Have you ever noticed when dogs sleep on your bed, they usually lay right between your legs and put you in the most uncomfortable positions?  However, I  have to go on record saying that I love when my boarders sleep in our bed with us.  Of course they can’t all sleep on our bed – that’s why I have my two boys take some of the dogs.  They actually fight over which dog will get to sleep with them.

With that said, not all dogs are good candidates for sleeping on the human bed.

5 good reasons why Fido may not be welcome on the bed:

Excessive licking! I’ve been woken up by the wonderful sound (not) of a dog licking their paws or other areas!  Bigger dogs can even rock the bed back and forth.  Stress, boredom or a medical problem can lead to excessive licking.  Elicit the help of a professional dog behaviorist, vet or trainer that can help you with this problem.  Usually a good nudge will stop them.

My Sitter Wendy in Bed with Some Friends

Small Bladder – Some dogs can’t or won’t hold their bladder the entire night.  This too could be caused by a medical condition such as a Urinary Tract Infection/Bladder Infection. Also, young puppies have a hard time holding their bladder.  Either way, you can get up a couple times a night or a better idea would be to put them in a crate or enclosed in an area with a gate – preferably on tile and maybe with some pee pads.  Of course you’ll need a soft, comfortable dog bed for Fido to sleep on.

Nervous, fidgety or hyper behavior.  Sometimes when we get a new dog boarding with us, they can be nervous, and it’s hard for them to settle down.  They jump on and off the bed and roam aimlessly around the house.  Both of those actions make it hard for me to sleep especially if I don’t know what the dog is up to as they check out the house all night!  They usually calm down the second night, but a crate may be an option in this case also.  If your dog does this every night, he may not be getting enough exercise during the day.  Make sure they go to the dog park or get a nice, long walk everyday.

Old, Injury or weak hindquarters – When my late dog got older, she no longer could jump on the bed with us.  It was a sad transition for us and we really missed her being close.  Dog leg injuries or other medical conditions can also prevent them from jumping up and down on the bed or other furniture.  Please consult your vet in these situations.  Again, make the transition smoother by getting them proper bedding and put it close to you on the floor so they know your not too far away.

A typical night at my sitter Frank's house

Aggression towards you or your bed partner.  I’ve heard many stories about dogs that won’t let your spouse near you and will growl and/or try to bite.  According to Pat Miller, CPDT and training editor of the Whole Dog Journal, “Never punish your dog for growling.  Punishment is likely to make his behavior worse because your aggression will add to his stress”.  This doesn’t mean they are automatically banished from the bed, but you will need to bring in a professional that can help you counter condition this behavior.  Tread carefully on this one – you don’t want to make the situation worse.

So, if you do have kick Fido off the bed, please make sure you get them a good, comfortable dog bed that fits them properly.  If your dog likes to stretch out, buy a little bigger bed than needed.  I know money is tight these days, but this isn’t where your want to scrimp.  If you’ve ever slept on an uncomfortable bed, you know how important it is to sleep in comfort especially for those older or injured dogs.

Now go take a nap!

Chris L Wagner

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

Waggy’s Holistic Pet Food

The last two posts about the pet sitting business, educated you about the pros of dog boarding and cons of dog boarding.  Now it’s time to discuss pet services in the clients home.  In home pet services are when the pet sitter goes to the client’s home to take care of their pets and home.  This may include walks, feeding and changing their water, cleaning out the litter box, administering medication and/or injections, playing with them, picking up waste, and anything else the owner wants.  It can also include watering plants, taking in the mail, garbage, turning blinds etc.

Overnight pet services are also included in this category.  Overnight pet services are when the sitter goes to a clients home in the evening and spends the night with their pets. Usually, the owner will let you sleep in a guest bedroom or their own.  If you feel uncomfortable about sleeping in someone’s bed, you can always bring a sleeping bag and sleep on top of the bed.

Phantom lounging on his mommy's bed

For my pet sitting business, I choose to board dogs in my home and do very few in home pet visits.  I prefer to stay at home and not drive all around town.  The only pet visits I do now are ones that I’ve been doing for years as it’s very hard to say no and not to mention that you get attached to the animals.

When I first started out, I tried everything and weeded out what I didn’t like to do.  However, if you decide you don’t want to do a specific service, it’s hard to say no to a client you’ve been servicing for a while.  Getting yourself clear at the beginning will alleviate a lot of stress later.

