You’d never know it judging by Northern California’s weather lately, but Summer is coming and it’s time to revisit how the hot weather can impact our pets.

If you’ve had dogs all your life, you may know some of these hot weather tips, but if you’re a new dog owner, I hope they help you to keep your pets safe this summer.

Here’s a video of my dog boarders having fun in the pool!

Pool Play

Here at Waggy’s Pet Sitting, the first of our dog boarders have christened the pool and are enjoying playing in the water. Before I started boarding dogs, we had taken the fence down and were enjoying how our yard looked without the obstruction of the black mesh fence.

It didn’t take long for us to put it back up after we started taking in dog boarders. It was so stressful thinking that one would fall in, panic and not remember where the stairs are and drown. I’ve even had very agile dogs fall due to running around the yard and getting too close to the edge.

So, being worry free had to win out over the beauty of the yard. Remember to always supervise pets while they’re in the pool.

Never leave your dog in the car!

Whenever I can, I bring my dog boarders with me when I do errands. That all stops once the weather starts to get warm. The temperature in the car can rise to over 100 degrees in a matter of minutes and can be fatal.

Get out the sunscreen and insect repellent.

The sun does not discriminate between humans or animals. They can burn and get skin cancer just like we do. Make sure to get their noses including inside their nostrils, exposed lips, tips of the ears if they have ears that stand up. Your light colored dogs are even more susceptible to burns. Be careful not to get the sunscreen in their eyes. I’ve done that to myself and it burns and stings. If your in a high insect area, purchase insect repellent made for animals.

Make sure they have plenty of water.

Leave an extra bowl or water chiller outside with fresh cool water for all your pets. If your outside water bowl is left out too long, bacteria can form and possibly make your dog sick, not to mention all the bugs that float in, but don’t get out. When walking your dog, have a water device so you can give your dog frequent water breaks.

You may have to change your exercise and walking routine.

Where I live in Northern California, it get over 100 degrees on many of our Summer days. Therefore, I have to adjust the walking schedule of my dogs. If we haven’t walked by at most 8am, it will be too hot and we’ll have to wait until the sun goes down. Always bring water with you on the walk or jog and give to your dog if you see that he’s panting excessively. Always check for signs of heat stroke.

I lived in Arizona for a couple of years and not only did you have to walk them at the crack of dawn or night, but their paws can burn on the concrete or street. If your dog will wear them, dog booties will keep their paws from burning.

Play indoors more.

I often throw a ball down my hallway for the dogs. You can even run them up and down the stairs, or play with their favorite dog toy with them. I’m used to dogs playing in my house and I realize this may not be the case for everyone.

Water play

Keep them cool even if they don’t have a pool to swim in. One of my sitters gets a couple of plastic play pools and the dogs have a great time. Sometimes I cool them down with the hose, but not for too long. I don’t want to waste precious water.

Keep uneaten food up.

We get a ton of flies in the Summer. Uneaten food especially wet food, can get inundated with flies and/or ants. If your dog or cat likes to nibble, take the food off the floor and put it in the refrigerator. You can offer it to him in a little while. However, if they don’t eat their breakfast, it’s best to throw it away and start with a fresh bowl for dinner due to bacteria getting into the food.

Go to a Pet First Aid Class.

Pet first aid classes are a must for any pet owner and/or pet sitter. They teach you the basics of pet first aid including knowing the signs of Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion. The American Red Cross has classes and leaves you with a full color Pet First Aid reference book. You can read my prior post on Heat Stroke here.

Keep your pets coat trimmed down.

More frequent trips to the pet groomer may be in order especially for long, thick coats. Be sure to check with your groomer if this is right for your pet. Grooming certain kinds of dogs may not be the best option as their coat may help keep them cool in hot weather. Shave down to about an inch long for extra protection from the sun.

Watch human outdoor play.

Hot weather brings out the gardener and BBQ king in all of us. Be aware of the lawn fertilizers, pesticides and sprays that your using. Use pet friendly options whenever possible. My dog used to stand by my husband waiting for scraps or juice to drop from the BBQ! When having friends over for Summer fun, please ask that they don’t give your pets table scraps as some may be toxic or just plain bad for them.

Watch out for snakes.

I recently wrote a post on Venomous Snakes and how to prevent you and your pets from getting bitten.

Visit your Veterinarian

Visit your vet and stock up on flea, tick and heart worm meds. Make sure your pet is tested for heart worms in you aren’t on a year round routine.

Do you have hot weather tips that I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear them.

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’ve never owned a cat and actually had to ask people how they got their cat to go in a litter box.  What I’ve gleaned from their answers is that they just magically do it somehow.

I think this cat needs a 12 step program!

Obviously, I’m a big dog lover and didn’t know much about cats until I started pet sitting and had to get to know them very quickly.  I have learned that not all cats want to scratch your eyes out and hiss at you.  I’ve grown to appreciate their beauty and  their subtle affection.

But, what is it about the catnip?  I’ve always been curious about how catnip effects cats and why does it make them go crazy.

Here’s what I learned:

• Catnip is a perennial herb in the mint family – Labiatae.  It originally came here from the Mediterranean, but it’s now native to North America and Canada.

• The active ingredient that makes cats react is called Nepetalactone.  This chemical goes through their olfactory system that only cats have a receptor for.  This is what makes them roll around in it, rub their bodies and for a few minutes act like their having an LSD trip.  It only lasts for about 15 minutes at most and can’t happen again for over an hour or so.

• It’s not the smell of the catnip herb that makes cats go crazy but the Nepetalactone that triggers this response. They’re not sure why the cat’s brain reacts in such a way.

• If you have tried catnip toys,  but don’t see any response, don’t be alarmed.  Not all cats will react to it.  Very young kitties and older cats are less likely to have a reaction to catnip. Actually, the reaction to catnip is hereditary.   That’s why some cats will have a huge reaction and some won’t.  About 10-30% of cats don’t have any reaction no matter what age they are.

When I chose to offer catnip on my store, I wanted a natural, organic choice.   Waggy’s organic catnip is harvested in the USA and is USDA certified organically grown with no stems or fillers, and it’s Oko-Tex Certified Safe!  You can read about Oko-Tek in the prior post, Eco Friendly on Steriods – Oko-Tex Standard 100 certification.

I think I’ve satisfied my curiosity and hope that you’ve learned a little something too.

Now go out and give your kitties and nice scratch behind the ears!

Chris L Wagner

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales