Preparing Your Dog for a Pet Sitter

Whether hiring a pet sitter to look after your dog for one day or heading off on an extended vacation, ensuring your dog is prepared to spend time with the pet sitter is important. Dogs are intelligent, social, and devoted animals that can become distressed when faced with new situations or separation from their family. An anxious or poorly trained dog can be hard to handle or dangerous. If you want your dog to have the best possible experience with the sitter, the work should start at home!

Why Preparation is Important

One of the most prevalent issues in domestic dogs is anxiety whenever their owners leave them alone, especially for extended periods. Recent increases in working from home also led to increased dog ownership. The result has been dogs that are used to having their humans around almost all the time. When separated from their owners, they can become nervous and upset.

This anxiety can vary in severity, of course, and while it is always distressing for dogs, it can also be dangerous. Aggression is one possible result of intense anxiety, which can present real risks to pet sitters and other animals that your dog might come into contact with when you are not around. Taking steps to prepare your dog to be around other people and animals without you can deal with anxiety to a certain extent. 

Three Ways to Prepare Your Dog

To prepare your dog for time away from you, whether with a dog walker or a pet sitter, it is essential to begin socializing your dog with other people and animals at a young age. These are the three most important steps you can take to prepare your dog to spend time with sitters and dog walkers:

1. Teach basic obedience commands

Basic commands like “sit,” “stay,” and “come” are crucial for building a good relationship with your dog. When you can trust your dog to come when called, for example, they can be allowed time to explore off-leash. When you know your dog will stay when told, it will be easier to undertake certain hygiene and grooming processes. These basic commands also make it easier for a pet sitter to keep your dog safe and in control while you are away.

2. Spend time away

Your dog needs to be able to cope without you. While it would be nice to take our canine companions everywhere, this is not always possible. Desensitizing your dog to your absence is crucial to ensuring that they will cope when you leave them with a pet sitter. You can do this by spending short periods out of the house or going with a trusted friend or family member for short periods. As your dog becomes used to this, you can increase the time that you are away. This should make them less anxious when you leave them alone or with a sitter.

3. Make Introductions Beforehand

One of the easiest ways to prepare a dog, particularly an anxious dog, to spend time with a pet sitter is to introduce the two to each other before the scheduled date. A twenty-minute meet and greet, perhaps in the form of a walk at the dog park, can help your dog to get to know the sitter (and give the sitter a chance to determine whether they feel capable of taking care of your dog). More than one introductory meeting would be even better, of course, but unless you have a very anxious or reactive dog, one meeting with an experienced sitter should be enough.

When Personalities Clash

Like people, dogs have distinct personalities. Not every pet sitter will be right for your dog. This is why a practice run is so beneficial. If your pet sitter cannot handle your dog despite your preparation, seeking a different service or service provider is the best option. Unless your sitter highlights serious behavioral issues, like aggression, it could be a matter of compatibility!

If your pet sitter brings up defined issues, such as aggression, then professional training may be needed. Likewise, if your pet has distinct medical needs that your pet sitter cannot meet, you may need to seek a special service provider.

Conclusion

By following the tips above, you can ensure a far better experience for your pet and greater peace of mind for you as a pet owner. This means you will feel far more relaxed about leaving your precious pup in the care of a sitter.