So, if your still on the fence, here’s the pros and cons of Pet Services and Overnight Pet Visits in the clients home:

Pro’s:

• You get to play with animals all day!  Each home you go to has different animals with all new adventures.

• In home pet visits can be very profitable.  Depending on your rates, you can make hundreds of dollars a day.  For instances, if you charge $20 a visit and have 12 visits a day, that’s $240 a day.  Of course it take years to have a regular clientele that can afford you this many visits.

• You will get plenty of exercising walking dogs and being outdoors is a plus.  9 times out of 10, they will want their dogs walked and that could be a lot of walking!  Of course cats don’t need to be walked.  If you are unable to walk this much, then pet sitting is not for you.

• You can make your own hours.  You establish how early and how late you are willing to perform your duties.

• Variety.  In addition to sitting dogs and cats, there are a number of other animals – Rabbits, birds, hamsters and the other rodent varieties.  Let not forget those reptiles!  If you’re lucky enough to live in a rural area, you can visit farm animals. Of course if you’re afraid of reptiles, you don’t have to do the job.  They are so few and far between, that it won’t affect your bottom.

That's me with a Boa!!

• For Overnight visits you can think of them as mini-vacations.  There’s no laundry or errands to do – Just keep their pets happy.

Con’s:

• Pet Sitting is not for late morning risers.  Depending on the dog’s access to the outside to go potty, you may need to be at your clients home, usually no later than 7:00 am, and let them out at night for a last potty break in the evening around 8:00 or 9:00 pm.  These times will be worked out with the owner at the initial consultation.

• However, many dogs have access to the back yard and cats can be visited at any designated time during the day.  The most common times that people need pet visits is in the morning, sometimes mid day and evening.  Depending on how many visits you have, you’ll have free time in between

• If getting up early in the morning doesn’t appeal to you, you can always specialize in cats or mid day walks, but keep in mind this will limit the amount of your income.

• You will have to do a lot of driving around town.  Know how far you will be willing to drive before you market yourself to a certain area.  You don’t want to drive 20-30 minutes for a 30 minute visit.  That just doesn’t make sense unless you charge a service fee for out of area clients.  This may not apply if you live in rural areas and the homes are spread out.

Whitey the super predator cat!

• Pet sitters work 24/7.  People go on vacation all the time and will need their pets to be looked after on the weekends too.  I have been at social functions and had to leave for ½ hour to do a visit.  It’s only for a short time and people may not even miss that you’re gone, but it’s hard to leave. Once you are with the animals, however, all is well with the world.  They’ll put a smile on your face every time and you won’t miss being somewhere else.  But, if you go away for the weekend a lot, or your children need to travel for sports, this may not work for you.

• If you have an infant or toddler children, you will not be able to take them to the clients homes.  The likely hood for injury is just too great and it would be very unprofessional.  You are there for the clients animals and small children are just too distracting.  You should be the only person entering the clients home.  It’s a business just like any other.

• Exhaustion.  If you’re that busy, hire an employee or Independent Contractor to take up the slack or learn to say NO!  Remember, you got into this because you love animals.  If you’re exhausted, you won’t be able to enjoy yourself.  Pet Sitting has a high burn out rate, so you need to construct your business to your life.  Believe me, it can take over your life in an instant!

• Overnights can be hard if you have children or choose to board dogs in your home.  Seriously talk this over with your significant other to decide if this is something you can live with.  Some overnight assignments can be a week or more.  An overnight here or there may be all you’re willing to do.

I realize that pet sitting sounds like the most fun, awesome job in the world, but it is a business with pros and cons.  Think very carefully before you dive in.  Do you have the time it takes to market yourself?  Do you want to work weekends and holidays?  Talk to other pet sitters (out of your area) and get the real scoop from them.  I’ve had a few calls from people thinking about getting into the business.  We love to help other animal lovers!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

Holistic Pet Food

My last post on the pet sitting business dealt with the Pros of Boarding Dogs in your home and there are many positive aspects.  However, if you’re thinking of becoming a pet sitter, you will need to know some of the downsides to make an informed decision.  Don’t get me wrong, I love having the dogs in my home and they bring me untold happiness, but it’s not all hugs and kisses.  With that being said, the pros far outweigh the cons.

