When you must leave town for an extended time, you may find that you can’t carry your precious fur baby. You must find a way to ensure your best furry friend is cared for and will survive and thrive while you’re away. Regardless of your location, you have two options before you for your pet’s care. Should you hire a pet sitter or board your pet at a local pet boarding facility?
Pet sitting typically means someone comes to your home to care for your pet. They will check your pet’s well-being, feed them, and exercise them. The sitter can often stay in your home for a day or overnight if your pet has separation anxiety issues or if you would prefer for them to have someone with them round-the-clock while you’re away.
One of the best arguments for pet sitting is your pet can remain at home where they are comfortable for the duration of your trip. They will be in their own space without worrying about unfamiliar surroundings or unfamiliar animals. If you have a sitter stay with your pet, you help to decrease the risks of incidents because your sitter comes to your pet rather than the other way around.
You can share your routines for feeding, walking, and playing with your pet, and your sitter will maintain those routines for you. If you’ve been working on training your dog to follow basic commands, you can have your sitter work with them so they don’t lose progress. Some sitters will handle tasks such as plant care as well.
Pet sitters come to your home, so you must ensure you are comfortable with a virtual stranger being inside your residence when you aren’t there. You should also ensure that your pet will allow them to enter the home. If your pet is an extremely protective animal, pet sitting may not be for you.
Pet boarding means you will carry your pet to a facility or home where professionals care for them and other animals. Think of it as a doggy motel. The two kinds of boarding are home boarding and facility boarding. The difference between the two is how they operate.
Boarding in a facility isn’t as personalized as boarding in a home. Additionally, your pet may be thrown out of his routine because the routine is the facility’s rather than your pet’s. Your pet will be with multiple other animals, so individualized attention beyond basic care is limited at best.
House boarding can differ from facility boarding, and the caretakers might not be professionals in the field, but they tend to have more time to spend with your pet individually. They typically limit how many pets they board at once, so there is less chance of your pet catching anything from another animal. Also, you can normally have a more customized experience with house boarding, but it still has your pet away from home where he is most comfortable.
These considerations are just the tip of the iceberg when choosing whether to board your pet or hire a sitter. Weather, the reputation of whoever you employ, and what makes you and your pet most comfortable are also considerations. Regardless of your choice, do your homework, and plan for your pet. Contact Dog Training Now Charleston for more information!
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