» Dog Sitter News
You always want to have your best friend with you at all times but sometimes you just can’t. Whether it’s travel for business or pleasure, have a trusted dog sitter watch over your family helps you relax more. See the tips below to help you find the right dog sitter for your family and find a dog sitter near you here.
Eco-friendly business practices have become an increasingly important element in the allurement of prospective clientele. As a pet-sitter, it is important you have knowledge of the most earth-friendly and pet-friendly commodities for your business venture. Make your pet-sitting business stand out from the rest, with the following eco-friendly practices and pet products:
Market your business in an eco-friendly way, without the unnecessary waste of paper materials. Many smartphone owners have a QR code scanner app on their phone. QR codes provide companies the efficient ability to link their physical marketing material with their online website. When a potential customer sees a QR code, they are able to scan it and access more information about the company or their product. Go one step beyond a photo-copied coffee-shop advertisement for your business and reduce your paper waste through the integration of a QR code that links with your website.
Paper invoices are a waste of paper and mailing materials, which is not conducive for an eco-friendly business. Eliminate the headache of manual invoice composition and the waste of physical invoices, with an electronic invoice system. Conduct payment transfers through your mobile device, as a convenient service for your clients. For more information on the benefits of instant invoicing and mobile payments, Flint has an article that will guide you through this eco-friendly and efficient process.
Ensure your pet client receives the most eco-friendly treats, through provision of chemical and preservative-free, high-quality pet food. Many pet food brands will use low-grade waste meat — the discards from the beef and poultry conglomerates. These poor quality meat-based pet foods are made from the 4D’s — dead, dying, diseased, disabled animals. A pet who consumes low-grade meat will most likely encounter poor digestive tendencies and is at higher risk of illness or disease. Guide the owner toward pet foods that are FDA-certified, food-grade meat, and nutritionally beneficial for the pet. “Organic” is another certification of pet foods that are made of meats raised in a sustainable, humane environment. The organic food ensures the meat is raised without drugs or hormones, is minimally processed, and only preserved with natural supplements. Organic goes beyond the “FDA-certified, food-grade” meat, as there are stricter rules about the eco-friendly and humane treatment standards.
When you are the care-taker of a dog, use biodegradable dog-waste bags. Plastic bags are one of the worst culprits of landfill overflow– the decomposition of plastic bags ranges from 20 to 100 years. There are a wide range of biodegradable bags available for purchase at pet stores, like the BioBag at Petco. Steer clear of clay cat litter, as the clay in these litters are procured in non-eco-friendly ways, through strip-mining. Additionally, clay sediment is saturated with carcinogenic silica dust, which is harmful for the lungs of both you and the cat. The sodium bentonite found in clay clumping-litter can attach to the cat’s fur and may be ingested when the cat grooms itself. Sodium bentonite can swell up 15 to 18 times its dry size and will clog up the cat’s digestive system. Opt for a more eco-friendly cat litter, like one made from recycled newspaper, which is reportedly three times more absorbent than clay, non-toxic and dust-free.
No one wants to leave their dog at home when traveling, it’s like going without your best friend! Sometimes you have to though and when you do we like to our’s to be able to stay at home so we get a dog sitter. Dog sitters are great! Not only do your pets get to stay at home, you also get a house sitter and sometimes, with multiple dogs, it ends up being cheaper than boarding. When leaving though, always check the list below to make sure you left everything the dog sitter will need.
Find a dog sitter for your next trip >>
As a frequent traveler I have to leave my pups at home a lot more than I would like to. Fortunately, my wife and I have been lucky enough to find some great dog sitters and house sitters to take care of our “kids” when we’re out. Unfortunately though, each sitter always forgets to do a couple of things that we think would take them from being a good dog sitter to a great dog sitter that we would promote more to all of our friends and family. Add these things to your list and you’ll win us over as clients for life!
The bottoms line is that people’s dogs are their family. Just as when you are traveling without your wife or kids, you always like to hear from them or check in. With your pups, you can’t always do that so be there to help put our minds at ease. These tips will help you get more clients and help ensure that your current ones stay with you.
A DogGeek.com exclusive by Teresa Barker
There are so many details to plan for when going out of town on vacation. The one thing that you don’t want to have to worry about is whether or not your dogs are in capable, loving hands back at home. If you’ve decided that your dogs would be most comfortable at home while you’re gone, in their own environment, then you will be looking to hire a pet-sitter.
Here are a few considerations when looking for the perfect pet-sitter for your dogs. Use this list at least 2 months in advance of your vacation to avoid last-minute stress and frustration, and to make sure that your travel dates aren’t already taken by your first-pick candidate!
Leaving your dog while you are away on vacation can make a supposedly relaxing experience very stressful. You can reduce your anxiety by taking the time to hire a competent and experienced pet sitter to provide your dog the love and care it deserves and the piece of mind you need to enjoy your vacation!