en years ago, finding a good dog sitter meant walking down the street to your neighbors house and asking the local adolescent if he or she wanted to make a few bucks. Boy have times changed. Today, there are a half dozen websites where you can find a reputable, legitimate dog sitter with the click of a button. Let’s determine what the best sites and considerations are to find a human for your pup before your next trip.
The major websites
Without endorsing any specific website, it’s very easy to google “dog sitter near me” and find dozens of commercial, large companies along with local sitters in your area. From Craigslist to Rover to DogVacay to Care.com, it’s easy to sign up and find a sitter lickity split. If you don’t want to sign-up for a website, some of the more local options are probably better, but if you’re okay with taking ten minutes, then one of the major providers offers the best bang for the buck. With hundreds of reviews and thousands of sitters nationwide, just take your time and slowly browse through these sites; you’ll find someone who matches in no time.
What to look out for
Like Yelp, most of the dog websites are stock full of reviews and verifications so you know what you’re getting. Unfortunately, you’ll quickly see that dog sitting isn’t cheap! Always better than boarding, having a human sit your dog in a one-on-one or close to it setting is going to cost a few bucks. You’ll quickly notice that the more reviewed and less available someone is, there’s a good chance this person is more expensive. As you can imagine, gaining a reputation as a quality dog sitter gets the sitter a lot of business! You may be tempted to go with someone new or someone inexpensive, but just like everything, you get what you pay for. Watch out for red flags like inexperience with medicines, no close outdoor areas nearby, and inexperience or inability to talk intelligently about different breeds. If you have a hyper pup, someone who doesn’t look very active might not be a great fit. Similarly, if your pup is very docile, and the dog sitter has hyperactive children in the house, it might be wise to consider other options. Just be mindful.