctious to board with friends. I just feel it''s too burdensome to ask a friend to come by several times a day. Plus my younger pup Claire would destroy the house if she was not crated, and I feel it''s cruel to leave her crated all day and night. In summary, all this means they board at our local vet. They get to go out and play in the yard/take care of business 3 times per day at least, they get schmancy Science Diet, unless I bring their usual Eukanuba, and frm the looks of things they get overfed. They usually get the big kennel since there are two of them and they play together all the time. It costs $16/dog/day. IT does add up, there are some surcharges, so we rarely go for long trips anymore. We have one coming up and I already dread having to drop them off. I think it is harder on me than on them though, they seem to be happy enough about it. They always come home a little chubbier and very thirsty - they don''t drink as much when they don''t have constant access to the outdoors. When finances improve I''d like to take them somewhere nice to board but this works for us for now! And it is usually only about 6 weekends, tops, and maybe 2 weeks out of the year when we are gone. We like to take vacations where they can come too!

 

[monarch64]

We leave our little boy in the care of one of our very good bachelor friends. He house sits as well as dog sits for us. On short weekend trips, we leave him with my husband''s parents, who live only about 10 minutes away, and have another dog about his size who he loves to play with.

We''ve had a couple bad experiences in which Milo has made himself sick with separation anxiety when we''ve left him in the care of our friend in our own home. Unfortunately it has deterred us from taking longer trips the past couple years since we''ve had him.

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

My dog is an Army-Brat! He has traveled more than some people. When we lived near my parents, they watched him. When we lived near the in-laws, they watched him. When we are not near these two choices, I have to find suitable replacement. I generally take to "camp" type places. The best place we ever took him to was near Monterey, CA. It had a "good dog only" policy. She had a ball thrower, pool, obstacle courses etc. He got a bath before he came home and slept for days.

Anyone know of a good place in the Kansas City area?

 

[jokerselsa]

Our dogs are completely spoiled,Andwith us almost all the time. Its going to be hard leaving them when we go on vacation. Last time we took them with us on a vacation to N.C. and then down to Fla.
But that time we were staying with friends in N.C. and using a friends vacation house in Fla.
This time we are staying at a resort with no pets allowed.
My hubby doesnt have family that is able to care for them while we are gone.(We care for his parents who have end stage alzheimers and dementia) And most of my family is out of state or too busy. So thru referal from our church pastor, We are having a pet sitter come in 3 half hour visits a day. Although when we interviewed him, I encouraged him to make himself at home and play pool take a hot tub watch HD t.v. etc.......... LOL, anything I could do to entice him to stay longer with our kids.
I just hope worrying about them doesnt ruin my vacation.