7 Downsides to Private Dog Boarding in your home

A typical night at my sitter's Franks House

Garden can get destroyed.  If you like to garden and have a lush green lawn and want to keep it that way, this is not for you!  I love to garden and have had to put barriers around certain garden beds to keep them from trampling the plants.  Let’s face it, when you get a bunch of dogs together, they will rough house and run around.  That’s want you want them to do.  You want them to have a great time!  As you can see from this Waggy’s video of Murphy the Dane and Norman the Bulldog that I have barriers around my plants. They’ve been there a while now and need to be replaced.  Also, my son needs to mow the lawn!

As for your lawn, Forget about it!  Unless you have artificial grass, you will have urine burns and patches where the lawn just doesn’t grow anymore.  Oh yea, don’t forget to buy a big pooper scooper for the backyard!  For tips on how to have a more pet friendly back yard, please read my interview with Elizabeth Bublitz of PawFriendly Landscapes.

Going potty in your home.   No matter how old or potty trained they are, some will relieve themselves in your home.  There are just too many smells and they can’t help it.  I always have them go out in the back yard when they first arrive to get that out of the way.  It would be best if you had tile or wood flooring on most of the areas that the dogs will be in.  9 times out of 10, if they go, they will go on my area rugs and not my tile.  Same goes for poop and vomit!

Dog fights.  Screen carefully for aggressive behavior in dogs.  If you have a dog that doesn’t get along with other dogs, you will be looking for trouble.  Even with non aggressive dogs, the rough housing can get heated and you have to watch it very carefully.

Wendy with her dog Honey and friends

Can’t be spontaneous about vacations.  Once you build up a regular clientele, it’s likely that you could have boarders everyday especially during summer vacations and holidays.  It’s OK to have your vacations and time away, you just have to put it on your calendar far in advance and don’t book clients during that time.  If you’re the spontaneous type that likes to go away at a drop of a hat, boarding is not for you.

Clean up. There is a lot of cleaning you have to do.  From the dog hair, to accidents to dribble across the room from drinking out of the dog bowl.  Get a good vacuum and mop and make friends with your broom.  I have a wonderful steam cleaner for hard surfaces that sterilizes with water.  It great for tile floors.

To my surprise there hasn’t been a lot of damage done to my house (except my carpets!) as you would expect.  However, I’ve had pillows chewed up and some scratches on my furniture.  If you have a house full of antique figurines and white furniture, put the figurines away and get slip covers for your couches because they will go on your furniture.  I have a leather couch and one that has a slip cover on it.  I just pop it into the washer to clean it.  99.9% of my clients have inside dogs, so, if you’re reading this and thinking, I’ll just keep them outside, think again.  Your clients want them to be in the house – that’s the point.  Here’s another video by Murphy and Norman rough housing on the “dogs” furniture.

You must put a fence around your pool.  As they’re running around the backyard, sometimes they can fall into the pool, and they’ll try to get out where they fell in. It’s a struggle for them to get out and if you’re not there, they could drown.  That would be devastating for you and of course for your clients.  It’s just unthinkable.  If you’re out there every time they are playing, it’s OK, but just like a child, you can’t take that chance.  This is definitely a time when it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Forget about sleeping in.   Dogs don’t care what day of the week it is and they usually wake up with the sun.  If you’re a night owl and like to sleep in, private dog boarding is not for you.

Private boarding is a lot like day care for kids.  You treat them as if they are children because to their owners, these dogs are the light of their life and you can never forget that.   We have a lot of fun boarding dogs as long as you keep the number to a reasonable amount.

Now go out and mop your floor.

Chris L. Wagner

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

In June, it will be my 5th anniversary for being in the pet sitting business and most of that time, I’m been boarding dogs in my home.  Yes, you heard me right, my own home.  That’s why I’m a crazy, mad pet sitter!

Dylan in pool with Dogs

Periodically I get calls from people that want to become a pet sitter and are looking for advice on what it’s like and which direction to go.  In this post, I’m going to concentrate what it’s REALLY like to have dogs stay in your home without cages or kennels.

In the beginning, I did everything, from staying overnight at the client’s home, visits to boarding dogs.  Being the homebody that I am, it soon became apparent that I prefer to have the dogs at home with me.  My clients love the fact that their dog is with a family getting attention 24 hours a day. If you had the choice of a kennel or a family watching your dog and spoiling them rotten, which would you choose?

