As a pet sitter or dog walker we’re used to dealing with stressed out or fearful pets. I myself am an expert at getting frightened kitties to come out from under beds. Part of our job is to make the pets feel comfortable and minimize any stress they may feel. Part of our job is also to minimize any stress that the pet parents are feeling. Leaving your pets, your babies, in someone else’s hands is traumatic even under the best circumstances. This is why, when folks find a pet sitter they know, like and trust, they tend to be customers for life.
You can minimize or eliminate this initial anxiety for the pets and pave the way for a stress-free pet sitting experience for the pets and their owners. Here are a couple of things that you can do to put the pets and the pet parents at ease quickly when you meet and work with them.
Ask a lot of questions!
As sitters we want to be respectful of people time during an initial meet and greet or telephone call. We worry sometimes that we are imposing on their homes and their lives. With few exceptions this couldn’t be further from the truth.
As a pet parent I’ve interviewed and hired many pet sitters over the last 30 years. The ones I feel most comfortable with are the ones that ask a LOT of questions. I’ve never once gotten frustrated or impatient that a potential sitter asked me too many questions. I pay attention as well to the types of questions they’re asking. It’s easy to ask, “What does your dog eat?”. It’s much more comforting when they ask me what my dog eats, when he eats, where he eats and how much he eats. You can even take this to the next level by asking probing questions such as whether the dog is a social eater, what to do if he doesn’t finish his food or does he have a tendency to eat too fast.
It’s your job to give the client a sense that you are all over the details. The hallmark of a great pet sitter is attention to detail. This will also minimize your own stress level because you’ll be equipped with the knowledge you need to recognize normal from abnormal behavior.
Arrange for a meeting with the pets while the owner is there
Whenever possible, set up an introduction between yourself, the pets and the owner. This doesn’t have to be a long meeting but do include enough time to sit and just be with the pets. Even better if you can schedule it during a time or activity that is part of the pet’s normal routine. If they feed the pups at 5pm, come at that time and either watch while they go about the normal routine or even assist with it.
One thing to note, if you’ve been sitting for a while you know that there will be times when a pet with their owner around acts entirely different than when they’re not there. This is often hard to predict and unavoidable but an initial meeting with the owner present will at least help you understand that pet’s behavior later on.
You may or may not want to charge for this introduction but it’s a great way to put both client and pet at ease and will give you a greater level of confidence the first time you need to walk into a home unescorted.
Make sure the owner has all the pet’s favorite things at the ready
Does the pup have a blankie? You know the one, it’s ratty and old and has generally seen better days but he carries it everywhere and goes to it when he needs comfort. Or does the kitty have a toy she loves. It’s THE toy that she will insist you get out to play with her and no other toy will do. Make sure your client leaves them out and ready.
Anything familiar and comforting to the pet will ease any anxieties they have. This goes for food too. If the pet has a certain treat that they absolutely love, you know the ones in the back of the cupboard that only get taken out as a special treat, give them (in moderation) to the pets. This will make the pet feel as if they’re on vacation as well and quickly form a trusting bond with you.
Pet sitters are very compassionate people. They do what they do to earn money but primarily they do it because they love and care about animals. They spend a lot of time around animals and know how to behave around animals. Consequently, most animals take to them very quickly but there are always some who take a little longer than others to warm up. The pet parents of these animals know this and they will be immediately comforted if you, as a pet sitter, can quickly gain their pet’s trust.
May 2 to May 8 is National Dog Anxiety Awareness Week. Stress can make your furry clients cranky and unhealthy. You do a great thing by caring for animals in their own environment and allowing them to follow their normal routine. Take the time to minimize stress for your human clients as well and they will be loyal customers for life!
Another great article you might enjoy
Things to Tell Your Pet Sitter Before You Go
https://preferredpetpartners.com/things-to-tell-your-pet-sitter-before-you-go/
About Eliza
Eliza is the owner of two successful pet related businesses; Preferred Pet Partners, a pet sitting and dog walking company, and The Pet Business Coach, offering coaching and resources to aspiring or current pet related business entrepreneurs. She maintains two awesome blogs. One for pet parents https://preferredpetpartners.com/blog/ and one for pet business owners https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/blog-page/. Eliza also supports various animal rescue and shelter organizations. Eliza and her husband have a growing pet family. Visit her websites: www.preferredpetpartners.com or www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog.
What are the rules anyway!?!?
I’m a rule follower. I have been my whole life. I pay my bills on time, I look both ways before crossing the street, I don’t talk during the movie. I follow rules, all rules…well mostly all rules. That’s not to say I’m not a risk taker. This is not at all the same...
give, Give, GIVE to Grow Your Business!
Why did you start your business? Was it a desire to be independent, to manage your own time, to make piles of money? Maybe, but I’m guessing there was more to it than that. Most entrepreneurs go down this road because they want more in life. Not necessarily more money...
Writing the Perfect Client Update (or your dog pooped, again)
Let’s face it, there are only so many ways to tell a client that their dog pooped. Even those of us that are super creative will, at some point, run out of ways to make an update to a client on a pet sitting or dog walking visit interesting. As a professional pet...
How to Handle Rejection (or it’s not me, it’s you)
I received the following note from a new client the other day. We were one week away from doing the first visits for them. “Eliza, I wanted to let you know of a change as soon as possible. One of my son’s friends will be staying with the dogs while we are gone so I...
My Client’s Pet Hates Me! What do I do?
It was my very first meet and greet. I had launched the business nearly three months earlier. I had excitedly hung out my social media shingle, switched the website on and prepared to greet clients. I had waiting and waited and waited for a client. Now finally, one...
My client wants a specific sitter, and only that sitter, what do I do?
I recently came across a familiar situation. An existing client was going out of town, needed a sitter and called shortly before her trip to inquire about availability. I explained that we were happy to help and that the sitter she wanted was not available but that...
5 Things that you should ALWAYS ask a Pet Sitter before you hire them
We’re accustomed to asking a ton of questions when shopping around for a baby sitter but we’re less inquisitive when shopping for a pet sitter. Why is this? They are, after all, our furry children! Here are five things that you should always ask a potential pet sitter...
