dogsitting at dogs home

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
so, after a lot of thinking I have decided that even though my dog is old(er) and has good and not-so-good days, I can't stop leaving because I am afraid to leave her, so I have decided to make a trip. meaning, I will be two weeks of.

I am still waiting for Rija's usual sitter in that type of situation, but have been thinking about having a sitter at my home, where my dog feels the best.

I have seen on social media that people leave for holiday and someone comes and stays at their place so that the animal doesn't have a change.

did someone ever used this option and can recommend someone/something / internet site for that?

2

There is a Facebook group called Pets /Petsitters in Zurich Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/pets.zurich.community/
It looks like the posts are not just limited to Zurich (?)
Sometimes people post that they are available to stay in the pets home(for example you can scroll to a post from 21 December)
Good luck!

3

I’ve always had our sitter stay in my home, including overnight, while I travel. As each of mine aged and faced the usual changes and challenges, staying in their own home, where everything is set up for their comfort and safety, made our being gone much easier. No adjustment to an new environment meant less stress.

Of even more importance, I am 10 minutes from an outstanding clinic with 24/7 ICU care - and there have been several times when the sitter had to respond to an emergency while caring for them. In an emergency I want my dogs to go to my vet not to a stranger who does not know their history.

The added bonus is that the house is not empty - there is a measure of security.

The sitter and I agree on how much time during the day she will be away from the home, this varies with the needs of the dogs at the time. If there is a time when the dogs cannot be left at all, I need to hire a second person to come over for a few hours each day, so that the sitter has some time for herself.

My sitter has retired and is not taking on new clients, unfortunately. (She still helps me out, to the limits of her ability, out of kindness.)

I have been searching for a replacement for a good ten years - it is not a common form of sitting service, and I tend to have dogs with special needs on top of that. Recently someone contacted me via Petsitting24 who offers this, but her coverage area is a long way from you. However, if you put an ad in Petsitting24 describing what you need, who knows, you may find someone in your area.
https://petsitting24.ch/en/

If you live in a holiday or tourism area, you might have more luck finding someone, by the way.

Be aware that prices for this kind of sitting will be high. You are paying for 24 hours minus the X hours you agree the sitter will be free. At typical Swiss hourly rates…

In other threads some EF pet owners have recommended Trusted Housesitters. This is a swap where people looking for holiday accomodation in Switzerland stay at your place, in exchange for caring for your pet. This would never work for me because of the level of care mine need, but it seems to have been a good solution for other owners. You can search for those posts, perhaps contact those EFers who have used this service for more information.

Hope you find the care that best fits your dog’s needs.

4
as an owner of a dog who is showing his age not so much physically but rather in bouts of anxiety triggered by being left alone, I appreciate your deliberations.

I am currently deliberating how I can maintain the dog’s well-being alongside my own (when it involves travel, both for work and/or social input)

I sit pets via Trusted Housesitters, however it has always been a situation where the location is like returning home (friends come to me if necessary, depending on the needs of the animal(s) I am carimg for). I have experienced an overlap where the people taking over after me needed just as much help taking care of themselves as the dog , so I would be very cautious going down this route. It can, however, also work out very well, particularly if you connect with someone who travels to your region frequently.

5
Hi! I actually house sitted via Englishforum before.

Previously mentioned fb group is good too,

I recommend petsitting24.ch as well!

6
We used to use Trusted Housesitters regularly for our old cat. We always shortlisted 3 applicants and interviewed them by Zoom before making a decision. Apart from one sitter who seemed perfectly normal in the interview but turned out to be quite mad - put cleaning materials in a food coolbox, rearranged half our house and kitchen, and we found sleeping on the patio with the house dark and all locked up when we got home, even though we had rung to say we would be home in 2 hours - it worked out really well, and a couple of sitters were absolutely outstanding. The mad woman was a total exception. As with all of life, you find 20% of people you really get on with, a very small minority for whom you feel complete antipathy, and the rest in between who are perfectly fine but you feel no particular personal connection. But then you don't need to - you just need to be confident they will look after your critter.

It's an option to consider; but obviously if your dog needs particular care, you need to be very picky who you choose, and the further in advance you start looking, the more time you have to find someone you're comfortable with. In some ways we didn't like using Trusted Housesitters, but that was because we're a bit anti-social and don't much like having people in our home - especially feeling you have to be a host just as you leave and arrive home again - not because we weren't confident of the sitters.

We stopped using Trusted Housesitters after our old cat died, because the new one normally travels with us now. We also now occasionally use the local Tierhotel, which is also the local rescue centre just around the corner from the vet hospital that is our critters' everyday vet - but only when we have to go to the UK and either it's not fair to keep the cat in hotel rooms for 2 weeks or we have to fly. We're putting them both in for a week in March because we're flying, and it will be the dog's first time in the two+ years we've had him and he will absolutely hate it and be scared we won't come back. But with elderly rellies in the UK, we need to train him to use it when it's not urgent so that he's used to it when the time comes, as it will, that we need to head over there in an emergency.

In short: using sitters is a great solution (especially THS, which is effectively a free exchange of services for accommodation) but do your due diligence; but it may also be worth checking out local kennels and building up familiarity in case you ever need to travel at short notice.

7
Just pointing out to anyone thinking of becoming a dog sitter - sitting in the client's home still seems to be a market niche needing filled.

Especially if you can care for elderly pets or pets with special needs.

If you are trustworthy, flexible, reliable, a 'problem solver', and of course have the necessary canine/feline skills - maybe something to think about.

8
I routinely sit for Trusted Housesitters but haven't since COVID. I think it's a great model, as I think animals are less stressed when they stay in their own environment. But yes, definitely do your due diligence. I never had an issue with a sit or an owner, but I'm sure there are potential issues on both sides of a sit. For me, it's a great way to get my dog fix without actually owning a dog .

9
I think it really depends on the dog: if your dog is not anxious with you leaving the house for some time --> then a better solution would be someone to just come 2/3 times per day --> do the walking and natural needs thing/ refresh food and water and just go. Should work for a couple of days.

For longer vacations, we try to take our doggo with us.

From my POV --> I really have a problem with inviting a stranger into our home (even if it's a rental) and sleep in our beds, etc.

10
What sort of dog and where do you live may be useful to know...

11
Hi, I'm available, discreet, reliable, respectful of other property, non-smoker and have references.

12
I’ve “house sat” before. I stayed in my own home but I came 3 times a day for short walks, cuddle sessions, feeding etc. A trusted next door neighbor did the very first and very last let out of the day.

13
thanks, everyone for the comments and info.

I am still waiting for feedback for our usual sitter, so if she will not be free, I will look for an alternative. just wanted to hear some

my dog wouldn't have a problem with other people, either at our home or going somewhere, but I want to avoid now taking her somewhere where she doesn't know. she used to be more sold for the cookies but now is more fixated on me than in her younger years.

my biggest problem is that she currently takes 2 pills twice a day plus powder on food. and every few days I have to change the method of giving the pills since she realizes after a few days that e.g. it is not only cheese, there are pills inside

unfortunately (only because it complicates the organization) she was never really social with other dogs. she had few dog friends, but she didn't like the crowd of dogs so a hotel was never an option.

14
yeah, this is the hardest.

I haven't taken any trip last 6 months without my dog. I can see, she doesn't want to go anymore, she just wants to be home and sleep for 20 hours. and I have a need to go.

thankfully, I have found the solution with our vets (I have an emergency vet here in Switzerland and my friend who's vet back home) so she is getting better (as good as 15years old dog can be)

(thanks meloncollie for advices given)