The mission of my business is to have my clients feel absolutely worry free about their pets while they are basking in the sun on a beach in some exotic country.  It’s the best feeling in the world when they tell us that they didn’t worry the whole time they were gone!

For this post, I’m going to concentrate on the pros of dog boarding.  Please read this and my next post to fully comprehend both sides of the story.

The Pros of Private Dog Boarding:

1. You can work from home. This is great if you have young children or retired. However, you must screen for aggressive dog behavior before you take them in.  Always have a consultation in your home first to access the dog for any unwanted behavior.
   

   Me with Cooper

2. There is less competition.  Most sitters do pet visits at the clients homes and don’t provide boarding.  You can carve a nice niche for yourself.
3. You can regulate how many dogs you have at a time.  If you don’t have help, my advice is only take in as many dogs as you can walk at one time.  Please check with your city’s regulations on the amount of dogs you can have overnight.
4. You can get to know the dogs on a deeper level.  Consequently, the more they get to know you, the more relaxed and better behaved they are.  Their comfort level rises and they’re more calm.   After awhile, they feel like your own dog which is a wonderful thing.
5. You don’t have to drive around town to visit the pets – they come to you.  Some pet sitters have several visits a day and can spend a full day on the road.  When the price of gas goes up, that effects your bottom line.
6. There is an enormous need for private boarding.  Once they find out about you, they will never go back to using kennels.  You are providing a safe, loving environment for the dogs, and for the client, it’s a dream come true which is a good selling point.
7. You will get to know many different breeds of dogs and their behavior characteristics.  This true for any service you do, but you’ll have a deeper understanding when you can observe them for longer periods of time.
8. You’ll have the funniest stories and memories to talk about.  You can just watch a Bulldog for entertainment!  Dogs can be a blast to be around and bring so much joy into your life.
   

   Me with Kayla and Thanda Chillin'

9. You can also do Dog Day Care to supplement your income.  Pet Sitting is very cyclical and Dog Day Care can fill in those gaps.  You can have more during the day, but not all will spend the night.
10. 10.  If you are fortunate to live on acreage, you could set up outside provisions for the dogs.  Maybe a climate controlled building and fenced in space for the dogs to run and play.  Again, please check with your cities regulations.
11. 11.  And last, but not least, the best reason of all –  you will get unconditional love all day long!   And that, my friends is what pet sitting is all about!

You can only be in the pet sitting business if you have a deep love for animals.  It’s not all just playing and loving on the dogs – it’s a business and they don’t always behave like you want them to. So,  with that said, stay tuned for the Cons of Private Dog Boarding you may not feel so warm and fuzzy as you do now.

Now go out and throw your dog a bone!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

I truly hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas celebration with family and friends.  For me, it was very low key this year.  At least I didn’t have to cook (not that anyone likes my cooking).  If you didn’t read about the dogs that are boarding with me in the last two installments, you can go to Christmas at Waggy’s part 1 and Christmas at Waggy’s Part 2.

On with the story, Libby the Lab left on Christmas Eve and Julie the Lab came to stay on December 26th.

Julie the Lab came to visit

It’s been so fantastic to have such a good group of dogs staying with us.  Overall, they have been very mellow and well behaved.  However, we did have a very “humping” group.  Cooper the Cocker wouldn’t leave Lucy the Labradoodle alone!  He wasn’t the only one.

We went to the Dog Park everyday to get all their energy out.  With a large group of dogs, it’s crucial that they get a change of scenery and plenty of exercise.  Thank Goodness, my son’s were home on vacation to help me walk the dogs.   We look like “Dogs on Parade” walking down the street as people look at us like we’re crazy to have so many dogs.  I politely let them know that they’re not mine.

Thank you for letting me show you a glimpse of what it’s like to board dogs in your home.  I will be blogging about the details in future posts.  For now, please enjoy the rest of the pictures and I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

That was fun ripping up all the paper! Daisy

Simon Says, "Act like a dog"

And to all a good night. Simon and Lucy

Having fun at the local Dog Park

Chris and her entourage lounging on a cold night

Cooper relaxing after opening presents

It's good to be with friends when opening presents! Simon, Daisy and Cooper

Hey, where's my present? Lucy and Ella

The gang's all here!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Products Online Store

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog