Pet caregivers do much more than just provide your beloved pet with food and water. A good sitter will also spend some quality time with your animal, give him exercise and also know how to tell whether they need veterinary attention. Furthermore, dog sitters typically provide additional services like bringing newspapers, watering plants, turning on lights and providing homes with lived like look to scare away thieves. However, just because someone calls himself a dog/cat sitter does not make them good at it. By reading this article, you will be equipped with useful tips for choosing the best pet sitters in Houston TX.
Amongst your friends, neighbors and colleagues, you cannot fail to find someone who has worked with a good pet caregiver in the recent past. Input from such people is usually very invaluable as they have firsthand experience. However, you should not make your decision based on referrals alone. There are several other factors you will need to consider when looking for the best caregivers around.
Once you find a handful of animal sitters in your area, the next step is to eliminate them one by one so that you only remain with the best. You can start the elimination process by considering experience. You should always look for a sitter who has experience in caring for your type of animal. For instance, if you have a dog, you should always look for someone who has worked with dogs for sometime as opposed to one who is only familiar with cats.
When meeting the sitter, it would also be good be good to find out if he/she has commercial liability insurance to cater for accidents with your pets or negligence in your home. For instance, should the caregiver accidentally break your kitchen window playing with the dog, his/her insurer should always cater for the damage. Apart from the commercial liability cover, the sitter will also need to have a personal injury cover.
Cost of contracting the sitter is also very important. Despite the fact that you want to hire the most competent sitter, there is also the question of how much you can afford to pay them. This therefore calls for comparison shopping. After all, choosing the most expensive caregiver will not guarantee you quality services.
While it is not necessary for a dog sitter to hold bachelors degree, it would be good if you can find someone with basic training on animal caring. If you can find a professionally certified sitter, that would be an added advantage. There are various organizations that provide certification to animal caregivers after they have been trained on basic pet handling, routine care and crisis prevention.
Before you let any sitter start working for you, you should also ask him for a binding contract. This will ensure that everybody know his/her roles and what to expect from the other party. However, before you append your signature on the said contract, you should be sure that you understand its contents.
The bottom line is that hiring a pet sitter can be very stressful. However, it is something that is worth doing. At the same time, you should also realize that finding a great sitter is not something you will be able to achieve overnight.
Amongst your friends, neighbors and colleagues, you cannot fail to find someone who has worked with a good pet caregiver in the recent past. Input from such people is usually very invaluable as they have firsthand experience. However, you should not make your decision based on referrals alone. There are several other factors you will need to consider when looking for the best caregivers around.
Once you find a handful of animal sitters in your area, the next step is to eliminate them one by one so that you only remain with the best. You can start the elimination process by considering experience. You should always look for a sitter who has experience in caring for your type of animal. For instance, if you have a dog, you should always look for someone who has worked with dogs for sometime as opposed to one who is only familiar with cats.
When meeting the sitter, it would also be good be good to find out if he/she has commercial liability insurance to cater for accidents with your pets or negligence in your home. For instance, should the caregiver accidentally break your kitchen window playing with the dog, his/her insurer should always cater for the damage. Apart from the commercial liability cover, the sitter will also need to have a personal injury cover.
Cost of contracting the sitter is also very important. Despite the fact that you want to hire the most competent sitter, there is also the question of how much you can afford to pay them. This therefore calls for comparison shopping. After all, choosing the most expensive caregiver will not guarantee you quality services.
While it is not necessary for a dog sitter to hold bachelors degree, it would be good if you can find someone with basic training on animal caring. If you can find a professionally certified sitter, that would be an added advantage. There are various organizations that provide certification to animal caregivers after they have been trained on basic pet handling, routine care and crisis prevention.
Before you let any sitter start working for you, you should also ask him for a binding contract. This will ensure that everybody know his/her roles and what to expect from the other party. However, before you append your signature on the said contract, you should be sure that you understand its contents.
The bottom line is that hiring a pet sitter can be very stressful. However, it is something that is worth doing. At the same time, you should also realize that finding a great sitter is not something you will be able to achieve overnight.
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